Re: Laughed At
 

Take a look at the Olympia jackets. I recently purchased and Olympia Bushwacker jacket that I really like it. Way more comfortable than my other jacket and it has a liner. It's an all weather jacket. One interesting feature is the liner is a zip in jacket.

http://www.olympiamotosports.com/bus...wacker2008.jpg

http://www.olympiamotosports.com/

About two weeks after I started riding...
 

...I flew into Chicago (I live in SoCal.) On the cab ride from the airport I saw two guys on sport bikes with no helmets, shorts, t-shirts and tennis shoes. I realized/remembered at that point - no helmet law in IL! These guys were sort of half riding responsibly (not going crazy fast) and half not (weaving in and out of traffic, yelling and gesturing to each other - looked like they were playing some game but it might be just my imagination.) In any event, I looked around the rest of the week and I'd say at least half of the riders here don't wear helmets. It was kind of like being in NV and realizing prostitution is legal there.

I wear ATTGMTT. (All of the gear Most of the time.) When I ride to work I wear jeans. It's about 5 miles and all relatively tame stuff. When I go out in the canyons, I wear the whole bit. I don't have any noble sentiments or holier-than-thou attitude about it. It's pretty simple - I'm scared I'll fall off and eff myself up good. If the gear actually works, I'll be very happy. I paid about $350 for my jacket $100 for the pants, $100 for shoes, $20 for gloves, $180 for helmet. I generally overpay for stuff, not a bargain hunter. If there was a suit of invincibility, I'd probably buy and wear that.

I ski with a helmet and I ride a bicycle with a helmet. I don't like helmets, but my brain is about the only good thing I have. I ain't gonna make it on my youth and good looks.

I do think if I bite it at 60 into a guard rail, I'm gonna be just as dead as Mr. T-shirt, but with maybe more skin on my corpse. As Sarris said, "Stuff happens!"

Riding to work...
 

I have noticed that, during commuting times, I am seeing more riders with full gear than without. On the other hand, when I go up to the catskills/delaware valley on the weekends, almost no one is wearing full gear.

Just an observation - people are going to do what they are going to do.

As an aside - I taught my wife about the gear, and why it is important. She ow notices every rider we pass, and what they are wearing...

Re: Is "All the Gear, All the Time" a minority?
 

Seems like ATGATT is definitely the majority on this site :).

When my bike is running :roll: I wear everything but armored pants. After shopping for all of my gear a number of sales people told me good denim is decent protection. Not sure how accurate that is, but I kind of believed it. I try to wear jeans whenever I ride, + full face helmet, gloves, armored leather jacket and boots. And that's here in central FL in the summer. It doesn't bother me.

I've gotten used to seeing shorts/tanktops on sportbikes and jeans/vest on cruisers. What I think is really :crazy: is the way people think gear is not necessary on a scooter?! In Gainesville yesterday (there are college kids on scooters everywhere there) I saw a guy in flip flops and shorts, no shirt or helmet, on his little scooter. I'm sorry, going 40 mph on a motorcycle, scooter, bicycle or a floating banana will give you the same results if you hit the pavement. It's either college kids on their 50cc scoots, or seniors on their 600cc Bergmans. There seems to be a mindset of "well, scooters are obviously safer than motorcycles." or something.

Crazy.

Re: Is "All the Gear, All the Time" a minority?
 

roncg,
Yes, for some reason people have a notion that they are somehow safer on scooters and don't feel the need to wear helmets.......who knows where they get that idea from :??:

I'm not trying to push more riding gear on you, but please make that decision for yourself........don't take some salesmans' word on ANYTHING. My experience has been that jeans are just barely better than riding in shorts, but at the same time I've known people who have taken spills while wearing shorts who have made it out with no real damage.......luck of the draw I suppose. Riding, as with most things in life, is all about risk acceptance.........just do whatever you are comfortable with and enjoy the ride! :2tup:

Oh, and good luck with keeping that bike of yours running :tongue:

Re: Is "All the Gear, All the Time" a minority?
 

On very smooth pavement and lower speeds jeans (heavy) might give a bit of protection from abrasion. Not from impact though. On rough pavement think of the jeans saving one layer of skin. Jeans will shred in the first foot or two of your slide. The trick is to be wearing armor when (not if) you go down. :cry:

Re: Is "All the Gear, All the Time" a minority?
 

Denim might be cooler in hot weather but will last about 2 seconds or 2 feet which ever comes first in a slide and totally useless for impact protection. A pair of armoured mesh riding pants are cool, protective and not all that spendy. I have Joe Rocket gear mostly and it is decent quality. 3 pairs of pants. Balistic 5.0, Alter Ego(my fav) and Atomic Jeans. The jeans are heavier denim with armour in the knees and hips. A big + is decent pockets for stuff.

Re: Is "All the Gear, All the Time" a minority?
 

You'll get many people on both sides of this, but some detractors will say that the mesh will simply rip off (or melt onto) your skin taking the armour with it. I can't say I'm one of them though. The impact protection is enough to make me agree with you that these are worth the money. I don't like the idea of a crushed/broken kneecap or hip point. However, I'd really like to see some studies done on these compared to Kevlar[tm:2733napy][/tm:2733napy] and Fightermesh[tm:2733napy][/tm:2733napy].

Re: Is "All the Gear, All the Time" a minority?
 

I think we all need to chip in and buy some different types of mesh gear and let Patrick be our crash-test dummy, then we will know which ones to stay away from. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: LOL!


But on a more serious note, I have to admit I thought the same thing about the whole mesh idea until I actually got a Mesh Jacket, and I have to say that it seems like some pretty tough stuff. I had this picture in my head of some flimsy mesh material like a laundry bag or something, but the mesh on there seems like it would take a pretty good beating, plus they strategically place it on body parts that aren't likely to be sliding points anyways.


Later

Re: Is "All the Gear, All the Time" a minority?
 

Look, I know I'm gonna stir up some shit with this, but I'm really getting tired of the ATFGATFT discussion. I don't do it, and it's my choice. Quit shoving these horror stories and horror videos up our butts. We/I get it.

In the biker community, it's usually (scared) newbies and (maniac) sport bikers who wear ATFGATFT. Those are the riders who need it most, so please indulge yourselves as necessary.

My point is, when it's my ass, it's my choice; when it's your ass, it's your choice. The prolonged paranoid dialog is just getting very old and is not going to convert any "non-believers".

:skull: :skull: :skull: :skull: :skull: