Sweating in the heat on the bike?

[ysbytymike]

Its one's own choice as has been voiced by several people on this subject but having trained as an anaesthetic technician way back in another life, I've seen rider injuries on arrival in theatre, before they get cleaned and tidied up, and leaving a trail of skin and fat on the tarmac, (leading in some cases to years of plastic surgery), is certainly something to give a miss.
I can understand the discomfort argument as it does affect concentration but I know how to minimise that feeling without compromising the overall safety aspect. Just my opinion.

As far as riding in shorts and tee shirts on holidays... Have an off, and that lovely holiday will all of a sudden, become a very, very expensive one.

[chico]

Its one's own choice as has been voiced by several people on this subject but having trained as an anaesthetic technician way back in another life, I've seen rider injuries on arrival in theatre, before they get cleaned and tidied up, and leaving a trail of skin and fat on the tarmac, (leading in some cases to years of plastic surgery), is certainly something to give a miss.
I can understand the discomfort argument as it does affect concentration but I know how to minimise that feeling without compromising the overall safety aspect. Just my opinion.

As far as riding in shorts and tee shirts on holidays... Have an off, and that lovely holiday will all of a sudden, become a very, very expensive one.

I think we all know that, (or we should ) ive lost count of the accidents ive seen over 35 years, ive worked for the Red Cross and seen many more accidents at bike meets, and (although grim) ive seen 2 friends killed in bike accidents....in both cases their armour was useless, yes, armour will help in low speed tumbles and slides, but the big difference is whether you hit something else after you start sliding down the road, another vehicle, kerb, fence , tree, signpost, lamp post, in that scenario, i'll be glad if i'm alive, so I go for a sensible minimum, I won't be trussed up with armour everywhere, it surprises me how many riders I know think they are pretty safe with their elbows and knees padded, most armour does nothing for anything vital, neck, back and chest (given even a low speed impact at 30mph).

I refuse to obsess over ATTGAT for the above reasons, given that this is ABR and not the HSE forum, I suppose most people will be more aware when riding with less gear on, actually riding in shorts etc, brings it home just how vulnerable we are...but its not the end of the world for a while on a sunny day.

riding in Basel a few of weeks ago in temps up to 30+ i'd say about 60% of riders had shorts or ordinary jeans on, no gloves etc etc, lots of them on race reps, big tourers/cruisers, and 90% of scooter riders in ordinary clothes......surprisingly, my mate who lives there says theres not much in the way of injuries (that he's heard of anyway)

[Ali in Austria]

Its one's own choice as has been voiced by several people on this subject but having trained as an anaesthetic technician way back in another life, I've seen rider injuries on arrival in theatre, before they get cleaned and tidied up, and leaving a trail of skin and fat on the tarmac, (leading in some cases to years of plastic surgery), is certainly something to give a miss.
I can understand the discomfort argument as it does affect concentration but I know how to minimise that feeling without compromising the overall safety aspect. Just my opinion.

As far as riding in shorts and tee shirts on holidays... Have an off, and that lovely holiday will all of a sudden, become a very, very expensive one.

I think we all know that, (or we should ) ive lost count of the accidents ive seen over 35 years, ive worked for the Red Cross and seen many more accidents at bike meets, and (although grim) ive seen 2 friends killed in bike accidents....in both cases their armour was useless, yes, armour will help in low speed tumbles and slides, but the big difference is whether you hit something else after you start sliding down the road, another vehicle, kerb, fence , tree, signpost, lamp post, in that scenario, i'll be glad if i'm alive, so I go for a sensible minimum, I won't be trussed up with armour everywhere, it surprises me how many riders I know think they are pretty safe with their elbows and knees padded, most armour does nothing for anything vital, neck, back and chest (given even a low speed impact at 30mph).

I refuse to obsess over ATTGAT for the above reasons, given that this is ABR and not the HSE forum, I suppose most people will be more aware when riding with less gear on, actually riding in shorts etc, brings it home just how vulnerable we are...but its not the end of the world for a while on a sunny day.

riding in Basel a few of weeks ago in temps up to 30+ i'd say about 60% of riders had shorts or ordinary jeans on, no gloves etc etc, lots of them on race reps, big tourers/cruisers, and 90% of scooter riders in ordinary clothes......surprisingly, my mate who lives there says theres not much in the way of injuries (that he's heard of anyway)

In that vein then there would appear to be no point using a bullet proof vest as it won't save you from a head shot.

These are starting to get mentioned around the forums Bull it Voloce Jeans - Class 2 certified

You need a fat wallet though.

[Crossrutted]

Whilst agree about some of the comments re hard armour, I cringe every time I see bare limbs or hands on a rider.

Even a low speed slide produces extremely painful grazes, which are a bastard to clean up and take a while to heal.

Minimum for me is denim, but generally, for the road, wear tougher textiles or leather.
(Last time I slid off on the road, the denim jeans survived but I got a big friction burn on my hip.)

I find a vented textile jacket is comfortable in temps up to 35(?) ie Morocco for so long as I'm moving.

[steve172]

Personally I stick to ATGATT.

