Right Gear for the Ride

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Right Gear for the Ride

• Be smart, wear protective gear!

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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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Helmets

• Types of helmets
• Full Face
• Open Face
• Half Helmet

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Helmets

• Finding a good helmet is as easy as remembering
  the 4 S's Size, Strap, Straight and Snell.
• Size Try on several different helmets before you
  purchase one. The best way to gauge comfort level
  and fit is through comparison. The helmet should
  fit comfortably all the way around your head.
  Additional pads can be used to make it snug.
• Strap Pay attention to the chin strap. Make
  sure that the chin strap fits around your ear and
  under your chin snugly and comfortably. The
  helmet should not shift on your head.
• Straight Know how a helmet should fit. A helmet
  is meant to be worn low on the forehead, just
  above your eyebrows. Look into a mirror or have a
  friend/parent help you determine the proper fit.
  
• Sticker Look for Snell certification. Snell
  Standards are the most stringent in the world,
  exceeding those set by the Consumer Products
  Safety Commission (CPSC), American Society of
  Testing Materials (ASTM) and the American
  National Standards Institute (ANSI). Need to know
  which helmet is Snell certified? Browse through
  our helmet certification lists.

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Helmets

• Should be Dot and/or Snell approved
• Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218 (FMVSS
  218) and is known commonly as the DOT helmet
  standard.
• A Snell sticker is your best assurance that the
  helmet meets both Snell and DOT.
• Snell link below gives a listing of all the
  helmets that are Snell approved
• William (Pete) Snell, auto racer died due to
  failure of helmet and his friends start the SNELL
  testing in 1957.
• http//www.mxdirtrider.com/h-resources/s-about-Sne
  ll.htm Snell link
• http//www.smf.org/articles/dot.html DOT Link

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Riding Clothes

• Shirts and jackets should be long sleeve
• Pants should be of leather, blue jeans, or
  synthetic material (kevlar), and be full length
  no shorts.
• Bright colored for safety.
• Rain gear comes in breathable (frogg toggs) or in
  a non-breathable form and that should be taken
  into account for the season.
• Should fit to the body and not flap in the wind
  or tangle in moving parts of the bike.

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Gloves

• Full fingered
• Non Slip
• Made of cowhide, animal skins, man made
  materials (nylon, kevlar)
• Need the palms of your gloves reinforced with
  leather or knitted kevlar for abrasive
  resistance.

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Footwear

• Should cover the entire foot and ankle
• Non-skid soles
• Good material would be thick leather or second a
  durable pair of over the ankle athletic shoes
• If laced make sure they are tucked in to boot to
  keep from becoming attached to things like the
  foot pegs making braking a challenge.

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Eye-ware

• Shatterproof
• Scratch free
• Vented to prevent fogging
• Full eye coverage
• Goggles
• Helmet Shields (clear only at night)
• Windshields do not count as eye-ware.

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Summary

• Wear the five pieces of gear in case you go down
  that can keep the injuries to a minimum
• Helmet, gloves, over the ankle boots or shoes,
  long sleeves, and shatterproof eye-ware.
• Remember, only cover up what you want to keep!