more risk of injury to the legs than to the upper body or arms.

[jgangoo]

http://roadsafety.mccofnsw.org.au/a/88.html

Do you know this? This was an eye opener for me. I never had a lower body protecting clothing before. But after reading this I am going to buy a chaps with protection pads which is very convenient than a full on pants.

1,What do you think about this article?

2, Does anyone has ever used chaps? What are the pros and cons.

 

[AFDavis11]

I can't read the article, but it does make sense. I wear chaps, particularly when it's cold. I wish they had armor though.

They don't fit the look of the bike, but I usually don't care about stuff like that.

I'm not aware of any downsides to wearing them, but, they look kinda silly off the bike and they are not very easy to put on.

Since I often ride with dress pants I prefer wearing chaps when I commute.

 

[Stricken]

I wear these to protect my lower body:
Cycle Gear - SHIFT: Torque Motorcycle Jean, DARK INDIGO
Cycle Gear - SIDI: Vertigo Motorcycle Boots, BLACK
Cycle Gear - EVS: Option Knee Guards, BLACK

 

[Stricken]

http://roadsafety.mccofnsw.org.au/a/88.html

Fixed the link! You were missing an L in html.

 

[dart1963]

Yeah, think I came across that site a while back. Very good info.

I didn't have anything when I first started riding, but was looking for several months before I got my textile overpants. They add a layer of cold protection in the winter, and in the summer I can just throw them over a pair of shorts and keep cool.

I am also looking for a pair of leather pants, or possibly a full (or full zip) set suite, but that'll have to wait until other bills are taken care of. Never considered chaps... I'd be dead (wife would kill me lol).

 

[Stephenfz6r]

I read alot of reviews about pants before I bought a pair. Nothing can really do everything you want. The multi layer pants are fine when all the layers are in but become loose when you start taking out layers for warm wether use. Most overpants and alike are loose fitting therby compromising the location of the knee protection in a fall. I bought the Revit Gear pants as they are snug fitting with upgraded knee protection. They are a combination of leather and nylon and supposedly engineeered for superior safety. It's like any thing else like this, you hope you never find out how good or bad it is.

:Sport:

 

[stevet]

Thanks Jgangoo! It's always good for us to be reminded of how important it is to wear the proper safe clothing when riding. I took a spill once that took a shoulder surgery, 15 years and daily exercise to completely heal. Because of your post I'm going to do an inspection on my riding gear right now. Thanks again.

 

[RandiZ]

Love the link! Very informative and really hits home the importance of safety gear. It is also good to know where most of us get hurt and gear up accordingly.

However, a friend of mine who is very active in these things just told me that here in the US there has been a shift. Now that there are so many more SUVs on the road, there are more motorcycle fatalities when a biker is hit by a car. This is because the impact with the car is higher than with an ordinary car.

I'm guessing in single motorcycle accidents, we're still most vulnerable in the leg area in part because we stick it out instinctively at impact, or because we're not geared up adequately.

To take a line from Man of La Mancha: whether the rock hits the pitcher or the pitcher hits the rock, it will always be bad for the pitcher.

 

[Spunky99]

Jackets and pants - Motorcycle Council of NSW - Road Safety

Do you know this? This was an eye opener for me. I never had a lower body protecting clothing before. But after reading this I am going to buy a chaps with protection pads which is very convenient than a full on pants.

1,What do you think about this article?

2, Does anyone has ever used chaps? What are the pros and cons.

Nice read.
The chaps look fine when worn by a cruiser as he is sitting up and his butt is covered. Chaps just look WRONG on a sport bike as we are bent over and thus exposing the bare butt.

Don't forget that the foot and ankle is also very much exposed and injured easily. A good pair of boots are necessary too. Many a rider has had his foot or ankle shattered in tennis shoes while wearing proper riding gear otherwise.

 

[k6gad]

ATGATT = All The Gear All The Time
The day you don't wear the protection is the day you end up on the ground. Motorcycle pants are not cheep but they last a long time if you take care of them. I have a pair from Motoport that are Kevlar and Lycra. I wear them in the summer when it's warm. The others are from Cortec and are waterproof and I wear them in the winter. I am thinking of getting some Kevlar lined jeans or buying some Kevlar fabric and lining my own jeans for when it gets really hot.

