Mesh gear and UV rays

[bmw_rider]

Ok --- so one of the sales staff at the MOA rally booths was detailing how one should purchase new MESH riding gear after 5 seasons due as he put it the deterioation of protection due to exposure to UV rays. Is there any validity to this?

[CoarsegoldKid]

I've got the skin that prefers shade. Me thinks he is mis-informed. The UV likely gets through any mesh jacket. But my First Gear does have a mesh liner. I wear a shirt that is appropriate for sun UV protection. But even they loose protection after many washes. I hear there is a solution to throw in the wash to rejuvenate the properties. A thick dark T-shirt with long sleeves also works I'm told my docs. Sunscreen does to.

[Groanup]

Joe, I'm pretty sure he's talking about the mesh deteriorating due to the UV rather than your skin.

Validity? I dunno and I'm not about to (volutarily) test my 5 year old mesh jacket to find out...

[Quinn]

Well, from my sailing days, you're supposed to bag the sails to keep sunlight from deteriorating the fabric. Otherwise, they'll look like the Harbor Freight tarp on the woodpile after a few years; which looks like a compulsive tanner.

 

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[terryofperry]

Yep, it is "the five year rule". Helmets, boots, jackets, pants.

 

Seriously, UV is bad stuff, no question there.

 

Why five years, why not hours in the UV? The difference between riding every day vs. only on weekends. The difference between living near the Equator or in Toronto.

 

I think you will know when your gear starts going south. If my jacket lasts five years I will be very pleased but it will have more to do with "accidentally" falling on the pipes, or tearing it grabbing it off something, or ripping it climbing out of the tent or any number of things.

 

Just saying.

 

Terry

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

My riding buddy also has a cube two down from mine. His Motoport hiviz is faded. I got mine and started covering it at work due to the flourescent lights UV, just hope I'm not confusing those with sodium. Mine still looks new. He covers his now.

[terryofperry]

There was a study done on this:

 

"Lamp manufacturers generally strive to minimize ultraviolet (UV) radiation in all lamps used in general lighting applications.

The amount of UV produced by standard fluorescent lamps, such as those in your office, home, or school, is not hazardous and does not pose a major health concern. In fact, a paper by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) explores this subject in more detail. It cites a study in which it was determined that UV exposure from sitting indoors under fluorescent lights at typical office light levels for an eight hour workday is equivalent to just over a minute of exposure to the sun in Washington, D.C. on a clear day in July."

 

A year of 8 hour days under the lights is equivalent to 4 hours of riding per year, under bright sun, 6 hours if you work 360. I'm not saying the lights did not discolor the jacket, but it it highly improbable. And evrything else in the office would be affected also.

 

High Pressure Sodium will not be found indoors, it is yellow (sodium) and has the worst Color Rendering Index of all lamps.

 

Terry

[CoarsegoldKid]

Joe, I'm pretty sure he's talking about the mesh deteriorating due to the UV rather than your skin.

Validity? I dunno and I'm not about to (voluntarily) test my 5 year old mesh jacket to find out...

 

my bad

me neither

[bmw_rider]

Yes, I'm talking about the gear, not my skin.....looking for 'scientific answer' any studies been done by a manufacturer? And yes-- why is 5 years the majic number??

[David13]

I know of no studies. I don't know if there is a scientific answer.

I don't think 5 years is magic. It is a rough, reasonable estimate of how long it may take to break down the material.

Out in Palm Springs, at the end of 5 years, I saw plastic on a 5th wheel trailer that was in chips.

Due to the ultra intensity of the sun out there.

Keeping your gear inside, at least when not in use, maybe you could safely go ten years.

dc

[Paul Mihalka]

I think giving a time frame like this is dumb. How does the salesman know if you ride 5.000 miles a year with the rest of the time the jacket in a closet, or 30.000 miles in bright sunshine?

[elkroeger]

My two cents is that the 5 years has more to do with the salesman's mortgage payments, than any supposed UV exposure schedule.

 

However, all plastic will deteriorate in sunlight. It's just a crapshoot as to how long it takes. I have a red roadcrafter. I've been using it year round in Seattle for years. One cross country trip (via UT, NM, TX etc.) and it faded quite noticeably.

 

From personal experience with other activities (work and climbing), my opinion is that the deterioration will be noticeable. Much like a well loved t-shirt, you'll know when its gone to hell.

[bmw_rider]

Thanks for the input. Yes my mesh gets used throughout the summer, but when not in use is back inside away from light. I wish I could get in the miles that would make me concerned after 5 years......but I'm more likely on the 8-10 year schedule. The jacket shows no sign of wear, nor are threads breaking down anywhere on it. Now time to go expose it to some more UV.......

