Given the excellent recent discussions in this forum about what riding gear -- clothing, helmets, etc -- are available in China, one question that keeps arising is that of quality. Can "fakes" be as good as the genuine product? Is a major western brand name a guarantee of quality, given that so many of their products are made here in China? Quality is on the tip of our tongues, but what actually is quality?

I was turning these questions over in my head as I read an astonishing bit of first-hand reporting by a member of another forum that I read, North Bay Sport Riders, based in my home town of Santa Rosa, California. Isaac went down hard on his brand new Ducati Multistrada in the Sierra Nevada near Donner Lake. Though loaded up on painkillers, he wrote of his experience -- and of the quality he did (or didn't) find in his riding gear. I think the following link is public; have a look for yourself!

Isaac's NBSR gear review

For those of us living in China, having a discussion about the quality of riding gear is all the more important, given the near universal cluelessness among riders here about safety equipment; there's perhaps a tendency for us committed riders to "do as the Romans do" and cut corners on quality and safety. On the other hand, given the mind-boggling levels of danger and stupidity in which we ride every day, this question of "what gear" simply cannot be overstated.

Ride, but ride safely!