Safety Safety Gear

PedOpt

New Member
Local time
12:05 PM
Joined
Apr 2, 2011
Messages
20
Hey Everyone, I be a newb here. Got into autocycles because I currently don't have the money to fix up my motorcycle. But, all the same, I'm looking to save money and have fun doing it. I'm full time college student, so finances are tight. I also have alot of emergency medical training in which I have witnesses and cared for 'cycle injuries. Road rash, head and ortho injuries and the like. So that being said, wear your gear. Better to be over protected than under protected. Wear your leathers, (at least jacket and gloves) and a full face helmet. Or one that at least has a chin bar as part of the design. You'll thank me later when they don't have to scrub your road rash with what feels like a steel brush, on your face, hands, legs etc. Also, make sure you wear sturdy, closed toed footwear that will also protect your ankle. And if you go to your local motorcycle shop, some will also have info for safety classes as well as free reflective stickers in which you can apply to your helmet and bike. Treat your ride as if it's a 650cc beast and you'll be safe in the long run. :D Happy riding and like they say in the Motorcycle world, keeping two to the pavement!

Also, I would love to hear from everyone their ideas/tricks for safety gear and riding.
 
A good post. Safety reminders never hurt.

I don't armor myself quite as heavily as you've suggested, but I get, maybe, halfway there.

One other thing I do is to dress birghtly. A good deal of bright red, hunter orange rain jacket, reflective vest, etc.
 
Safety

I just added a bunch of reflective tape to my rear wheel down tubes, handlebars, pedal chain guard as well as my rear rack. Also added two red reflectors on the seat post angled out and reflective tape on the forks.
 
in my opinion, it's better to look good than to look like a total dork riding a bicycle.
every time i see someone on a bike with a racing suit, leathers or a helmet...I just laugh because they look like such big dorks.
I know....safety first, but come on.
I grew up racing bmx, doing stunts and all kinds of crazy things on bikes. helmets were not even in the equation back then.
motorcycles are a different story, but these bicycles are not motorcycles.

this is just my opinion and where i ride i don't have to worry about someone pulling out in front of me or a person jumping in my way. besides that, my bikes are so small (20 inchers) that if anything ever happened, all i'd have to do is jump off.
I can understand for someone who rides back & forth to work on city streets (i personally wold rather walk in that situation) but my bikes are 100% for just fun and for riding around my tiny neighborhood.
I'm not going to sit here and say "it will never happen to me" but i will say that i'm not worried about crashing at all.
 
Last edited:
That's what they all say. Most Motorcycle crashes happen at 30 mph. And you can still look good wearing a black leather Harley jacket and helmet. But, to each their own. The choice you make is accepting the consequences of that choice, good or bad. (I never wore a bike helmet until my adult years either)
 
That's what they all say. Most Motorcycle crashes happen at 30 mph. And you can still look good wearing a black leather Harley jacket and helmet. But, to each their own. The choice you make is accepting the consequences of that choice, good or bad. (I never wore a bike helmet until my adult years either)

a leather jacket and a bicycle don't go together.
If you're talking about a motorcycle, that's a different story.
I am an adult by the way....41 years old.
 
I am one of those riders who look like a "dork" when standing on two feet. Hopefully, less so when on my motorized bike in traffic. If I look like a dork, so be it. With my white motorcycle helmet, Home Depot leather gloves, long pants, and bright yellow jacket, some traffic will cross over the center line or into the next lane to get away from me. Law enforcement officers ignore me. This is good!

PedOpt - My footgear needs improving. Have you a favorite light-weight riding shoe?

MikeJ
 
I am one of those riders who look like a "dork" when standing on two feet. Hopefully, less so when on my motorized bike in traffic. If I look like a dork, so be it. With my white motorcycle helmet, Home Depot leather gloves, long pants, and bright yellow jacket, some traffic will cross over the center line or into the next lane to get away from me. Law enforcement officers ignore me. This is good!

PedOpt - My footgear needs improving. Have you a favorite light-weight riding shoe?

MikeJ

I'm sorry to hear that.
Remember, this is jiust my opinion and it may not be the same opinion that everyone else has. This is why they call it an opinion...there is no right or wrong answer.
 
I can understand not being concerned with safety gear in certain riding situations. For myself, these situations are few. But they exist.

I've been known to say something similar to what motorpsycho said above; "I'm one of the safest drivers you've ever known. Now, Anything can happen to anyone. But with me, your chances are lower than with many others."

And I would never, never consider a lime-green safety vest to be a fashionable garment.
But I do think that a bicyclist who is clothed and equipped for what he's doing "looks" better than he would in blue jeans and a T-shirt. Even if the look is dorky under other cirrcumstances.
 
True, everyone is entitled to their opinion. And when you think about it too, how many pedal bikers actually wear any safety gear beyond a helmet and hit a downhill were they reach speeds in excess of 30 mph. But, road hurts. LOL So, I'll be wearing my leather jacket and helmet with gloves. BTW the jacket goes along with head banger style from the eighties and nineties. :D And to MikeJ, in regards to riding shoes, I just wear my regular street shoes or boots. I never got into clip in style of riding. To me, cycling has been about getting from point A to point B. Not so much as excercise. :D
 
Back
Top