Riding Outside the Box

"roflcopter" (roflroflroflcopter) 06/03/2015 at 20:25 • Filed to: None

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Earlier I saw a comment thread about what people wear when doing motorcycle things. It seemed a lot of people didn’t like wearing full gear all the time and opted for normal clothes instead. What if there were something better than jeans but not quite up to full riding gear?

While I get that 100% protection is ideal, most people seem to go for the minimal protection that jeans and a jacket provide. I ran through the gambit of competitive longboarding for a few years when I first started college and there is some gear available that would be good options for someone looking for something cooler, both style and temperature wise, when it comes to riding gear. I can personally attest to the strength and protection that the good quality skate wear can provide.

Before you start saying that skating and motorcycle riding are completely different things, let me explain. At the top level of racing it is required to wear leathers, full face helmet, full finger leather gloves, and above the ankle shoes that offer some protection just like motorcycle racing. It’s not uncommon to fall at speeds over 60 mph when doing mountain runs or competing at some of the faster courses. I’ve gone down more times than I can count at 40+ mph with little to no gear on. I’m talking about a half-shell helmet, slide gloves, and some skate shoes. Most of those times I was able to keep myself off the ground and walk away just a bit sore, other times you couldn’t help but roll and slide, and the times I was wearing my Push Culture Crash Pants I had zero road rash anywhere they covered and they withstood every crash I threw at them.

I’m not saying that all skate is anywhere equivalent to what you should be ideally wearing on a motorcycle, but it’s definitely better than what you would normally wear to McDonald’s. Push Culture is the first name that comes to mind for me for making this kind of clothing but there are others out there. PC makes pants, shorts, hoodies, and some other apparel meant to take a beating and keep you road rash free. They also sell some low-profile knee, hip, and elbow pads made my G-Form that I know make skaters that love. It’s not quite like road armor, but it will help save your pointy bits in a fall and is made to fit underneath clothing, keeping you looking fly and staying cool.

Take a look at their stuff at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Roflcopter is in no way affiliated with Push Culture or any other skate-clothing company. He just likes to give people information about things that might help them between racing cars, sailboats, and skateboards.

505Turbeaux > roflcopter 06/03/2015 at 20:33

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I used to be such a squid when longboarding. We used to go out and bomb mountain roads in CO with no protective gear at all BY MOONLIGHT.

Somehow I am still living

roflcopter > 505Turbeaux 06/03/2015 at 20:36

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Luckily I got into it with some really good people who were already traveling and competing and they drilled safety into my head, I still decided to get out of the scene due to injuries though. But at least a helmet and gloves should be worn for anything more than pushing around campus. Leathers make you feel invincible.

For Sweden > roflcopter 06/03/2015 at 20:38

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What if there were something better than jeans but not quite up to full riding gear?

Still wear the full gear.

Tohru > For Sweden 06/03/2015 at 21:28

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How about no.

DarrenMR > roflcopter 06/03/2015 at 21:37

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I live in the Myrtle Beach area of SC. No helmet laws in most of this area. And then to see guys driving around with their wives/gfs on the back. No way in hell am I letting my wife do that. I dont even let her drive stick without real shoes on. I just dont get it. At the very least you need real shoes, pants, full gloves with knuckle and palm protectors, a full helmet and a spine protector IMO.

roflcopter > For Sweden 06/03/2015 at 21:41

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While I get that is the BEST option, some people just aren’t going to do it. Living in a place that has close to 100% humidity and is over 100 degrees most days makes full gear not something a lot of my friends will consider.

roflcopter > DarrenMR 06/03/2015 at 21:42

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Ideally that would always be the case, I was just trying to make the point that there are better options that are just as comfortable without going all out.

For Sweden > Tohru 06/03/2015 at 22:11

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You say that, but I really don’t have the free time to attend your funeral.

For Sweden > roflcopter 06/03/2015 at 22:12

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Sounds like an underserved market

AdverseMartyr > roflcopter 06/03/2015 at 22:26

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Looking at their website, it isn’t worthwhile. Lots of motorcycle gear companies make riding jeans with kevlar linings and pads for the same money (or less) as the crash pants. The jeans also have padding in critical areas.

roflcopter > AdverseMartyr 06/03/2015 at 23:06

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Hmm, I’m really not very well versed in what all is available, just had the idea that this stuff might work for someone. It’s definitely cooler to be in than jeans from an airflow and temperature standpoint, which could be nice.

bob and john > roflcopter 06/03/2015 at 23:17

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There is something between jeans and full gear. Kevlar lined jeans. Ive always worn them.

Anyone who doesnt have at least HEAVY denim jeans on whislt.riding i think.is an idiot, and then i dont ride with them.anymore. Im not dealing with the aftermath of a crash and not enough gear

roflcopter > bob and john 06/03/2015 at 23:23

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That’s kind of like my with skating.

