Hot Weather Riding Gear suggestions

[Phoneman1981]

Hello Everyone: Can anyone make a suggestion on hot riding gear for my wife? When it gets hot, she refuses to wear long pants and will not wear her leathers. She enjoys the sun and would rather wear shorts. I prefer she not get on the bike without proper protection. Does someone know of a lightweight protective riding pant that allows good airflow that she could wear over her shorts and then remove easily during stops?

[saddlebum]

Hello Everyone: Can anyone make a suggestion on hot riding gear for my wife? When it gets hot, she refuses to wear long pants and will not wear her leathers. She enjoys the sun and would rather wear shorts. I prefer she not get on the bike without proper protection. Does someone know of a lightweight protective riding pant that allows good airflow that she could wear over her shorts and then remove easily during stops?

I have seen some light wieght protective chaps that are not made of leather at the bike shows that should fit the bill. Try look on line. Bare in mind some lady,s simply want to catch the suns ray's while riding, not sur there is a lot you can do about that.

[OldBear]

Olympia Airglide pants in silver with an Airglide jacket and vented gloves (and of course a helmet). Very good airflow yet you still have armor for the knees and cordura on all the "contact points". PLEASE don't let your lady ride in shorts:no-no-no:.....trip and fall on an oil n chip road while walking and see how you look, then imagine at 20 or 30 mph!!

 

I use the same gear for both the wife and I in the summer. It's really not any hotter than shorts and a tee shirt and you have a LOT more safety. You can also wear a "cooling vest" under the jacket for those days when it's REALLY hot. Frankly, if it's too hot for gear it's too hot to ride, and it's almost never too hot to ride! ATGATT!

[Panjandrum]

I have found on those really hot days, that soaking the head and T-shirt (long-sleeved preferrably) and then donning the helmet and vented leather jacket keeps me cooler than just riding in a shirt. The water takes longer to evaporate under the jacket, and you have the protection. I confess, I remove the leather chaps on hot summer days, and just wear jeans. However, I guess the same principle would work if you soaked the jeans and then put the chaps on.

 

I do know people with the water vests that are designed for the job, but those REALLY hot days are not that common in this part of the world.

[Sling]

Peggy and I wear cooling vests, and neck wraps they work pretty good. soak them in cold or ice water then put them on under your mesh jackets.

Vest by hyperkewl and neckwraps by cool downs

[CaptainJoe]

Get light colored mesh jacket and pants.

Cut inner chest pockets out of mesh jacket(it blocks all the air). Don't put things in the pockets of the mesh pants(it blocks all the air)

Have her wear a sports bra and evaporative shirt and shorts under the mesh protection. (exercise shirt and shorts) wick the moisture hence accelerates the evaporative process.

NO bluejeans as they will retain heat! Thin white tee shirt works ok but being cotton tends to hold heat.

 

Go to walmart and buy two empty 16 oz spray bottles. Fill with water. As your going down the road... especially in 90 or so degree heat spray yourself... You'll be plesantly surprised!

Edited June 6, 2011 by CaptainJoe

[Dave77459]

Bear in mind that if it is warmer than body temperature, allowing air to pass over your body is actually heating the body, rather than cooling. Heat transfers from hot to cold, and if your body is colder than the air, then the heat will enter your body. I think mesh is of dubious value in this regard... if it is truly hot. Those of us in the South know all too well how it feels to ride in a blast furnace.

 

Shorts are flat out a bad idea, IMO. First, there is the chance of road rash (although more than one nurse has told me she'd rather lose skin than spend hours having jeans material extracted from wounds). But there is also the ground effect over bare skin. The road is even hotter than torso-height, so by wearing shorts you are allowing super-hot air to warm your skin.

 

There was a very good article in Ironbutt Magazine that explained all this. My take-away was to ride at night.

 

Dave

[mini-muffin]

Might want her to take a look at this link to give her a bit of perspective on what can happen with no gear on. Not trying to scare her, just never know when you might end up down on the pavement.

 

http://wiki.sabmagfaq.org/Road%20Rash%20Queen

Margaret

[Bobby G]

Temperatures be dammed, my wife dresses for the fall, not for the ride - - heavy black boots, jeans, black chaps, leather jacket, full face helmet, leather gauntlet gloves and heavy wool protective neck gator.

 

 

Just kidding.

 

Here's how she really rides in the heat of summer. Ain't no way I'm going to change her mind either. I've tried.

 

(and yes, she did put the boots back on before we left the hotel!)

[Aussie Annie]

Colorado chaps. They made me heavy cotton on front and MESH on the backs of the legs. Check them out--great people to deal with

[Flyinfool]

Bear in mind that if it is warmer than body temperature, allowing air to pass over your body is actually heating the body, rather than cooling. Heat transfers from hot to cold, and if your body is colder than the air, then the heat will enter your body. I think mesh is of dubious value in this regard... if it is truly hot. Those of us in the South know all too well how it feels to ride in a blast furnace.

