Universal : Riding Gear Thread

[Sunnyside_up!]

Meant to be worn inside jeans. I use it outside though - convenience
Brought from Performance Racing Store Mumbai - you can get them online as well.

Regards,
Mithun

Hey buddy,

Two Things -

1. I mistakenly read/thought that you had the other THOR guards, the Quadrant, which I have. My bad!
I've used the Quadrant for off-road under riding pants and they work very well. The Sector looks similar so I'm assuming they would function as well.

2. These kind of knee guards are meant to be used under pants only - not over, since they do not have a top strap at the thigh above the knee. If worn over the pants, they risk peeling back in a crash and exposing your knee, making them useless. So please take the time to wear them under!

Also, please remember that all these kinds of knee guards are primarily designed and meant for off-roading, where speeds rarely exceed 40-60kmph. (I suppose they could serve for slower city commutes too.) They are not meant for higher speeds and I've crashed twice where they've simply ripped off in the fall, since the elastic straps could not take the slide. If you prefer separate armour, I would strongly recommend the ForceField Limb Tubes or their equivalent, though nothing beats dedicated riding pants.

Thanks. Not satisfied with cramster which is very bulky and can be worn only outside but costs only 1500.plastic quality is average but padding is good.what about Thor sector? I don't get to view close range shot in prs website

Sent from my ST21i2 using xBhp Connect mobile app

In this case, you get what you pay for and trust me, there is simply no comparison between the build quality of the two. That said, I've crashed in a Cramster too, (low speed - in the city) and they've done the job! So if you're looking for a hassle free solution to wear over the pants in the city, the Cramsters will serve too but not for a high speed highway ride IMO.

Another problem with bionic type armour is they scratch my tank.

A general point to be noted is that these kinds of plastic armour is meant primarily for low speed impact protection and abrasion injury. The foam that they use is meant more for rider comfort (to prevent the plastic from cutting into your skin) than actual impact absorption. Much better are the PU or Nitrile type armours which are designed for high speed impact absorption and dispersion which no plastic armour can absorb. Hitting your knee on the pavement at high speed with plastic armour may save your skin but not your bones, since plastic has no impact absorption capacity at all. The PU/Nitrile impact absorptive/dispersive type gives you a much better chance of keeping both skin and bones intact.

[TeeJayy]

Much better are the PU or Nitrile type armours which are designed for high speed impact absorption and dispersion which no plastic armour can absorb. Hitting your knee on the pavement at high speed with plastic armour may save your skin but not your bones, since plastic has no impact absorption capacity at all. The PU/Nitrile impact absorptive/dispersive type gives you a much better chance of keeping both skin and bones intact.

Sir, thank you for the post. May I request you to give maybe a couple of examples of PU/Nitrile impact absorptive/dispersive type separate armor (brand and the name of the product), if its not too much trouble.

[pgaucha]

re: Universal : Riding Gear Thread

@Sunnyside_up sir,thanks for the reply I haven't personally inspected any riding pants closely. If I am not wrong during the high speed slide riding pant tend to pull up(do not have any exp) and only in the knee area they would be providing ce armour so more or less it provides the same protection as that knee guard.

Sent from my ST21i2 using xBhp Connect mobile app

[Sunnyside_up!]

Sir, thank you for the post. May I request you to give maybe a couple of examples of PU/Nitrile impact absorptive/dispersive type separate armor (brand and the name of the product), if its not too much trouble.

TJ - will get back to you soon as I can explain better with pics.

@Sunnyside_up sir,thanks for the reply I haven't personally inspected any riding pants closely. If I am not wrong during the high speed slide riding pant tend to pull up(do not have any exp) and only in the knee area they would be providing ce armour so more or less it provides the same protection as that knee guard.

