The Only Riding gear CheckList and Guide You'll Ever Need
Contents
Introduction
Why Riding Gear?
Some Data & Numbers
Sources
What order to buy in and things to keep in mind
Helmets
What do we want?
What to keep in mind?
Gloves
Boots
Jackets
Pants
Recommendations
Please feel free to suggest changes to the content and share your experiences for the recommendations
Introduction
Riding a motorcycle can be an exhilarating experience. However, it also comes with its own set of risks. One of the most effective ways to mitigate these risks is by wearing appropriate riding gear. This blog post will delve into why riding gear is necessary for limiting high and low-speed injuries, the limitations of the human body in handling such injuries, and the types of forces involved.
Why riding Gear?
As per the data from 16,000 fatal crashes from 2009-17 in the state of TN
( Why TN? Well because 50% of the state is urbanised and contributes to 10% of urban populace of Bharat giving an actual representation of the urban jungle and choosing the gear as per the possible dangers
My opinion on why TN is because it's one of the few industrial states that records at least some meaningful data which hasn't been tampered with too much)
Note : Every data you see online is mostly from *SINGLE* riders, your passenger is more than 30% likely to have fatal injuries and 50% more likely to have non fatal injuries than the rider, as you passenger is not connected to the motorcycle as the rider would be which makes the passenger more likely to be flung off or dragged by the vehicle
Dress Your passenger for the slide too
So, Why not wear crocs and banyans?
It's mainly because human body physically isn't that great while going at extreme speeds or even handle the urban jungle at low speeds
But “I am speed right?”
Yeah you are speed for about 1 sec before you need to bribe some police wala for overspeeding or halt for a random cycle or pedestrian /animal to cross the road unannounced where Lord forbids the various road imperfections, lack or skills or pure panic causes a collision
This is where riding gear with proper armour is necessary
To increase the time of the impact decreasing the force experienced
( that was layman for the equation of impulse J =F . t)
High-speed injuries often involve a significant amount of kinetic energy. When accidents occur at high speeds, the body can become stretched beyond its capabilities, causing ligament, tendon, and muscle tears. These types of injuries are extremely painful and can require surgery to fix. Riding gear is designed to absorb some of this energy and reduce the impact on the body.
Easy, we'll go slow then right ? right ?
Low-speed impacts normally occur at speeds less than 10 KPH. Even at these speeds, injuries can occur. For instance, traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are generally caused by a forceful jolt or impact to the head or body, which is common in car accidents, even at low speeds. Wearing a helmet can significantly reduce the risk of such injuries.
This is where the research is the most helpful as most of the crashes which may or may not be fatal are due to low speed falls, crashes
(that doesn't mean high speed aren't fatal they are just statistically less in number for various reasons to be discussed some other time)
These low speed injuries can be of various types inducing various kinds of forces :
Crushing
Torsional
Lateral
Impaling
Abrasive , etc
Let's look at the Numbers
The Most prevalent injury both fatal and non fatal is the Head injury (~30%)
Followed by Lower extremities such as you Tib-Fib(2 largest bones in legs) and the 50 or so bones in your legs at around ~10% likely
At not an insignificant number of ~3% Upper extremities such as small bones of hands, wrist, Rad-Al etc
Based on these and the costs of beginner to intermediate riding gears we would be making our choices
In the later Part we will discuss what gear is bare minimum and where to gather the arsenal of knowledge of what product to buy to make this post relevant for a while and also to make you aware of criteria while selecting your gear and what order to buy them in.
Sources:
Others : what body parts will you most likely injure in motorcycle crash
Video Summary : Best Beginner Motorcycle Gear – What Do You Really Need?
Disclaimer: This blog post is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Always consult with a professional before making any decisions related to your health and safety.
What Order to buy in & Things to keep in mind?
* Use the CheckList, Happy Hunting !!!*
Helmets
What do we want it to do?
Look Cool - well yes but not the first priority
We want helmets to be able to handle small but multiple impacts not just one single Dong and go bust
As mentioned earlier we want to increase the time of the impact to reduce force that's why it needs to be rated for a variety of test cases which the ECE 22.06 does more effectively by having accounted for rotational forces, 6D forces and tumbling multiple softer hits
Not fall out of our heads in an impact ? - yea but how? - by using Double D rings or Steel Quick straps
Anti Fog visors to accommodate our weather
Removable Padding to maintain out hygiene
Affordable Replaceable Parts to not break the bank
What to look for?
Rating
ISI, DOT Rating (bare minimum)
ECE
Minimum 22.05
Recommended 22.06
Good to Have if going serious: SNELL, SHARP etc
Bare minimum features
Strap
Recommended - Double D ring
Minimum req - good quality steel quick strap
GET A CLEAR VISOR
And get sunglasses to wear underneath if needed
Anti Fog Insert
Removable Padding
Internal Sun visor
GO TO OFFLINE STORE
Check size - HOW?
