Uh oh, another thread on gear (Need suggestions/opinions for newb gear)

[hqp921]

Hi folks, me again.

So I got my letter from Ironstone Ventures, which has their minimum requirements on what I need for the riding practice sessions:

- Helmet
- Over the ankle footwear
- Full-fingered gloves
- Eye/face protection
- Long Sleeves/Long pants

I figure I might as well start buying the proper gear. Sure, they provide a helmet and say that work gloves are fine, but I might as well buy that stuff since I'll use it later on anyway.

Basically, I'm looking for 1. a helmet, 2. gloves, 3. boots. I'll buy other gear after I take the course.

So, I need your suggestions/opinions on those three things. I'm looking for something has a nice balance between affordability, comfort and quality. (I realize that the comfort thing might vary, so I might need to just go try stuff on.)

Thanks in advance,
HP

[slaps76]

For one, you can save quite a bit of money buying your gear online vs. at dealers. That being said, I would make it a point to go to a dealer to at least try on helmets. They all have different fit & feel, and comfort is the # 1 thing in buying one. Whether you decide to buy on the spot or go home and order it is up to you. Obviously a full-faced is best. As far as brands & price range, for the most part price does not reflect safety, but features, weight, and graphics.

Gloves: don't go and buy the cheapest ones you can find. I bought a pair of Joe Rocket from newenough.com(which I highly recommend, BTW...great deals in the closeout section) for something like $19, and the quality is reflected in the price. I ended up buying a better pair(Teknik) with carbon fiber knuckles, and heavier leather/kevlar.

Jacket: first decision, leather, or textile? Leather offers the best protection, but will be hotter. Though they do have preforated leather as well. The benefit to textile is it's pretty water resistant, so if you're going to do a lot of all-weather riding that may be better. Both my textile and leather jackets are Joe Rocket, which were priced pretty good, and so far no issues with quality other than a velcro strap coming almost unstiched on the textile jacket.

Boots: I did the same thing with gloves. I first bought a pair of cheap "motorcycle" boots, but in reality they seem like Doc Martens with a motorcycle gear brand name. Ended up buying Setup boots from newenough....they're a full race "style" boot, but not a full out race boot, and comfortable enough to walk on. There's a recent thread here dedicated to different boots. If I just bought the higher quality stuff upfront I wouldn't have wasted my $$ on the real cheap stuff.

[SVRACER01]

yeah.. that sounds good

[LiononaLeash]

New Enough has plenty of helmets for cheapo. The HJC's are a good bang for the buck.

IMO, Stay away from the plastic shelled ones though(CS and CL i believe are the models). They have a few different ones of the AC11(which is what I have used). I've seen them for under $100 plenty of times. I really don't care too much about graphics, so the limited selection you may encounter in the closeouts section with colors and such doesn't matter to me. I buy a helmet every couple years(and a new bike too unfortunately, must spend less money hehe).

I thought about picking up one of these:

http://www.newenough.com/hjc_ac11_li...elmet_page.htm

oh yeah... and +1 on the setup boots. I use those.

[lee955i]

Head on over to Brockton Cycle center as they're blowing out their Fieldsheer gear. I just bought a nice, armored 3 season textile jacket. $68 bucks shipped to Florida .
Cheers, Lee S.

[The Snowman]

Originally posted by lee955i
Head on over to Brockton Cycle center as they're blowing out their Fieldsheer gear. I just bought a nice, armored 3 season textile jacket. $68 bucks shipped to Florida .
Cheers, Lee S.

I picked up a nice textile Fieldsheer jacket there too for $49.99 (retail $139), with some nice CE armor.

The shocker was my wife picked up the SAME jacket there, in an XS for (get this...) $26!!!! (same retail)

We also got a Fieldsheer magnetic tank bag for $24.

So, we walked out of there with $300 worth of stuff for $100.

[SBT Deb]

Or you can let me know what you have found so far and see if I can work off your budget. Sport Bike Technology offers all NESR members discounts and also offers package deals on gear, parts as well as some of the best customer service in the business. We also attend race events, and offer product advice.

[SBT Deb]

I would also suggest that you purchase a fiber glass helmet. NOT an HJC as they are made of polycarbonate or better known as plastic. You need to be properly sized for a helmet to make sure it does it's job in the event you do have a crash.

[Honclfibr]

Originally posted by SBT Deb
I would also suggest that you purchase a fiber glass helmet. NOT an HJC as they are made of polycarbonate or better known as plastic. You need to be properly sized for a helmet to make sure it does it's job in the event you do have a crash.

As mentioned previously, the HJC AC line all have fiberglass (composite) shells. Hence the AC- designation, which stands for Advanced Composite.

The CS and CL series both have polycarbonate (plastic) shells. The CL series is SNELL approved, the CS series is not.

[hqp921]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I think I'll take a trip one of these days I'm actually free to try out helmets, gloves and boots.

Jacket: I think I'm leaning towards a textile jacket - it sounds as though they'd suit me better as an all-around kind of jacket that's pretty versatile. However, this is not on the 'list of things to buy' until after I take the course (since I just want to buy the minimum gear that will get me through the course).

Gloves: Still unsure, think I need to go check 'em out, but sounds like something with some armor on the should do the trick (?).

Boots: Probably same as above, gotta go look. I know I don't want something to outlandish looking. Something I can wear with jeans and not feel/look COMPLETELY foolish. (Slightly foolish is okay, as this would be no change from the current situation).

Helmets: I'm getting more confused by the second... but I guess something with a good fit that's full-faced and fiberglass should do the trick...

SBT Deb, I'm guessing you're a vendor. I guess with a little research on my part I can come to you with a better idea of what I'm looking at/looking for.