Sent from my ST21i2 using xBhp Connect mobile app

Buddy, that is incorrect. Pants do move about a bit compared to tight fitting leathers but nowhere near enough to be an issue. All riding pants will have armour in the knees , while some will have additional pads in the hips and coccyx/tailbone. The primary difference between riding pants and jeans is that the material that riding pants are made of are far more durable than ordinary denim and can save you from severe road-rash or abrasion and cut injuries. Even denim riding jeans are reinforced with Kevlar to prevent abrasion injuries. So the knee armour will protect impact injury while the heavy duty material will protect your skin on your whole leg. A plastic knee guard cannot take high impact and protects only the skin around the knee.



The image shows how the Cordura pants have torn only slightly at the knee due to the impact, while the knee-cap itself was protected by the Forcefield Limb Tube from shattering. This is a pic of SriramEFunds pants after a crash he had recently. He is fine because the pants protected him from abrasions and cut injury while the Nitrile armour absorbed/dispersed the impact force.

[catchsaju]

Guys,

I am looking for a nice riding jacket that is suitable for both short and long rides, I am based in Chennai and it should also suit for both summer and winter. I have been looking at Cramster Breezer which seems to suit for all weather conditions: hot, rain and cold. I would like to hear from people who have been using it and your reviews are really appreciated. I am also looking forward to hear any other suggestions which would fit my needs like DSG, RJays. Kindly help me out.

Regards,
Sajesh

[Sunnyside_up!]

Sir, thank you for the post. May I request you to give maybe a couple of examples of PU/Nitrile impact absorptive/dispersive type separate armor (brand and the name of the product), if its not too much trouble.

TeeJayy - I hope this helps.

Armours used in apparel are of various types. Broadly they are

1. Hard Armour - (also popularly referred to as GP armour). High tech honeycombed PE structures with shock absorbing foam compounds. Unfortunately, this is very rare and found only in specialty products and are very expensive. Many cheap and highly dubious knockoffs are available, while some are just downright silly. Below is a picture taken from a jacket with this kind of "armour".



As you can see the "armour" consists of a thin piece of plastic, which has a layer of foam stitched to it so that the rough edges of the cheap plastic will not cut the wearer. The foam is about 5mm thick. With this kind of material, I would be worried about the plastic shattering on impact and having jagged pieces of plastic stuck to the wimpy foam ready to cut me further.



2. Dual Density Foam - This is a moulded foam armour which uses different densities of foam in order to achieve some level of impact absorption. Typically uses multi-coloured foam stuck together to differentiate the layers. Here is a picture.

This kind of armour is found in lightweight apparel and also very light. The flip side is that being just plain foam, we cannot expect too much by way of impact absorption. Approximately 9mm thick and very, very cheap and easy to replicate. Think the kind of foam used in those lightweight Hawaii chappals and you will be pretty close.



3. PU ( Polyurethane ) Armour - sometimes called 'turtle' armour because of its shape and the company that first developed it - this is a moulded component armour that is made from elastomeric polyurethane which has excellent impact and shock absorbent properties. They are not easy to make and hence difficult to replicate (meaning less fakes). Many motorcycling apparel companies all over the world use this type of armour as a standard today, sourced from commercial armour manufacturers. Basically the kind of PU used, the thickness and density will ensure that the component meets impact protection standards and are so easier to trust. Here's a picture.

Note that the armour will also sport information regarding the standard it follows, the area it is meant to protect (S-Shoulder/E-Elbow/K-Knee) and the Type A or B. The Type A armour is the smaller and thinner and meant for smaller sizes, (women and smaller men), while the Type B is thickest and offers the largest coverage, meant for regular mens sizes. The Type B measures about 15mm thick .



Obviously there is simply no comparison between the toy-like plastic "armour" and the PU armour. Here is a pic of them both side by side - you tell me which one you would prefer in your jacket or pants ?



4. Visco-Elastomeric Composite Armour - These are the top of the line type of armour available today. Made of unique and proprietary chemical compounds, these armours use cutting edge molecular technology to achieve high levels of impact protection and dispersion, often exceeding the CE standards by 30 -40% . These are the types used by the leading motorcycling apparel brands in the world today. Made by specialist companies like Sas-Tec, Knox and D3O, these are the most trusted products available. They measure about 17mm thick for the Type B.




