Page 5 of 5
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2005 8:08 am
by Aggroton
Coach wrote:Today it was already 90 degrees at 10 am. At that rate, it might get up into the mid to upper 90s by mid-afternoon. And it's quite humid out as well.
\
heck yeah it was humid...
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2005 8:54 am
by Coach
One thing I don't like about riding in shorts - after the bike sat in the mall parking lot for 30 minutes, the chrome air filter cover just about burnt my leg! That's as far as I will go in shorts, but I might have to go with long pants no matter what just for that reason.
bennettoid - I think I'm going to end up with you on this one. I might order a leather vest and 1/2 helmet just for the summer. In fact, my wife just asked what I wanted for Father's Day from my kids.....
Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 2:33 am
by -Holiday
I rode yesterday and the day before in my Joe Rocket Atomic Jacket in 92 degree, humid weather, and it was fine. Here's the jacket:
its got all sorts of vents. Sitting at a light it might get a little warm, but big deal. I'd rather be warm for a few minutes a day then have no skin for the entire day.
At minimum, i wear the amored jacket above, jeans, and a full face helmet. Normally i have full finger gloves as well but lately i've been forgoing those. I do wear tennis shoes all the time though. I just dont like shifting gears in big bulky boots.
Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 5:29 am
by TheReaper
I wear a Joe Rocket Blaster perforated, it's been good, but we haven't really had any super hot days either.
Today, I ran up to my daughters school, it's 3 blocks from our house, and I didn't put any gear on. It was F-ing weird to say the least. Normally when I ride for anything over 5-10 miles I put all the gear on. If it's a little closer it's gear minus the boots and pants. When I first started riding I had gear on and that's what I got used to. Now I don't think I'd feel as comfortable without it.
Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 6:14 am
by cb360
I guess I'm a safety conscious guy - my wife and I wear nothing less than leather gloves, motorcycle caliber leather jacket, long pants and full-face helmets every time we get on the bikes. Of course we live in Seattle where it rarely gets over 80, maybe up to 92 occasionally but not more than 5-10 days a year. I like to think that I wouldn't change those habits if I lived elsewhere but who can really say for sure. I do know that I'm very attached -literally - to my lilly-white skin. And if I go down, be it at 5mph or 70mph, I want some real thick cowhide between me and the pavement! I bought the stuff to be safe on my bike, it's not like I'm gonna wear it playing beach volleyball. Anyway, it does get hot sometimes and I'd like to have a second and lighter jacket for hot days. The fact is though, that I live about 80 feet from my office and I never HAVE to ride - it's for pleasure only, so it's not a real big priority for me.
Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 8:26 am
by AmericanWeiner
cb360 wrote:I do know that I'm very attached -literally - to my lilly-white skin. And if I go down, be it at 5mph or 70mph, I want some real thick cowhide between me and the pavement!
Oh come on, live a little dangerously! You don't
need your skin.
I live down south, so it get really hot and really humid, and stays that way until mid-december. I'm planning on getting some perforated leather and wearing a sweater or something if it gets cold (since cold here is 50F at the lowest).
Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 8:55 am
by cb360
AmericanWeiner wrote:
"I live down south, so it get really hot and really humid, and stays that way until mid-december. I'm planning on getting some perforated leather and wearing a sweater or something if it gets cold (since cold here is 50F at the lowest)."[/quote]
I know what you mean. I grew up in central Alabama and I spent a couple of years in central Africa as well, so I know something about heat. Riding would be great in Alabama infull leathers would be great...as long as you never had to stop.
Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:24 am
by Kal
Fortuantely it dosnt get anywhere near that hot in the UK. Different conditions for us and yourselves so am not going to preach.
It was about 59 degrees today, and yes I saw kids out on bikes wearing a lid and no other protective gear.
I think underarmour was mentioned earlier. I suspect it is somewhat like mine.
I came off recently and two things came out of it. One full face lid all the way. I slid down the road face down and I am fairly sure my face isnt impact or gravel resistant.
There was a beautiful picture floating around the net years ago of a guy who put his face on the front wheel while not wearing a full face helmet. His jaw, top of mouth and nose were all gone.
Like completely gone. The sides of his face just hung down like two slices of raw beef.
Its an unforgettable image, I can picture it clearly still. If I hadnt have been wearing a full face lid that would have been me.
The other thing that I only noticed a while after getting home is that I impacted the ground with my shoulder and nearly wore through the bike leather I was wearing.
Fortunately I was wearing the bike armour underneath - with only 2k or so miles under my wheels I verge on paranoia.
We suspect that if I hadnt have been wearing the armour I'd have broken my collarbone.
I actually bought the armour last summer to wear when it gets to hot for leathers. I've only come off the once so I dont know what it is like without the backup of leather over the top but I have confidence that it will save me from injuries just on its own.
When I parted company with my ride we were only doing just over 30mph, I broke a wrist but it coud have been so much worse.
Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 3:33 pm
by Coach
Kal wrote:
I think underarmour was mentioned earlier. I suspect it is somewhat like mine.
The Under Armour mentioned earlier is not what you are thinking. It is not in any way "armor". It is simply clothing made from a high-performance fabric that wicks moisture and works very well. Under Armour is actually the brand name. Under Armour is great to use as a base layer. In fact, I wear the Under Armour "Cold Gear" throughout the spring while coaching high school baseball as well as in the winter for skiing and snowboarding. I also have some of the Heat Gear which would be what was talked about earlier in this thread. None of these would protect you in any way in a crash.
Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 12:09 pm
by bigswifty
i find normal gear tolerable. i wear a joe rocket Alterego jacket (not stripped down to mesh either!) with all the other applicable gear barring mc pants.
I dont get the whole sweat in my eyes thing so i guess its different
as long as im doing more than 20mph i am comfortable. I'm sure it;d feel great to be just wearing a shirt, but in my pittance of 900 miles experience, i have never once left the house w/o all my stuff, so i guess i dont know.