5 essentials for new cyclists

[Profpointy]

Very silly article. Whilst I do usually wear gloves, other than summer, as I hate cold hands, to see them as "essential" in case you fall off makes me think learning to ride safely might be a higher priority ! Eye-protection? OK you could get an insect in the eye, and admittedly I have, but I've never bothered with eye protection cycling. Admittedly red I The helmet point obviously doesn't need yet another discussion

 

[Profpointy]

Why have electrolyte tablets when you can beer? Much tastier

As the slogan on a mate's t-shirt put it "Beer; so much more than just a breakfast drink"

 

[nickyboy]

In terms of injury protection, gloves or mitts are far more important than a bonce potty.

If the gloves are affecting your citculation then try a different pair.

Says who?

I ride with a helmet but I only wear gloves if it's very cold.

I've fallen off a few times over the past few years. Bangs on my helmet...several. Dunno if this has prevented injury but has definitely stopped my skull being directly impacted. Damage to my hands as a result of not wearing gloves....zero

My personal empirical evidence says that I don't need gloves as protection. Fine, wear them if you want to look like a pro (who do fall off a lot at high speed so maybe they have an argument for wearing them)

 

[Reynard]

I'll admit to having 4 skid lids. A fancy blue one for the road bike (the bike is blue), a gloss black one that will do road or MTB, and two Enduro style lids for the MTB, matt black and a bright neon green one so they can find me when I crash. The bike has neon green on it too (tart).

I've got one red and white Bell lid, but somehow, it matches all of my bikes.

All my bikes are mostly red.

 

[Drago]

Says who?

Says me, a professional instructor.

In 14 years of delivering training ive had plenty of riders come off and scuff up their gloves. Not a single one has scuffed a helmet even slightly.

Risk = the likelihood of an adverse incident X the potential severity of such an incident.

Ergo, the directly observed evidence says it is thus.

If you have professional expertise and experience in the field that reasonably demonstrates otherwise we would be genuinely interested to hear of it.

 

[nickyboy]

Says me, a professional instructor.

In 14 years of delivering training ive had plenty of riders come off and scuff up their gloves. Not a single one has scuffed a helmet even slightly.

Risk = the likelihood of an adverse incident X the potential severity of such an incident.

Ergo, the directly observed evidence says it is thus.

If you have professional expertise and experience in the field that reasonably demonstrates otherwise we would be genuinely interested to hear of it.

My directly observed evidence says otherwise

Show me the stats. Not your personal experience shoved through your anti-helmet filter. I mean real, independent stats. If you can't, your "directly observed evidence" is just as worthwhile/worthless as anyone else's, including mine

 

[matticus]

My personal empirical evidence says that I don't need gloves as protection. Fine, wear them if you want to look like a pro (who do fall off a lot at high speed so maybe they have an argument for wearing them)

I hurt my hands big time doing about 1mph in a car-park recently. Had "just popped down to the shop", so no proper cycling gear.
Nobody had helmets when we were kids, and I had a lot of grazed palms. At some point I started wearing mitts for "proper" rides on my road bikes - no idea why, but they felt nice! I know that on loooooooong rides they reduce discomfort for me, so win-win, or so it seems.

They don't look at all "pro" any more - lotsa pros don't wear gloves in the summer. Large numbers of the local CX kids don't wear them for Jan races :O (perhaps that's why they're faster than me).

Of course it's all luck, and we react to the bad or good luck as we believe best.

 

[lazybloke]

Must have been about 8 years ago I was sent to A&E with an unsual skin infection in my hands after grating them on tarmac; I've worn fingerless gloves since, or something warmer in winter.

Thinking about it, my clothing choices are usually based on bad experiences. Eg my wrecked "undercarriage" from touring in jeans means I now wear padded cycling shorts for long rides. <crosses legs>

There's also the issue that cycling can cause clothes to get dusty/wet/muddy/mucky/oily/sweaty. Do you want that on your best suit? Better to wear specific cycling clothes surely, although you might also be able to avoid the problem by using a bike with mudguards, chain guard, etc.
Sweat can be avoided by reducing effort.


Personally I stick to office clothes for commutes up to about 4 miles each way.
Jeans for rides to the shops, dentist, family rides, etc.

But if I'm doing a solo ride "for fitness", or for longer commutes, then I'll dress for comfort and practicality, and that means lycra. Plus it scares my colleagues.

 

[Brandane]

It's understood that helmets have their limits.

It would appear not, in the case of the quoted post to which my reply was directed. Consider them like a bump cap, and that will be more in line with their intended purpose.