Commuter gear

colm_c

Having recently upgraded from a moped to a big bike, I've bought the gear - armoured jacket/pants/boots etc.

The gears is very comfortable but the pants are tricky to take off if I'm commuting to work (or a client's office), meaning I have to head to the jacks once I get in to change into jeans/trousers/suit.

I asked in bikeworld if they had any bike pants that I could wear over jeans/trousers with velcro/zips down the sides but they just had waterproof ones with no protection, so didn't fancy that.

Is there such a thing available? or maybe bike pants that don't look like bike pants - that I could wear to an office and not look too much out of place with everyone else.

sutty

Theres draggin jeans. They come in a load of different styles. They can have CE armour installed. But they are not water proof. Heres their web page

colm_c

They look good, apart from the not waterproof bit :0/

sutty

Sure just by a pair of overalls for the waterproofing. Like the ones in Aldi or Lidl. I had a pair of the Draggin jean combats last year. I had them on all over the summer and alot of the winter. That was untill my old Dragstar melted the back of the right leg. Damn freaking fat pipes :rolleyes:

Laserface

And this is why most bikers are big grumpy lookin bastards indeed..Lol

Full overalls would be your best bet for a quick change...
or else you'll have to stick to the jacks like the rest of us

art

Always find this a bit of an issue too but I wear the pants without lining over regular jeans/trousers and just change while standing beside my bike! Have boxes on the bike and can stuff jacket, pants boots and helmet in them, just about, then switch to a normal jacket that I carry with me. But if there were a better solution I'd love it

art

sutty wrote:

Theres draggin jeans. They come in a load of different styles. They can have CE armour installed. But they are not water proof. Heres their web page

According to the dragginjeans website, which lists stockists for the UK, wherein you can find an entry for "the Republic of Ireland" :mad: , Megabikes on Wexford street (Dublin) is supposed to stock those jeans?

tk123

I have these ones. I find them perfect for work. The have 2 pullers so you can open them at the sides of your waist and at your ankles and they come off no problems and they're waterproof unlike the Draggin Jeans. Draggin Jeans are great for the summer thou -I got mine from this place I likes my internet shopping!!

Tomohawk

originally posted by colm_c
Having recently upgraded from a moped to a big bike, I've bought the gear - armoured jacket/pants/boots etc.

As a regular "classic" scooter rider and someone who also drives a motorbike, it still amazes me that even among motorbikers like ourselves, the all too commonly held perception that you don't need proper protective gear on any sort of small two-wheeled vehicle like mopeds or scooters is beyond belief and something that convinces me that perhaps all individuals shouldn't be allowed near any type of two wheeled vehicle without being "led by the hand" through compulsory formal training. Where is people's common sense these days?

Is there an actual difference in types of limb and head injuries likely to be sustained in any accident involving a rider coming off a scooter or a motorbike? From my own experience, dropping either type of bike at even relatively slow speeds such as 30kmph and hitting the road surface is the same in any bikers language, whether scooterist or biker! Which is why I always try and wear a full face lid, gloves, protective armored jacket and pants every time I get on a scooter. (and motorbike) Small wheels don't make for only small accidents is the point I'm trying to get across I suppose.

But I suppose it goes back to many people's first introduction to two wheeled transport whilst on mediterranean sun holidays going around in shorts, flipflops and a t-shirt on a scooter while hungover from the nite before and (mostly) getting away with it. Oh roll on the Irish summer and more loons tooling around on scooters and sportsbikes pretending they're in Kusadasi not Kimmage :rolleyes:

Sorry for the long post colm_c, but I'm always intersted in what lies behind peoples inital thinking when it comes to bike safety.

Cheers, Tom.

ps. To answer your question as sugguested try Draggin jeans or alternatives like www.bohn-armor-pants.com or http://www.hoodjeans.co.uk/

sutty

art wrote:

According to the dragginjeans website, which lists stockists for the UK, wherein you can find an entry for "the Republic of Ireland" :mad: , Megabikes on Wexford street (Dublin) is supposed to stock those jeans?

Yeah Megabikes stock them, its where I got my first pair from. I highly sugest you go try some on first. As I found the sizes to be different to the European sizes.

art

sutty wrote:

Yeah Megabikes stock them, its where I got my first pair from. I highly sugest you go try some on first. As I found the sizes to be different to the European sizes.

