riding gear for the fleshy part

[soyavenger]

one of my neighbors has the full leather getup, jacket and chaps. im thinking of getting some protective gear, but if theres two parts id like to bounce down the pavement on, its two of the three that chaps leave unprotected. not really into the black leather scene, ive been looking at cordura jackets at the bike shops, but havent seen much in the way of lowers. carhartts would work, but what do the rest of you wear?

[Wahrsuul]

I have FirstGear riding britches.  Padding on the knees and hips, but nothing beyond the heavy ballistic nylon on the rear.  Guess they're more concerned with protecting the "pointy parts" than the softer stuff.

[Burgi]

I have Fieldsheer 4 season pants. They look like crap on me (I don't know a woman that thinks adding padding on her hips is attractive ) but otherwise they are OK and work though a huge temp range.
My husband has Draggin' Jeans. Unless you know what you looking at they pass as regular street jeans in public, no padding. Here is a test video if you are interested.

[Tryvelcro]

I'm going to get flamed, but I wear a mesh or textile jacket, gloves, boots and draggin jeans.  I know the jeans aren't optimal, but I haven't been able to find any "real" pants that fit.

[happycommuter]

It's cold enough that I'm still wearing my Aerostich Roadcrafter.  Highly recommended investment in safety, if you've saved your pennies.
When it starts hitting 80 degrees, I'll whip out the Firstgear mesh overpants.  I sort of crashed them once already and should buy a new pair.  NewEnough.com has several options and exceptional reviews and photos.
Over pants tend to look like full diapers when walking, but the point is that you can take them off when not riding.

The kevlar jeans do a fine job of abrasion resistance, but almost nothing for impact.  My friend 'tested' his Draggin' jeans with a low-speed spill on wet pavement.  No skin (or even denim) broken, but he had a huge bruise and was very sore for several days.

[soyavenger]

im most worried about road rash, i hear stories about people dumping at 60 or so and walking away, im sure theyre true if theyre lucky and wearing full, and i mean full, gear, but i cant imagine walking away from any serious spill. broken bones are one thing, but having the hide literally torn off you isnt that exciting a prospect... maybe i should buy a full helmet...

[Bumblebee]

maybe i should buy a full helmet...

There's no maybe about it. Crashes are called faceplants for a reason. It's best to be inside than outside when sliding along on one's face. BTDT and clearly recall the unique grinding sounds and the view while calmly thinking I'm glad I'm inside here instead of on the other side of the chinbar and visor. 20mph to zero, all face down in 4-grit belt sander gravel. An open face helmet of any kind would have been, at best, extremely bad..and likely far worse.

BTW, you want tight cheekpads. When you slam into the ground with older worn cheekpads that aren't tight, the helmet will shift and the chinbar will bust you in the nose really hard. That experience alone eliminated flip-up helmets from my list immediately since they have nothing in that area to dampen out the forces.

[Hondo]

I wear Olympia Airglide Overpants, much like the Airglide 2 -

http://www.olympiamotosports.com/mensairglidepant/menairglidepant.htm

[happycommuter]

Ooh, the overpants Hondo has are likely the ones I tried on a year or two ago at a Beemer shop.  Very nice, and I like that they came in a lighter color - Black in the summer is silly.

And really if you're going to bother with safety at all, you might as well not cut corners.  Heavy canvas pants are cute, but they are heavy, hot, absorb moisture and need frequent washing.  A pair of overpants zips up over whatever in a snap, breathes well, has real armor and usually some reflective trim and an optional rain liner.

[soyavenger]

hee hee...

[LuminousPube]

Over here in the UK I had the choice of Draggin Jeans or Hood Jeans and I found them to both be similar but I went with HoodJeans as the fit felt better, and I have to say they are perfect, casual fridays mean I only get changed if it rains.

I got the armour for them as well knee and hip armour just slips up hte leg and into a pocket held in place with velcro.

If im doing motorway travel I wear the armour just to and from work I either wear the kevlar lined jeans or just normal jeans.

Top half I have 3 jackets a leather, a textile and a denim with leather sleeves (perfect for summer) all have armour and reinforced sections