In the summer, "gear" is blue jeans and a helmet.
No jacket, Joe ?
Our weather here is just as hot as Texas, and we all wear jackets and the rest of the gear(well, those of us that care to stay out of the hospital) Maybe it has something to do with our local medical care hehe
Standard saying locally - "I'd rather sweat than bleed."
Says it all.
But, each to his own........

 

Sorry guys, I've just gone my whole life riding in shirts. I almost never see anyone around here in jackets. Only about half wear helmets, even out on the interstates. And that looks scary.

 

Well this is always a fun one. I didn't vote, because I think my response would be misleading.

I would have voted no on this making you a squid. I don't think that amount of gear makes you a squid, but I think it makes you dumb, hard-headed, or at the very least naive. I'm not trying to flame you, I'm just giving the opinion you asked for.

To say that people who preach ATGATT is elitist is pretty arrogant in my opinion. I would say that people who are ATGATT are realists.

Think about all of the unknown dangers there on the road that you can't prepare for and will barely be able to react to. People running stop signs, merging into your lane, turning in front of you, oil/coolant patches, sand/salt/gravel patches, animals running across the road,

All it takes is one thing like this to catch you off guard and you are sliding on asphalt with bare hands, knees, elbows, and shoulders. Your shorts won't hold up for shyte, your shoes will almost definitely fly off unless you're rocking the construction guy outfit from Men at Work with your high cut work boots.

I think the mentality of those who don't wear much gear is that they are good enough riders that they are not going to go down, or that wrecks only happen at high speeds. That, to me, is the fundamental flaw in the mentality. The reality is that many, many, many (I'd say the majority, but I don't have any statistics to back that up) wrecks are caused by factors outside of the drivers actions. I wear gear for the unexpected and the unpredictable, because you can't know when the circumstances will conspire against to put you on the pavement.

I drive 1/2 mile to my local grocery store every other night and the only thing I don't put on is my leather lowers (I put on my kevlar reinforced jeans). I commute 10 miles to work every single day in my 2-piece leathers, boots, gloves, and helmet with my CE back armor.

You do what you want -- I am not lecturing or preaching -- but I have seen the results of a crash at low speed. I posted this about helmets a while back, and this continues to be the reason I am a gear ****. All it takes is a little old lady running a stop sign to ruin your day. Happened to my step-dad 25 years ago and I've seen the long-term consequences.




TLDR: You're not a squid, you're just not being very smart.

 

What I would like to know if anybody really read the description really good. At 30mph local roads and still have a helmet is bad than I must be going to hell. Think about it when you pedal bike most people don't wear full gear and yes you can get up to that speed. On top of that for me as a runner I can run up to 20mph with obviously no gear as well. So the people that wear full gear congrats but at the same time if your too scared of going down why ride at all? Its suppose to be enjoyable at the same time.

 

When I was a kid, we built a ramp and ran our bikes off of it so they would fly in the air so we could jump off them and hit the ground rolling. Sure, asphalt is different, but I did that too when I was 16, showing off. Hit sand (that wasn't there the day before) and hit a steep curb and flew WAAAAAAAAAAAY over the bike and down into a ravine. Two stitches in the knee from the footpeg puncturing it. (The only stitches I ever had). It's hard not to feel lucky.

 

1. Who said you're going to hell? I sure didn't... I didn't see anyone else touch on religion or your character. You're just not very smart (maybe I'd say you're not consequence-oriented).

2. Have you ever seen crashes on bicycles?? People get absolutely torn up! Then add a 500-lb hunk of metal?? Come on dude.. I can at least see that some people just are willing to risk injury to ride without gear but to think that you can't mess yourself up -- or get messed up by an obstacle/road hazard -- at 30 mph is just dumb.

3. You can not run 20 mph. Just stop it right now. That's just ridiculous. If you can, I expect to see you in the next summer Olympics.

