‘Sliders’ are plastic pucks attached to the leather suit of a motorcycle racer, whose knees come in active contact with the tarmac during cornering.
The exact location of these contact points are influenced by the rider’s body position, which is highly personal for each rider due to their anthropometry and riding techniques and styles.

A new slider attachment system called the ‘Damen Grid System’ is tailored to the exact active tarmac contact points of the rider, by 3D-scanning the rider in their personally used body positions. A contact point research was conducted with professional world championship riders, to gain insight into the variables that influence the ideal position of the slider on a rider's suit. Extensive context and user research forms the base of designing a new, complementary attachment system and implementing the tailored positioning.

The system and its locking mechanism were designed to address the shortcomings of traditionally used Velcro attachment systems, by providing a more secure, precise and consistent placement solution.

By ensuring that the slider is always positioned in the optimal spot, it not only enhances rider safety but also protects the integrity of the leather suit, reducing wear and tear caused by incorrect placement or detachment.
The system integrates effortlessly with existing suits, maintaining both functionality and improving aesthetics and aerodynamics, while also increasing the overall durability and reliability of the racing gear.

This innovation aims to give riders confidence in their equipment, allowing them to focus on performance without worrying about potential gear failures.

BACKGROUND:
In vehicles there is often limited space for seats. This might mean that reclining the back rest reduces the legroom. The second row in a cargo van has this problem and in this limited space an upright seat and a reclined seat with less legroom was developed and tested.

OBJECTIVE:
The research question of this study is: Does a reclined backrest with less leg room result in the same comfort and/or discomfort as an upright backrest with more leg room?

METHODS:
Twenty participants are asked to sit 45 minutes in the upright seat with 8 cm more legroom and 45 minutes in the reclined seat. Ten participants started in the upright seat and ten in the reclined. Participants had to complete a comfort and discomfort questionnaire every 15 minutes and a qualitative interview was conducted after experiencing both seats.

RESULTS:
For comfort no statistically significant differences were found between both seats. For discomfort statistically significant differences were found where discomfort was lower in the reclined seat. Half of the participants preferred the upright and half the reclined seat. The interviews showed that the reclined position was more related to relaxation.

CONCLUSIONS:
This study indicates that a more reclined back rest results in less discomfort, but that does not lead to a clear preference of participants. The reclined position is associated with relaxing, and this study indicates that for the relaxing state the more reclined seat is preferred. For more active situations the upright posture seems better.@en