I'm in the same boat as the bloke from Atlanta. It's routinely over 100* here with humidity 80%+. It's uncomfortable even wearing blue jeans most days. You know you live in a hot climate when your employers dress code is is designed more around avoiding heat stroke than professionalism or decency.
I have rather large hands and I've tried numerous styles of gloves. They are just so bulky and cumbersome that I feel they would get in the way of smooth operation of hand controls. I feel like I'm more likely to get in a wreck BECAUSE of the gloves than without. Having ridden for about 8 years and only had one lay-down (in my own driveway at 10mph) I feel ok taking this chance. Having said that I'll refer back to this sentiment when/if I have an off in the future and mangle my hands!
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 10:54 am
by Sh3p
I've gone down in jeans before doing about 25-30mph. Slid for a moment but in reality it was like 10-15ft at least. Jeans looked alright until i saw red spots forming, my knee and thigh was burning and completely strawberry, there were streaks of brown "skin" stuck to the inside of the jeans. It washed out, scars didnt =/
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 3:47 pm
by oldbiker
Armour fabric jacket and trousers in fluorescent yellow and motorcycle boots. I commute on a very busy A road dual carriageway for 15 miles. I had had my offs when young in jeans....they stood up well but still had to endure having grit scrubbed out of my knee in A&E. Plus having my keys pull out my butt cheek because I put my house keys in my back pocket. Now older and hopefully wiser plus CBT course instructor had a graphic picture of rider who was unfortunate to have an off in normal clothes.
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 5:58 pm
by you you
I don't fall off or bump into things so I could ride in speedos
Missing out on your sanctimonious vibe though
That will disappear with age, if not experience
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 7:16 pm
by Mel46
I ride in jeans, but one thing that I do has helped me in every spill I have ever had. I went to Walmart and purchased two good knee supports, not the 'ace bandage' type. I wear them under my jeans and they have helped protect my knees on many occasions where I have laid the bike down for one reason or another. The one time that I did not wear them was the day a dump truck carrying gravel pulled out in front of me. That was way back in 1981. Since then they have become a part of my gear. Granted, good riding pants would be best, but I don't have that kind of money, though I do keep looking for a deal. Meanwhile, these are much better than nothing there. I always wear boots too. As for gloves, I have some good riding gloves that Velcro closed at my wrist. On very hot days, I fold that part down and fasten the Velcro under it. Not the best solution, but it does keep my hands protected at all times.
-Scorpio EXO-1100 Neon Sixty-Six Helmet.
-Motoport Kevlar Mesh Jacket and Pants w/ Quad Armor.
-Motoport Stretch Kevlar gloves.
-SIDI Crossfire II MX Boots.
-Forcefield Zeus Knee Protectors
Overkill? Maybe, it gets damned hot when I'm stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. The venting is great, but it doesn't work unless I'm moving faster than 10 mph. When I AM moving though, it feels like I'm riding in my underwear, which makes sense since that's all I have under those "overpants" .
Leather isn't an option in Hawaii weather, and I'd still rather sweat like a pig, as my recently broken left leg is still a bit tender.
OP shouldn't think ATGATT and being a squid are mutually exclusive though. Would be a waste of all that expensive gear if you let your guard down.
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2014 8:13 am
by homie
You are off the crutches! ... excellent. That's pretty much how I go every evening, except for the Johnny white shoes Johnsons. If you are getting off at speed again at least you wont have road rash this time.
Nice to see you walking bro.
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2014 10:51 am
by JoshM
Full face helmet... ALWAYS. Visor always down.
Jacket... ALWAYS. I have a mesh jacket with adequate protection for hot days. Mesh breathes as freely as a t-shirt and it also keeps the sun off my skin. I have a thicker jacket for colder weather, which I wear a hoodie under if it's below 55*(F) or so.
Pants... just jeans typically. Long johns on cold mornings.
Shoes... above the ankle boots. Nothing special, but better than sneakers or sandals.
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2014 12:36 pm
by Vesper2112
That's kinda been what I've been doing. Full-face helmet, jeans, over the heel boots, leather gloves, motorcycle jacket (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DU0 ... UTF8&psc=1). It came with a liner that zips in, but I just wear a hoodie underneath for the morning ride into work and leave the hoodie off for the ride home. The jacket breathes wonderfully.
