Tourmeister said:
Knees are fragile. Not being able to walk would suck. Those pants would be completely worthless in a crash. Sure, no one ever intends to crash or get hurt... REI and CampMor have the longjohn type pants pretty cheap. They are thinner than jeans but insulate very well and won't bunch up under riding pants. The length of the ride is irrelevant to the odds of being injured, especially in a congested urban area
I gotta agree with Scott and disagree with Jack on this issue. I'm lying on the couch right now, wishing my two swollen, tender, extremely sore knees would heal so I can get back on the bikes. And I crashed in full leathers, wearing the best armor available. Two weeks ago. I've places on both knees I don't dare touch, one place is so bad I can't wear a compression brace, so the swelling isn't going down. I'm bummed, to say the least. And Jack's clearly a lot tougher than I, never mind smashing knees, he says his skint parts heal...yeah, they do, but in the meantime wearing jeans on the skint places is like wearing a whirling wire brush against the skin. There's a name for the place they take us when we crash with bad road rash. It's called the Burn Ward.
Jack's right, it's all about how much risk you're willing to accept. Right about now I'm wishing for a RoboCop suit.
Yesterday at the BMW store while Suzanne was buying some actual riding boots with actual protection (after I told her she ain't riding pillion again until she has full gear...meaning she needed to get some boots and good gloves), I fell into a conversation with a nice fellow, there to get some armor for his handsome Vanson cruiser-style jacket. They showed him the Vanson "street" armor, which is essentially relatively dense foam, which might help if you fall off the couch. I showed him my knees. I showed him my undamaged elbows, told him about my only slightly sore shoulders. He left wearing Vanson's GP armor. And jeans. He said he couldn't 'afford' protective pants. I didn't say he can't afford to ride a bike, then, but I wanted to.
Maybe when I can ride again I'll quit preaching like this. In the meantime, all I can suggest is you squirm in your pews.