 

[owldaddy]

Chaps are ok if your looking for something to wear over your legs that will block a cold wind. They don't provide much protection. I was wearing a pair long ago, after picking myself up off the ground (Lowside, good story behind that one) I ruined a pair of jeans, and got a little road rash on my hip, (leather wallet took all the abuse, if I hadn't rode that wallet, my butt would have been solid rash) The chaps were untouched after the slide. I now wear textile top to bottom, with quality boots and gloves.

 

[JonKerr]

Great Article! I've always worn some sort of lower body protection. It's one of those things I don't get why people think because they've got a jacket and a helmet and gloves on that they're fully geared up. Half the body is still exposed. When I wore jeans (before I had the $$$ for leathers) I wore these 661 Knee/shin guards:

and these Alpinestars Bionic armored shorts:

under my jeans. Now when I'm in the canyons I'm in my 2 piece leathers. When I'm commuting I wear some Fieldsheer overpants I got and I put CE rated armor in the knees and additional padding in the hip area. Regular jeans just shred on asphalt and the damage can be just as bad as if you were in shorts. I still wear the shorts and knee guards under jeans if I'm going out riding with my dad and the rest of the family on their Harley's for a slow cruise. And my wife now also wears similar protection under dirtbike pants when we're riding. (They have better abrasion resistance than jeans.)

 

[jay]

JonKerr.. i have exactly same knee/shin guards like yours and i wear them all the time, i feel very confident in them and it save me when i had a low sider once.. very much recommended.. howz the Alpinestars Bionic armored shorts..?? do they have padding on the back..?? coz i am looking for some sort of pants and armored shorts.

 

[Hellgate]

Butt-less chaps are pretty useless. Once you fall you will hit your hip, knee, probably elbow, ankle and the palm our your hand(s). Chaps will help with the knee and that is about it. Ridding pants are much better.

 

[JonKerr]

JonKerr.. i have exactly same knee/shin guards like yours and i wear them all the time, i feel very confident in them and it save me when i had a low sider once.. very much recommended.. howz the Alpinestars Bionic armored shorts..?? do they have padding on the back..?? coz i am looking for some sort of pants and armored shorts.

They actually have a hard armor tail bone pad on them. Nothing on the cheeks, but the hips do run around the back a bit to that should cushion the butt area.

Butt-less chaps are pretty useless. Once you fall you will hit your hip, knee, probably elbow, ankle and the palm our your hand(s). Chaps will help with the knee and that is about it. Ridding pants are much better.

Chaps are completely useless IMO. A thin layer of leather without any reinforcement or armor is going to do nothing but maybe prevent some road rash. The impact is going to be just as damaging. Not to mention they look like you should be performing with the Village People. :justkidding: (I gave my Harley riding Dad A LOT of crap about buying chaps this last fall for a long distance ride in some crappy weather.)

 

[ksanbon]

They actually have a hard armor tail bone pad on them. Nothing on the cheeks, but the hips do run around the back a bit to that should cushion the butt area.

Chaps are completely useless IMO. A thin layer of leather without any reinforcement or armor is going to do nothing but maybe prevent some road rash. The impact is going to be just as damaging. Not to mention they look like you should be performing with the Village People. :justkidding: (I gave my Harley riding Dad A LOT of crap about buying chaps this last fall for a long distance ride in some crappy weather.)

+1. My only fall (so far) was a low side (rear wheel slid out) as I was accelerationg out of a turn at 32 - 35 mph. I slid on my side 15 - 20 yards on the asphalt, which wore a pretty good sized hole through my textile pants. The pad saved me from serious abrasions & possible damage to my hip.
I've suffered road rash from bicycle accidents at 20 mph. Don't underestimate the damage asphalt can create.

Opinion: The higher number of injuries to lower-body parts is probably due to more low-side accidents as opposed to high-side.