Toshio Uemura Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 I was wondering, what kind of protective gear is actually most comfortable and easy to use. Any recommendations? As for using a mirror, I can't bring myself to fixing one at my helmet as I have seen in several different clips on YouTube. Helmet mirrors look quite practical but not really stylish and rather dangerous in case of a bad fall. They might insure my face or even my eyes. So I decided to go with this set up in the pictures below and I would like to share this with you, as I found it rather safe an practical. Having a mirror in the palm of your hand also has the advantage of protecting your hand in case of a fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 21 hours ago, Toshio Uemura said: I was wondering, what kind of protective gear is actually most comfortable and easy to use. Any recommendations? As for using a mirror, I can't bring myself to fixing one at my helmet as I have seen in several different clips on YouTube. Helmet mirrors look quite practical but not really stylish and rather dangerous in case of a bad fall. They might insure my face or even my eyes. So I decided to go with this set up in the pictures below and I would like to share this with you, as I found it rather safe an practical. Having a mirror in the palm of your hand also has the advantage of protecting your hand in case of a fall. I've had lots of falls including a recent rather bad one. The helmet mirror has survived them all. I like the hand mirror but I think the helmet mirror is superior because you have constant situational awareness. With the hand mirror you have to proactively position your hand to get the view you want. I can't believe you get 100% time coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toshio Uemura Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 On 24. Juli 2017 at 5:37 AM, Marty Backe said: I've had lots of falls including a recent rather bad one. The helmet mirror has survived them all. I like the hand mirror but I think the helmet mirror is superior because you have constant situational awareness. With the hand mirror you have to proactively position your hand to get the view you want. I can't believe you get 100% time coverage. Since you are a very experienced rider, you are probably right especially when riding in traffic and on public roads and I thank you for your comments. Here in Japan we are not supposed to ride EUCs on public roads, so 90% of the time I am riding in parks or on small mountain trails or even off-road, so I rarely need to see what is behind me. That's one reason why I choose the handheld mirror, because I use my helmet every time I ride. But I might want to get myself one of these helmet mirrors for touring on cycling roads. Where did you get yours. Any specific brand you would recommend? And another question: Are there any good tutorials on riding backwards? I would like to try that sooner or later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 47 minutes ago, Toshio Uemura said: Since you are a very experienced rider, you are probably right especially when riding in traffic and on public roads and I thank you for your comments. Here in Japan we are not supposed to ride EUCs on public roads, so 90% of the time I am riding in parks or on small mountain trails or even off-road, so I rarely need to see what is behind me. That's one reason why I choose the handheld mirror, because I use my helmet every time I ride. But I might want to get myself one of these helmet mirrors for touring on cycling roads. Where did you get yours. Any specific brand you would recommend? And another question: Are there any good tutorials on riding backwards? I would like to try that sooner or later. I use the Race Icon mirror, available at Amazon, but of course I don't know where in Japan. Here's my review For backward riding you can view my 10 episode series where you can watch me learn. Here is Episode 1 and you can watch the rest from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toshio Uemura Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 Thank you very much! Your advice is very much appreciated. Great review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US69 Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 On 23.7.2017 at 10:37 PM, Marty Backe said: The helmet mirror has survived them all. I like the hand mirror but I think the helmet mirror is superior because you have constant situational awareness. With the hand mirror you have to proactively position your hand to get th But Marty...to be fair: I have tested a mirror helmet also, it was the same you had, didnt you also had to reposition your head and concentrate a good few seconds, to get a good look/view in this "mini-mini" glas-piece? So -from my view- a wrist mounted mirror(on top of the wrist, not this "in hand hold" mirror) might be not much worse or lets say as good as a helmet mounted mirror. In Consequence i got rid of them all :-)....and do the good old shoulder look i learned for car driving, still seams the most natural for me :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrelwood Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 On 7/23/2017 at 0:26 PM, Toshio Uemura said: I was wondering, what kind of protective gear is actually most comfortable and easy to use. I've gone with the easy route, as I'm riding several trips a day. I bought a 2nd hand motorcycle jacket with integrated elbow and shoulder shields. I replaced the original elbow shields with proper roller skate ones. I like the jacket quite a bit! My riding pants also have integrated knee pads. I'm waiting for my Hillbilly wrist support gloves to arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 1 hour ago, KingSong69 said: But Marty...to be fair: I have tested a mirror helmet also, it was the same you had, didnt you also had to reposition your head and concentrate a good few seconds, to get a good look/view in this "mini-mini" glas-piece? So -from my view- a wrist mounted mirror(on top of the wrist, not this "in hand hold" mirror) might be not much worse or lets say as good as a helmet mounted mirror. In Consequence i got rid of them all :-)....and do the good old shoulder look i learned for car driving, still seams the most natural for me :-) Sure, I have to turn my head a little, but for me it works very well. Less effort than moving my hand. To be fair I've never tried a hand mounted mirror. Everyone is different for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 This helmet saved my head last year when i face plant during night ride. They now have new style it appears to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 5 hours ago, Marty Backe said: Sure, I have to turn my head a little, but for me it works very well. Less effort than moving my hand. To be fair I've never tried a hand mounted mirror. Try one of these hand mirrors Marty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 54 minutes ago, Rehab1 said: Try one of these hand mirrors Marty. Always the smart-$!^% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 15 minutes ago, Marty Backe said: Always the smart-$!