EB14: Scott’s Award Winning RC ProTec Clothing Could take the Sting Out of Road Rash

Written by Zach Overholt Oct 29, 2014 3:52 p.m. ET

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Buried in a mountain of Eurobike and Interbike coverage was this gem – Scott’s new ITD ProTec kit. If you haven’t seen it yet, the ProTec gear won a Eurobike award for a good reason, it may just let you keep that patch of skin in a crash. Working together with Schoeller fabrics, the ITD ProTech technology uses knit carbon yarn which makes the fabric much more resistant to tearing. Then the fabric is printed with a ceramic pattern on top to create a surface that is very abrasion resistant at high speeds.

Based on how many times we’ve seen tattered kits ridden across the line, it’s clear that crashes don’t always knock riders out of contention. But anyone who has ever dealt with severe road rash knows how unpleasant it can be. If the Scott RC ProTec kit can really perform as advertised it should be a huge step forward in rider protection.

Available to consumers in 2015, the ITD ProTec technology will first be sold in the Scott RC ProTec S/SL shirt and Bibshorts. The anti-abrasion material is found on the shoulders and sleeves of the jersey as well as the outer legs up to the waist on the shorts. As an added bonus the carbon yarn not only protects from abrasion, but it also adds an antibacterial effect which should help keep your threads fresh.

Rather than subjecting their test riders to repeated crashes, Scott demonstrates the power of the ProTec fabric with the aid of a belt sander. Pretty convincing.

scott-sports.com

Zach Overholt

5,630 articles

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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Cpt. Obvious

9 years ago

awesome, so instead of road rash, you get skin burns! 🙂

anonymous

9 years ago

How much does it weigh?

Gunnstein

9 years ago

A step forwards, but not very useful unless it covers knees and elbows.

don

9 years ago

Excellent idea, any protection is better than the none we have now. Worst road rash I’ve had is on my hips and back. Guessing it has to be a bit warmer, for cx might make an excellent skin suit.

don

JBikes

9 years ago

Very nice. Schoeller makes nice fabrics for motorcycling and I have no doubt that these provide protection.

Gunnstein – Road rash is uncomfortable, but it becomes dangerous due to infection when the area affected is large. It also makes treatment/recovery harder when the area is bigger. Protecting knees and elbows is nice for comfort and pain reduction, but these are small areas. If you look at high speed road crashes, the typical large areas of road rash are on the upper thigh, hips, buttocks and arms/shoulders. I’m sure they will make a long sleeve jersey and knickers for cooler weather

Collin

9 years ago

I’ve raced now for 7 years and typically have at least 1 minor crash a year, and have had 2 really bad cases. In all my crashes, I’ve never had more road rash then what a band aid could cover on my knees. Its almost always on my hips. I will agree, elbows do get cut up, but hips, and shoulder/upper back tends to get the worse of it. This sounds great.

Noah

9 years ago

The worst road rash I ever got was when I got hit by a car and I can still wear the kit that I had on that day – the fabric got a little roughed up but basically transmitted all of the abrasion straight to my skin. Other than preventing gravel and dirt from getting in, it didn’t do jack to protect me. Sounds like this Scott gear might do the exact same thing – simply transmit the abrasion straight through. So we’ll miss out on our mostly-nekkid @$$es and thighs after a big pile-up in the peloton, now it’ll just be big bloody stains!

Sizzler

9 years ago

Definitely worth the cost if you can crash whenever you want and not have to worry about getting hurt anymore.

erik

9 years ago

#enduroskinsuit

Bill

9 years ago

This is fantastic. I’m happy that someone else made a jersey so breathable that you can get a sunburn through it, but thank you Scott for addressing an actual problem with wearing almost nothing and racing on pavement. I hope every custom manufacturer licenses this or starts cloning the idea in their own way, because unfortunately, most of us are racing on cheap asian team kits and don’t have much of a choice. (Hint – here’s a chance to actually have a competitive edge as a custom kit manufacturer)

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Tyler Benedict

9 years ago

It’s worth mentioning that Scott’s rep held the fabric against his skin at Interbike and had an assistant hold a spinning sander disc at speed against his arm for a solid 20 seconds. It’s impressive, and if they start offering it in non-Scott Team graphics, we think it’ll have a lot wider appeal. Technically speaking, though, it’s amazing and we want it.

Greg

9 years ago

A spinning sander disc is vague.

greg

9 years ago

seems pretty clear to me.

JBikes

9 years ago

Tyler – I thought (and pretty sure) the Interbike show was using a random orbital sander. I can do this sans any protective gear so it was kind of a snake oil salesman trick.
For the record, I don’t think anyone makes an actual rotary sander sans a grinding wheel but I could be wrong.

Clancy

9 years ago

I can’t believe the negative comments. Do some of you even ride a bike? A spinning sanding disc is vague? You’ve got to be kidding me. Snake oil? Reminds of all the fools who decried helmets when they were first required/became common place. This has got to be one of the more important advancements in protective gear since the modern road helmet. I’ve crashed more then I’ve wished and have scars one hip and shoulder, right where this clothing would have prevented it. I also have scars on my knees and an elbow, but I imagine that knickers and long sleeve jerseys are in development. Sliding down pavement at 20 mph is so fun, nor is scrubbing gravel out of my skin. This is a major development.

JBikes

9 years ago

Clancy – apparently you don’t read all the comments, only the ones you deem negative.
The orbital sander test was a joke. The belt sander is more realistic.

This is a good product – doesn’t mean it is always sold correctly. The product isn’t “snake-oil”, but that orbital sander test was.

topcheese

9 years ago

all this talk of road rash reminds me of why I stick to racing MTB. Neat product, just not for me. Keep the rubber side down boys!

Concerned rider

9 years ago

They emphasized so much on safety with goggles, protective suits, etc. But they failed on the gloves. Never use gloves when operating rotating equipments.

Kevin

9 years ago

I wonder how comfortable it is, and how well it moves with your body. For as little as you crash, comfort is a big concern. A 5 hour ride in a kit that chafes or doesn’t breathe will not be worn, no matter how protective it is.