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2014 12:54 pm
by Valiant
homie wrote:You are off the crutches! ... excellent. That's pretty much how I go every evening, except for the Johnny white shoes Johnsons. If you are getting off at speed again at least you wont have road rash this time.
Nice to see you walking bro.
Thanks, though the first time I got off at about 5-10 mph O_O . I suppose that's "at speed" for my glass bones.
I might have found my calling though:
JoshM wrote:Full face helmet... ALWAYS. Visor always down.
Sounds like a good idea after a bumblebee bounces off your visor .
Jacket... ALWAYS. I have a mesh jacket with adequate protection for hot days. Mesh breathes as freely as a t-shirt and it also keeps the sun off my skin. I have a thicker jacket for colder weather, which I wear a hoodie under if it's below 55*(F) or so.
I'm a bit cautious about typical mesh, as I hear the polyester material can melt into your skin at high speeds.
Pants... just jeans typically. Long johns on cold mornings.
I've hinted to my wife numerous times the past few months that I need riding pants. My bday is in about 2 months... I'll keep it up and hopefully by then she'll get figure out what I want.
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2014 1:53 pm
by GeorgeSK
After a couple of months with my Aeorstitch pants, I am quite happy. The ability to add the kneepads and then ditch them for work is great. They do look like simple khaki pants - you have to look really hard to see the zipper along the side of the knee. The extra layers at the knee and lower leg give a bit of added wind protection as well - nice now that the weather is a bit cooler. I hope to never actually test the abrasion resistance, but think they will give me a level of protection at a more or less reasonable price.
Gloves seem a bit pricy, but if they sound pretty nice.
I too use a mesh jacket - a Rev'it Tornado that I got in the dead of last winter. The bike shop made me a reasonable offer (beating Revzilla by about $40) and it fit really nicely, so I jumped on it. It is comfortable in the summer here in New England - the mesh lets lots of air through while keeping the sun off. With the liner installed, the jacket is good to 50 F or so. Below that I will add a fleece vest. Below 40 F I will probably take the cage.
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2014 8:09 am
by Steph
Valiant wrote:
-Scorpio EXO-1100 Neon Sixty-Six Helmet.
-Motoport Kevlar Mesh Jacket and Pants w/ Quad Armor.
-Motoport Stretch Kevlar gloves.
-SIDI Crossfire II MX Boots.
-Forcefield Zeus Knee Protectors
Overkill? Maybe, it gets damned hot when I'm stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. The venting is great, but it doesn't work unless I'm moving faster than 10 mph. When I AM moving though, it feels like I'm riding in my underwear, which makes sense since that's all I have under those "overpants" .
Leather isn't an option in Hawaii weather, and I'd still rather sweat like a pig, as my recently broken left leg is still a bit tender.
OP shouldn't think ATGATT and being a squid are mutually exclusive though. Would be a waste of all that expensive gear if you let your guard down.
No overkill here! I like what you're wearing.
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 3:05 pm
by PCXade
Sh3p wrote:When I started riding in college i didn't know better like most, so i was guilty of squidding often. I had a Shift Octane leather jacket my mom sent me money for (when she heard i bought a motorcycle lol) and a Shoei RF-1000 helmet. I had just scraped together the $2500 budget for my 99' ninja zx6r (bike #1) at the time and didn't have the foresight to think about gear money.
Almost two years later i have my first crash 1 block away from my apartment. Old guy was on his cellphone and made a very late left turn on red, T-boned me into the curb. Was wearing an Icon Contra textile jacket, A* gloves, jeans, coverse chucks. The jacket saved my skin, but was shredded in 2 spots from abrasion, the armor was poking out and eventually was falling out of said holes. Had to trash it shortly after, i thought about getting it repaired but no money and motivation to do so.
The jeans and converse did nothing, in fact they barely had any damage, the asphalt transfered its pain right thru the cotton and into my skin, there were bits of skin on the inside of my jeans where i had rash. It was a very weird sight the first time it happened, it was also proof that street clothes do absolutely nothing for you when you fall.
