advice on race safety gear?

[feralchimp]

For leathers, I've pretty much decided on a Vanson one-piece (maybe a Hybrid). What should I be looking to add for additional chest/back/arm/leg protection?

I wear a 3-4 year old Arai Profile Medium on the street; fits well. Assuming I update for the track, should I look hard at anything else or just go with what I know?

Gloves and boots...I've got like no clue what's actually good and what just has a ton of robot-looking shit bolted onto the side. Also, is there anything people are using (and liking) for extra wrist protection?

Bonus question: For those of you that have broken bones at the track, how much hassle did you experience getting the claim paid by your health insurance company?

[Degsy]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A400 Safari/6531.22.7)

Erm, you fell down the stairs.

[union]

If youre buying a vanson 1 piece then it should be all set with the armor youll need. I have one Ill sell cheap but youll want to add a back protector.

Id update a 4 year old helmet. If you plan on racing youll need one that is not made of polycarbonate. Youre Arai would be fine. Ive crashed a few and I wont wear anything else.

As for boots. Ive had a set of Oxtars (now TCX) and I currently have a set of Astars. If you have big legs the oxtars probably wont fit. They didnt in my case. The Astars have been great from day one.

For gloves get a full gauntlet style. Ive had a few sets of Helds and they have done very well in crashes. Ill buy another set when its time.

[Paul_E_D]

Broken bones have always been covered without question for me. No need to lie. Check you policy for exclusions just in case.

Good question though, as you will be finding out the answer if you race for any length of time.

[CMG241]

Broken bones? I have crashed more than once on rt106 = to be exact..
1122 Route 106 North
Loudon, NH 03307
last time I broke ribs and punctured a lung, that was from fall off ladder.

[smf]

arai == awesomeness. but really any major manfacturer should be fine the key is to make sure it fits properly.
boots: i love my sidis but they weren't cheap
gloves: i've always heard held were good. personally, I'm probably getting these next: http://uncrate.com/stuff/knox-handroid-gloves/ you definitely want a gauntlet-style with good back-of-hand and wrist protection.
i've also got a chest protector. highly recommend them. and race with a mouthguard (http://www.shockdoctor.com/product/g...outhguard.aspx).

broken stuff: check your policy. i was honest when i broke my collarbone and it was all paid up minus my copays.

[union]

gloves: i've always heard held were good. personally, I'm probably getting these next: http://uncrate.com/stuff/knox-handroid-gloves/ you definitely want a gauntlet-style with good back-of-hand and wrist protection.

Personally Id stay away from those. They do look badass. However I was reading about them. Ill have to find it but a guy lost a finger crashing those. Apparently the exterior armor broke and pierced through the glove.

Here it is.

http://www.speedzilla.com/forums/str...id-gloves.html

[OreoGaborio]

Even in a suit with full armor, I still wear a chest and back protector. www.impactarmor.com has some great stuff. Little pricey compared to some, but custom fit and awesome protection. I've had mine for about 6 years now and I don't see me retiring it anytime soon.

For gloves & boots, I wear high quality stuff from major brands. Held Phantom gloves on my hands and Alpinestars Supertech R boots on my feet.

TRY STUFF ON BEFORE YOU BUY!!! If it fits weird or uncomfortably then you're gonna be miserable on the track, especially if you're doing a track day and you're riding allllll day.



For broken bones, I've never had any issues asside from Doctors telling me that I'm crazy

[feralchimp]

TRY STUFF ON BEFORE YOU BUY!!! If it fits weird or uncomfortably then you're gonna be miserable on the track

I live right around the corner from Riverside Motors, and they seem to have some gear in stock but not a ton. Aside from GBM in Arlington, any brick-and-mortar places in the Boston area with a decent race gear selection?

And tnx for the links-

[OreoGaborio]

Race gera in the Boston area? Unfortunately, not really.

Duncanmoto in Watertown is cool and has some stuff, but mostly street gear.

Seacoast Sport Cycle up in NH has some race gloves & boots you can try on. Not sure if they have Alpinestars, but I know they have Sidi, RevIt, Dainese and a maybe few others.

[smf]

Personally Id stay away from those. They do look badass. However I was reading about them. Ill have to find it but a guy lost a finger crashing those. Apparently the exterior armor broke and pierced through the glove.

Here it is.

http://www.speedzilla.com/forums/str...id-gloves.html

very good to know. thanks!