4. Who said we're scared of going down?? I haven't dropped/low-sided/high-sided/wrecked and I have ridden 15k+ miles a year for the last two years. I ride every day to work. I ride 300-600 miles about every other weekend. In those miles, I see deer and rabbits and owls and turtles and opossums and raccoons and dogs and cats and hogs and turkeys and all kinds of wildlife crossing the road. I see patches of gravel and shotty roads and cars leaking oil and people dropping trash and **** out of their cars. Most of all I see idiot drivers who are intent to get through that late yellow light, to change lanes without signaling or even looking in a mirror or blind spot, to run a stop sign instead of stopping and looking left-right-left, or to just talk on the cell/text/do makeup/read books/yell at kids/doze off/eat or just be generally incompetent behind the wheel. I'm scared of going down? Oh contrare.

I'm ready to go down. Are you?

I don't know where you guys are pulling this crap about us gear guys saying that people without gear shouldn't ride or we're elitist. That is just silly. Do we think you're dumb? Yes. Do we wish you would wear gear for your own good? Yes. Do we think you are immature and ignorant for hating on gear? Yes. Do we really think some talk on the internet is going to convert all of you gear haters? No. Many of you will have to see something horrific or have a bad spill to get the clue. In the end, it's your choice and you are the one to deal with the consequences, and no one can take that opportunity from you.

But maybe there's some noob lurking these threads that needed a little sound logic on what and how many risks there are, and maybe he'll go down and grab a perforated leather jacket for a measly $150 down at his local shop so he has a little insurance while he's out riding his new bike he bought this summer.

 

sad part is bud, its very hard to go for a "small" cruise up the road on our CBR's. it usually turns into a carve fest or goin a goodbit farther than expected, now i wont throw bricks living in my glass house, as i have gone for small rides gearless(but always gloves) and have made it back ok, but i will admit i was an idiot for doin so, and if i were to go down , it would suck knowing ive got a pile of gear at the house....so YES it makes you a squid, but it will make you a smart squid for recognizing the gear fail...

 

I have two jackets, one mesh, the other textile. I wear the textile one 90% of the time. But for those REALLY hot Florida days I wear the mesh. Jacket, gloves, helmet, jeans, and boots are the minimum amount of gear for me even on those 100 degree days

I have to agree with chuckbear, I have been down in gear, and felt what that was like. That was back in the days that I didn't wear too much protection ALL the time, sometimes I was that guy with helmet and shorts and seekers, but after going down I ALWAYS wear what I posted above, every time.

 

It was funny, I had PMed someone about this "Elitism" notion that's been creeping around. Had thought of mentioning it a bit back but caved figuring it'd have everyone grabbing the flamethrowers in short order. But you said it all much better than I coulda.

Elitism would be downing someone because they weren't wearing the best gear. Looking down on someone in an Icon or Speed n Strength jacket cause they weren't wearing A* or Dainese. When it comes to gear, any gear is better than no gear. Even the Leather UnderRoo wearers accept someone's attempt to protect themselves with mesh, maybe with a warning about melting. I've never seen anyone play the brand card here except when they had a specific concern on quality (the Shinko tire argument notwithstanding ).

I've stated plainly I won't ride with anyone that won't wear the minimum DOT approved helmet, armored jacket, riding gloves, ankle length boots of some sort and jeans. And its not just because I don't want to have to see the consequences they may have to pay from choosing not to gear up. But mostly because of respect.

If you don't respect your body enough to protect it in case of an accident, then how can I expect you to respect me and my safety? An accident is:
They aren't planned for. They aren't expected. By its very definition, it can happen to anyone regardless of how good they are simply because of factors they cannot control. The only thing we can do is try to minimize the damage to ourselves if they occurred.

Hell, how many of you carried a condom with you when you when clubbing / bar hopping in case you got lucky? Gear is for in case you get unlucky

 

I knew a guy that ran with a pack of sport riders (this was a bunch of chest-pounding trail lawyers who wanted some macho thrills on the weekends) way before I knew anything about sport bikes (I was a pure metric cruiser guy -though I had a Magna). They were always geared up to the max (I suspect they were as much about the "costume" as the protection) and ripping around our Farm to Market roads. One day he told us that one of his employees had lost it in a corner and hit trees and fences. Broke most of his bones and there was a big question as to the degree of his paralysis. I never heard how it came out (just not that close to the guy) but the message I got was that a LOT of our "luck" is self-made. Self-control plays a pretty big role. Sure there are accidents which are completely unforeseeable, but I truly think they are extremely rare and can be greatly minimized by some care (dare I say, some healthy fear?).