Later in life, on bike #2 (Ninja 636), riding in downtown LA on the way home I was making a left hand turn and a mercedes comes speeding in and makes a right hander into my path, i braked hard and lost grip, went for a 20mph slide on my ass/thigh and gracefully stopped at a parked car. Was wearing Icon Strongarm kevlar jeans, the kevlar saved my ass for the most part but because it was so baggy/loose the coverage was not complete and i did get 2 burn spots on my leg where there was no kevlar weave to protect. Jeans were still useable after that, but i gave them away because of the ill fit.
Most recent accident, bike #3 (SV1000). Group ride in the canyons, lowsided in a decreasing radius turn, plowed into the guardrail at about 40mph. Was wearing an Icon Overlord jacket, Drayko Drift jeans, A* short gloves, and A* SMX4 boots. The left glove exploded on impact with the guard rail when i doubled over the bike into it, the CF split plate over the knuckle shot into my hand between index and ring finger, and left a 30mm hole (ala wolverine, but only one hole and no cool blade came out). Windscreen of my bike punched thru the mesh vent panels of the jacket and cut me in the left pectoral. Drayko jeans took all the abrasion from the short slide, no rash or scrapes otherwise. Replaced the jacket and gloves, still wear the boots and jeans.
In my time riding i've gone thru some gear. Had taken claims and had insurance money buy brand new stuff. I find that for the long term rider, the most economical choice is well built comfortable leather gear that will last you multiple seasons/years. Textile is great, breathes better, and can be lighter / more comfortable, but leather has 10x the abrasion resistance that textiles do. Some textiles last multiple crashes but alot are admittedly one-crash use pieces. ***Revzilla is a great source to check out gear before you buy and their video reviews are top notch, they give honest opinions and will tell you flat out "this jacket is a one time use only". Given the price of textile vs leather, i find its always worth the extra $ to shell out for the more protective and longer lasting leather version. There are many textile garments that have the same ratings as leather but will usually also be around the same price, if you are absolutely against leather. I have found time and time again that moto gear is a "you get what you pay for" situation like most purchases are. I have many older friends that ride Goldwings or ADV bikes and wear the old school full textile jumpsuits and swear by them. Most important is how much it will protect you, and how well you fit/feel in it, the rest is kind of unimportant details imho (color, look, relative price)
I'd like to reiterate that good gear is good gear, textile, leather, or otherwise. But for quality, multiple crashes, and long lifetime, leather is proven. For gloves, full leather all the way. I recommend gauntlets for more slide potential. I can tell you 1000x "if you crash, dont put your hands out" but 99% of the time when you go down it will be the first thing you do, put a hand out to brace yourself. just dont bother with mesh gloves or mesh with plastic/rubber, mesh explodes and has low tinsel strength.
What a great post and as I have just bought my first ever powere bike I have not yet bought clothing and had decided on light, comfy gear at as minimal a price as I can get away with.
HOWEVER, your great and experience has completely changed my thinking. I won't hide my head in the sand and think 'it will never happen to me'. I will go and get some serious gear, with serious protection, even at serious money.
Thanks.. might be the best thing I ever read if/when I skid off!
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 3:08 pm
by PCXade
Sorry, total noob here...
I would like to buy the gloves, jacket and pants from these guys:
Can anybody point me in the right direction of what to get?
My ONLY gripe with leather is the worry about overheating as I hate that. Still, if there is no decent qualitu and skin/bone saving armoured textile on there then I will have to get it.
Thanks in advance.
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 3:21 pm
by iceman
I've bought most of my gear from them, as they have a no quibble free return on anything above £25 - wrong size, don't like it when it arrives, they collect from designated places around the UK (shops, post offices, etc). The reviews on the site seem to be quite honest.
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 3:26 pm
by homie
Valiant wrote:
you got this Ebola thing under control yet Val?
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 3:40 pm
by 6ftMach1Girl
homie wrote:
Valiant wrote:
you got this Ebola thing under control yet Val?
Re: ATGATT or Squidding: What do YOU ride with?
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 5:45 pm
by Valiant
It's perfectly comfortable when riding. I do sweat like a pig when I'm parking and locking up my scoot, but I did order a waterproof gear bag so I can stuff my jacket inside once I'm done riding. I also bought some wicking base layers so I spend less time soaked in my own sweat.
One of my favorite movies of all time!! LMAO!! 
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