Another newbie

[JohnA]

Hi,

Just thought I would check in as I am starting out commuting into London over the next few weeks and I am bound to come here asking for advice. It is worth mentioning that I am a car driver, and have commuted by push bike into central London now for 7 years so I do have road knowledge. I expect the push bike experience to be the most valuable when on a scooter.

I am changing modes as a 32 mile round trip per day is starting to play havoc with my knees, in the dark & cold I start to get demoralised after about halfway on the way home and that means I lose concentration. I also want to cut my journey time as I have two young children and getting home earlier means I can help with the end of day routine.

So I have started Project Scooter….

I am taking my CBT this Sunday - the £60 Groupon deal is offered by the company I had chosen to do the CBT with...my first stroke of luck!

The second stroke of luck is that an old friend of mine is lending me a scooter (a Vespa 50cc) for a few weeks so I can see if I get on with this mode of transport! That is the real result!

My friend is almost identical size and shape to me and he has been riding this model for years so I think that I will be physically compatible with this hairdryer. It is probably a bit underpowered for my 32 mile round trip, but it should suffice for me to see if I want to by a 125.

I need to buy jacket / gloves / over trousers and helmet….

The advice I am looking for now, is to do with helmets. To be honest, budget is not an issue - I am happy to spend £300+ if it means I have got the best protection.

What I would like to know is if anyone can recommend a dealership in the Woodford area of East / North East London that will give me good advice as to fit and also to style of helmet? I have read the advice threads on this board and can not see a recommended dealers thread - apologies if I have missed that.

Also, does anyone have an opinion on route / journey time for a commute from Woodford (IG8) to Hammersmith (W6)? My preferred route for cycling is Lee Bridge Road – Essex Road – Pentonville Road – Euston Road – Bishop’s Bridge Road – Westbourne Grove – Pembridge Villas - Holland Park Ave – Shepherds Bush Green & Shepherds Bush Road to Hammersmith. Will this work on the scooter?

I think I should avoid the A12 / Embankment until I have more experience or more power. Correct?

Thanks in advance.

John.

[Teflon-Mike]

CBT may let you ride a scooter unsupervised, but its no qualification. Just a certificate to say you have had your first lesson.

Kit is good; but it dont make you 'safe'. Risk of having a crash is much the same whether you are wearing a pair of speedo swimmig trunks, or a full GP Race Suit... and even THAT is no magic 'force field' to stop you getting hurt.... just limits how much you get hurt.

Safe comes from NOT crashing in the first place; Training & getting your tests done, is a better way to prepare yourself than putting faith in leather or armour.

As for kit; you buy on fit. Best helmet in teh world wont do a thing if its too big or not fastened; best armour no good if your jackets so baggy it moves from where its needed soon as you start sliding.

Its always a compomise between price, protection & practicality.

Textiles tend to offer more warmth & water-proof, and often a bit more comfort and easier getting on and off, for ultimate protection; but on the road, leather's advantages are limited; its great for abrasion resistance, but we tend not to slide so far on a public road, as a race track, as we tend not to have so far to go before we hit something hard and unyeilding.

As for helmets; all have to meet minimum safety standards; a top of the range £600 helmet may not offer much more crash protection than a £30 'budget' one. Difference mainly will be in build quality & finish, comfort and 'use'.

Full face helmets have a visor and it often mists up, especialy in UK weather.

Better hats have better venting systems to help stop it misting up, and 'nicer' often easier to use ratchet mechanisms to hold it closed, a notch open for misting, or fully open.

On Cheaper hats, this can have more safety implications than the crash protection.... tends to help a lot of you can actually SEE what you are about to crash into or be crashed into by..... and I endorse 'open face' helmets in the budget price range. Even wear one myself, even on 'big-bikes'.

A Cheap open face, wont have the ultimate crash protection of a top of the line full face, but well fitting, it still has to meet minimum standards, it will do the job; and without spending huge amounts of money NOT having a visor, it cant mist up. Larger face apature also tends to be less claustrophobic, and give a wider field of unobstructed view, while lack of the chin-guard; yes, your face MAY get ground away by tarmac... but then face pice of a full-face hat only has thing bit of plastic there, doesn't offer a HUGE amount of protection... so let the wind in your face give you the clue how fast you are going and the sense of vulnarability be caution to taking silly chances.

