Riding gear suggestions for newbies

[twins4life]

Hello all,

We are wanting to invest in some riding gear. We would like something in the fluorescent green color and mesh construction, since we ride in the south, cool is paramount.

Hopefully something with a cotton washable liner and hopefully a winter liner too.

Pants and jacket. One piece?

We have no experience whatsoever with gear (aside from leather) and are wanting to make a good choice.

Thanks!

 

[Glinm]

Riding gear

I wear a jacket and pants (Bushwhacker jacket, Airglide pants) from Olympia Motosports. Price is good, quality appears excellent, and great customer support. You definitely don't want cotton anything, they take too long to dry. Olympia mesh gear all come with water and wind proof insulated liners. Rode about 400 miles yesterday in AR with temps up to 97 and was reasonably comfortable. Ride in the winter to the mid 30's before pulling out the Gerbing jacket. If they will bring out an uninsulated liner for warm rainy days I will buy them. www.olympiamotosports.com

 

[newstar]

As I've stated in a few other posts, I'm a big fan of Olympia Airglides. You can do a search and read the particulars. In a nutshell, I love the removeable liners, they are waterproof when the liners are in, and they are comfortable. Oh, and the women's sizes are true. Large is a large, small is a small. None of this large size fitting a barbie doll!

As a former newbie, let me offer some advice. Do your research first! I've purchased 2 jackets and 2 pair of pants before I settled on the Olympias. I've also spent a fair amount of money on boots before I fell in love with the Oxtar Sun Ray boots.

Another thing, I agree with the previous post about staying away from cotton. Both my husband and I ride in Under Armour when the weather is hot. They are quick drying and cool. He also swears by comperssion shorts or bike shorts which he never rides without. I've seen this recommendation by others on this forum as well.

Good Luck!

Tracy

 

[sheridesabeemer]

Pointers

Do a quick search for "mesh gear" in this thread, and that will get you started on peoples preferences in the jacket and pants area.
Many here lean towards Aerostich, BMW , First Gear and Olympia brands. WebBikeWorld is a good place for product reviews.

 

[drummer]

Hold the phone - I just went down this road about one month ago.

SO I FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT ADDRESSING THIS ONE.

I looked, touched, felt, read, did almost everything I could to investigate products. The absolute LOUDEST HI VIZ out there is by http://www.olypmiamotosports.com -

The Airglide 2 system is a yellow/green that shouts at drivers. The first trip out, I did back roads to test drive the outfit. My biggest compliant was that drivers would always cross the yellow line when I approached. Now they go they other way towards their berm. I ride a great deal in commuter traffic is why I purchased the screaming garb. One thing I have noticed in commuter traffic is that for some reason people tend to slow down as if I am an emergency vehicle. It's rather funny.

Their airglide 2 system is very very comfortable in weather between 48 (with liner but haven't tried it lower than that) and 97. I also have the airglide pants and they are equally good but only in black and silver. They both have removable insulated liners and if you are going to wear the pants over others you want to go one size larger than your normal pant size.

 

[Holly]

Bamboo not Cotton

Just go with mesh, no liner in the heat. If you can, get bamboo clothing to wear underneath. I have been wearing bamboo this summer and it has held up to repeated washings. Here are the advantages of bamboo: http://www.bambooclothing.co.uk/why_is_bamboo_better.html

Search around for it. Many of the online sites are very expensive, but I have been finding it in discount stores for very little, since most people don't know what it is. I have even found it at Canadian Tire--yup an auto parts store, but with a neat camping section that has bamboo t-shirts for $14.99.


Holly

 

[carockwell]

Check motoport.com. Their kevlar suits are safe, comfotable in hot and cold weather, and dry in the rain. I have heard that Rukka suits are more comfortable, but the Motoport is half the price and truely a "one suit for all conditions" made in the USA. You also get full custom fitting and your choice of colors. IMHO my Motoport is a way better deal than an Olympia or Aerostich.

 

[professor]

I also wear Olympia Airglides and am very pleased. The winter liner is quite warm. I've had other brands with Thinslate liners that are not nearly as warm. Olympia uses Thermolite which is much warmer. Check with Moto Liberty in Dallas www.motoliberty.com. They have good prices and a good selection of Olympia and other brands. More important, the owner and all employees are riders.

