Denim jeans while riding.

[79XS11F]

I also do not think this test is realistic. The sand in the bags in the legs of the jeans would not behave at all the same way your body would unless your legs exploded on impact. Your knees, hips, elbows etc take the load in a slide. That being the case the pounds per square inch of pressure is increased grossly on the material and it comes apart very quickly. I have gone down on bicycles while wearing jeans in the past and can tell you that jeans offer next to no protection in a real slide on pavement.
Rob

[Larrym]

Roadworthy Protection???

I dunno..



Some folks just go with it and don't care bout the naysayers.....

The lowers aren't pink but you get the idea.....

[XSokieSPECIAL]

A riding "buddy" of yours Larry?

[Larrym]

School Daze...

Don't you recognize Freddy Mercury from Queen??

I do but only cause the girl I wanted to date in high school was absolutely in love with him and that look.

I was still wearing pocket protectors and just couldn't go along with it. No wonder I became a geek...

[trbig]

I don't know.. I think the test is somewhat accurate... if a person was to simply slide in a sitting position. Your legs and butt are usually fairly meaty and will spread out the weight pretty well. Some of you boney-azzes.. maybe not as well as me.. lol.

That being said, I don't know of anyone who does that type of slide. As Rob stated, you usually tumble to some extent, and that's when the spots where bone that is close to the surface takes a beating.. Elbows, knees, shoulders where you're focusing the weight on a small area with something hard like a bone that doesn't spread out right behind that.

My point in posting this was not to start a thread asking what you wear for protection while riding or if you have a preference for ATGATT or not. That's been done. It was more in asking if you believe the textile/armor ads... or do you think they are barely.. if any better than just jeans?

Don't you recognize Freddy Mercury from Queen??

We couldn't see the three foot overbite in that pic...

Tod

[79XS11F]

I believe the modern textiles used in motorcycle clothing are far superior to denim so I would have to say I believe the ads that claim that they are.
Rob

[XSokieSPECIAL]

Don't you recognize Freddy Mercury from Queen??

No, actually I didn't. Freddy has been dead for quite some time now.

Heh heh guess your girlfriend was pretty clueless huh?

Maybe she just liked the way he held his microphone.

Your girlfriend WAS a girl wasn't she?

[Larrym]

Jean...Jean...Roses are Red.

I also believe that the new textiles are better than jeans at both abrasion and tear resistance. Especially when they've got kevlar in all the right places.

But that type of protection has a cost so great that one needs a factory sponsored bike in sanctioned races to afford it all.

I've noticed that the riding gear has extra plates in the knees or other areas where the most damage is likely to occur. I know there is a product out there which is a specially designed jean pant/bottom but with added impact protection. That's pretty cool but still a little costly.

I'd be happy with a set of plastic pads which one could rivet on to a regular set of jeans. The jeans are riveted together already. That way you can buy a set of jeans that fit right and then just add the external plastic pads.

A bonus is that after a fall where the medics cut your jeans off, you could still salvage the pads that weren't damaged. Just buy a new set of regular jeans and get out your riveting gun.

Mebbe I'm just too cheap.....

(They would make a lot of noise in the clothes dryer......)

[79XS11F]

I didn't think the jacket and pants I got were too costly. I bough at the end of the year sales and got the jacket for 185.95 CAN including all taxes, shipping and duty and currency adjustment. The pants were 125 CAN. The shipping and duty were a BIG part of those amounts The jacket is has a fully removable cold weather liner, removable armor, vents and a lot of rider adjustably. The Pants are pretty simple but do have armor. Both items are Fieldsheer and appear to be well made. They should last a long time. Likely be the last jacket and pants I buy.
Rob

[T99Ford]

I think textile and armor add alot of advantage in a wreck. I have a good friend that t-boned a car at 65 that pulled out in front of him. All of that damage was from impact force, not abrasion force. This is where pads would help (not eliminate) these forces. Pads are not really installed for abrasion but for impact (think hockey goalie). Likewise, the textile in my coat is supposed to have some impact absorption factors (likely just a selling point of no value.

But the coat prolly only helps a little, since in addition I only wear jeans and shoes to ride... But the same above logic would apply to pants. Abrasion is a serious side effect, but impact is more so.

[motoman]

Nice gear

+1 for the Fieldsheer!

[DGXSER]

I agree with Rob's point, or at least the underlying one he made, that impact is what breaks bones and typically causes the serious life threatening injuries. Not that road rash fromt o high of a speed or over the wrong materials wont tear enough skin off to cause serious injuries also.

I just do not see what kevlar knee pads and butt pads are going to do to stop that. Its force over area, and the added area of the knee pad or even the butt pad just does not seem like enough to me.

[Larrym]

Ballistic Physics

I've got a Joe Rocket Ballistic Series Jacket. (Retail at $250 plus..) I like the way it looks and feels. But I've also got a sheep skin lined leather jacket. Thing is that I feel that although the rocket jacket looks cool and is popular, I'm not convinced that it is real protection. (As in what someone who raced bikes for a living would wear...). Prob'ly better than just wearing a tee shirt but I say that it's more fashion than protection:

http://www.roadrunner.travel/article-5915.php

I'm not gonna buy the rocket pants. Likely that I'll get a pair of thick carharts and leave it at that. Unless I can get some C.E. rated protectors that I can rivet on....

[T99Ford]

I think the idea behind the pads is the same idea behind a helmet. There is alot more shock absorbing/ deflecting properties to these things than I think we would all give them credit for. I don't think anyone is really looking to increase area (I probably could not stay on my bike if they did), but rather try and dissipate some of the force of the landing before it reaches a vital organ in any way it can. I think most of them are relying primarily on absorption and deflection (hence the different foam composites). The Kevlar would not do much for that, though, and is probably for abrasion.
And, since legs and arms make poor fenders, I think every little bit helps, for sure. I had another friend on an R6 hit a deer at 85. He went over a guard rail and broke the bike in half in a tree. Then he skidded around for a while. He really credited the elbow pads with protecting that area, since that is where he actually contacted first when he made landfall. Not so much for his knees and butt, though, which were not protected. After the wreck, he bought armor to add under his jeans, rather than buy the riding pans. It includes tailbone and thigh protectors as well as knee protection, and are primarily a gel like substance, rather than foam.

All of this stuff has the potential to help, but there is a reason that riding a motorcycle is considered "hazardous"

[Larrym]

Really Got What I Paid For??!

Just a quickee. Go here and take a look at this, where the $250 jacket is advertised as having CE rated protective armor:

http://www.joerocket.com/catalog/ind...tic_7.0_Jacket

Then read this from the "Protection Racket" article I mentioned in my previous post:

"Also, “CE rated” or “CE type” on the swing tag doesn’t cut it: Look for the CE mark on limb/joint and spine protectors, and make sure they’re securely located in the garment."

Back to Tod's question of whether riding gear is only marginally better protection than heavy denim; it looks like it may be. But enough to justify spending that much for a protection product which doesn't meet an established standard? Nope. It's the look but without the protection.

Maybe two pair of heavy carharts???