Hurtle Gear Now Stocking Knox Armour

My hips aren't the same shape.

OK, there are a few things about me that might make me aesthetically challenged, but some of them are genetic, while others come from wear and tear. The hip thing came about because about 6 years ago I was cut off on the road by a young lady who thought watching where she was going was optional while driving. It cost me a Ducati I really liked, and even though I washed quite a lot of the speed off before I hit the ground, it resulted in a bang on the right hip that is still with me today.

By comparison, my left hip was one of the points that made direct contact with the track in my latest racing misadventure. This time I was still on the gas when the front let go, and I hit the ground a tad harder. It cost me a new helmet, and scuffed up my leathers just a bit. The point that was made pretty clear to me is that we get very different outcomes from falling over, and one of the important variables is how we're dressed. The hip section in my race leathers is thick leather with a significant padding spot, just where you're going to touch down.

I go years between falling off, or at least that's the plan, but experience tells me that where significant injuries are concerned, once is enough, you don't have to do it all the time. So after the last incident we got to looking at protective wear.

Hurtle Gear works on the basis that we find a company that makes it's products well and has consistently high quality standards. We just don't have time to check every single item that comes through our hands, so we use the brands to do their work properly. We checked for quality and for riders' impressions of armour worth wearing, and we settled that the brand we want to represent is Knox. It doesn't hurt that I've been wearing their back protector for about 3 years and I'm quite happy with it, though to be honest, I don't think I've put it to the test.

Dave and Grae aren't really fashion icons, and we've stayed clear of wearables, but I'm pretty confident about this stuff because it's not about fashion, it's about riding all the time and expecting to stay in good shape. The armoured shirts actually look pretty good I confess, but that's not why we wear them. What they do is put the padding right against the place that'll touch the road, and hold it there, while letting you remain comfortable.

A while back, I would ride in the least expensive gear I could get away with. I now know how much you lose with an injury that stops you working, even though I haven't wound up with a permanent disability. Either way, when it came to decision time, Hurtle came down with the good gear over the affordable gear.

As always, we stock what we sell, we use what we sell, and we're proud of what we sell. You'll find a limited range of the Knox gear on our site, and we'll buy more of it than we sell every month. Have a look at it and ask us for anything you don't see.

BTW, much as it would demonstrate the point, you don't need to see photos of my hips.