So, I bought my first bike, what gear do I need?

[HokieDNA01]

Boots and pants are very important. I have had 2 crashes on my bike and the only injury I have is my big toe. I was wearing armored riding boots similar to the ones shown in this thread and still hurt my toe (bent it backward so hard that it still hurts 3 years later). I think I would have broken my foot severely without the boots. I also slid on my butt for a ways and didn't have a mark/bruise on me with my leather/armored pants. If you don't want to wear full leather pants (and chaps leave your most vulnerable ASSets exposed) maybe look into some riding jeans such as Draggin Jeans or Icon Jeans. They are reinforced however they do not have armor to protect from impact.

Here are some links to the jeans....and you can get armor undersuits if you like the jeans look...


http://www.dragginjeans.com.au/index.htm

http://www.rideicon.com/product_group.jsp?category=1976