Cool, thanks. I work near enough to Megabikes so might drop down next week and have a poke around. Coming into the summer months now, those jeans sound like a great idea, wish I'd heard of them before.

colm_c

Tomohawk wrote:

As a regular "classic" scooter rider and someone who also drives a motorbike, it still amazes me that even among motorbikers like ourselves, the all too commonly held perception that you don't need proper protective gear on any sort of small two-wheeled vehicle like mopeds or scooters is beyond belief and something that convinces me that perhaps all individuals shouldn't be allowed near any type of two wheeled vehicle without being "led by the hand" through compulsory formal training. Where is people's common sense these days?

Is there an actual difference in types of limb and head injuries likely to be sustained in any accident involving a rider coming off a scooter or a motorbike? From my own experience, dropping either type of bike at even relatively slow speeds such as 30kmph and hitting the road surface is the same in any bikers language, whether scooterist or biker! Which is why I always try and wear a full face lid, gloves, protective armored jacket and pants every time I get on a scooter. (and motorbike) Small wheels don't make for only small accidents is the point I'm trying to get across I suppose.

But I suppose it goes back to many people's first introduction to two wheeled transport whilst on mediterranean sun holidays going around in shorts, flipflops and a t-shirt on a scooter while hungover from the nite before and (mostly) getting away with it. Oh roll on the Irish summer and more loons tooling around on scooters and sportsbikes pretending they're in Kusadasi not Kimmage :rolleyes:

Sorry for the long post colm_c, but I'm always intersted in what lies behind peoples inital thinking when it comes to bike safety.

Cheers, Tom.

ps. To answer your question as sugguested try Draggin jeans or alternatives like www.bohn-armor-pants.com or http://www.hoodjeans.co.uk/

I've always had a good helmet and armoured jacket and gloves when riding my moped - but I've never worn biker trousers or boots - which is what I would need to change out of.

Idleater

colm_c wrote:

I've always had a good helmet and armoured jacket and gloves when riding my moped - but I've never worn biker trousers or boots - which is what I would need to change out of.

I would start now.

I know several people who walk with a limp now because they fell off their bikes (having been crashed into by a cager at a junction) when their bikes were stopped.

So that is 0kmph - walk with limp -accident not even their fault.

I really don't wish any accident out there, but in this day and age when we are the most vulnerable from mobile phone talking, kids screaming in the back, no lights, driving at speed in the fog, SUV loving drivers, we have to protect ourselves as best we can.

For the sake of €50 for boots and €100 for trousers...

L.

colm_c

nereid wrote:

I would start now.

I know several people who walk with a limp now because they fell off their bikes (having been crashed into by a cager at a junction) when their bikes were stopped.

So that is 0kmph - walk with limp -accident not even their fault.

I really don't wish any accident out there, but in this day and age when we are the most vulnerable from mobile phone talking, kids screaming in the back, no lights, driving at speed in the fog, SUV loving drivers, we have to protect ourselves as best we can.

For the sake of €50 for boots and €100 for trousers...

L.

Meant to say - I bought and currently wearing pants and boots for all trips short or long since getting the new bike.

Idleater

colm_c wrote:

Meant to say - I bought and currently wearing pants and boots for all trips short or long since getting the new bike.

Good Stuff.

Keep it up, no matter the journey. One lad I knew that had the accident (above) was on a moped, and it was "just down to the shops".

L.

saobh_ie

I don't rate draggin jeans at all. cold, not even slightly waterproof and extremly limited protection. they also look mank and aren't very comfortably put together.

just buy armoured gear that you can put on over your normal clothes. its what I'm doing the next time I get a pair of trousers. I can get a pair of cambats into my current ones but jeans get caught up around the knee armour.

sutty

I used to have a pair of pants like that Dave, I found two things. The pants I had under the armored ones would always come out well creased and looking really untidy. Then there was the extra layer/heat problem :eek:

saobh_ie

Yeah. The creases fall out of the jeans sharpish enough and the combats you can pull off the untidy look. Its a fashion thing ya know.

I usually just bring the trousers & shoes in a bag myself. It's actually faster to just take trousers off and pull on bike trousers than to get the bike trousers on over the jeans and visa versa.

When I had with the top box I used to get changed beside the bike, pretty much wherever I parked it. Once going for an interview I changed in an alley beside the place then rode the last two minutes to the door in my jeans. =] All went well until, upon leaving, I pulled away rapidly with the disk lock still on.