@Kielanders Yep, totally looks like nails/spikes/Mad Max, so I left them intact on one set, figured it could be fun for a War Boy costume sometime. But they're just zipties, so soft/no danger.

@Kielanders I trimmed the zipties on the one I wear daily. I just left them on there for that pic because it looked dangerous.

@Kielanders - when it's time to replace the shoulder piece, you could do something like this.

@Sponge315 Please do not link to that photo of me again. That was for your eyes only.

@Kielanders - it's in that link in my comment - D30 motorcycle armor, in a shoulder brace similar to yours. FYI, if you want to make something similar, Amazon no longer sells that exact same D30 piece pictured, but this appears to be basically the same, and is more ventilated to boot (make sure to clip the 10% coupon):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KQC396L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the brace:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073CV1NKG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Get you some heavy-duty velcro to close up the pocket to hold the armor in place:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0784BF8F9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Triple 8 MIPS.

Those Thousand helmets are really nice looking. The only things that would concern me from a safety perspective are A.) bike helmets usually don't cover quite as much of the back of the skull as skate helmets do, since cyclists almost always fall forward, and B.) hard visors worry me, a little, for the same reason hard mounts for lights or cameras do - once your head hits the ground, you don't want anything to catch and wrench your head & neck around. The closer the helmet is to "round", the better off you may be, depending on how you hit.

None of that's meant to be safety police. Any helmet is better than no helmet, and there are so many variables in any wreck that it's hard to really say which helmet is "best". Picking one on style points isn't really a problem, especially if that style means you'll wear it instead of leaving it home.

@Glyph Well, it finally happened - I tested the shoulder armor I made. Direct hit on concrete.

And it worked PERFECTLY. No pain whatsoever. I wouldn't call it PLEASANT, there's still a shock when you hit, but I kept waiting for the pain and there just wasn't any. D30 is good shit.

Now feel 100% safe recommending this solution to anyone looking for cheap, lightweight, cool-temp, easy-on/easy-off lead shoulder protection.

Ride Playlist, "S" edition:

Sonic Youth, "Sugar Kane"
Swervedriver, "For Seeking Heat/Duel"
Stooges, "Search & Destroy"

Been listening a lot to The Courtneys, a trio of Canadian gals on Flying Nun. Catchy as all get out with exuberant gang-shouted vocals, and they have that classic Flying Nun noisy-pop sound, where the instruments all chug forward together in unison relentlessly like a train.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl77f2gFSL4

Now that the weather's cooler, I feel my riding windbreaker is not only stylish in its own right, but it hopefully helps keep me from getting run over.

What do you wear, if anything, to help ensure the terrible drivers in your town don't run your ass down?