redbarron77 Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Now that it is closer to when I am getting my bike, I need to get some info on gear. I have experience riding, and know there is No way I will hit the road without protection (and no, Trojans won't protect my skull, though they may protect the human race from my reproduction...but that is another thread). My experience with gear goes way back to the 70's, and the only recent knowledge was a catalog Satan gave me about a year ago. (thanks for that btw)My questions are: Are there any brands I should look for, or specific items I should be looking at? Anything I should avoid? I know that leather is the best, but I'm in TX, and I know that I'd look like a creepy overweight midget stripper in leather pants. (yes, I know what they look like too, and if you want a link, I can point you to a website that specializes in that) Please, any advice would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yotaman88210 Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Alpinestars makes great stuff. If you really want to be protected then get a 2 piece suit for street only riding. If you ride the track or want to, look into a one piece Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusion Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Alpinestars makes great stuff. If you really want to be protected then get a 2 piece suit for street only riding. If you ride the track or want to, look into a one piece+1 The two piece should be good for a random track day or two as well right? That makes it a win-win unless you are planning on doing a lot of track days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FasDuc Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 I'm using an A-stars two piece for both the street and track days, I'm very happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exSRAaron Posted June 5, 2008 Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 rs-taichi is a GREAT brand, very good quality jackets/pants etc...( if ur looking at any A* or rs-taichi stuff send me a pm and ill hook you up with the guys from cyclesector, theyll get you some awesome prices!) ps: i have some gear for sale too.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinjaNick Posted June 5, 2008 Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 2piece FTW. 1piece if all you do is trackdays. 1pieces on the street look retarded when your hanging out with the top part hanging way off your back. 2pieces are fine for occasional trackdays too. It's nice unzipping the 360zipper and taking jacket off. JR GPX TYPE-R suit for $595 or so at www.newenough.com. Fits pretty realistic to your size too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleCock Posted June 5, 2008 Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 my suggestion is to get to a local store and try on some gear. Each brand will fit differently and you will find the best fit for your bodystyle if you try on several brands. It doesn't mean you have to purchase at the store, but you'll have your size to search the intarwebz for best price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbarron77 Posted June 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 I appreciate the thoughts about hooking me up with someone local, but I'm in south-eastern Texas, so I'll be hitting the web, or local bike shops. I'm looking at doing a ton of commuting to work, since the riding season here is literally year round. Not to mention, the speed limit is 70 in most places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleCock Posted June 5, 2008 Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 I appreciate the thoughts about hooking me up with someone local, but I'm in south-eastern Texas, so I'll be hitting the web, or local bike shops. I'm looking at doing a ton of commuting to work, since the riding season here is literally year round. Not to mention, the speed limit is 70 in most places.I understand that you're in TX. are there not any local shops selling gear? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbarron77 Posted June 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 The location info was for the person who noted they could help me at cyclesector.Thanks for all the information and help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magley64 Posted June 5, 2008 Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 i really like my joe rocket gear... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonzie Posted June 5, 2008 Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 my suggestion is to get to a local store and try on some gear. Each brand will fit differently and you will find the best fit for your bodystyle if you try on several brands. It doesn't mean you have to purchase at the store, but you'll have your size to search the intarwebz for best price+1If you go 2 piece, make sure your jacket & pants each have a zipper to connect/mate to each other. Then they kinda make a one piece when you need to. It'll be in the back of the waistband on the pants, bottom back of the jacket.When you find something you like, try www.newenough.com & see if they've got it. They usually have solid prices, GREAT customer service, and they'll donate $1 of your purchase price to the bikesite of your choice.As far as brands go......Only brand I've heard bad things about lately are Tecknic...specifically their Chicane pants. Heard from multiple people I know, and more than that online, that there was a problem with the seams bursting at crunch time. Online friend's jacket sleeve seam burst, but still protected him OK, and he took a hell of a slide......but'cha never know. He may've just got lucky.I'm a big fan of CE rated armor when you can find it. It's getting more & more prevalent. It's the top safety rating in armor. I don't have much faith in some of the other stuff, like dual density etc. Remember.....Just because a brand does a lot of advertising, and seems cool, doesn't necessarily mean it's the best protection for your $$$. Don't get suckered in by their slick ad campaigns & end up buying image over substance!As far as leather in Texas.......You can get perforated leather. My AGV jacket is combo perf leather in the impact areas (outer sleeves, shoulders, outer torso), with abrasion resistant mesh around the inner torso. Very cool, even in HOT weather, comes with an extra liner for colder temps, and had CE armor in shoulders & elbows. Found a GREAT deal on eBay for it last year.......$75 brand new. Supposedly had smoke damage, but I never could smell anything, and wasn't worried about that anyways. Figured any scent of smoke would air out after a couple rides Been lookin' at pants since last season. Wanted a breathable, waterproof textile with CE armor. Finally decided on Fieldsheer Booster pants after trying a couple others that didn't fit so well & had to be shipped back. Got 'em on closeout down at Iron Pony on Sunday for $99. Went down there so I could try on a bunch of different kinds this time, and see what fit best. Tried on about 5 different kinds/pairs/sizes before I decided those fit best. Previously, I'd ordered 2 different pairs online, without trying them on physically. Both pairs were the same size, but from different manufacturers. One pair was too big, the other too small, so as WhoDey said above, each brand fits different.Boots I got are SetUp. They're a track style boot with decent protection for the $$$. You can spend upward of $3-400 bucks for top end track boots, but IMO, those are for the top end riders. That's not me. I felt these offered good protection in the necessary places, & were much cheaper. Plus SetUp is a sister company of Sidi, and every review I've ever read about them was solid, and praised them as a great value. They normally run ~$120, which is a good price on it's own, but I found a guy on one of my boards who was selling his for $90 shipped......barely worn. He even sent them to me in the original box, and they looked brand new, so I felt like I got a heck of a deal!! Again....just gotta do your homework, shop around.....and be patient 'til you find what you want...It's out thereJust shop around & do your homework before you spend any money. I always ask a lot of questions on places like this before I make my decison. I'm a budget/value shopper with a family of 6, and good riding gear can be expensive, so I don't like to waste my money on junk/mistakes, and then have to spend more.You'll find gear's a highly personal choice, and people tend to have strong opinions on it. You'll learn more about it continually, the longer you ride Hopefully this wasn't to long for you & it's useful info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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