I think we all know jeans are not great, but we all kid ourselves that we will take it easy and not have an off. The problem is, we don't know when we will have an off (mine was caused by a woman doing a u-turn on a bit of dual carriage way), and "easy" on a bike is always going to be at least 40mph, which my experience proves can be enough to cause damage.
No problem, wear what you like. If I'm on a fast ride, I'll always wear the right kit, thats cordura or leather, but very rarely wear any non-bike footwear.
I crashed at 50mph approx hit diesel spill on a bend spyke leather jacket and Red Route armoured jeans jeans did the job,denim wore threw on knee in one spot but didn't touch Kevler underneath hips and buttocks fine. They held up just as good as the jacket. If I'd hit the kerb or an object that be a different story but no jacket or suit will protect you from a solid object. From my little off I'd I'm happy to wear the armoured jeans for road riding but not on the track common sense really. Although I always wear boots
How happy are you to wear waterproof textile trousers ? They offer bugger all protection if sliding down the road, far less than the best jeans on offer. And cheap leather offers little more protection than textile trousers. Ask me what i wear , good triple stitched leather trousers with best armour available in hips and knees. Best jeans available with same armour. And waterproof textile for bad weather with best armour . Very important to have a good fit so the armour stays in position if you come off. I work with textiles, i have seen how poor cheap leather is, you can tear it apart in your hands, and i have seen how strong good fabrics can be too. I must admit that i feel right in my custom made leather trousers, and normally a rukka jacket with upgraded armour. But i just wanted to clarify the myth that leather is always best. It simply is not.
What you say about correctly fitting armour is very true. Feet, hands, knees and elbows are the first thing to get smashed in a crash and you can walk away from quite a bad spill with just those protected. I wear fabric in bad weather or jeans in the hot summer but it doesn't do much for you in a crash unless you've paid out for the high quality stuff that keep the knee and elbow armour in position. Most stuff is baggy and the protection moves too much. This is my knee after crashing into a car wearing kevlar jeans. The knee pads in the jeans probably saved my knee but they also caused the big holes by moving and digging into my leg. Thirty odd stitches sewed each hole back up again. I crashed a supermoto at pretty slow speeds messing around on a roundabout and put holes in my Alpinestars fabric trousers after only sliding about five meters. Luckily I had separate knee pads underneath that stopped me from getting any injuries other than a bit of hip grazing, I wouldn't have had any injuries if I had leathers on.
My jeans are CE2 rated (whole Jean) with an abrasion resistance of 10 seconds. I wear CE2 forcefield knee sleeves under so they stay in place, and also hip armour. They are incredibly comfortable and fit me better than my normal fashion jeans. My Dainese leather pants are not CE2 rated, and I believe have a slide rating of 4 to 5 secs for 1.3mm leather. I 'feel' just as safe and actually more comfortable in those jeans. I was even allowed on the track with them at Castle Combe at a Bikesafe day. I never wear ankle boots - I prefer some sort of shin protection that meets up with the bottom of my knee armour. My Dainese Fulcrum boots fit that bill and are as comfortable as slippers.
I will be wearing kevlar jeans occasionally and ankle boots, the jeans are apparently also rated to the same spec as leather although I'd not like to try, the ankle boots are also CE certified. I have some textile kit for mixed weather riding and that's apparently not as safe as leather either. While perhaps not the safest option. It's probably better than normal jeans and normal boots, when just going out for a short ride... I'd not put leathers on unless I am out for a while. I do plan to get some two piece leathers soon and will wear them more often. I just don't want to be put off riding because of the get all the kit out routine..
I use red route armoured Kevlar jeans,alpinestars ankle boots and either rst race tech evo textile jacket,or if it's hot I have a Knox armoured vest with back,chest,shoulder and elbow armour and throw a sweatshirt over the top. Problem is I can't find a comfy leather suit for sit up bike.
just to chip in, I wear alpine stars ankle boots, they have approved CE armour in the right places plus they are comfy as feck, granted no shin protection but I never wear them on long haul or motorways.. also wear UglyBros jeans with knee/hip armour, again comfy but unlikely to protect as well as race leathers!! Also wear a belstaff jacket which while armoured at shoulder and elbow is likely to tear much as tissue would...again I wear these for sunday funday rides not long haul everything will at some point tear through to skin, abrasion tests are done on all gear and most of it wears through much quicker than we imagine it would... I used to be of the opinion that ONLY race leathers should be worn but bugger that comfort, looking cool as feck and a degree of protection gets my vote!! On the flip side there is a dick head that rides a big honda in shorts and a t shirt whenever its a sunny day...skin grafts will ruin his tan thats for sure!!
