What type of riding pants do you guys wear? Currently I wear either:
1) Everyday jeans w/ A* knee and shin guard underneath or
2) Dainese Drake Textile Pants
Even though I wear knee/shin guards under my jeans, jeans don't have that great abrasion resistance. Sometimes I wear my Dainese Textile Pants over my jeans. That way, I can just slip it off when I get to work. However, it gets pretty hot here in the summer (120F). Just seeing what my options are. Anyone have experience w/ riding jeans w/ Kevlar reinforcements and knee/shin guards? I saw some at Cycle Gear by the name Red Route. Anyone used them?
i have hood jeans with built in kevlar. the kevlar doesn't breathe well and it gets hot. but i'd rather lose sweat than blood so i deal.
i use sartso killer brown wave jeans with sas tech knee armor from draggin jeans in the pockets. works really well for me and i found that the sartso killer jeans are the most modern cut out of all the kevlar lined jeans. they also have a lot more kevlar coverage than the other jeans i've seen... good because more is prob better, but does make it a bit thicker and hence prob a bit warmer.
On the jeans side, I've got a set of the Shift jeans with kevlar. Under those go a set of the T-Pro limb tubes for impact.
I've got a set of the Air Drakes, and a set of Perforated Deltas. With the stretch and perfs, the lether Deltas get more air moving than the Drakes. If my body position on the bike was a bit more straight legged, I thing that would flip flop. Right now, my thighs are perpendicular to the ground, so the inlets on the knees do really get to scoop any air.
Quote from: thought on May 18, 2011, 07:21:48 PM
i use sartso killer brown wave jeans...
Wow, those do look surprisingly "normal"; I'd never heard of Sartso until now.
I think there might be a pair of these out there with my name on 'em:
(http://www.sartsoshop.com/images/darkgrey.jpg)
How's their sizing; true to size or wonky?
the hood jeans ND4 is the only ones i've seen without seams from the kevlar. this is due to the fact the kevlar basically runs the entire length of the jeans. i don't think u can have more kevlar than them.
other jeans like alpinestars only have kevlar in the knees and hips from what i recall. it's less protection but probably much cooler in hot weather. so you'll have to decide whats more important. obviously you want more protection but if its so hot that u never wear them, its pointless. they won't protect you while they are sitting in your closet and you're out riding without gear.
Currently Heavy kavlar jeans, undershorts and knee/shin guards I want a pair of high quality perf leathers, probably cooler and for sure better protection.
I wear Shift kevlar reinforced pants. They look like designer jeans and breathe well too.
Cheers,
George
Quote from: George S on May 22, 2011, 02:05:27 PM
I wear Shift kevlar reinforced pants. They look like designer jeans and breathe well too.
same. if I'm actually riding and not just commuting or something, I wear Bohn Adventure pants underneath.
i've struggled with "riding pants" for so long now.
i always want to wear more than jeans, but can't convince myself it's worth the discomfort/lack of enjoyment.
i recently (and i mean two days ago) ordered a pair of Rev'it Rotor Pants. These things were AWESOME. The construction was out of this world, the design was very stylish... had incredible features... they even came in a SHORT size that worked for my ridiculously short legs... Problem was, despite them being mesh, they were just too make the beast with two backsing HOT. even just sitting in my apartment in around 70°F room-temp goodness... i quickly began to sweat my ass off. no thanks. they also were cut WAY too tight in the hip area (euro cut...), so i need a larger size too.. problem is they'd be too big everywhere else if i got them to fit in the hips.
i sent them back, and am currently waiting on a pair of Drayko "Drifter" Jeans (kevlar lined). I will need them hemmed, but they look to be of great quaility, and are CE rated for protection, which is impressive. Hopefully they fit. They are apparently somewhat "stretchy" which sounds nice.
I'll keep you all posted.
i'm with you on the leather. however, i can't stand the thought of asphalting up my beautiful knees.
Quote from: Staggerlee on May 19, 2011, 08:59:27 AM
Wow, those do look surprisingly "normal"; I'd never heard of Sartso until now.
