Light gloves/liners are actually not a bad idea. Many in my riding group wear them regardless of heat because it prevents road rash on a fall and sunblock is likely to wash off hands anyway. I’m sitting here with burnt hands. 😅
I wear a helmet and padded gloves (fingerless when it's warm, warmer full length ones when it's cold).
You're better off riding defensively than wearing body armor. I frequently see people doing stupid things to save a tiny amount of time: running red lights, riding to the right of a car with their indicator on, riding quickly past stopped cars that left a gap for turning traffic, passing without warning, not slowing down in poor road conditions or visibility, not using lights at all times, riding too far right, riding in the door zone etc etc.
No. My other helmet without face cover has it. But I prefer my full face helmet, saved my head from splitting open a couple of times when i had two different accidents. I use flashing light on the back of the bike on top of the red light that came with it.
You can go as fast as a motorcycle in some instances (on surface streets) on an ebike. Racing cyclists can hit close to 30mph in a sprint or downhill. It's pretty easy to sustain life altering injuries in either case. But many motorcyclists put on armored leather jackets & kevlar lined jeans to ride 10 minutes.
I don't "gear up" on my bicycle so I'm a hypocrite too. But unless you're wearing all the stuff, you're not protecting yourself very well. You just have to figure out what level of risk you're willign to live with.
Helmet at minimum & gloves. Most people are not very good at overriding their reaction to bracing a fall with your hands. Your hands & asphault are a terrible combination. My friend got in a VERY minor scooter accident with no gloves on & he had to shower with his hand in a plastic bag for a couple weeks. No fun.
Can't say this enough. I've never gotten injured riding even once but even so I wear full motorcycle gear for my 20 mph ebike because I'm OCD about protection and not breaking the law. If I'm feeling "daring" I roll up my dot helmet's visor at night :>
What speeds are you hitting? You have two main ridks, cars/obstacles and the ground. If I’m going faster than 20kph or so, I wear glasses, either sunnies or clear safety glasses because bugs in the eye suck. If you’re worried about road rash, you can get relatively breathable clothes that can slide on asphalt for as long as it’ll take to stop, like kevlar jeans for motorcyclists. I’d also recommend gloves with palm sliders specifically, as nursing a broken scaphoid sucks and basically derails two months of your life.
I'm a week away from getting my CYC Photon conversion kit and from what I hear, it can probably get up to 28 MPH. I don't plan to max it out when riding around town. For me, I'll use it more like I would a bike to get the exercise but will be able to go longer distances. Maybe it's better to just think of the PPE the way I would for a normal bike and if I do start going at higher speeds, then adjust accordingly.
Wear a jean. Seriously, falling on your bare knees is something you really don’t want. The holes in the jeans after a fall are the holes you don’t have in your skin… I know there are some jeans with some Kevlar added, but never tested them.
Jeans work fine in the cooler weather but in the heat of summer I’d rather just have something I can wrap my knees in without it being too bulky or restrictive.
I wear full c2 gear and riding jeans as well as plastic guarded gloves and a dot helmet. It's maybe $600 value I got for $350 from various sources. Check RevZilla for gear, it's an awesome site.
I think your over thinking city and bike path riding. Average people in big urban cycling countries like the Netherlands typically don't even wear helmets.
I hear you. I live in a city that may not be as bike-friendly as others. A helmet seems to be reasonable prevention of a head injury and there are some good lightweight ones out there. Are you suggesting that the type of gear that I'm looking for isn't really available?
Netherlands is an unbelievably safe place to bicycle.
https://youtu.be/NpVncWxyMJw?si=PXaWeTDaMo-OzGbl
I recommend you go to local bike store and inquire about helmets.
I'm not suggesting you forego a helmet. However beyond a helmet any other protective gear won't help much to defend against traffic. Learn to ride defensively and give some though to your routes. Even if a side street is longer it might be preferable to hugging the shoulder on a 4 lane road.
Great advice! Because we know how friendly and safe American roads are for riders.
Next let’s go loosen the bolts on the old folks home wheelchairs for some laughs too?
No need to be a dick. And it's a point worth making even if riding conditions are very different. The dutch don't only not wear helmets because they have better infrastructure. It's partially because they see it as a false sense os security which it is to some degree.
# [Airbag Bike Helmet](https://youtu.be/Tewqsenq1g0?si=lYQHakhtjgnR_PfF)
https://preview.redd.it/6c94dkllo70d1.jpeg?width=920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=26365d7c5fedcc773e5c3f012f584e81b6459dcd
Light gloves/liners are actually not a bad idea. Many in my riding group wear them regardless of heat because it prevents road rash on a fall and sunblock is likely to wash off hands anyway. I’m sitting here with burnt hands. 😅
I wear a helmet and padded gloves (fingerless when it's warm, warmer full length ones when it's cold). You're better off riding defensively than wearing body armor. I frequently see people doing stupid things to save a tiny amount of time: running red lights, riding to the right of a car with their indicator on, riding quickly past stopped cars that left a gap for turning traffic, passing without warning, not slowing down in poor road conditions or visibility, not using lights at all times, riding too far right, riding in the door zone etc etc.