[Dave_zoom_zoom]

I think giving a time frame like this is dumb. ]

 

 

 

Don't hold back Paul!

 

Tell us what you really think. :rofl:

 

Dave

[Paul Mihalka]

I think giving a time frame like this is dumb. ]

 

 

 

Don't hold back Paul!

 

Tell us what you really think. :rofl:

 

Dave

Hey, this id Mr. Rogers' neighborhood!

[philbytx]

How about THIS?

 

Similar to the product I use for auto/bike/aircraft plastics.

[racer7]

Used to work on developing human sunscreen protection items in the early days of standardizing spf testing...

 

UV light levels produced by fluoresecent lighting are not high enough to be a hazard- way less than outside- but still sufficent to deteriorate more fragile plastics in a few years. For example, in the past 6 months two plastic lamp shades of very different design (one one a pole lamp, the other a liner on a traditional table lamp shade) simply crumbled from near continuous exposure to 100 W equivalent compact fluoresecent bulbs at the close distance of a lamp shade for about 5 years. And innumberable white plastics I've owned over the yeas have deteriortated from UV both indoors and out.Yesterday, a rubber valve stem on a friends utility trailer failed after 9 years iof outdoor storage here in NC.

 

But I doubt anyone puts enough hours on a bike jacket to have a substantial effect on strength in as little as 5 years given the most of us have a couple different sets of gear, store it indoors, and ride in multi season climates. UV falls off rapidly on both sides of midday couple hours, also, when most of us not yet retired are working 5 days and not out riding. And those of us who are retired often have the good sense not to be riding at the midday hours just to avoid summer heat...

 

But if someone has the actual test data on deterioration of woven polyester and nylon fabrics- a link would be nice.

Note that a little surface discoloration, particularly of a dye, may not translate into much measureable strength reduction for a fabric...

 

UV is strongly influenced by season and latitude. When we were developing the first spf 15 sunscreen (by Westwood Pharm of Buffalo NY) back around 1980, we wanted to shoot a real world ad campaign during outdoor controlled testing. (Obviously we had indoor lab gear for development but wanted more interesting ad copy). Timing required we somehow accomplish this in late Oct/early Nov and after looking at all the available scientific data, chose to conduct our outdoor testing in Barbados. (It was impossible to get enough UV at more northern latitudes at that time of year to even do a test. In fact in Buffalo its impossible all year) To which we flew a couple dozen company employees and managers selected for their fair skin and propensity to sunburn (minimum erythemal dose as techies call it)- I was one and to this day it ranks real high as my favorite industrial boondoogle. Can't complain about a free week at the Marriott Resort there. We had to cover up and stay in the shade all day in that hot climate except during testing, couldn't drink any alcohol until the tests were complete,etc etc. We could only go on the beach after sunset so did a lot of night swimming to the amusement of the locals who thought us a bit strange...But the schedule had extra days in case we hit bad weather- we didn't- so we took full advantage at the end including the obligatory pirate rum cruise..

And to top it all off, our testing revealed we needed to reformulate the product. It worked fine but turned out to be a bit irritating to super sweaty skin of some- our prior testing in much cooler Buffalo had failed to reveal that...Product got launched about 3 mths late but turned out to be a good success anyway. Today's stuff is even better- much better in fact..

 

(I suspect many of us do enough outdoors to know the dangers of UV. Despite todays sunscreens, etc, UV caused skin cancers are still a major health issue for those out in strong UV every day like FL fishing guides, etc. Only idiots use tanning beds regularly or go to the beach to tan- the least it will do is make you look 10 years older than the clock shows and it can do a whole lot worse. While most squamous cell cancers are easily dealt with in early stages, others can be much worse.)

[RTJohn]

Might be some validity. I wonder if he was also thinking about ozone. Plastic can deteriorate pretty quickly under high heat, plenty of ozone and high UV rates. I try to keep my plastic stuff indoors when I'm not using it.

[EddyQ]

How about THIS?

 

Similar to the product I use for auto/bike/aircraft plastics.

 

I've used 303 for years on my canoe and other plastics. Good stuff. Never knew they had a water repellant version for fabrics. Cool

 

Thanks.

[moshe_levy]

My original Firstgear mesh (first generation) jacket turned from black to purple in just 2 years of riding. Those were two high mileage years, granted, but it made me weary of the endurance of the material.

 

-MKL

[terryofperry]

I think we need to be careful with the generic term "mesh".

There are just too many types of material being used to support a generalization regarding it.

 

Some are better than others.

 

Terry