If you have had a haircut or something wear a scarf or balaclava and test
Wear the helmet and shake your head like a mad dog it shouldn't move
There should be no space between back of your head and back of helmet
No space should be there from cheek to padding
Get a *slightly* tighter helmet as the memory padding wears in after a while
Not too tight that you have marks on your cheeks or forehead
Shell Sizes
Be sure to do research the number of shell sizes as the manufacturer makes less number of shell sizes and vary on the padding size
Ex - SMK Typhoon makes 2 Shell sizes S and L with 3 sizes in each shell
Which would mean that unless you lie on the spectrum for which the shell sizes were made you are screwed as it might not fit or it may look big on you But do check
Shell Shape and Shape of your head
The shape of the shell differs from model to model or Brand to brand be sure to check shape of your skulls from a top view if its Oval or Round
Also shell sizes may differ if you have a Chad Face or Horse Face or Virgin Face be sure to try them on in an offline store then buy online if you want to
DON'T DO'S
Don’t wear 10 year old helmets
WHY?
Because helmets have EPS foams which are polymers which have oils in it which evaporates after which them don’t perform the job they are meant to do
THAT’S to protect you noggin
Change the helmets every 3-5 years or whatever the manufacturer recommends
Don’t apply vinyl / Paints / stickers unless the manufacturer permits you to
WHY?
The shells are made of materials which are supposed to crack, splinter etc during an impact which the materials you put on like stickers may prevent the helmet to do its thing
Gloves
Why are these in second place while we saw that they only account for 3% of the injuries?
It's the lowest hanging fruit after helmets which are cheaper and more accessible to acquire compared to Boots which are still very expensive and very hard to size, certify, manufacture etc
What do we want it to do?
Be abrasive Resistant to not make us meat crayons and fire retardant
Keep us cool when needed and hot when needed
Slide during an impact not grab the pavement
Be precurved to reduce breakin trauma
Be CE certified as a whole or at least the armour
What to look for?
Material
Natural Leather
Atleast have leather on palms, knuckles, fingers
Abrasion Resistant materials such as 600D, 700D or Kevlar which would be fire resistant too
NOTE: Wear rubber gloves in winter to keep yourself warm or Buy perforated leather or mesh gloves for hot and humid climates
Double+ Stitched
Don’t worry Double+ is not branding just see to it that the stitching is of good quality preferably with double or triple stitched
Protection
Material
Knuckle Protection
Should be Made of some sort of PU(Polyurethane)
They are for absorbing impacts, and sliding when in a crash
Preferably CE EN 13594 certified or similar.
Slider for Protection against Scaphoid and Carpal injuries
Look for a piece that wraps on the palm of the gloves it should be made of some Hard material which slides on concrete, asphalt etc
Ex - made from LDPE, or Genuine CE certified Protectors from Knox or others
Preferable to choose a gauntlet (No don't buy Thanos’ Gauntlet) which covers you Rad-Al or at least your wrists
These could be of Short, Semi-Gauntlet or Full gauntlet types
Good to have stuff
Touch Compatible
Ventilated
Boots
What do we want it to do?
Slide in an impact
The material needs to be abrasive resistant for at least a few seconds to handle the slide
Be stiff enough to not let the feet move or crush it
Be water resistant if needed or breathable
Be accessible enough to clean it
May or may not need to handle the Dirt or the Office/College
The sole needs to be grippy
What to look for?
Material
600 or 700D material
Leather all around is preferable
Protection
Needs to have D3O or TPU armour on:
Toe armour
Heel armour
Ankle armour
Shin Protection
Replaceable Sliders on toes, heels etc
Good Quality Zipper and Velcro like YKK
Grippy Sole
GO TO A STORE TO CHECK THEM
Jackets
What do we want it to do?
Abrasion resistant
Fire retardant
Adequate vents
CE L1 and L2 all round
Flexible around armpits etc
What to look for?
Armours
Elbow
Back
Chest
Shoulder
Material
600D or greater
Mesh
Kevlar
Cordura
Good to have
Hi-viz colours
Water resistance
Better vent placement
Stitching
Good Quality Zipper and Velcro like YKK
GO TO A STORE TO CHECK THEM
Pants
What do we want it to do?
Abrasion resistant
Fire retardant
Adequate vents
CE L1 and L2 all round
What to look for?
Armours
Tailbone
Knee
Shin
Hip
Material
600D or more is preferable
Good to have cordura for flexibility and abrasion resistance at soft places like knees and hips
Good to have kevlar at places for comfort and fire retardancy
Good to have
Hi-viz colours
Water resistance
Better vent placement
Stitching
Good Quality Zipper and Velcro like YKK
GO TO A STORE TO CHECK THEM
Recommendations
Helmets
Gloves
Boots
Jackets
Pants
Thanks a ton! This saved me from a lot of research time!
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