Need Better Gear

[aziebell]

With one riding season under my belt, I feel the need to upgrade my gear. I do not feel safe riding in jeans, my steel toe boots, or even my Shift Mesh Backdraft Jacket.

So, I plan on getting some Sidi Vertigo Boots and Dainese New Drake Air Textile Pants, and wearing my Alpinestars Stage Perforated Leather Jacket more often, especially when venturing out of town even if its hot as hell. Also, I would like to upgrade my Aplinestars S-Moto Leather Gloves, to a similar glove but gauntlet style. SP-1 gloves may fit the bill well.

The hardest part was finding a good pair of riding pants to purchase, and these are the best I could find so far to fit my criteria. Looking for good summer pants with venting, but not made from mesh. Also, a thermal liner would be nice for colder times, but I can always wear an underlayer to keep warm. Also, no need for waterproofing, as I rarely ride in the rain. The styling of the Dainese pants is really good, as they are pretty subtle riding pants. Feel free to chime in with any gear choice suggestions. And if you own of this, feel free to let me know what you think of it.

 

[Andz]

You opened a can of worms now.... prepare to be deluged with advice!

My personal opinion as a lifelong Dainese fan is that you have at least one item there that I would agree with :rockon:

Having said that I have an Arlen Ness mesh textile jacket that is perfect for summer.

Have fun with the shopping!

 

[greg]

my main concern would be that you won't be able to zip the jacket and trousers together as they are different makes

you can probably sew a zip into one of them though

 

[fz6pat]

IMO it is important that you think about the type of riding that you do, and/or plan on doing in the future.

If you plan on doing more sport touring/trips then I would highly reccommed a one piece or two piece textile suit. You may not plan on riding in the rain, but I've gotten soaked many times by the popup storms we expereince in this area of the country in the summers. A water PROOF, not water RESISTANT suit is great for this. I LOVE my Olympia, and I know that Areostitch is suppost to be the best. MY olympia is 1/2 the price (or less) of the 'Stitch, but IMO works just as well. WARM when worn with the removeable liner. Easy in and out, I wear shorts and t-shirt underneath in the summer. LOTS of great venting so you stay cool when moving, even in high 80/90 temps.

If you plan on riding some trackdays (Putnam Park is close, as is Mid-Ohio), then you might want to invest in a leather suit. I've got a two-piece that zips together with a full length zipper. It is perferated, so it is relativley cool during the summer. I can wear it together for track days, or wear the jacket serperately when I want. Can't beat the protection.

I commend you for wanting to upgrade your gear. You will be amazed by how much more comfortable you are when ridng with good gear. You may find that you will even ride more, because weather stops being a factor for much of the year. However, good gear (even electrics) can't melt the snow we have on the ground unfortunally

Get WATERPROOF boots. I HATE riding with WET FEET. Even for short distances. Sport-Touring boots are even comfortable to walk in for days you ride to races, etc.

Patrick

 

[discgolfdude]

I have motorport air mesh Kevlar over pants, They will cost you around $300us for them. You can also customize your pants in many ways, and add the water/wind proof liner for another $100. I still need to order my liner. I've rode my bike in 100 deg to 12 deg without the liner. Just like it was posted earlier, you are opening a can of worms, your going to get a lot of info!!!

air mesh kevlar pant

 

[Motogiro]

I have the Astar Stage jacket and love it. I've done 2 crash tests in it and it's still good to go. A little black shoe polish and it was good as new Hahaha! I like the style of it better than any Astar Jacket I've seen yet and they're letting them go at a much cheaper price these days. I have the Astar track pants and don't like to wear anything else whether it's hot or cold but I do want to get the Motoport GP Kevlars for this summer. Smart move to get away from jeans!!!

 

[aziebell]

If going with the Dainese Pants, I completely agree that not being able to zip the two together as they are different makes was a big down side, as a crash would easily expose some of my skin as they separate.

For the most part, my riding is back and forth from work, and trips though town to various locations. Any planned trips that I have done have been just one day trips, with good weather conditions, as the majority of the guys I ride with don't have much rain gear either. So, I think I may focus on some rain gear later down the road.

Since you mentioned track days, that is definitely something I have been considering, but probably not for a while yet. My reasoning for spending the money to get the Sidi vertigo boots would be that if I did a track day, my boots would already be good to go. Same with gloves, having a gauntlet style versus the short cut style I have now would be a great move. I wish I would have gotten the long style to being with, but thought they looked goofy and didn't realize the important of that extra protection. So for the track, I would probably grab a good pair of leather A* pants to zip right into my jacket.

As with the waterproof boots, the Vertigo does have a waterproof style as well, but you loose the air vent. As most my riding is going to be in the heat, I am not sure the trade off is good for me...as that vent is going to be nice in the hot sun.

As for the Stage Perforated Jacket, I am glad I found it. It was on closeout when I got it, and its is an awesome jacket.

I do also want to get some heated gear for the winter, and it looks like Gerbings may be the winner there. However, with the budget I have right now, I would rather focus on getting more properly geared and worry about heated gear as the next riding season gets colder.

As for the Motoport Air Mesh Kevlar, I may have to look into these. Without the liner, how good is the air flow?

 

[nksmfamjp]

I don't think I can tell you what to get exactly, but I would tell you to get gear which has CE rated padding and fits tight enough to hold it in position.

Next, mesh gear is better than jeans and a jacket, textile gear is better than mesh, and leather is best for protection. Buy the best you can afford and will wear. Each has advantages and disadvantages.

I have a mesh suit(Komine) for super warm days. A textile 2 piece(Komine) for normal temps with good rain performance. Last I have a 1 pc Tourmaster suit for very cold or very wet days.

I would like a leather suit, but it can wait.

 

[nksmfamjp]

So what are you getting?

 

[aziebell]

Guess I should update a bit since I did buy a few things

I ended up picking up some Sidi Vertigo Boots and Shift Havoc Textile/Leather pants. The boots are great, and feel great on the bike. The Havoc pants have been good so far, but see them being too warm once summer sets in more. In the future, I may look into a textile pant for better venting. And I also ended up with a Shoei RF-1100 helmet. Far better than my old Fulmer helmet, which was also too big.