Sure, motorcycling is more fun when you're comfortable, but for me motorcycling in all the gear is better than motorcycling whilst your skin peels off.

I have only once ridden my motorcycle without a jacket and gloves (taken off due to heat on holiday) and that was the one time on holiday we had a spill, albeit at slow speed.

But generally I Scotland there is normally no requirement to need to take you're gear off.

[peterekins]

Shorts, vest, trainers, cycling gloves and open face lid..Then ride very carefully, (thumbs) I've lost some skin in the past, moto and push bike, when I was young and reckless so I know the riske's and if I was risk averse I wouldn't ride a bike at all, after all I can easily get up to 50mph on my push bike while wearing skin suit, helmet optional.

[chico]

Its one's own choice as has been voiced by several people on this subject but having trained as an anaesthetic technician way back in another life, I've seen rider injuries on arrival in theatre, before they get cleaned and tidied up, and leaving a trail of skin and fat on the tarmac, (leading in some cases to years of plastic surgery), is certainly something to give a miss.
I can understand the discomfort argument as it does affect concentration but I know how to minimise that feeling without compromising the overall safety aspect. Just my opinion.

As far as riding in shorts and tee shirts on holidays... Have an off, and that lovely holiday will all of a sudden, become a very, very expensive one.

I think we all know that, (or we should ) ive lost count of the accidents ive seen over 35 years, ive worked for the Red Cross and seen many more accidents at bike meets, and (although grim) ive seen 2 friends killed in bike accidents....in both cases their armour was useless, yes, armour will help in low speed tumbles and slides, but the big difference is whether you hit something else after you start sliding down the road, another vehicle, kerb, fence , tree, signpost, lamp post, in that scenario, i'll be glad if i'm alive, so I go for a sensible minimum, I won't be trussed up with armour everywhere, it surprises me how many riders I know think they are pretty safe with their elbows and knees padded, most armour does nothing for anything vital, neck, back and chest (given even a low speed impact at 30mph).

I refuse to obsess over ATTGAT for the above reasons, given that this is ABR and not the HSE forum, I suppose most people will be more aware when riding with less gear on, actually riding in shorts etc, brings it home just how vulnerable we are...but its not the end of the world for a while on a sunny day.

riding in Basel a few of weeks ago in temps up to 30+ i'd say about 60% of riders had shorts or ordinary jeans on, no gloves etc etc, lots of them on race reps, big tourers/cruisers, and 90% of scooter riders in ordinary clothes......surprisingly, my mate who lives there says theres not much in the way of injuries (that he's heard of anyway)

In that vein then there would appear to be no point using a bullet proof vest as it won't save you from a head shot.

These are starting to get mentioned around the forums Bull it Voloce Jeans - Class 2 certified

You need a fat wallet though.

I wasn't being that negative, or dismissing protection in general, just getting a realistic idea on armour and what it will do, I did say in a previous post that my minimum is Kevlar jeans and jacket...but over 30 degs I wouldn't obsess about attgat

,elbow and knee protectors are hardly ever going to save your life, they wont stop your chest being caved in, or your pelvis getting smashed, or your neck broken....once the impact is hard enough, bones will break, and organs will rupture... that's all I was saying in a round about way.....so in the vein I was talking it made sense....

[Mike101]

I can see things changing for us on bikes int the future. It won't be long before the NHS looks to recover cost for road accidents from insurance companies..this will happen.

When and not if that happens we will see lines in our policies stating that we are not insured for NHS expenses for physical damage if we were not wearing gloves boots jacket etc.

So regardless of what we choose to wear it mill be taken out of our hands one day soon.

I personally wear bike gear all the...not heavy winter gear but bike trousers and altbergs no matter what. I alwasy wear gloves.

At the moment it's personal choice what to do...so personally i'd rather be a bit hot and sweaty than regret not wearing the gear.

You all do what you think is right and lets hope whatever happens we all make the right call.

Mike

[jonny955]

ATGATT for me on a proper ride but I will make exceptions when drying a bike off around the block after washing it or whatever.

I've ridden in shorts/T-shirt/no gloves (& sometimes no lid hmy: ) back when I had no real concept of how damaged I would be in a crash. If I tried it these days, I would be far more careful and arguably, less likely to crash because of it!

The right gear does make a difference in the heat. A couple of weeks ago I rode into work in full leathers and a good quality wicking base layer (HH). On the way home, the temperature on my dash was reading 33 degrees C and this was in London traffic so either slow moving or stationary for the first few miles. I'm sitting on top of 1200cc of air-cooled V-twin and, contrary to my expectations, it was bearable. The worst bit was when I got home (56 miles later) and the missus and a neighbour deliberately kept me talking outside in the sunshine, to see if I'd melt in my leathers haha .

I's also mention personal fitness at this point. Generally speaking, the fitter you are, the more tolerant of heat you become.

Jon

[Trev]

I's also mention personal fitness at this point. Generally speaking, the fitter you are, the more tolerant of heat you become.

Jon

Ah that's where I'm going wrong, all the mesh in the world isn't going to help me I fear