Was thinking of doing a certain riding course, and they stipulate leathers.
Now, is there anything good leathers do that good (e.g., Rukka) textiles don’t? Talking about normal road riding here, not racing, at max speed of the legal limits. I would have thought textiles would be as good and definitely more practical than leathers, due to being water and windproof, as well as having detachable thermal linings.
Is it just that some people haven’t cottoned onto how much better today’s textiles are to yesteryear’s?
Or are leathers still the best thing to wear between your skin and asphalt?
what sort of course are you thinking of doing, I ask because i’m looking for further training myself (I need to thin the chicken strips on my back tyre)
It may be that this is a generic stipulation to make sure attendees are suitably dressed. I think they should be flexible on what you wear, I can understand them turning away people wearing jeans and a bomber jacket, but as you already mentioned modern fabrics are often tougher than leather. Some of the leathers I’ve seen out there wouldn’t protect you if tripped walking down the street never mind laying your bike on its side. Would the course instructors still teach people dressed in none CE marked leathers.
It’s the DRE (Ducati Riding Experience), they do various levels from beginner to racing. To my specific question regarding using my own Frank Thomas CE-armoured jacket & trousers, they said that if I don’t have my own leathers (no mention of CE markings), I can hire them at the site.
Leather has the highest form of abbrasive resistance, and generally has higher quality armour in, compared to textiles. There are some very good textile suits out there, but it’s far easier to be assured a leather suit offers briliant protection, than it is to prove the same for textiles. They don’t want to turn people away on the day, after all.
Leathers ‘feel’ safer as well, it’s hard to explain. Perhaps you can talk to them and see if it’s current policy, and explain how good your gear is. I wouldn’t have thought they’d want to turn away a customer because of a small technicality.
Do a trackday Tommy. I did a trackday (first one) a couple of months ago and my new Corsa’s were shreaded. You drop the tyre pressures, by as much as 10psi on the back was what I was advised, as there is so much heat in the tyres on the track. This means you don’t need high air pressure to keep the shape of the tyre cos its burnin! This also means the chicken strips no more. I got a millimetre or two left just, mainly cos I wasn’t experienced enough to get my knee down.
Foot peg yes though
PS You can borrow leathers or buy a track-day one piece for a hundred quid or so from eBay if you want to buy your own but have invested already in textiles. I wouldn’t fancy trusting even the best textile suit if I go for a slide on a race track, heaven forbid if I slide on public roads.
My novice track skill tip - make sure you got some anti-fog spray for your visor if you don’t have any anti mist system in the helmet already. Bring a foot pump so you can pump up your tyres again before you leave to ride home - unless you’re lucky enough to have a track bike and trailer… slavour…
You said it all! The matter there would be the insurance! I use textile in the city but I hve to say that when on a dual carriageway at 50 miles or over I don’t feel as safe as when I’m in leathers.
I was looking at getting a kevlar suit from gts, much lighter and cooler than leather, but aparently in high speed slides Kevlar grips more than leather which risks spinning you around rather than just sliding. I might still get them if vented leathers prove too hot for europe this summer.
Hein Gericke leathers do very well in tests [magazine, and, ahem, my own…] despite the supermarket price tag - typically £300, maybe £200 on sale for 1 or 2 piece…a bargain
Aye the HG stuff is the business at that price I reckon too.
Ebay? Hmm someone else’s sweaty leathers? Not sure.
There’ll be a lot of last year’s stuff going cheap (cheap, a-cheap cheap) so see what Baby-J’s got in your size. And since you’re not the average bloke-type size ( ) you might pick up some good deals.
I quite like the fact that textiles cover the bumps better than leathers. Me in leathers is not a pretty sight.
I was reading the Rukka pages and that stuff looks like it’s designed to take the full impact and sliding on the asphalt, and there are some impressive testimonials, too.
The other thing is comfort, too. I’m perfectly comfortable in my FT thermal jacket even in these near-Arctic conditions, which I don’t think can be done in just leathers. For the summer, I’ll just take the thermal lining out and open the vents.
When I am out on my bike I allways wear leather trousers, they grip better against the tank, I will wear them even in wet (Water is a gret lubricant for nylon waterproofs against a shiny metal tank).
Used to wear a leather jacket too, even in wet, many a white T shirt got tie died black from that. Recently discovered Cordura, so much better and more practical wouldn’t be with out now for normal out and about riding.
defo have the highest abrasion rates - also was told that the leathers in reality protect you better as the restrictiveness cuts down the damage from bending limbs in untoward directions
the codura work best keeping you warm by having a looser fit but that can often translate to the armour pieces moving more on impact and being less effective if they remain in place at all.
you can try sticking a fleece/hoody over the top of the leathers given its sodding cold at the moment rather than try to squeeze loads of layers underneath?
I have worn both leather and fabric over the years and have looked into various options over the years, the upshot seems to be that people who commute and/or tour use fabric (although a lot of folk do mix fabric jackets with leather trousers) people who ride sports bikes tend to wear bright leather, folks who ride harleys and cruisers wear leather with tassles! and people who race wear purpouse made leather (and increasingly fabric composites) racing suits with built in armour and strenghtening that would probably not suit any of the other types of riders due to the uncompromising single purpouse design.Oh and bandit riders and stuntz people wear jeans and teeshirts (best cotton obviously) and leather fashion jackets while putting their faith in skin grafts LOL!.As to which is best?..ask a dozen people get a dozen answers in your case if the terms say leather then leather it has to be …
Cordura is made from nylon, when you fall off and slide down the road the nylon will heat up to it’s melting point. Molten nylon sticks and burns into flesh and cannot be removed. Don’t think you will be safe because you are only going so slow that you wont slide that far. the melting point of nylon is very low.
Leather is best, although the worrying thing is that most leather suits have a nylon lining.
Also you need to consider the fact that a fabric suit will catch on a rough tarmac surface and make you tumble, a tumbling body breaks bones, a sliding one doesn’t.
If you go for a two piece suit the very least it should have is a zip that joins the two halves all the way round, not just the back.
just a note: kevlar is a very good conductor of heat. It might be tough but if the burns are worst than the gravel rash whats the point? mabey thet have some kind of heat insulation in the kevlat suits as well??
in your case if the terms say leather then leather it has to be …