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Motorcycle helmets and gloves

Schuberth all the way!

ESME, ESMS

Glad the pointer to Urban Rider was useful. Ride safe!

FI/IRI (London/South East)
EGKB (Biggin Hill), United Kingdom

Urban Rider, New Kings Road = Awesome
Now own a pair of Tucano Urbano Gig pro gloves
Already have a Vespa helmet, see photo

Vespa, 150 Sprint Veloce 1972, as certified by the Vintage Motor Scooter Club
DVLA classed as ‘Historic’
No MOT
No Road Tax
No Congestion Charge
No LEZ
No ULEZ
Free parking in most boroughs, other than Westminster (£1/day)
Filtering around traffic

Almost as good as a plane. Almost.

Last Edited by matthew_gbr at 02 Jun 20:24
EGL*, United Kingdom

Now I own a scooter …

EGL*, United Kingdom

Some good debates on full face vs. open. http://modernvespa.com/forum/topic20224
However, use case is low speed city (~20-30 mph) and needs are for portability and compact (can’t leave it with scooter, need to carry). Need two of them as well ;-).
I think therefore my criteria is largely (1) open (3/4 not half) rather than full face (comfort primarily, but has weight and size impacts); (2) classic/vintage style rather than modern (personal aesthetic taste, not functional requirement); (3) leather linings rather than synthetic (natural materials, breathability, quality, etc*); (4) lightweight and compact.
* not sure how realistic that is? I see the davida jet, hedon hedonist, helstons, etc Nice high quality, beautifully made brands.
But that’s all good in theory … do need to go and try on to see what fits / looks good.

EGL*, United Kingdom

I agree on modes of transport. Drove today Kennington →Vauxhall Bridge → Paddington and traffic feels like pre-pandemic levels. That’s cars. Scooters get to filter. Cycles even more so.

We cycle quite a lot (incl. during pandemic for exercise) and will continue to do so: lots of route options and flexibility (e.g. parks, cycle lanes, etc) and the exercise. Always pedal power and she is a bit anti electric-assist (though, I wonder if I could convince her :). I’ve used Lime bikes and the electric-assist is really handy.

The scooter is an additional mode for a bit more fun, especially when two up, also when going somewhere further and/or to not get so sweaty, etc. Complementary.

Appreciate that it feels like taking the Vespa’s heart out. She tells me to get a new Vespa Electrica, but the old school models are awesome and I say it’s a form of upcycling to bring them into new non-ICE world without ripping more resources out of the earth to build or run. I’m a sucker for design classics and beautiful things. Already a number of kits out to convert Vespa and Lambretta, e.g. https://www.veteranvespaclub.com/news-updates/2019/96/electric-dreams, though I’d be thinking to embed a socket and a charger so it can be charged at a station. Electric range is ~30 miles.

Thanks for the glove recommendation!

EGL*, United Kingdom

For gloves I’d recommend Held Air n Drys. Might not be the most retro glove on the market, but they aren’t too stormtrooper-y and they are extremely comfortable and versatile.

United Kingdom

This may be off on a tangent, but for zipping around a city, you may like to look at an e-bike mountain bike

An e-mountain bike is a waste of time, parts and money around a city, especially a flat one. Too much weight, too many unnecessary parts. An electric single-speed with torque sensing from say Ampler or Coboc is more than enough – they are between five and ten kgs lighter than a e-mountain bike, and cheaper.

T28
Switzerland

This may be off on a tangent, but for zipping around a city, you may like to look at an e-bike mountain bike.

If you get one which doesn’t have the power assistance limited to ~20mph, then you can zoom along almost effortlessly at 30mph+. For specific applications like this, or for biking for someone who lives on top of a big hill and who would otherwise not bother at all, they are amazing. You can vary the power assistance to suit your desire to do some “work”. I am not buying one because at 20-25kg they are too heavy to lift over a fence/stile, plus I MTB for fitness/fun and not to get from A to B, and I avoid huge hills.

OTOH, and I have done ~100k miles on motorbikes, a motorbike is a lot safer in traffic because you aren’t riding in the gutter. But you will know this.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Will be interesting to see whether it is quicker than cycling.

My commute Streatham to St Pauls is 28 minutes by pedal bike, versus 40 minutes on the motorbike.

FI/IRI (London/South East)
EGKB (Biggin Hill), United Kingdom
18 Posts
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