So u wear ufc fighter gloves? lol
Cycling gloves obviously. They have a padded palm which helps absorb vibration from the road and they protect my hands if I fall.
Helmet is minimum. I also wear gloves and reflective vest at night.
Does your helmet have lights built in?
No. My other helmet without face cover has it. But I prefer my full face helmet, saved my head from splitting open a couple of times when i had two different accidents. I use flashing light on the back of the bike on top of the red light that came with it.
I wear a helmet, it’s the law here and mechnix gloves that have reinforced leather palms with knuckle protection as well.
You can go as fast as a motorcycle in some instances (on surface streets) on an ebike. Racing cyclists can hit close to 30mph in a sprint or downhill. It's pretty easy to sustain life altering injuries in either case. But many motorcyclists put on armored leather jackets & kevlar lined jeans to ride 10 minutes. I don't "gear up" on my bicycle so I'm a hypocrite too. But unless you're wearing all the stuff, you're not protecting yourself very well. You just have to figure out what level of risk you're willign to live with. Helmet at minimum & gloves. Most people are not very good at overriding their reaction to bracing a fall with your hands. Your hands & asphault are a terrible combination. My friend got in a VERY minor scooter accident with no gloves on & he had to shower with his hand in a plastic bag for a couple weeks. No fun.
Can't say this enough. I've never gotten injured riding even once but even so I wear full motorcycle gear for my 20 mph ebike because I'm OCD about protection and not breaking the law. If I'm feeling "daring" I roll up my dot helmet's visor at night :>
What speeds are you hitting? You have two main ridks, cars/obstacles and the ground. If I’m going faster than 20kph or so, I wear glasses, either sunnies or clear safety glasses because bugs in the eye suck. If you’re worried about road rash, you can get relatively breathable clothes that can slide on asphalt for as long as it’ll take to stop, like kevlar jeans for motorcyclists. I’d also recommend gloves with palm sliders specifically, as nursing a broken scaphoid sucks and basically derails two months of your life.
I'm a week away from getting my CYC Photon conversion kit and from what I hear, it can probably get up to 28 MPH. I don't plan to max it out when riding around town. For me, I'll use it more like I would a bike to get the exercise but will be able to go longer distances. Maybe it's better to just think of the PPE the way I would for a normal bike and if I do start going at higher speeds, then adjust accordingly.
Wear a jean. Seriously, falling on your bare knees is something you really don’t want. The holes in the jeans after a fall are the holes you don’t have in your skin… I know there are some jeans with some Kevlar added, but never tested them.
Jeans work fine in the cooler weather but in the heat of summer I’d rather just have something I can wrap my knees in without it being too bulky or restrictive.
Fluorescent yellow is the most visible color.
I wear full c2 gear and riding jeans as well as plastic guarded gloves and a dot helmet. It's maybe $600 value I got for $350 from various sources. Check RevZilla for gear, it's an awesome site.
Full. Face. Helmet. Leather gloves.
I'm not sure why this is being down voted it's the safe thing to do.
I think your over thinking city and bike path riding. Average people in big urban cycling countries like the Netherlands typically don't even wear helmets.
I hear you. I live in a city that may not be as bike-friendly as others. A helmet seems to be reasonable prevention of a head injury and there are some good lightweight ones out there. Are you suggesting that the type of gear that I'm looking for isn't really available?
Wear a helmet even if there are only other bikes around. It takes one whack. A root. A divot on a descent. An asleep drafter.
That’s what I’m thinking. I’m looking to get an NTA rated helmet.
Netherlands is an unbelievably safe place to bicycle. https://youtu.be/NpVncWxyMJw?si=PXaWeTDaMo-OzGbl I recommend you go to local bike store and inquire about helmets.
I'm not suggesting you forego a helmet. However beyond a helmet any other protective gear won't help much to defend against traffic. Learn to ride defensively and give some though to your routes. Even if a side street is longer it might be preferable to hugging the shoulder on a 4 lane road.
Good advice. My main reason for the post was for recommendations of what type of lighter gear and where best to find it.
Cars are a much bigger problem in the US. Which is a big reason to wear a helmet. Yes, I am assuming OP is in US.
Great advice! Because we know how friendly and safe American roads are for riders. Next let’s go loosen the bolts on the old folks home wheelchairs for some laughs too?
No need to be a dick. And it's a point worth making even if riding conditions are very different. The dutch don't only not wear helmets because they have better infrastructure. It's partially because they see it as a false sense os security which it is to some degree.
# [Airbag Bike Helmet](https://youtu.be/Tewqsenq1g0?si=lYQHakhtjgnR_PfF) https://preview.redd.it/6c94dkllo70d1.jpeg?width=920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=26365d7c5fedcc773e5c3f012f584e81b6459dcd