^% Don't be shy Marty....such a handsome reflection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 2 hours ago, Rehab1 said: Don't be shy Marty....such a handsome reflection. Subtle. I almost missed that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scatcat Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 9 hours ago, Marty Backe said: Sure, I have to turn my head a little, but for me it works very well. Less effort than moving my hand. To be fair I've never tried a hand mounted mirror. Everyone is different for sure. With my helmet mirror, I find my situational awareness goes up. With a helmet on, and the wind noise, it is far to easy to miss a reasonably silent car, or bicycle coming up behind you. But since the mirror is in the peripheral vision all the time, I kind of get a feeling I'm not alone even when not looking directly in it. And doing a fast check takes but a few moments, and minimal movement of the head just to cover all the dead angles. The hardest part for me, was learning how much the mirror skews the perspective, and how far away/close things really are. My mirror are rather convex, so things are really quite a lot closer than they look in the mirror - much more so than your typical rear-view mirror in a car... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toshio Uemura Posted July 27, 2017 Author Share Posted July 27, 2017 12 hours ago, Scatcat said: With my helmet mirror, I find my situational awareness goes up. With a helmet on, and the wind noise, it is far to easy to miss a reasonably silent car, or bicycle coming up behind you. But since the mirror is in the peripheral vision all the time, I kind of get a feeling I'm not alone even when not looking directly in it. And doing a fast check takes but a few moments, and minimal movement of the head just to cover all the dead angles. The hardest part for me, was learning how much the mirror skews the perspective, and how far away/close things really are. My mirror are rather convex, so things are really quite a lot closer than they look in the mirror - much more so than your typical rear-view mirror in a car... Talking about situational awareness with the helmet mirror, I am afraid, I might become so used to the mirror being there that I will glance toward the upper right whenever I hear footsteps behind me while walking down the street. Am I paranoid or can any of you helmet mirror wearers relate to such an imagination? Wait! I guess you glance toward the upper LEFT since in Japan we are driving on the other side of the road different from most of the rest of the world. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scatcat Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 3 hours ago, Toshio Uemura said: Talking about situational awareness with the helmet mirror, I am afraid, I might become so used to the mirror being there that I will glance toward the upper right whenever I hear footsteps behind me while walking down the street. Am I paranoid or can any of you helmet mirror wearers relate to such an imagination? Wait! I guess you glance toward the upper LEFT since in Japan we are driving on the other side of the road different from most of the rest of the world. ? I can TOTALLY relate to that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrelwood Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 16 hours ago, Scatcat said: bicycle coming up behind you. That stopped happening to me the day I got my KS-16S! There must still be something wrong with your GT16. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scatcat Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 21 minutes ago, mrelwood said: That stopped happening to me the day I got my KS-16S! There must still be something wrong with your GT16. ? Nothing wrong at all. It's just that the bicycle road where I commute, has these totally bonkers bicyclists that go on 18-gear bicycles with tires the width of my pinkie. It is by no means uncommon for those spandex-phantoms to do 25 mph+ without any other protection than a flimsy aerodynamic helmet and their skin-tight sausage casing that leaves far too little to the imagination... I probably COULD keep up with them or even overtake most of them, but I still value my life and I prefer to let the bones in my body stay unbroken, my brain unscrambled and my skin without the need of transplanted grafts. In short I tend to keep my speed below 22mph-ish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrelwood Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 48 minutes ago, Scatcat said: spandex-phantoms ... I guess the free passages here are short enough that the bicycles don't catch up on me. The 16S accelerates like a bullet! After riding alone and getting a bit blind to the EUC acceleration it's interesting to ride in traffic. Usually once bicyclists have their both foot on pedals I've already gone way bye-bye! In reality I'm a fairly peaceful rider, even overly cautious when there is anyone else around as I have to prepare for their mistakes also. But I love an occasional safe situation to speed up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scatcat Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 9 hours ago, mrelwood said: I guess the free passages here are short enough that the bicycles don't catch up on me. The 16S accelerates like a bullet! After riding alone and getting a bit blind to the EUC acceleration it's interesting to ride in traffic. Usually once bicyclists have their both foot on pedals I've already gone way bye-bye! In reality I'm a fairly peaceful rider, even overly cautious when there is anyone else around as I have to prepare for their mistakes also. But I love an occasional safe situation to speed up! Well, if you have 2kW in you motor, accelerating fast is not really a problem , and it is so much fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toshio Uemura Posted July 28, 2017 Author Share Posted July 28, 2017 11 hours ago, Scatcat said: I can TOTALLY relate to that... I bet you could ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toshio Uemura Posted July 29, 2017 Author Share Posted July 29, 2017 Another safety related issue I would like to share is my new BELL that I got myself for an-apple-and-an-egg in a small bicycle shop. I often run into situations, where have to pass older people or kids in parks or cyclists on cycling lanes. Once I used the horn of my KS16 which got me lots of angry looks. (Never used it again!) Not making any sounds isn't an option either, since the Ninbot is almost soundless and both my GotWays are much to fast to not frighten pedestrians when taken by surprise passing them from behind. Whistling a tune sometimes does the trick, but only if you ride slowly. So I started to use this inexpensive little bell and found it really useful in making pedestrians and other riders aware of me, when nearing from behind. Keeping the bell on your pouch near your hip makes it easy to reach and quite safe in case of unexpected dives. Anybody has any other tips or hints for such situations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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