Show us your gear !

I have two bikes...and just one gear for both...for my little XS it seems to be an overkill...

I am just getting back into riding after many years away and starting to acquire gear again - the old balling ball helmet, bomber jacket, and fingerless gloves just aren't going to cut it anymore! It's nice to see what everyone wears and read your real reviews. For around town riding, I picked up a pair of Dr. Marten's Edmunds.



As for helmets, I am debating Either a Shark Speed R or a Nolan N44. If anyone here wears either of these, I would love to hear your thoughts.

some sweet gear out there

here's mine, head to toe

How do you like your Lazer? I just looked at them on Revzilla.

sayosen said:

I am just getting back into riding after many years away ... As for helmets, I am debating Either a Shark Speed R or a Nolan N44. If anyone here wears either of these, I would love to hear your thoughts.

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Effingham!
We spent a nice night in Effingham on a trip west a few years ago.
In reply to my email titled "Greetings from Effingham", my brother-in-law asked why they bother with the PC editing, and don't just spell it out.
A bit unfair. The next morning, in daylight, it was real nice.

As to your helmet choice, while the one-piece is stronger, if you ever want to have a conversation with your helmet on, or cool down a bit at a short stop, get the hinged one.

Thanks for the input, Lou. I am leaning toward the Nolan as it is truly modular - you can wear it in 5 or 6 different configurations. Never ridden with a full face helmet, but I like the safety of it. Figure it will take some getting used to.

I am not a Effingham native, but for future reference when someone says "I'm in Effingham", the proper/only acceptable response is to ask, "Effing-where?"

frwinks said:

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Hey fr, do you like the Helly Hansens? are they bike specific? Are they over pants? Do you remember where you got them?

The helmet is great, I use it all year round on the sled in the winter and on the bike in summertime It's going on it's 6th year and is as solid as the first day I got it.
Same with the pants, winter/summer use. They're just overpants, not bike specific. They keep the heat and rain out and are going on 4-5 years of hard use too. I prolly got them on REI or fleabay

I don't have the best gear, but it will grow as I get more miles on.





For those with keen eyes, yes, they're HD boots. You wouldn't pass them up either for $35

So those are the boots, eh? You're right- good ones. I like the jacket too.

After my aging Schuberth S1 helmet suffered a damaged face shield and other possible damage from falling onto concrete, I decided it was time to replace it with something new. Unfortunately, a new Schuberth helmet wasn't financially feasible. After doing a fair bit of research and then visiting shops to try on helmets, I decided on an Icon Airmada Volare in Hi-Vis Yellow. I had originally been considering the Icon Variant, but decided that since they discontinued the Hi-Vis Yellow colour scheme and concerns with the visor causing too much turbulence, it wasn't going to be the right helmet for me.

After transferring over my Sena SMH5-FM Bluetooth headset and installing a quick release buckle on the chin strap, I've ridden about 300km with the Airmada and am rather pleased with it. As it's name suggests, it certainly flows lots of air. 30C (86F) sunny and humid weather wasn't even warm unless I was stopped for a few minutes, and it cooled right off as soon as I was moving again. The venting and the interior fabric is that good. Wind noise with all the vents open is more than my old Schuberth, but less than other helmets I've used, and with ear plugs it isn't an issue. There is virtually no turbulence at speed, even when doing full shoulder checks. It is also slightly lighter than my old Schuberth at 1620g (3.57 lbs), which makes long rides even more enjoyable.

While many may not like the Hi-Vis Yellow, let me tell you that it gets the attention of everyone. Taxi drivers, city bus drivers, distracted soccer moms in SUV's, teenagers walking and texting, truck drivers, red neck farmers heading home after a long day in the fields, everyone! I'd rather arrive alive, than be fashionable in the back of an ambulance...

plus Dave, it matches your bike!!

That was the plan! Kinda makes me look like when going down the road.

I've added the chin curtain from my old helmet to the Airmada and this has made a very noticeable reduction in the wind noise while only slightly reducing the airflow from the chin vents. The wind noise had been taxing the noise reduction of my headset to it's limits, but now people don't know I'm riding when I take phone calls.

Apparently I can modify most anything and make it better.

Helmet:


Jacket:


Pants:
Cheap black amazon overpants. They fit like crap, I need new ones.

Gloves:
Harbor Freight yellow mechanics gloves. Not the best but they keep my hands warm. will upgrade eventually.

EDIT: So that amazing jacket saved my life. I was on a roundabout freeway entrance ramp and my back tire slid out a bit. I hit the guardrail at about 40. My rib cage took the full force of the guardrail and actually ripped (not cut) my armpit open from my chest to my back (I could see the muscles of my ribs). After 13 deep stitches requiring surgery, I realized that I have no idea how much tension my coat absorbed before my skin did. I'm sure that without that coat, it would have ripped the skin down my entire side and I would have bled to death. AGAT!

I also have a yellow/black theme to my bike so it all matches.

Update to my gear. Just got an Aerostich Roadcrafter Classic jacket. It took many days of consideration to choose the color, and I eventually decided on grey with black. Not as hot as a dark color, fading won't be an issue (red and yellow fade real easy), and won't show all the dirt and bugs.



Not cheap, but it may be one of the last jackets I need to buy. Custom sized for me, and it fits perfectly. I can just get it on when wearing a light sweater, so I should be good for 3 seasons. Temps around freezing may require a good base layer.

I can now say for certain that I have more invested in gear than I do in my bike. Time to buy more bikes!

new jacket...


elbow, shoulder and back protectors... really nice piece of leather

Has anyone used these shoes (or brand) before or know if these would be good or bad for city riding only? Thanks

http://www.cyclegear.com/SPEED-AND-STRENGTH-Black-9-Moto-Shoes

Nope, I wear protective boots ever since getting hit on the top of my foot by a chunk of broken pavement while riding on the highway. After checking out the link provided and reading the reviews, it sounds like you'd be better served by a pair of $10 Wallymart sneakers than those shoes.

If you have to choose between good gloves or good boots, get the boots. According to studies of motorcycle accidents, there are more injuries to feet and ankles than hands. By a significant margin.

Yeah if you are looking for something that looks a bit more casual, but still offers protection for riding, there are much better options out there at the same price than what you listed.

Alpine starts, Sidi, TCX, even Icon make decent casual boots in that price range. No, they won't look like the Chuck style you posted, but they won't look like full on roadrace boots either.

Just some examples of quality casual/protective boots-
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/alpinestars-s-mx-1-riding-shoes
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/sidi-gas-shoes
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/joe-rocket-atomic-boots
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/firstgear-mesh-lo-boots
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/tcx-x-square-plus-boots
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/tcx-x-square-sport-boots

The last one posted is what I use for street. They are great, even walking around in them at bike meets. Other wise, I now use raceboots with shin protection and ankle braces. Trying to walk around in those is like wearing moon boots.

Yeah after reading more reviews on those speed and strength ones it appears that everyone basically has issues with holes in the toes from just riding so I can only imagine what would happen in a crash. I just like the look of those, too bad they don't offer more protection.

Thanks for the input and links!