>>299484>size 13 feetWelcome to my world. It's difficult, but not impossible. Google Alerts is your friend.
50mph is still pretty damn fast. My worst wreck was at ~15mph on the street. It doesn't matter if you're on a harley, a dualsport, a bicycle, a skateboard, whatever... 50mph into asphalt's gonna hurt. The bicycle guys make me laugh, when they're ripping by me on a downhill wearing nothing more than a spandex onesie and i'm geared/armored up for a crash... pic related. Dude ate shit hard not long before I arrived, road rash all up his knee/arm. Cop was just arriving on-scene after I grabbed this frame.
On the street, you want abrasion resistance. Leather's what the sport bike guys wear, it works well, but doesn't breathe worth a shit at low speeds. Cordura jacket with pads in the critical areas works well and is what I wear commuting.
Offroad, you need to be more concerned with impact protection. Hard plastic works better here. Knees/shins take a good bit of abuse, and kicking a rock at speed on singletrack will fuck up your foot even through a good MX boot. Chest/shoulder/elbow protection is really nice to have in the better get-offs, it's the reason I've been at work a few mondays.
Dualsport's about finding the balance between impact and abrasion protection, while keeping the gear reasonable for the environment. I can layer up and protect myself from both impact and abrasion, but at 80°F and sunny I won't be riding long before heat exhaustion takes its toll on me.
