Young riders!! Need your opinions and thoughts!

[Sais]

Hey guys!
Ok so BASICALLY I’m designing a product for young motorcyclists that ride around for their daily journeys. I’m not gonna bore you with the details I just have a couple of questions that I would really appreciate it if you could answer!

What kind of protective gear do you guys usually wear? Especially for you lower extremity…do you wear some sort of protection for your legs if you’re going to work/school/ a mate’s place? And whyy?

Is there anything about the whole riding experience that you may sometimes find challenging? Things like your rear view/ awareness of the position of other vehicles…being visible to other cars…being able to communicate your speed/direction with others….anything really! Even dealing with speed cameras etc.

Also, do you ever ride in packs?

Any kind of insight would be MUCH appreciated!

Cheeeeeers! xx

[Ruffian]

When younger I used to ride in hoody and jeans, silly I know, but at 17 you think your invincible,
Now I wear kevlar jeans and decent jacket minimum, even just commuting.
Always wear gloves, no gloves no riding not worth the risk.

Since having my "off" i am more awaketo how much damage can be done,
Luckily walked away due to full leathers,

I would like intercoms to be developed further so easier to install cheaper etc,
Speed cameras are a pain hence why going on track more next year.

As for visability to cars etc I prefer to uprate headlights and taillights to brighter options so should be seen at a greater distance and also safer for night time riding.

If you told us some more details we may be able to help further. Hope thjs helps

[Sais]

Thanks that was helpful! Well, I’m thinking to develop a solution to encourage young riders to wear lower body protection. I assume it’s quite of a burden having to get changed and stuff if you’re just going for a 5 min ride…so possibly something a lot more convenient…easy to put on/ carry around etc

I thought it would be interesting to add some other features to it..so that it would be more than just some sort of a protection…just giving users more reasons to put it on…I want it to be part of the riding experience if you know what I mean…it will be a bonus to make it help a safer journey

[TLS-Moose]

Hi Sals, it might be nice if you were to tell us a little about yourself in the "introduce yourself" section.

At 17-18, cost and form are, I guess, the most important things. Protection is of no interest if it takes away money for fuel/computer games/drinking/girls/boys, etc., ....... I think its an education thing as much as anything - I've always worn shoes that cover my ankles, gloves, helmet and a jacket ....... But equally have travelled thousands of miles in jeans with no issue ......

[Sais]

Hi Sals, it might be nice if you were to tell us a little about yourself in the "introduce yourself" section.

At 17-18, cost and form are, I guess, the most important things. Protection is of no interest if it takes away money for fuel/computer games/drinking/girls/boys, etc., ....... I think its an education thing as much as anything - I've always worn shoes that cover my ankles, gloves, helmet and a jacket ....... But equally have travelled thousands of miles in jeans with no issue ......

Yes of course! Apologies!
Im an industrial design student and I’m doing my final year project on this. 
I’m targeting 18-24ish year olds (for now)…you made a good point about it being an educational thing as well…I’ve thought about encouraging safer riding as well…possibly something to do with speed awareness exc..
As I mentioned earlier…I think the main point would be to make it appealing and convenient for these users…and giving them reasons to use it in all their journeys. What do you personally think about wearing leg protector for short distance journeys?

[littlebanditman]

Im 18 and use my bike for college every week and did use it 3 times a week last year, even when going to college I still wear all my protective gear, kevlar jeans, jacket and that, always do when im out on my bike

[Sais]

Im 18 and use my bike for college every week and did use it 3 times a week last year, even when going to college I still wear all my protective gear, kevlar jeans, jacket and that, always do when im out on my bike

brill! do you get changed when you get to college or keep your kevlar jeans on? how would you feel about something you could just put on top of normal trousers/jeans?

[littlebanditman]

i normally just keep my kevlar jeans on because they dont really feel any different to normal jeans, something that went over the top would be good for college because of having practical

[Sais]

i normally just keep my kevlar jeans on because they dont really feel any different to normal jeans, something that went over the top would be good for college because of having practical

thanks man, this is helpful! I dont wanna annoy you with a bunch of questions... but are there any features that would be of your interest? like something that would give you some sort of an alert etc..

[trotter251]

Hi there,
I mostly wear Kevlar jeans purely because I can get off the bike and continue wearing them in comfort, the only thing I have found that is slightly annoying with them is that once I'm off the bike and wish to put my phone or wallet in my pocket I struggle as the pockets are pretty small.
Regards to things I sometimes struggle with as a new rider, I do find it difficult when riding at night when car headlights glare on my visor and greatly reduce my vision of the road ahead.
Hope this helps you.

[Sais]

Hi there,
I mostly wear Kevlar jeans purely because I can get off the bike and continue wearing them in comfort, the only thing I have found that is slightly annoying with them is that once I'm off the bike and wish to put my phone or wallet in my pocket I struggle as the pockets are pretty small.
Regards to things I sometimes struggle with as a new rider, I do find it difficult when riding at night when car headlights glare on my visor and greatly reduce my vision of the road ahead.
Hope this helps you.

cheers man that's really helpful!
well..doesnt that mean you'll have to wear the same jeans over and over again? it's really impressive if you wear them whenever you're on your bike! i mean...would you still wear them if you're riding to a friend's place or something?! would you prefer something you could take off easily?!

[trotter251]

Hi there,
I mostly wear Kevlar jeans purely because I can get off the bike and continue wearing them in comfort, the only thing I have found that is slightly annoying with them is that once I'm off the bike and wish to put my phone or wallet in my pocket I struggle as the pockets are pretty small.
Regards to things I sometimes struggle with as a new rider, I do find it difficult when riding at night when car headlights glare on my visor and greatly reduce my vision of the road ahead.
Hope this helps you.

cheers man that's really helpful!
well..doesnt that mean you'll have to wear the same jeans over and over again? it's really impressive if you wear them whenever you're on your bike! i mean...would you still wear them if you're riding to a friend's place or something?! would you prefer something you could take off easily?!

Glad I could help!
Well I don't wear them while I am at work as I work outside and they would get wrecked, but they are perfect for going to a mates etc, if I'm going somewhere that I don't want to keep wearing them I tend to wear my textile trousers as they fit over normal clothes so I just take them off when I need to.
I guess with Kevlar jeans the knee pads are easy to remove so if they were a problem they could be removed when not riding and put in a backpack or something then just put back into the jeans when needed?
Cheers

[deej]

one of the biggest things i see in my business is that the pupils/the parents dont want to spend the money on gear but would prefer to wear casual superdry clothing to biker clothing..... the most important thing is to educate people to wear the right gear at the right time. if you can come with a way of doing that you'll be onto a winner

[billinom8s]

I was always told that wearing too may layers, especially on the legs can create problems if you come off.
The material that is inside your leathers/textiles is breakaway and has very little surface resistance so that when sliding you don't generate a lot of heat and burn the skin on your legs. This is why wearing things like jeans under your leathers isn't a good idea.

So you will have to think about the inner material as well as the outer.