[DoubleRGirl]

look at the alpinestars bionic vest, it has the chest and back protector

[RyanNicholson]

The only thing I have to add to this thread is a laugh at all the "and with my broken bones it was ______"


gatta love racing

[Nazo]

I buy a new helmet every 3 years, which I believe is policy with LRRS (or maybe they just require snell 2010). Its expensive but its your head and the impact material inside does get more brittle after a few years of use from what I have read.
I like to buy good gloves as they won't rip apart in a high speed slide, but a cheaper glove probably will. I use Alpinestar GP Plus I think is the model and I really like them.
A back protector is a must, but be sure you don't get one that may restrict your movement...some are kind of big and bulky.
I also use Alpinestar boots, I think they are SMX Plus. Boots are another item that could prevent a broken ankle in a hard crash.

As for the broken bones, I've said I was mountain biking before. I didn't want to chance a clain being denied from a high risk activity. You probably want to read your company policy. Some (or most) companies have policies that may deny claims for those rare high risk activities such as motorcycle racing. Its a smart question.

[feralchimp]

I like to buy good gloves as they won't rip apart in a high speed slide, but a cheaper glove probably will. I use Alpinestar GP Plus I think is the model and I really like them.
A back protector is a must, but be sure you don't get one that may restrict your movement...some are kind of big and bulky.
I also use Alpinestar boots, I think they are SMX Plus. Boots are another item that could prevent a broken ankle in a hard crash.

Thanks for getting specific. You've got me wondering about the back protector now though...I'm 5-9+ but only weigh in around 155, so a back protector wouldn't need to be very big before it'd be taking up a lot of suit. The "rent first" advice is sounding better and better.

[CMG241]

oh and my back protector WITH chest protector surely helped make having a bike ride up and over me while face down on the track a little more survivable. I wouldnt race again without both.

[Rada]

How about neck braces? I'v looked at lot's of pictures and seldom see a Leatt brace on a road racer. Why? They are popular in MX.

[Chippertheripper]

There aren't any really designed to work with a rr suit and street helmets yet, to my knowledge. I expect you'll start seeing some being marketed soon.

[nmendell]

Check with Barnacle Bill for leathers as an alternative to Vanson. I hear great things about his work. (I am on my second Vanson suit.) Definitely call Mike Braxton at Impact Armor for chest and back protector. And then: spend money on tires.

[feralchimp]

spend money on tires.

Wow, totally forgot about tires. Any suggestions for either an SV or a 125?
I'm guessing slicks are probably overkill for a total noob, but on the other hand more traction is better and street legality is a non-issue.

[Chippertheripper]

Anything from the major brands will be more tire than you can use. Find a good deal, or buy some takeoffs.

[Kurlon]

Aired down 4 year old Michelin Pilot Roads with 9k miles on them can keep a Duc ST3 stuck to the track running 1:30s without braking a sweat. Any DOTs with the pressure set correctly will do you well for quite awhile.

[BrianC]

Personally Id stay away from those. They do look badass. However I was reading about them. Ill have to find it but a guy lost a finger crashing those. Apparently the exterior armor broke and pierced through the glove.

Here it is.

http://www.speedzilla.com/forums/str...id-gloves.html

I can also add that those gloves didn't even last a weekend for me... I had a brand new pair I brought to the track and by the end of fri. practice a finger blew out on me. I sent them back and Knox said it was a warranty issue and they're sending me a new pair but I don't know if I trust them anymore. I might sell them or trade em for something else. I've been looking into Helds or maybe Heroic. Luckily I had my spare gloves for the races!

[lrrs313]

Spend the money on your hands, feet, and head. I've had very good luck with Held gloves (I think Galaxy and then Phantoms), Alpinestars boots (Supertech, wow have they gotten expensive), and Arai (RX-7 Corsair, saved me in at least one big impact that I walked away from without any more than a little headache). A good back protector is a must, but as the others have said don't go overboard as some of really big ones may inhibit movement. I never wore a chest protector in the past, but I don't think I will go back to racing without one.

EDIT: If you come up to the track to watch a race weekend, Street and Comp has a bunch of high end gloves you can try on to test fit.

[smf]

Any DOTs with the pressure set correctly will do you well for quite awhile.

remember that any actual race tire (dot or slick) will need a few non-casual laps to heat up too. a road tire geared towards track use will give tons of grip - albeit not as much as a race tire - and not require much at all in the way of heatup time.