5. Nitrile Armour - These armours are made of Nitrile Rubber, woven into complex shapes and matrix, designed to allow impact to be distributed over a larger area, thereby aiding impact resistance. These are proprietary and specialist technologies and products and the most famous of them is ForceField also called TPro. These products are made into different kind of protectors and are also very difficult to imitate or fake. These products are comparable to the Composite Armour mentioned above and also offer superb and class leading performance. Here is a picture. They are slightly thinner than composites since they use a unique contruction methods but are slightly heavier than the composite armours.




I have taken snap-shots of the various types of armour available from different jackets and pants that I own and use so please excuse the photography! I hope that this will help clear the confusion and throw some light on the various products that are available in the market today.

[inder.cool]

Excellent info there Mr.Samurai thumbs up!

My Fieldsheer jacket has hard plastic elbow guards and foam shoulder guards.

[TeeJayy]

What a fine piece of information. Presented in such an elegant, elaborate way. Kudos.

[yellowspunk]

@Sunny

You need to post that beautiful information on a separate thread!!

[xtremevicky]

I am looking for Gloves and I have shortlisted below two.

DSG vector

DSG Primal

Anything in a similar range am I missing ?

[thebiker2k2]

TeeJayy - I hope this helps.

Armours used in apparel are of various types. Broadly they are
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I have taken snap-shots of the various types of armour available from different jackets and pants that I own and use so please excuse the photography! I hope that this will help clear the confusion and throw some light on the various products that are available in the market today.

Absolute great info !! Based on this info, I guess the armor in my Alpinestar Mesh jacket is either PU or Visco-Elastomeric Composite Armour - is there a way to distinguish between the two or is this information written somewhere on the armour??

For the knee, I will really like to get the Forcefield Knee tube that uses the nitrile armour, but no dealers here.. will have to look for someone coming from US to get these...

[Sird]

Universal : Riding Gears Thread

Found it in a Newspaper today in college :

The price seems very attractive for the size and quality + fitting !


[Sorry not able to rotate image]



Posted from my iPhone via Tapa ! 📲

[thebiker2k2]

Found it in a Newspaper today in college :

The price seems very attractive for the size and quality + fitting !


[Sorry not able to rotate image]



Posted from my iPhone via Tapa ! 

Looks nice ! And it looks like it will be convenient to load/unload and probably will not foul with wheels on bikes like ktm and CBR. Although one issue might be for those who tour with a pillion - but for a singe tourer, this looks like very nice option.
I am actually looking for buying tank and saddle bag for use on my CBR and would definately be interested in checking this out - the other option being Dirtsack bags. Has anyone used bags of this Via Terra company - I have heard of them the first time and could not find any review etc. on google too...

[payeng]

So ultimately somebody from xBhp found out about the ViaTerra "Claw".

I am one of the guys involved with ViaTerra. The Claw is our latest product that has been launched just a few days back.

Looks nice ! And it looks like it will be convenient to load/unload and probably will not foul with wheels on bikes like ktm and CBR. Although one issue might be for those who tour with a pillion - but for a singe tourer, this looks like very nice option.

I am actually looking for buying tank and saddle bag for use on my CBR and would definately be interested in checking this out - the other option being Dirtsack bags. Has anyone used bags of this Via Terra company - I have heard of them the first time and could not find any review etc. on google too...

The Claw was designed keeping the needs of the Solo Long Distance rider in mind.

Initially developed for bikes like the CBR 150R/250R, R15, 200 Duke, 200NS.. the Claw actually fits on ANY made in India bike.. and even fits on most imported bikes.

Hope this does not sound as advertisement on xBhp but for anyone eager to know more about ViaTerra, here are the weblinks to ViaTerra site: VIATERRA and our Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/viaterra.gear

[The Monk]

Let me do it for you then..

Nice stuff Payengji.