Lots of opinions on here, good to see. It's always subjective asking others what to wear when riding, and (I don't mean to be rude or offensive, so please don't take it as such) it's a question that no one else can answer. In the UK, there are those that ride big bikes in shorts, vest / t-shirt and flip flops (Yes, I've seen flip flops on a big bike?!) but more commonly trainers with their only protection being a helmet, and I get the feeling if that wasn't a legal requirement, they wouldn't bother with it either. Then there are those (like myself) that take bike safety gear very seriously .... I currently wear ArlenNess Titanium Kangaroo 1 piece leathers with the obligatory armour in the usual places. In their day (8 years ago), these were top of the line and bloody marvellous! Luckily, I've never put them to the test and have looked after them really well. I have a Knox Ageis back protector, Knox Biomech gloves (also Kangaroo) and a pair of Supertech Rs (I also still have a pair of Sidi Vertigos which the Supertech Rs replaced). I'd never, ever, have footwear (regardless of CE certification) without shin protection, I'll always opt for a full boot. Because of age alone (not wear and tear), and the fact that technology and safety are always improving, I'm just about to replace the ArlenNess leathers with a set of arc-on Evo II leathers. I've already been up to see Ian in London and tried some on, these are being ordered at the end of this month. Again, not through damage or wear and tear, my Biomech gloves have just been replaced by a pair of arc-on Apex with the Forcefield armour, and my Ageis back protector has also very recently been replaced with a Forcefield Pro L2K Evo. My helmet is a Shoei XR-1000 and is the same age as the leathers, and yup, you guessed it, despite it never being put to the test (it doesn't even have a scratch) due to the improvements of technology and safety I'm planning to replace it too. I'm also looking at getting a chest protector as leathers have absolutely no protection in this area. Just for clarity, I don't race and have never done a track day. My riding has always been on the road, which arguably (and in my opinion) is where you need the best safety gear, not a track. As for the time it takes to "suit up!", 5 minutes absolute max, not a second longer! That's UnderArmour leggings and UnderArmour long sleeve top to get the leathers on / off smoothly (massively helps keep them clean inside too), back protector, leathers and boots. No hassle at all for me. I don't like Kevlar jeans as they don't fit (me at least) very well. Meaning that in an off, the armour (if someone has bothered to fit any) will potentially move and be rendered next to useless. Sure, they will protect better than normal denim jeans in a slow accident as they're less likely to wear through, but that's about it. They lead to a false sense of security in my opinion, I'll stick with my 1 piece. You may get away with it .... My best mate is the opposite of me and fortunately (for me), he no longer rides. He used to wear a non-biking leather jacket, padded winter non-biking gloves (like ski gloves), normal denim jeans, and steel toecap work boots. When we used to ride together, we were absolutely chalk n cheese in terms of our appearance. I kept asking him to get some decent gear, and out of desperation I eventually bought a £400 AlpineStars armoured leather jacket and gave it to him, which he did actually wear which made me feel a bit better. The reason he didn't buy similar gear to me, was that if he had a crash, he didn't think he'd live through it so why waste the money on the gear. I'm glad he no longer rides, he was always a very safe and competent rider, never crashed or had any issues, but sometimes, fate is out of our control. At least I get to keep my best mate for longer As for the "just nipping into town" stuff (again, I don't mean to be rude or offensive, so please don't take it as such) but I don't buy into that for a second, maybe that's because I wouldn't take my bike into town anyway, unless it was on the way to a ride out. I live on a 20mph road in a relatively quiet area with a mini roundabout at one end and a set of busy traffic lights at the other. There's usually a queue of traffic going from the traffic lights across the mini roundabout and further down so you can't speed up the road. Bikes however, obviously filter up the outside, which is great until someone decides they don't want to sit in the queue and do a U turn without checking their mirrors first. The biker that crashed into the side of a van was wearing denim jeans, trainers, a cheap (really crap looking) helmet, some sort of cheap non-biking jacket and (obviously) no gloves. He had barely any time to react, and crashed into the side of the van, went strait over the handle bars, face first into the side of the it and then into a heap on the floor in a pool of blood. He broke his collar bone, tore his hand open (ligaments and all sorts of lovely bits on display) and where he went over the handle bars, as he had only denim jeans, he tore straight through those and opened up the inside of his thigh (I'm an EFR Instructor (although I don't teach any more), and it was extremely close to his femoral artery!). He was a lucky guy! All that at around 20mph-ish. Had he been wearing proper gear, he'd "most likely" have walked away, albeit a bit bumped and bruised, but definitely in a better state than he was, rather than in an ambulance. Anyway, I'm not trying to scare or convince anyone to do anything, how others ride, what they wear and when they wear it (or don't), is completely up to them. My point being (although it's taken a right load of waffle to get to it, sorry about that) is that the only person you have to ask and convince about safety gear (Kevlar jeans, 1 piece leathers, body armour etc) regardless of what anyone else says or does is yourself. What's your safety worth to you, no one else can put a value on that other than you. For me, the gear I buy is worth every penny I spend on it. Besides, I actually really like wearing it, as it makes it more of an event when I go out on the bike. Maybe that says more about me dressing like a Power Ranger than it does about anyone else though ... Riding with unsuitable / inadequate gear is absolutely fine .... till you come off. Then it's no good with the would've / should've. Your money, your body, your choice.
Hi guys, I've just picked up on this thread as I was browsing the forum topics. I have Knox armoured jeans with full kevlar lining and unfortunately, I've slid down the road after losing the front end at about 45mph, and walked away unscaved, sure the outside of the jeans were scuffed but they didn't tear and I wasn't hurt. The Knox jeans certainly aren't cheap but they are definitely great quality, so I guess it depends on the brand, like all bike clothing. I was also wearing the short leg Ducati boots, which also performed well and apart from some scuff marks they're perfectly OK. The jeans are also a hell of a lot cooler than leather trousers in the hot weather. But at the end of the day, it's all about personal choice.
