Alternatives to leather - motorway driving

[Kinvig]

Was on the motorway over the weekend wearing my draggin jeans.

It occured to me that if I was in a crash they would offer no protection against broken bones etc. My jeans will be fine on the daily commute but on the motorway they just won't do.

So...what leg wear do you guys wear for motorway riding that isn't leather? I find leatehr a bit uncomfortable in the heat & want something a bit more breathable. Any suggestions?

[Viney]

...and theres the rub. Leather offers the best protection apprently, but as you say you get a little sticky. Textile is also good, but less abrasion resistant and also you get a tad sticky. You can perforated tetiles, or ones with lots of vetilation etc which could be the answer. My thoughts though are that you are less likely to come off on a motorway than a normal road (Tyre blowouts/bike faliure/catastophic filtering incedent aside) so i would stick with the dragging jeans. They are tested to silly speeds anyway, and its not a garuntee that the padding will stop broken bones, just reduces the likley hood.

[fubber]

I have knox knee and hip armour in my draggin jeans - don't know if you can fit these to all models of their jeans but certainly can to mine - worth a look on the draggin website to see?

[thor]

Vented leathers.

I have a richa jacket with zipout side panels. Great in the summer!

[Red ones]

Dianese D-Dri - its like goretex, at 70 or so mph the ventilation is enough to be comfortable, but you get the protection and waterproofing

[SVeeedy Gonzales]

Depends on the armour (and type of crash) if you want to avoid broken bones. I was wearing hood jeans with knee and hip armour (and a back protector, but no other armour - none in the jacket itself) when I got sideswiped and knocked into another car at 70mph last year. Fell off the bike before it hit anything and came out of it with just small bumps and bruises. I'd I'd hit anything after falling off I don't think any armour in the world would have helped... if I'd had my leather jeans out (no armour in them) I suspect my knees wouldn't work very well now - all down to the armour.

[philbut]

I always wear Draggin jeans but with my MX knee and shin armour in. I prefer wearing fitted stuff to the ones that just attach to the jeans cos I know it won't move if I came off. It's proved itself pleanty of times in the mud so i trust it to do the same on the road (hope I never have to test it mind!)

[jamesw1024]

I wear some textile RST trousers that have leather in the important places, I think they're quite good.

[MiniMatt]

I suspect broken bones are pretty much down to luck a lot of the time and leather in itself is only an answer to abrasion rather than broken bones. Obviously if your leathers in particular are fitted with armour then you're one up.

Remember that statistically you're far more likely to come off on your daily commute than you are on the motorway, so in a way you should be wearing your leathers on the commute and your jeans on the motorway (assuming the abrasion resistance of the draggin jeans is up to the task).

My gut feeling is that you're also more likely to break bones on A/B roads and town driving too, accidents here are more likely to be getting t-boned at junctions and the like - ie. you're likely to go flying through the air with considerable impact velocity. Not sure how motorway accidents break down really but gut feeling again would be that your more likely here to slide along on your **** for a quarter mile and hope to god that a truck doesn't run you over (in which case no amount of armour is going to save you).

I'd be a teensy bit wary of MX armour by the way. MX armour is generally hard plates with some comfort padding, while regular amour is generally padded out a lot more with EPS foam and the like. The point is, MX armour is designed to protect against cuts and serious pain from flung up stones and the like - ie. high velocity, low energy impacts. Regular armour should be more designed for absorbing high energy rather than high velocity - otherwise you'd just break your leg on the armour rather than on the car, in the same way that a solid steel bike helmet wouldn't work as you'd just turn your brain to mush when your head hits the inside of the lid, instead of when it hits the bonnet of the car. That said, any armour is going to be better than none :D

[Red ones]

Remember that statistically you're far more likely to come off on your daily commute than you are on the motorway,


Bugger


My daily commute is the motorway!

[Ceri JC]

I've had a 60mph crash on the motorway in textiles. I landed heavily on my hip and arm and suffered only slight bruising (thank you CE approved armour!) then slid most of the way from 60 to a stop. The textiles did wear out in a couple of places, but it was minor and the road rash was minimal (no scarring).

Yes, I wouldn't do a track day in textiles (even if it was permitted), nor would I go out for p155-taking 3 figure speed ride, if I had leathers as well. For road legalish speeds though, good textiles are adequate IMO. Bear in mind the quality of abrasion protection does differ massively- some very good £1K+ textile suits offer as good as leather, likewise, others are little more than waterproofs with armour in.

[Philbo]

What you want is a pair of these for underneath the Denims!

I wear hood concept 6 denims over these, very pleased with the combo.

http://www.busters-accessories.co.uk/prodimages/fullsize/clothing/Forcefield-Long-Pant.jpg