 

[larrydk]

ride gear

Typically fit and you get what you pay for are the keys.

Picked up a Revit jackit at the rally, very nice, good fit, good quality.

 

[henzilla]

Just go with mesh, no liner in the heat. If you can, get bamboo clothing to wear underneath. I have been wearing bamboo this summer and it has held up to repeated washings. Here are the advantages of bamboo: http://www.bambooclothing.co.uk/why_is_bamboo_better.html

Search around for it. Many of the online sites are very expensive, but I have been finding it in discount stores for very little, since most people don't know what it is. I have even found it at Canadian Tire--yup an auto parts store, but with a neat camping section that has bamboo t-shirts for $14.99.Holly

I have increased my knowledge base today...Bamboo? I have seen Hemp clothing ( this is Keep Austin Weird kinda stuff) but not bamboo...hmmmm, must look


I have Olympia in black & silver...the silver color seems cooler already this summer and all the liners are out...great all around gear.Very comfortable in the cold, reasonably cool in summer.
I have all mesh Vanson but it has no collar or wrist closures to snug it up...good August around town jacket, but seems light for touring and the flapping wrists can be an aggravation issue.
Got a badass new BMW jacket for my 50th in June, but too warm to wear it now

seems like the bright colors will limit manufacturers and styles

 

[twins4life]

We're down to two brands, FirstGear and the Airglide. The FirstGear seems to have more mesh than the Airglide. Thus cooler, true / false?

As pointed out above, we want to do this once.

Thanks!

 

[dancogan]

We're down to two brands, FirstGear and the Airglide. The FirstGear seems to have more mesh than the Airglide. Thus cooler, true / false?

As pointed out above, we want to do this once.

Thanks!

Another thing to consider. The armor in the Olympia is CE approved. I'm not sure if that's true with FirstGear, or if it's an extra cost option. To me, having CE approved armor gave me more security, and it certainly worked the one time I went down.

 

[twins4life]

I just checked, they both are CE approved. Good to know!

 

[rclyon3]

I recently bought the Olympia Airglide pants for myself and the jacket and pants for my wife. They are great. Very cool in hot temps and keep you dry with the liner in heavy rain.

 

[RTRandy]

I've had the BMW Venting machine for summer riding for a number of years and like it a lot, however I just bought the Olympia Airglide jacket and pants before my recent Canada trip and couldn't be more pleased.

They make a bright Yellow along with about six other color choices. I chose the gray for the jacket since black seemed like it might be too hot, however I went with black for the pants and they were great.

Rode long days in heat and couldn't be more please with the comfort, the fit, and the placement of pockets and the armor.

Left the linings home, but plan to add them when the weather cools off down here.

 

[GSJimE]

Just got a FirstGear mesh jacket. It seems to do well here in the south. I already had FirstGear mesh pants. Both seem to be good quality with good armor, and probably a better price point than the others. My 2 cents.

 

[njnear]

Stay away from Cotton

Cotton sucks.

Synthetics work better when they are wet. Keep you cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Something like Underarmor works well.

Merino wool is also an excellent natural choice.

 

[flymymbz]

If you've found the gear that you want and are still a bit concerned about keeping cool, try adding an evaporative vest under the mesh jacket. I know that Joe Rocket makes one, its called the Sahara. I believe a couple other companies have their own version as well. Try to find one that self zips. The Joe rocket one I have will zip closed to wear with other gear as well as zip into the JR jacket in place of the liner.

Soak it in water for a couple of minutes and put on. The breeze flowing through the mesh will evaporate the water and keep you a couple degrees cooler. If I know that I am going to be on a long ride, I'll take a 2 gallon ziplock, fill with a bit of water and keep the vest in there until needed. Squeeze excess water back into ziplock so you can 'recharge' the vest when it dries.

 

[sjbmw]

Look at this closeout:

http://www.newenough.com/closeouts/bargain_basement/joe_rocket/rio_mesh_motorcycle_jacket.html

A Joe Rocket summer mesh for $25!

The size selection is dwindling fast though.

 

[twins4life]

Is this the evaporative vest? http://www.ridecool.com/catalog_EvapVests.htm#sport

And newenough didnt have my size