If someone refuses to put on a helmet I won’t be around them. I’m not going to have to explain to EMTs what happened because of their stupidity.

bob and john > roflcopter 06/03/2015 at 23:26

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Also, in regards to the rest of the article..

Skateboard gear wont work because its made to take an.impact at 20 or 30 kmh. Not 140km. That, and the biggest issue we face (as bikers) is road rash. And anything other proper gear is not going to cut it. At all

roflcopter > bob and john 06/03/2015 at 23:35

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I tried to make the point of the speeds not being too different... around town you would be hard pressed to do faster than 60mph(~100kph) which is well within what happens on a skateboard.

AdverseMartyr > roflcopter 06/03/2015 at 23:49

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edit for you: around town you would be hard pressed to do more than 60mph for more than a second or two.

Most motorcycles over 500cc can hit 60 in about 4 seconds and they may or may not be into 2nd gear yet. I can easily hit 90 in town anywhere there is a straight section that is the length of a Walmart parking aisle (guessing). I don’t, but it is easily possible. A lot of the gear you are mentioning would work fine up to the speeds you say since they are rated for that speed; just don’t under-estimate our bikes. :)

bob and john > roflcopter 06/03/2015 at 23:50

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You forget 2 things...

One: around town...aaanmddd on the hwy? Im not stopping to change into hwy riding gear.

Two: your forget just how quick bikes can accelerate... While i dont, its not that hard to run up to 150km in a stoplight or two

roflcopter > bob and john 06/03/2015 at 23:54

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Well if you’re doing 150kph in town, I don’t want you in my town and I frankly don’t care what you are wearing.

roflcopter > AdverseMartyr 06/03/2015 at 23:55

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I’m not underestimating the bikes, I know the capabilities but I was assuming people weren’t riding like asshats.

bob and john > roflcopter 06/04/2015 at 00:14

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Ppl.who dont wear gear usually do ride like asshats.

TheRealBicycleBuck > roflcopter 06/04/2015 at 09:25

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For longboarding, you are standing or sitting on a board that only weighs a couple of pounds and the height between your feet and the ground is a few inches. Motorcycles are two to three times your weight and place you much higher off the ground. The failure mode isn’t the same, so the gear you propose would not be effective for a motorcyclist.

It’s common on a motorcyle to go over the bars, flip mid-air, then land on your back/buttocks and slide. The other common wreck is a low-side where you lose traction mid-turn and lay it down. A much more dramatic, but thankfully rare, event is a high-side: losing traction mid-turn, starting to low-side, then gaining traction and being thrown through the air as the bike stands back up.

In all of these accidents, knee pads and a half-helmet aren’t going to provide protection in the right places. Just take a look at some of the images and you see that most of the injuries aren’t on the “pointy bits.” You need coverage for the buttocks and back, arms and legs, feet and ankles (nothing worse than having a foot peg through the ankle), and of course, your noggin. Loose gear like hoodies cause several problems - they don’t stay put during a crash, they are more prone to snagging instead of sliding, and they flap in the wind (driving the rider NUTS).

roflcopter > TheRealBicycleBuck 06/04/2015 at 09:38

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Good points, I do know the issue of things staying put happens in skateboarding as well. I would still argue that these things could be useful for people looking for something easier to wear for riding around town and such where they aren’t doing insane speeds and all. I take it you have never fallen on a skateboard going anywhere near the speeds you go on a motorcycle... the butt, legs, shoulders, and hips take most of the impact when you roll at 40mph. This type of gear would mostly just help keep road rash to a minimum. I would also argue that me standing next to a motorcycle puts me at about the same height as someone sitting on said motorcycle. It’s funny, in longboarding we even use the same terms for types of crashes(low-side, high-side).

TheRealBicycleBuck > roflcopter 06/04/2015 at 10:39

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Of course you would argue, such is the nature of the internet! :)

You are correct, I have not fallen while longboarding at 40+. I can also assume you have never wiped out on a motorcycle at 40+. Although there are similarities in speed, body position and center of gravity determine how you fall. I’ve seen plenty of videos of guys getting off their longboards at speed. They usually fall face-first and slide on their hands before tucking and rolling to the side (rolling axis passing from their head to their feet).

Motorcyclists have a higher center of gravity and their feet are higher off the ground. When they go over the bars, they flip and land on their backs, then slide. There is little rolling involved since they are sliding feet first. On low-sides, they land on their leg, buttocks, and side/back. Again, they slide feet first and rarely roll over to slide on hands and knees. At racing speeds, there may be some rolling once they hit the runoff area, but these guys are armored from head to toe.

I laud your efforts to cross sports, but I think they are misplaced. There are lots of smart people thinking about the best way to protect motorcyclists when they go down and selling gear to meet that need. There are just too many “motorcyclists” either too dumb or too stubborn to take their advice.

Tohru > For Sweden 06/04/2015 at 10:54

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I don’t think I had you on the guest list.