Protective clothing for commute

[marc berry]

hi guys.

i was hoping for some advice and recommendations. i have been commuting to work about 14-15 mile round trip on average 2.5 days per week and today found a route i liked better but it is also on more larger roads so i thought that maybe my sweater and hi viz over shell werent the best way to protect myself going forward.

i have seen some armour type clothing and was interested but they seem expensive and most dont have a zip for easy on-off that i would need when getting to work etc.

i also thought about a motorcycle jacket with armour pads but i think they would be too heavy in summer.

i ride a mountain bike with an electric kit so i go at a decent speed so i think it best to consider something better.

any suggestions?

thanks.

 

[jim55]

you want armour in yr cycling gear for the road ??

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Don't worry, you don't need armour , just lots of lights.
Bright clothing is good, hi-viz will reflect if the road is lit.
I like my helmet light, point it at drivers in a hurry to come out of side streets

 

[fossyant]

Armour is only for downhill mountain bikers as they tend to crash into trees and rocks very often.

Get some good lights instead !

 

[snorri]

i go at a decent speed

"Decent speed" is often used as a euphemism for "too fast" .

 

[marc berry]

Hey guys.

Just a bit more info. Dec 2011 I had surgery on my right shoulder, removing bone from the socket of the main joint and removing an inch of bone from the acj joint also. In June 2012 I had the same surgery on the left. This was due to over a decade of weights training. Just after Xmas I went over the handlebars and landed on the left shoulder, the most recently operated on. The xrays showed no breaks so due to all the pain I presume the tendons that span the shoulder and collar bone took all the force as there wasn't any bone there to take some of the fall.

Due to the above, it worries me that even a slight knock from a passing car could cause serious problems but I don't want to just stop.

I do have VERY bright triple cree lights but that won't help if a passing driver isn't paying attention. This could also happen in the daytime which I'm sure happens regularly across the country on these sort of major roads.

I didn't want the plastic type armour, just the ones similar to the sixsixone shirt type but with a zip. I could then wear it under my shell type outer coat in colder times and on its own in warmer times.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I can't speak for everyone else, but I suspect you will be a lot more careful, a lot more weary and a lot more cautious if you don't wear the additional protection and care/caution/observation will provide a much better long term protection than any short term measure will do.

Being seen from the side is possible. my rear light has 270 degree visibility, I use 3M spoke reflectors, very bright front lights and more importantly make eye contact with drivers who are in side streets. If it is cloudy I have a hi-viz waterproof top I wear, and when that is not worn a standard hi-viz jacket works really well. I have been knocked off once, over 20 years ago and have no intentions of repeating it if I can help it. I also have a couple of major medical conditions that significantly complicate matters if I am in an accident and have had to have 11 ops on my left wrist including re-sizing of one of the bones & removal of another, so I understand where you are coming from, but wrapping yourself in bubble wrap is not in my opinion the answer.

Don't stop cycling, just be much more aware of what is going on around you. About the only thing I have ever heard Jeremy Clarkson say that I agree with, is that if the insides of cars were lined with spikes/machettes, drivers would be much more careful and there would be few accidents (can't remember the exact quote but it related to air bags and side impact air bags etc)... In other words, too much safety equipment makes people careless...

this is all my own opinion - just to clarify.

 

[fossyant]

I can appreciate your caution, but I had a decompression of the left shoulder caused by being hit by a car. TBH, you should be healing up reasonably well no - took 18 months for mine to be pain free. Muscle/tendon damage takes the longest to heal, and your bones are likely to be stronger due to calcification during the healing process.

You don't often get hit by cars, and you can do lots yourself to lessen that chance, being visible, riding correctly etc. etc. IMHO armour is not really suitable for road cycling etc due to excess heat build up - you might be OK this time of year, but it will be way too hot as soon as it warms up.

 

[marc berry]

i have the spoke reflectors, front 3xcree light, rear flashing light and for when it is really dark a light for on top of my helmet. i also have the brightest orange shell jacket i have seen so that side of things is fine.

i think where i am coming from is, when i was going round the island yesterday coming out of b'ham city centre, i was in the middle lane as i needed to for the 3rd of 5 turn-offs, indicating right with my arm then left as i past the turn just before mine. even with good road manners and sense, a car still tried to undertake me on the left to get past and then go along the same road as me, he had to brake to let me turn off as he saw i was in the right. if he had gone even 1 extra metre before braking i could have gone into the side of him. then, approaching a big island where i was in the left of 2 lanes, cars from the right were speeding up then cutting in front of me before an underpass would have meant they'd missed their turn. these are situations where the visibilty was perfect, i was as bright as can be with my orange jacket and it was simply the car driver's bad habits/manners that would have knocked me off.

it isnt so much the sub acromial decompression that gives me the most worry or the most pain when i came off, it is the mumford procedure that removed part of the ACJ joint. this means that the shoulder bone at the top can push further in towards the body with little resistance as there isnt any bone butted up against it, only the tendons, ligaments or whatever so there is much more chance of even small knocks causing problems.

i am very grateful for the advice and opinions though guys so keep it coming.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

You are rightly apprehensive, it sounds like a busy road.
I would look for another ... unless ...

Couldn't find a pushbike pic

 

[Biker Joe]

This should be fine.

 

[uphillstruggler]

i would revert back to the less busy route that you took before, that roundabout you mention sounds like the shortcut to injury to me, whether you wear armour or not, its still going to hurt if you get hit, the body armour is designed to prevent punchure when downhilling but not jarring of the joints etc

i would seriously reconsider your route.

best of luck

 

[zizou]

661 core saver is like a body armour vest there is some protection for the shoulders plus it is a bit cooler as it doesnt have sleeves and also has a zip.

Although that being said body armour in general doesnt really do much to prevent collarbone injures

 

[marc berry]

i went for this in the end. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AEF6M7G/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
it gives more protection for at least light to moderate bumps due to the armour inside but didnt cost too much either. as i was going to buy another jacket anyway, maybe the best of both worlds?