Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > Hot Hot Hot

[Murray Mint]

So as we are all aware is bloody hot, what do you wear fro riding around. Is there anything that will still offer the protection of leather but able to let some air through.

[bradders]

dunno - but off to Wimbledon today, and forgot my hat!! so lots of cream on the old plate

non leather, one of those tuareg type jackets with vents everywhiere the adventure riders use would be my choice if commuting

[Ray]

There is lots of "textile" gear out there, just not sure it offers the same abrasion resistance as leather though.

Proper approved karting gear if often cordura that has to meet minimum abrasion standards, but from what I've seen the standards set are pretty low. Superkart drivers still seem to prefer leathers as they usually have a lot higher top speed than short circuit karts.

From time to time I have seen full one piece textile suits, Kevlar type material? use by sidecar crews. Jane from Ducati Leeds has one piece in such material that she uses on a bike.

TBH if there was something that was as good as leather (cow or roo skin) and kept you cool the motoGP mob and others would be using it??

Ray

[skidlids]

Originally Posted by Ray

From time to time I have seen full one piece textile suits, Kevlar type material? use by sidecar crews. Jane from Ducati Leeds has one piece in such material that she uses on a bike.

Same with Craig (Gbyte666) he rode his 996 wearing a Kevlar one piece for years, he said it was a lot cooler than leathers and offered good protection

[John W]

aerostich one piece suit.

Very quick & easy to put on, waterproof too, but in this weather also allows sufficient air to pass through to keep you cool. Downside is they ain't cheap.

Biggest problem though is when stationary in traffic, and sat on a hot bike. No riding gear keeps you cool then.

[Murray Mint]

Originally Posted by skidlids

Same with Craig (Gbyte666) he rode his 996 wearing a Kevlar one piece for years, he said it was a lot cooler than leathers and offered good protection

That's the stuff I was thinking about, anyone know where to get it from?

[Shazaam!]

The main problem is that Kevlar by itself is grabby, i.e. it doesn't slide well. You'll notice that Kevlar is usually used attached to some kind of supporting structure such as leather to keep it in place on your body. It shouldn’t be used alone.

As an example: I ran across a ‘95 test of motorcycle gloves by Performance Bike where they tested gloves using a weighted silicon rubber hand and a 80 grade sanding belt moving at 50 mph. They tested Kevlar work gloves and found excellent abrasion resistance. They lasted an equivalent of 720 feet before developing holes. They concluded that this would be the ideal glove except for the fact that they don't slide well. In fact, the gloved hand grabbed on the belt and was ripped right off the mounting jig during the test.

They concluded that a Kevlar glove that has no wrist restraint is likely to come off in a crash. So, one solution is to wear Kevlar gloves under leather gloves that have a wrist restraint and longer cuffs. After the leather gloves hole-thru, the Kevlar armor will protect your hands and stay on because of the over-glove wrist restraint.

The same issues would apply for Kevlar underwear or outerwear. Without something to keep it in position it will grab the road surface and likely ride up on you till your skin is exposed. Another concern is that, because it grabs, it’ll send you tumbling down the road instead of sliding. Not good.

There was another magazine test that compared leather and jeans with Kevlar. The distance they held up in a skid on asphalt:
Plain Jeans - 6 feet
Jeans with Kevlar - 12 feet
Leather pants - 120 feet.

Aerostitch uses Cordura. Here's THEIR pitch:

THE STRAIGHT STORY on KEVLAR®


[i]Aero Design pioneered abrasion-resistant motorcycle riders' suits made of advanced technology fabrics, and we continue to be a world leader in this field. So we're often asked why we choose Cordura® nylon, ballistic nylon, and Gore-Tex® laminates for our Roadcrafter and Darien garments. Why not Kevlar®?

We'd heard good things about Kevlar's® qualities when we started our work, but back then Kevlar® simply wasn't available in a useable form, so we chose the most effective materials available. Our rigorous original testing and subsequent experience (as well as our customers') has shown Cordura® nylon's abrasion resistance is not merely sufficient, but it has far surpassed riders' needs and expectations.* We've examined and repaired hundreds of crashed suits, some tested at over 100 mph. Visit our shop sometime and we'll show you actual crash tested suits and our abrasion testing materials and apparatus. Today Kevlar® is manufactured in a useable form only by Schoeller Textile Company in Switzerland. It's readily available and used by other makers of protective riders' clothing.

We still choose Cordura®, not Kevlar®. Here's why:

Its advantages just don't make up for its disadvantages.

