Gloves, boots, and cycleport gear.

[CRMH Eagle]

Today I picked up my new gloves, Alpinestars SP-1:

https://www.alpinestars.com/SP1_Glove/pd/np/141/p/355817.html

These new gloves offer much more protection than my old Olympia gel gloves. Also the double-flap wrist closures better ensures the gloves will not come off during a crash. The gauntlets are thick but don't poof out due to the closures. Plus they look cool.

A few months ago Wayne shipped my kevlar jacket & pant - both are the air mesh. I had Wayne put the maximum armored padding in both jacket and pant. (No rain liners). Although I need alterations on the jacket I'm very happy with it.

When I wear the cycleport gear I look like I went into Charlie's chocolate factory and sampled candy that makes you morph into the Michelin Man.....but I don't care. When I walk into work with my black full-face helmet my co-workers say "Hey what's up Darth? How's it going with fighting the rebellion? Luke called.....said he's not your son and to go f*ck yourself." But next to the emporer I'm the leader of the Federation so why do I care?

I have quickly learned, like others w/ cycleport gear, that I don't feel as secure and protected without it. Excellent fit & finish. The air mesh is the way to go unless you live north of Wyoming.

Currently I have the Tourmaster road boot. My concern is the protection these boots offer - currently looking at Sidi boots.

Have you crashed, and if so what boots were you wearing and how did you feet fare? Do you think non-racing boots (those marketed towards the touring & cruiser crowd) have sufficient crash protection? What about gloves that are not track/race approved? Thoughts on riding with track/rack approved gloves and boots or riding with lesser protection?

 

[oldryder]

I crashed twice this year on a track during advanced riding classes. (cold tires mistakes, yea, I know .....)

was wearing the leather pants from my race suit but due to very warm temps was wearing my alpinestars mesh jacket instead of the leather upper. also alpinestars full gauntlet gloves and Sidi race boots.

both times was gong somewhere between 35 and 50 mph.

one minor bruise the 1st time and a dislocated finger that popped back into place when I removed my glove the 2nd time.

the jacket has some scuffed areas and I had to replace one square ring for one of the velcro straps but overall very little damage and it still looks good and is quite usable.

I've seen pics of joe rocket mesh jackets that was trashed and didn't protect the wearer. Even more than most things with safety equipment you get what you pay for. However, you can still get deals. I bought my jacket and gloves from newenough.com on closeout for about 1/2 off.

I was suprised just how much protection good gear gives a rider.

 

[ngarider]

You can't go wrong with the Cycleport gear. I've seen it in a pretty bad crash with lots of impact and lots of pavement sliding and it does well. The only weakness I think it has is not staying in place quite as well as a leather suit. But, rider was un-rashed, and only minor bruises.

I've been down in Sidi On-Road boots, Prexport street/sport boots and Dainese race boots. The race boots are my choice to go crashing in, hands down. The support you get in that race boot is worth its weight in gold, as is a good back protector.

In a pavement slider, there's a good chance that whatever gloves you have are single-crash gloves. Just be sure they'll make it through that crash.

 

[Toecutter]

My boots are the only piece of gear that I still have some reservations about. Gloves and gear is all Cycleport, which is comfortable to wear all year. The new Cycleport gloves are sweet, and I doubt they will ever wear out, much unlike leather, which is the skin of a dead animal, and actually is deteriorating from the time it is made into a garment, especially with us sweating into/onto it.

I have three pair of boots I ride with; low and high street boots, and for PGR gigs, a pair of polishable steel toe pull-on work boots. I know that two of the three could be pulled off with the right force, hence the fear. It helps me ride a bit more reserved than if I felt bullet-proof, but I'm always on the prowl for something perfect.

I wish Cycleport made a boot. It would probably be pretty nice and provide top-notch protection. They had one advertised for a while, but not now.

 

[CRMH Eagle]

Tks for the tip about wayne's kevlar gloves. If I can return the gloves then I'll order the kevlar gloves from Wayne.

 

[NightShine]

From correspondence of early last summer:

Hi Nightshine,
I'm in the market for gloves and am considering Wayne's stretch kevlar. I've got a jacket and pants from Motoport that I'm really happy with. Did you ever get your replacement pair and would you recommend them?