I think there might be a pair of these out there with my name on 'em:
(http://www.sartsoshop.com/images/darkgrey.jpg)
How's their sizing; true to size or wonky?
Those do look pretty nice. Be sure to post if you end up getting them [thumbsup]
I bought Red Route jeans, for women size, with knees protections in inner pocket and kevlar lining at impact point. It's too hot for hotest summer day [thumbsdown], because kevlar section are like an inner layer.. I almost wear them when the weather is like 10 to 22ºc. But i must mention that i really like the fit, like a real jeans!! [thumbsup]
I have a pair of:
- first gear mesh overpants that I use for summer commuting - not super-durable, but probably better than jeans (even armored jeans I'd guess).
- olympia ranger II "waterproof" overpants (sort of water resistant is more accurate). Nice fit and fairly sturdy, use them for fall/winter/spring commuting.
- Teizms leather pants - standard armored leather riding pants, lots of perfs so cool for the summer.
- Teizms armored jeans - local pottering around where I don't wanna deal with overpants or riding pants.
- motoport GPII pants - use them for long rides, long distance touring, that sort of thing.
I'd really like a more sturdy, quality pair of mesh overpants for commuting.
Looking forward to adding that sartso dark grey on my gear closet. I've been looking for a casual looking riding jeans for a while but often times the selections are too baggy for my taste. This one hits the spot ;D
A local motorcycle magazine did an abrasion test between different kevlar jeans and the A* came out better than the Dainese. It's a pity though they didn't test the Armalith jeans; would have been interesting to see the difference.
I have Dainese Firefly Leather Pants and Shift Torque Kevlar Jeans that I wear with Dainese Hard Shorts and Knee Pads for impact. The Hard Shorts suck to sit on though so I somtimes forgo them if I know I'm going to be in them off the bike for a while. Does anyone wear Leather pants? It doesnt sound like it. I think they look cool with the Dainese Torque Boots. Only bikers and rockstars can get away with leather pants and they do provide the best abrasion protection so I say rock'em if you got'em.
I wear leather pants - not daily to the office (too hard to get on/off), but for weekend sporting jaunts. Wore them to the classic bike show when I went with some other DMF'ers. Leather is nice as usually they are tailored for a snug fit and the material doesn't flap around. Great protection and if they are well perforated quite cool.
For commuting, I wear a pair of Motoport Air Mesh Kevlar. Probably the best overpants I've seen, but you definitely pay for them.
I ordered the sartso dark grey's but had to exchange them for the brown wave's. The dark grey's had a little too much leg taper for me. I'm 5'-10" 180# avg type build and my knox knee armor hardly fit underneath. (My legs are a little large) The brown wave's are more of a straight leg design and fit much better. I wish they were the same color as the dark grey's, but overall they appear to be a quality product.
Keep in mind they do run a little small. I have a 32 -33" waist in Levis but 34" in the Sartso's. Actually, they are true to size. American clothing is getting bigger under the same sizes so we don't realize how much fatter we're getting. I bought a pair of $9 33" jeans at Meijer for garage duty and they fall off w/o a belt. They fit like 36" Levi's.
So true about size deflation. By pant sizing I've gotten skinnier over the past few years. The scale and mirror don't agree [laugh]
Just added Dainese Pro leather pants to my inventory. Perf of course. Haven't used them yet but from around the house they are just as cool as my heavy kavalr jeans + knee armor + undershorts but with much better abrasion protection. I'll use them for a trip to work this week, see how it goes.
Work great. Great airflow. Confortable. Changed at work (work clothes in backpack).
Been using these for spring / summer commuting to work. Good for an over-pant application and fit.
Haven't tested them yet, but would welcome anyone's perspective on how they would hold up in a crash ~understanding that they aren't leather.
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/1/40/13228/ITEM/Joe-Rocket-Atomic-Pants---2010.aspx (http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/1/40/13228/ITEM/Joe-Rocket-Atomic-Pants---2010.aspx)