 

Shorts are flat out a bad idea, IMO. First, there is the chance of road rash (although more than one nurse has told me she'd rather lose skin than spend hours having jeans material extracted from wounds). But there is also the ground effect over bare skin. The road is even hotter than torso-height, so by wearing shorts you are allowing super-hot air to warm your skin.

 

There was a very good article in Ironbutt Magazine that explained all this. My take-away was to ride at night.

 

Dave

 

To something dry it is true that the air can have a heating effect on the object. BUT since skin is moist and when you are warm you do (should) perspire to add more moisture, it is the evaporation of that moisture that will lower the skin temperature to well below the air temp. It is a phenomenon that us in the north know all to well as wind chill. If the air temp is a LOT higher than body temp then you are correct that it would be best to insulate yourself from the heat. Up to 100°F it is best to get more air flow to the skin to cool it. I am not sure what the cutoff temp would be between better airflow and insulate from the heat. A lot of that number will be dependent on the individual and the current humidity.

 

If it is over 100°F I ain't going out side except to run from one air conditioner to the next. For me personally, I am very susceptible to heat stroke. So I just avoid heat whenever possible. For me 95°F the bike gets parked and I use a vehicle with AC. Everyone's heat threshold will be different.

 

I am watching this thread with great interest, I need cool Gear when the temp hits 70°F.

[Shamue]

Phoneman,

when it gets hot, the wife has a hankerchief she soaks around her neck and

has a large spray water bottle to keep her sprayed while riding. She'll even

spray me once in awhile. Long trips we try to beat the heat by riding early

6-7am then stop and take in some sights between 3-5pm or nap and ride later as it is

cooling for another hr or so. Can still run 450 + miles pretty easy.

 

Run through NM, AZ, NV, CO all summer and it works for us. There have been days

no matter what you try to do it is just flippin hot.

 

Yuma, Tuson, and Blyth AZ.

 

Cool riding.

[CaptainJoe]

MInni-muffin

 

"She closed her eyes as she continued her 522-foot tumble down Highway 550. "I never lost consciousness," she says, "but I remember wishing that I had." "

 

 

Sounds like her idiot friend needs to be dragged behind a car for 522'.

 

How fast was he going? My guess would be well over 100 mph. to have someone slide almost 1 1/2 foot ball fields... Disturbing to say the least...

 

Guess the moral to the story is wear protective gear....and, STAY AWAY FROM IDIOTS!

[ThomWill]

We just crossed the Mojave... used Ergodyne evaporative cooling vests ($34 from Amazon)... my wife had to take hers off because it was making her COLD. Also use Chilly-Pads from Frogg Toggs as cooling neck wraps. Off across Nevada on US 50 tomorrow... not worried about the heat at all. If it is a humid heat, different story, and no good answer.

[saddlebum]

MInni-muffin

 

"She closed her eyes as she continued her 522-foot tumble down Highway 550. "I never lost consciousness," she says, "but I remember wishing that I had." "

 

 

Sounds like her idiot friend needs to be dragged behind a car for 522'.

 

How fast was he going? My guess would be well over 100 mph. to have someone slide almost 1 1/2 foot ball fields... Disturbing to say the least...

 

Guess the moral to the story is wear protective gear....and, STAY AWAY FROM IDIOTS!

Something I have never understood is why crotch rockets have passanger seats and worse why anyone would perch themselves upon one of these tiny seats to start with.

 

Wether you are exposed to extreme cold or extreme heat, the one thing that is of the utmost importance is to drink plenty of fluid (preferebly water). In the heat water evaporates (sweat) to help cool the body. In the wind the body also gives off water to prevent the skin from drying out. People have also dehydrated in the extreme cold. DRINK lots of WATER and wear protective gear.

Edited June 7, 2011 by saddlebum

[CaptainJoe]

Drinking plenty of fluids... Agreed, I drink at east one blue Gatoraid G2 every day to replace the electrolytes lost due to large water consumption/sweating.

My wife drinks Orange Pedialyte... Yuk Nasty!

[The Marshal]

Highly recommend this!

LInk --> https://www.motoliberty.com/prod_detail.asp?Prod_ID=784&ImgId=2848

 

The Phase Change vest is made with "popsicle-packs" of a material that refreezes at 65F or below. It comes with 4 of these packs, 2 for the back and front.

It feels a little bulky like you are wearing an armored vest. But it is quite comfortable. When you put on the vest, the cold temps are 'invigorating' at first, but after you have it on for a few minutes you acclimatize to the cool fabric, and then you don't really notice it. Except that you are comfortable, and not stressing from the heat.

