Safe riding clothing?

[Scooter-IT]

Riding on two wheels makes us very vulnareble from been hit by an other vehicle. Proactive riding is key to survive on our roads. One of the things we scooter riders enjoy is the protection from the elements and the fact that we can easily hop on and off our scooters while running errands and communing to work without having to dress up in full riding gear.

Doing so I wander how manny of us are wearing at least a jacket that is in bright colors to enhance visibility? And if not, why?

[fshfindr]

Joe Rocket armored jacket in the winter.  Just a plain shirt in the summer.  Boots, helmet and gloves always.

Richard L.

ps; Joe Rocket is Hi-Vis.

[Scooter-IT]

Thanks for the quick reply,

What about bright colors?

[sidthesloth]

Full face helmet, jacket, gloves, boots gnd jeans at all times on bike or scooter.

[CommuterScooter]

I ride All Gear All the Time.  

I have an Olympia AST 2 Jacket in Hi-Vis yellowhttp://www.olympiamotosports.com/ast_mens/ast_mens.htm, and Motoport's Ultra II Airmesh kevlar pants with liner http://motoport.worldsecuresystems.com/_product_106916/Air_Mesh_Kevlar_Pant. Plus the usual gloves, boots and full face helmet.  My thought is that it hurts just as much going down at 30 mph as it does at 60 and good gear is cheaper then skin grafts.  Studies have shown that a pair of jeans last about 5 feet of sliding before they start to shred and then you are skin to pavement...ouch!

Statistics say you will lay your bike down at some point (knock on wood), so when the time comes whether on a nice weekend ride or more likely that quick trip to the store by your house, be prepared and improve your chances walking away.

If anybody wants to know more about the pants I'd be happy to share with a write up on them if nobody else has already.  They are pretty sweet, expensive but worth it.

[melodys39]

I always ride with gloves, boots, armored pants, and a hi-viz Airglide jacket by Olympia, and my hi-viz yellow helmet by Scorpion.

I have gone over on a slow speed uphill u-turn before, and just went down on my hands and knees. But they were protected by my gloves and padded knees. I have no idea what it's like to go down at any speed, but want to know that I have as much protection as possible if I do.

I wear the jacket and pants even on hot days. Better to sweat than to suffer road rash, in my opinion!

[klaviator]

I dress differently depending on the ride.  If I'm just going to the store I'll take my chances with jeans.  Helmet, gloves, jacket and some over the ankle footwear all the time.  My most recent helmet is bright yellow.  

For a more serious ride I'll wear more gear but exactly what I wear depends on the weather.  The following pic is of my Wife and I riding through Deal's gap on a hot day.  We were comfortable despite the heat but still had pretty good protection.

[CommuterScooter]

Nice Picture

[melodys39]

I forgot to mention that when you are on a group ride, the leader has commented to me that my hi-viz yellow really separates you from the pack. I'm hoping that will be the case with cagers!

[Scooter-IT]

Beside the obvious protective features from bike specific clothing I am most curious about the Hi Viz colors. Improving the changes of being seen by a soccer mom on her cellphone in her SUV :-(
All the protective stuff ain't going to help you when you get run over (other than the helmet....).

[CommuterScooter]

Hi-Vis jacket, Silver helmet, turned my signal lights into running lights to give me more of a profile, upgraded my horn to a louder and more effective one and added some reflective tape to my helmet.

I also just use my low beams at all times so that I have the option of using my flasher passing signal switch to do a couple of quick flashes of my high beam to people who I think may not see me and pull out in front of me.

[Scooter-IT]

What about a jacket with build inn super bright LED's on back and arms?

[Scooter-IT]

I like this idea : http://streetlightning.net/

[CommuterScooter]

http://streetlightning.net/[/url]]Posted by: Scooter-IT
Insert Quote
What about a jacket with build inn super bright LED's on back and arms?
I like this idea : http://streetlightning.net/[/color]

I'm a sucker for for lighting    I wonder what the quality of the leathers are.  The website is horrible about explaining the product further.  I like the idea though  

(sorry for the messy post, still trying to figure out all the tricks to posting quotes and stuff)

[racewalker]

I ware full gear all the time. Hi vis jackets and leather chaps, boots and gloves. Have extra lights on the bike. The one time I went down I had full leathers on with rain outfit. Did in the rain suet but  I was fine. April to November I commute  about 100K a day.