Thanks,

mx5vfr

Hi mx5vfr,

Boy, that's a question that I don't have a simple answer for. Motoport was happy to exchange the XL gloves for the Large size and their service was pretty quick. I've been wearing their mesh kevlar gear for a couple of years now and absolutely love it.

The large gloves fit my hands much better. But this is the first pair of fabric (non-leather) riding gloves that I've ever bought, and I find that they must break in much differently than leather ones. They don't so readily stretch and conform to the shape of your hands like leather gloves tend to do. I mean they do stretch and flex, but new as they are, they tend to want to flex back to their original shape.

The result is that I find that they are not as supple and comfortable as my sets of leather ones, and they are warmer than my light weight summer riding gloves. And so I tend not to wear them for very long on a ride before switching back. But I do plan on putting some more riding time on them on the trip to NAFO and other rides this summer to see how they are after some break in (assuming they do )

So the jury is still out on these as far as being my regular riding gloves. I still don't know.

Now if you'd asked me which set of gloves would I want to dive along asphalt with, these would definitely be the ones! They are well constructed and the wrist closures are designed to really secure the gloves to your hands.

But then, as always, your mileage may vary.

Cheers,

Nightshine

Hey Nightshine,
I did spring for the Motoport gloves and your assessment was spot on. They don't have the feel of leather - in fact, I find them a bit slippery - but if I have to go bouncing down the asphalt this is the stuff to wear. Let's hope they break in after several years

Thanks again for your input,

mx5vfr

ps - have a blast at NAFO!

Since then, I haven't put very much time on the Motoport kevlar gloves, but it's still on my list of things to do...

 

[FJRBluesman]

Some track day organizers will accept nylon type riding outfits. IMHO nothing, and I mean nothing, is better then leather, especially on the track. Let that old tough cow, goat, or deer your leathers are made out of take the edge off by absorbing the road rash. Not to mention the armor and knee pucks. From personal experience I was sooooo glad I had all my gear (Arai helmet, Spidi leathers and back protector, Alpinestars gloves and Supertech boots), including back protector, when I got high sided at aboput 60mph. Landed on my back. Worth every penny!

 

[Texan]

Boots? I got off at 50mph about 6 weeks ago wearing Leatherup boots like this. Slide, tumble, slide, tumble, slide for about 50' on dry asphault. Boots were scuffed, but saved my feet. They are still wearable, but I will replace them because they are affordable and I lost some leather on one toe.

 

[Scarman]

I agree with you on Wayne's Kevlar gloves. I went down wearing a pair and they got chewed up but my hands were fine. They're a good fit for my hands and you're right about the wear quality. I had my Cycleport gloves two riding seasons and the only difference from new was they fit better. They're a bit stiff but they break in nicely. A great glove IMO.

My boots are the only piece of gear that I still have some reservations about. Gloves and gear is all Cycleport, which is comfortable to wear all year. The new Cycleport gloves are sweet, and I doubt they will ever wear out, much unlike leather, which is the skin of a dead animal, and actually is deteriorating from the time it is made into a garment, especially with us sweating into/onto it.
I have three pair of boots I ride with; low and high street boots, and for PGR gigs, a pair of polishable steel toe pull-on work boots. I know that two of the three could be pulled off with the right force, hence the fear. It helps me ride a bit more reserved than if I felt bullet-proof, but I'm always on the prowl for something perfect.

I wish Cycleport made a boot. It would probably be pretty nice and provide top-notch protection. They had one advertised for a while, but not now.

 

[exskibum]

Just got my Cycleport air mesh kevlar suit yesterday. With two octogenarian parents suffering dire health situations at the same time 400 miles apart, plus work demands after my trip to CFR, however, all I have done is sit at the computer with them on and zipped together for 2 hours last night.

On the Cycleport, I went hog wild. Upgraded to the quad armor, except for the sacrum tri armor option (due to it being softer per my inquiry to Wayne), added the hip protection armor, too. The suit is awfully stiff right now, but I'm looking forward to going for a ride in it. I've seen it perform in test situations (mm2's KLR get-off), so I know I can finally have confidence in my warm weather riding gear. Got the rain liner too. Oh, and though it's still bulky like the doughboy, I got the *stylish* Riva jacket in gray with blue stretch kevlar accents on the jacket as well as on the pants pockets. (Toe will understand, since he has the slower cerulean bike and correspondingly slower all gray suit.)