 

As an example, I wore this vest last August here in Dallas 5pm rush hour traffic. Air temp was around 102F, humidity was 8000%, and heat index was something found in the Middle East. Stop and go on the freeway. Lots of 'foot time'.

What was going thru my mind? "Wow, my *legs* sure are warm." Heheh.

 

I have gotten about 2.5 hours out of usage out of that high temp, and almost 4 hours out of sub-100 temps. I have found it great to wear when working on the yard, or venturing into the attic (gonna fix THAT problem this week).

 

I guestimate it takes 30-40 minutes in the freezer to recharge.

Moto-Liberty said they would warranty the ice-packs for the any damage; just keep the receipt. Woot!

[twigg]

Bear in mind that if it is warmer than body temperature, allowing air to pass over your body is actually heating the body, rather than cooling. Heat transfers from hot to cold, and if your body is colder than the air, then the heat will enter your body. I think mesh is of dubious value in this regard... if it is truly hot. Those of us in the South know all too well how it feels to ride in a blast furnace.

 

Shorts are flat out a bad idea, IMO. First, there is the chance of road rash (although more than one nurse has told me she'd rather lose skin than spend hours having jeans material extracted from wounds). But there is also the ground effect over bare skin. The road is even hotter than torso-height, so by wearing shorts you are allowing super-hot air to warm your skin.

 

There was a very good article in Ironbutt Magazine that explained all this. My take-away was to ride at night.

 

Dave

 

 

lol ... Insight

 

At temperatures above about 97F, you need to keep OUT of the wind. The article mentioned above shows very clearly how heat exhaustion and dehydration can happen really fast if you let the wind heat your body.

 

Even at lower temps the "breeze" is misleading. It feels "cooling" when actually it is simply "drying".

 

In those conditions, a full windproof riding suit is better by far. You can also tip water down the front and that will help carry the heat away.

[bongobobny]

Thanks Mini, I was going to suggest talking to anybody that ever went down, but that link is a perfect example!!!

Might want her to take a look at this link to give her a bit of perspective on what can happen with no gear on. Not trying to scare her, just never know when you might end up down on the pavement.

 

http://wiki.sabmagfaq.org/Road%20Rash%20Queen

 

Margaret

[Pegasus1300]

I'll go with the 2nd post in this series from Old Bear get her the Olympic Airglides.My wifes are in black but they are still very cool,they come with a water proof/warm liner so they can be worn 3 of 4 seasons.She can still wear her shorts underneath and slip the Airglides off atr a stop or the end of the ride.I really can't say enough about their quality and functionality.I also wear the Airglide jacket in Safty yellow.

[kevin-vic-b.c.]

Something wrong with my wife I guess..... she has only once complained of being hot and that was when we hit traffic on a freeway in 90* heat. Other than that she is always cold.

[steamer]

DAISY DUKES,BIKINI TOP AND SANDLES.....OH COME ON, SOMEONE HAD TO SAY IT.

[marinakorp]

I ususally wear mesh clothing.

 

For the heat (and I am succeptible to dehydration) I have a camel back that Imodified to hang in front of me.

 

Fill hald with ICE, rest with water... and I have an airconditioner for MANY miles. Get warm...take a sip, cool water and feeling comes back. Twobirds, one stone.

[Flyinfool]

DAISY DUKES,BIKINI TOP AND SANDLES.....OH COME ON, SOMEONE HAD TO SAY IT.

 

And then just ride real slow.

[TearlessTom]

MInni-muffin

 

"She closed her eyes as she continued her 522-foot tumble down Highway 550. "I never lost consciousness," she says, "but I remember wishing that I had." "

 

 

Sounds like her idiot friend needs to be dragged behind a car for 522'.

 

How fast was he going? My guess would be well over 100 mph. to have someone slide almost 1 1/2 foot ball fields... Disturbing to say the least...

 

Guess the moral to the story is wear protective gear....and, STAY AWAY FROM IDIOTS!

 

My thought exactly, My wife went down last October in Arkansas while we were there for a week. A short dog ran out of some tall grass and instead of chasing the bike he tried to cross the road. She hit his hind quarters, Handlebars snapped left and the left mirror hit her in the right chest. which sent her off the back and low side of the bike. I was behind her and could see the accident before it happened and there was nothing I could do.

She rolled about 90 feet, we were doing about 45-50 mph.

She was wearing her full leathers, Jacket and chaps and boots and full face helmet.

 

She came out of it with an abrasion to the left knee about the size of a quarter, the right elbow slightly smaller, and a hemothorax to the right lung and a rib fracture from the mirror slap.

 

She got back on the bike and rode it back to the condo but didn't ride anymore that week. She has more guts than I do I must say. Women are definately tougher.

 

Needless to say even in the heat she / we wear our protection. Leathers in the winter and armored mesh in the heat.