Choose, by going into a shop, and trying on as many as you can to find a good fit; and work from there.... then pay what you HAVE to to get something that seems reasonable.

Same with Gloves, and Jacket.

A lot of riding kit can be 'improvised' and you can get away with 'sensible' out door wear, and most useful bit of protection in this country, tends to be a one piece water-proof over-suit.....

I tend to find I get wet a lot more often than I crash!
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Kingstondavo]

You need to go try helmets on, as like shoes, different brands fit differently. The only brand that fits my head comfortably is arai, they don't really make cheap lids, but I got their entry level helmet - the axces, which was about £300, well worth it though.

I'd say priorities are fit and comfort, make sure the lid you choose has plenty of ventilation too, removable lining is a bonus but really isn't necessary, you can wash a helmet without removing the lining...

More expensive lids also reduce road & windnoise (not gonna be a issue on a scooter/125 where you will rarely go over 50), although so do earplugs...

Also worth mentioning, an expensive helmet that doesn't fit is less safe than a cheap one that does...

If you do want to spend decent money though, I'd say the top high st brands are Arai, Shoei, Shark, sure some of the other guys can add more tho!
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Current Ride - 2010 Hornet 600

[JohnA]

Thanks for the replies.

I will go for best fitting helmet & clothing - but also do want to make sure I get something which is top of the heap in the ratings for protection.

@Teflon-Mike
I agree with your point that it is not about kit, but more about attitude.

It is a similar story on my push bike - all the lights and helmets and specific kit in the world is worthless if you cycle in the gutter and do not ride with confidence and awareness.

Cycle training is often aimed at beginners and more advanced techniques often come down to info gleaned from observation and experience.

But also very valuable are the various forums - which often act as good advice point for those seeking to deal with common situations better.

I hope this place is like that.....

[Rogerborg]

[ninja_butler]

Browse Ebay for secondhand gear, it's a lot cheaper to buy secondhand than brand new and a lot of bikers are seriously vain about being seen only in "this season's" leathers so they buy new ones every year before they are even broken in.

[JohnA]

Bought my kit. Passed the CBT & just sorting out the bike. Looking foward to it.

[JohnA]

Did my first two journeys last night and this morning.

Took me quite a long time this morning. 17 miles in an hour.

Traffic was pretty bad in a couple of spots, and my filtering is not up to much yet.

Will I see a big gain in time as I get some experience?

This is more or less the route I took - with the exception of a detour round the Kings Cross one way system that you can avoid on push bike.

https://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4609198

Can anyone suggest an alternative?

Thanks.

[Recluso]

I like that site, Roger. Definitely a useful little place to compare possible helmet choices. My new HJC sits on 3 stars! Which isn't all that bad I fancy.

OP: Grats on passing the CBT and getting on with things! Don't try and rush into filtering unless you feel ABSOLUTELY happy with it. It comes with time and experience. I know when I was on my wee scooter, I didn't even attempt filtering for well over a year! Then after a while it all began to make sense and I found myself taking the plunge and creeping past a couple of cars at a time
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'Just erotic. Nothing kinky. It's the difference between using a feather and using a chicken.'
Honda PS125i > Yamaha YBR125 > Yamaha XJ6 Diversion > Yamaha Tracer 900

[JohnA]

[JohnA]

So......

2nd day of commuting, journey = better and getting the hang of it.

Go out at lunchtime & scooter has been nicked from parking space directly in front of office.

Cunts.

Difference between Hammersmith and Chelsea = 2 months sitting on road in Chelsea = no theft, 2 days in Hammersmith = theft.

Not my bike & insured - but very very annoying.

[arry]

[JohnA]

Well, bike stolen, bike recovered & post insurance estimate: bike written off.

I have disputed the valuation and had them raise it from £1250 to £1500. For a 50cc 2009 Piaggio Vespa LX

They initially took the figure from the clock to be 4000 miles when the figure is really in kilometres!

The excess is £550 which is the killer, but I think I can get something roughly comparable for approx £1200 so the difference will not kill me.

Whole thing is so mindless - dealing with witless insurance companies, inefficient police and bureaucratic car pounds.

Next up = used bike dealers - I am sure that will be a joy!

[dungbug]

Sorry to hear it got pinched (B*stards!)

Hopefully you're insurance will be bit better than mine were with the claim.