I've got two pairs of Sidi boots. The Air Champions are cool for summer, but I'm not so sure about their protection in a crash. The other pair (discontinued 4 years ago) is tall, leather, armored and seem pretty sound. Gloves are probably my weakest point. I'm thinking about replacing my summer gloves with kevlar from Wayne, and maybe upgrading to an AlpineStars or Held racing glove for cooler temps. I've got two leather suits (one perforated and one not, both two piece zip together like my new Cycleport) that I suspect I will still wear when the temps are right, though I may upgrade the armor.

 

[Skully]

Leather only. JK. Couldn't get a kevlar jacket out of these guys for another 5wks tho.

 

[Mcgyver74]

I've had my Air Mesh II Kevlar jacket and pants for about 6 weeks now, and still love it, i went with base armor for now since I was light on funds when I bought the thing instead springing for the extra pockets and reflective striping..(Had to have it all custom made to my size which made it quite spendy) but I plan to send it back over the winter to have the jacket taken in a little and the quad armor installed.

I did get the rain liners, and must say with them in I don't get wet at all aside from what drips off my helmet and down the back of my neck, however the thing to watch for is that after riding in heavy rain, you will be dry but the seams and pocket flaps etc will hold an amazing amount of water for a while, (but this is only after riding through BAD rain)

I have a pair of Sidi strada's which are pretty much the only waterproof boot I could find in wide sizes, very comfortable and a pair of alpinestar mesh gloves with carbon fiber over the knuckles.

Can't go wrong with Cycleport

 

[vanderflugen]

 

[exskibum]

Speaking of the tradeoffs of style vs. wearing good gear:

Last Monday (6/22) as I was coming into Helena, MT two up after a long, wet, cold and then very windy day, I caught a rock off a piece of construction equipment being trailered down the highway square in the new blue iridium face shield I'd bought for my Shoei RF-1000 only two weeks earlier. It must have been sharp and decent sized, because it took quite the gouge out of the shield. I heard a really loud impact and felt it hit, but got no pain or injury from it. Not til I stopped at the motel did I realize how big a gouge it had taken.

If not for the shield on my full face helmet, and having it down, that rock would have probably hit me on the left side of the bridge of my nose or fully in my left eye. I guarantee that would have put both of us down at around 65 mph even if I didn't lose my eye.

I've been riding a long time, and used to go without helmet back when there was no helmet law in California. I've eaten a lot of bugs (and the big ones hurt), but started wearing full face helmets when I bought my '75 Kaw Z1 in '77. Glad I never got a rock to the face before I got smarter; glad I don't give a shit about looking cool in a beanie helmet or Prussian helmet with minimal protection. My full face helmet and shield not only completely avoided serious injury, but it also kept my GF off the highway surface.

Expensive new iridium shield = $60

Not going down or losing eye = priceless

Oh yeah -- I'm a PUSSY! ^_^

 

[johnny80s]

I think that sums it up quite nicely.

 

[BikerGeek99]

For those of you with Wayne's kevlar gloves - are they water proof? I'm still looking for a good pair of water proof gloves.

And how are they constructed - IOW, is there a soft, separate inner liner to the gloves? I have a pair of Cycleport Boss AX gloves. They are incredibly comfortable, however they have a Hipora liner and then a soft inner liner. Once I've had them on for a while and my hands have sweat a little bit, the soft inner liner sticks to my hands when I take the gloves off, pulling the soft inner liner - especially the fingers - out of place. Putting them back on at that point is a pain in the patooty.

BG

 

[Toecutter]

For those of you with Wayne's kevlar gloves - are they water proof?

No. I use waterproof overmitts when it's wet, or really cold (with the grip heaters) and that setup has served me well year 'round. Never have liked the loss of feedback and control from wearing insulated gloves.

And how are they constructed - IOW, is there a soft, separate inner liner to the gloves?

No loose inner liner, but they tend to stick a bit more to sweaty hands.

 

[BikerGeek99]

Thanks for the feedback, Toe!

 

[Fred W]

For those of you with Wayne's kevlar gloves - are they water proof?

No. I use waterproof overmitts when it's wet, or really cold (with the grip heaters) and that setup has served me well year 'round. Never have liked the loss of feedback and control from wearing insulated gloves.

Toe,

What kind of overmitts are you using? I was doing a little googling for some waterproof gloves and this thread came up