Each accident is a pretty individual experience and the trauma at the end is as much about luck and circumstance as what you are wearing and the colour of you eyes.
First rule of safety is to ride within your comfort zone for the road, traffic and weather conditions, etc. First set your comfort zone. Warm and dry helps loads with that, then worry about the “what if’s”.
Two friends have had big offs both wearing good leather and armour. One got away with bruises, the other spent time in intensive care and traction. The difference? A kerb stone.
Wouldn’t have made much difference what he was wearing providing it had a bit of abrasion resistance. But I will endorse the good boots and gloves.
I would normally always wear leathers, and still do for weekend rides, but this Summer I wore textiles more and more (partly because of the crappt weather). I found I would stay a lot cooler in the textiles, especially with the ventilation zips open, and I could stay warm and dry in the Winter with the liner in.
If it wasn’t raining then I tended to wear leather bikes trousers, proper boots, textile jacket and proper gloves, this gave me confidence and comfort.
It’s interesting that other bikes would try harder to burn me off when I was in a textile jacket, but not so much if I was in my leathers…
***** WARNING - SLIGHTLY GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF WOUNDS TO FOLLOW *****
Actually most of my injuries were caused by the initial impact. but had I not smashed my arm up so spectacularly I would have been in real trouble as my elbow was worn down from rubbing along the road surface at 60mph, and that’s not something that can fixed easily, and without an elbow your arm is pretty buggered anyway. I was also slightly from the moment I hit the ground. Since I posted my initial description of the incident on here I have learnt slightly more. My right glove, which was found near where I first hit the deck, didn’t come off. Not in the traditional sense anyway. For some reason, and I’ll hope to find out when I pop in to speak to the accident investigator, most of my hand came away when I hit the deck, I only had 2 fingers and half a hand when I stopped moving, the rest of it was still in the glove. The only thing I can think of is that when I hit the deck and bent my arm back it somehow went into the back wheel, as nothing else could have caused the hand to come off so dramatically. It would also explain the mess my arm was in, and why it was broken into so many small pieces. But that is just speculation on my part.
I always used textile stuff in the colder months. They are far less good at dealing with abrasion, but they keep you warmer and dryer and if you are comfortable you are less likely to crash anyway. I would recommend good quality vented leathers in the summer. It’s no good relying on the £50 pair of leather trousers you bought at some show 8 years ago if when you hit the deck the seams split and the 0.5mm of cow hide wears away in 50m.
One other thing I’ll say…
WEAR A GOOD QUALITY BACK PROTECTOR
I never did. But it seems I was millimetres away from damaging my spinal cord. The position where I would have damaged it would have meant I was quadraplegic. I saved £90 and a couple of minutes a day by not wearing one. Is that worth it?
Safety lecture over. Those of a nervous disposition can safely resume to the thread now:)
This summer I had a bad crash riding mountain bikes in the alps. I came to a total halt from about 25mph and some airtime to my arse hitting a solid object, no roll or sliding to reduce the speed. Pretty similar to if you hit kerb or other street furniture. The extreme forward movement of my back fractured a vertebrate and damaged 4 discs. Fortunately I was wearing full MX gear, as normal for downhill mountain biking. Doctors both in france and the uk seem to agree the back protector probably stopped serious spinal cord damage. I’ve lost some nerve response but that might not be spinal.
Not all back protectors will protect from hyperflexion injuries, they need to be strapped to you kidney belt and around the upper torso. I use a dainese MX protector.
During WW2 a destroyer depth charged a U boat. Loads of oil and debris floated to the surface but the destroyer commander would only accept they had got a kill when a German sea boot was recovered.
While we await the invention of the airbag suit, I’d suggest that leather or textile has little relevance when it comes to the types of injuries sutained as a result of massive deceleration and hitting something solid.
My reasoning for wearing Shoei leathers (armoured elbows, shoulder, hips and knees) MX boots and a Knox back and kidney protector all year-round is not just that I look hot (ha! the children say I should add a cloak for the full Darth Vader) but that if I’m lucky enough to avoid hitting something solid or deceleration rearranging my internal organs, it may make a difference as to how much of my skin and bone I leave on the road. The desired outcome is none.
Leathers can be colder than textiles - but they don’t have to be. Even just a rain jacket over the top traps air and can make a huge difference.
Wear a heated waistcoat beneath and you’ll never be cold, especially if you add heated gloves. Yes, getting in and out of the kit can add a few minutes, but it soon becomes second nature.
When someone like John says wear a back protector and leathers, it has to be taken seriously.
Ah, thanks for that. Very interesting - especially the last one, which certainly worked in those particular circumstances.
Not convinced by the toggled-to-the-bike activation. Not because it wouldn’t work - clearly it does - but because I’d set it off at least twice a day! I seldom manage to dismount without forgetting to unplug the power supply to my jacket!
I was thinking about something like this - just imagine yourself bouncing down the street…
Always have a set of leathers sunbeam, you dont want to get rid of them. As for the textiles… I ride all year round and spend all my hard earned at H/G in slough, they really do have a good all round range of all weather riding gear and for all budgets too.
Funny enough I bought a rain suit a couple of years back, and the plastic zip went a few months after. H/G offered a new one but I was so impressed with the old one I kept it even though the zip was no good but I found the velcro holds it shut and watertight even at 140mph (and that is fact) so who needs the zip
Depends what sort of accident you expect to have. At town speeds, I don’t see what leather provides over textiles in terms of bodily protection. It’s not abrasion from sliding up the road you have to worry about. It’s slow speed spills and impact resistance.
The only disadvantage to textiles is, they still rip at those speeds. I’ve crashed <30mph in both and leather scuffs, textiles get holed so gotta buy a new set.