In pure, undiluted form, Kevlar® is lighter than nylon and has greater tensile strength. It won't melt like nylon after touching a hot muffler (or from the friction-generated heat of a high speed slide on hot pavement). Unfortunately, it's expensive and difficult to work with, which limits design and construction possibilities. And believe it or not, pure Kevlar® fabric actually is much less abrasion-resistant than Cordura nylon. Kevlar® fibers have far less elasticity than Cordura® nylon fibers, a crucial handicap in a crash. Even the smoothest pavements have a rough aggregate surface that causes abrasive pulling. Nylon's stretchy fibers will elongate, ride over the surface irregularities, then snap back into the weave (like a tree bending in a strong wind), but Kevlar® fibers quickly reach their tensile limit and snap.

To solve these problems, manufacturers blend Kevlar® with Lycra® and nylon. In this blend, "Kevlar®" is only about one third actual Kevlar®. This creates problems. Because of the additional nylon and Lycra®, much of its slight weight advantage over Cordura® is lost. It also loses some of its fire-resistant qualities. The blended Kevlar® fabric may burn or melt (just like nylon) when it comes in contact with a flame, hot component, or high frictional heat.

Some Kevlar® suits may provide good crash performance because they are specifically designed for sanctioned competitive roadracing. Roadcrafter suits aren't, but fortunately they're designed for everything else, including abrasion resistance at highway speeds.

We've tested (and will continue to test) Cordura® nylon against the alternatives. Its superior comfort, easy workability and excellent abrasion resistance make it our choice for quality, versatile, high performance riders' clothing. You've got a choice between the Roadcrafter and its proven record of outstanding abrasion performance, and something that costs more and delivers less. Guess what we recommend.

* For detailed information on leather vs. nylon vs. Kevlar®, see the September 1989 issue of Cycle. In the cover story, the editors duplicated the Aero Design tests developed for the first Roadcrafter suits. The April 1993 issue of Motorcyclist also has a feature on comparative abrasion resistance of various materials.

[Shazaam!]

For those of you that haven't heard about wearing CoolMax under your leather riding suits, you’re missing out for two reasons: cost and comfort.

When you wear a leather suit in hot weather you’re going to sweat in order to cool down. The problem is that if you wear cotton under your leathers, the cotton locally absorbs the moisture (until saturated) and holds it next to your skin while the leather absorbs it. You won’t be very comfortable when wet, and eventually the suit will begin to smell funky and need replacement from repeatedly absorbed perspiration.

If you wear a high-tech wicking fabric such as CoolMax under your leathers, the perspiration is transported away to vented areas where it can cool you by being evaporated away. So unlike cotton, it moves sweat away from warmer areas with no air flow (like your butt.)

In short, absorbent fabrics soak up moisture and hold on to it, wicking fabrics transfer moisture to drier areas, without getting saturated. This behavior allows the air flow at the suit openings and the perforations of vented suits to more quickly evaporate the moisture away - even from areas where there is no air flow. In addition, Coolmax has a silky texture that feels nice against your skin, and it’s somewhat slippery which makes it easier to climb in and out of leathers.

You can see this behavior after you wash it. When you hang it up, the water isn’t held, so the excess drips off quickly. The wicking action distribute the remaining water over the whole surface area, so it evaporates in a few minutes, unlike cotton which will stay moist for a much longer time.

Kushitani makes their inner suit out of CoolMax and Dainese supplies one with their top-of-the-line T-Age suits. Bohn makes one also.

Lightweight shirts, pants, underwear and socks made of CoolMax fabric are considered essential for tennis, golf, skiing, hiking and and cycling - so check your local shops first. There are other fabric materials that have similar wicking properties but Coolmax’s moisture management is superior.

[moozaad]

I agree with the coolmax stuff... it's excellent, I wear it at the gym and when riding. Great stuff.

[Ray]

GTS used to make some one piece suits in kevlar. Protek still do. Some Speedway riders appear to to use then.

As Mr S says the biggest issue appears that if you do go sliding down the road they tend to grab, so a slide becomes more of a tumble.

This probably isn't a problem for speedway riders on shale.

Like most things it's all a compromise, abrasion resistence, ease of movement, breathability, etc, etc.

When you start looking into the subject there's some very intetresting info out there.

One school of though being once you've got your lid on the Human body needs protection from the bottom up..........feet most vulnerable, then ankles, lower leg then knees and so on. Its said you shouldn't pay too much attention to ya collar bones as they are one of natures crumple zones

Ray.