[bigred875]

Originally posted by Honclfibr
As mentioned previously, the HJC AC line all have polycarbonate shells. Hence the AC- designation, which stands for Advanced Composite.

The CS and CL series both have polycarbonate shells. The CL series is SNELL approved, the CS series is not.

AC = fiberglass

[Honclfibr]

Originally posted by bigred875
AC = fiberglass

Fucking grammar nazi

Edited for unconfusingness.

[KB]

Buy a COWHIDE or a KANGAROOHIDE jacket or gloves and don't skimp on these two items. Buy a good one up front and own it for a lifetime. Check out ebay and look for a used VANSON or MotoGP setup you'll find em cheaper than new.

Helmet well you'll get the yata yata and the blah blah for the bang for the buck go with and HJC cheap and decent helmets. When you get said helmet get a tinted shield at the time of purchase.

Boots, as long as you have some sort of over the ankle leather shit you'll be fine till you get comfortable riding and want to step up to a racing/touring kind of boot.


My .02 cents

Good luck with the riding and shit.

KB

[mzdagrl]

I would make a jacket one of your #1 priorities. I may get flamed for this one, but I wouldn't go all out on riding boots yet. Good over the ankle work boots or hiking boots (which is what I have) will get you from point a to point b safely until you start ripping up the corners. Then invest in good riding boots (and pants, possibly leathers). The jacket should come first, and great idea with textile, very versatile and protective.

[LuvDog]

Get good gear and learn how to ride wearing the gear.

My 2 cents... when I learned how to ride... yes i was a huge squid... I didn't wear any gear, and now it's "weird" riding with gear. It's taken me a while to get used to wearing gear and being comfortable riding in moto specific stuff.

Don't start with bad habits.

[KB]

Textiles are good for one crash maybe 2 if your lucky. Get a good leather and throw yourself down the road a bunch of times and then shoe polish the color back in to it.

How many guys riding around at the track are sporting textiles?

KB

[Honclfibr]

Originally posted by rmbbikes
Textiles are good for one crash maybe 2 if your lucky. Get a good leather and throw yourself down the road a bunch of times and then shoe polish the color back in to it.

How many guys riding around at the track are sporting textiles?

KB

Fair enough but street riding in leather on a hot summer day is hot and uncomfortable. Granted it's more protective than textile (though good textile should come damn close) but see my other thread, we're taking such a risk riding in the first place that for me the comfort of riding with textile gear outweighs the incremental risks.

I love my BMW cordura summer suit, it zips on quickly over street clothes for commutes or moderately paced rides and is nonconstricting and has sufficient ventilation that I barely notice it's there.

I also have an aerostich which I haven't used much since I got it right before taking a street hiatus, it seems to be a bit more heavy duty than the BMW suit but is designed for year round riding and is therefore more insulative (and water resistant).

When I get back into street riding I imagine I'll use the stich from say March-April and September-November and the BMW suit from May-August. I rarely ride (rode) on the street in my leathers, I can't justify the kind of street riding where I would choose the small amount of incremental protection they provide; I'd rather save that for the track. Track time is cheaper than hospitalization IMO, and I'm not to the point in my riding career where I feel I can safely travel at those kinds of speeds through blind corners and trust myself to avoid the dangers that might be lurking around the other side.

YMMV, just my $.02

[hqp921]

Hmm, interesting.

I was thinking to go incrementally purchasing gear: Get what I need for the MSF course then work my way from there. Like I said, they provide a helmet, say work gloves are fine, just wear long sleeves and long pants, and over the ankle boots. However, since I'll personally use that stuff later, I might as well buy the gear. (Unless it's 'cool' to sport gardening gloves on 'teh bike' )

Looks like I'll figure out the helmet part first, since that's a priority, even if I do choose to wear no other gear that's a necessity.

Maybe I'll take Mzdagrl's advice and just get some hiking/work boots - and that should suffice for now?

Although I understand the leather jacket debate, I still think I'm going to go with textile - Most of my riding is going to be during the spring/summer months around town, going to work, friends. Not zipping around a track or down the highway. I just have this feeling that it will be more comfortable than a leather jacket. I don't know, perhaps I have this misconception that leathers are form fitting. I thought it'd be easier with a textile jacket to wear layers underneath, or wear less, thus making it more versatile.

Remember, it's gear for a newb, so you want it to be versatile and be decently priced with decent quality. I don't want to sink too much money just to start riding. I hope that makes sense - I understand that it will be an investment, I shouldn't need to break the bank to start. It's like if you were going to learn to play guitar - you don't go out there and spend $4k on gear and a guitar, you spend $200 for a starter kit and if you get better and really enjoy it, you upgrade. I know it's not a perfect correalation (A guitar won't give you road rash), but it's the best I can do at the moment.

I also see LuvDog's point about 'learning to ride in the gear.' So maybe what I need to get for my MSF course will be a helmet, gloves, jacket and work/hiking boots.

(How funny would it be to show up for the MSF in race leathers... who wants to let me borrow some? )

[bigred875]

Originally posted by rmbbikes
Textiles are good for one crash maybe 2 if your lucky. Get a good leather and throw yourself down the road a bunch of times and then shoe polish the color back in to it.

How many guys riding around at the track are sporting textiles?

KB

+1 but imo that isnt a bad thing for most people. If they crash they can get 2-3 text. jackets for the price of a leather...so I would rather see someone buy a text jacket if they do not have the money then ride without one while saving for a leather...

[hqp921]

Oh... I had a question about armor. I saw an ad in Sport Rider or the ilk for (I believe) Icon armor. Looked like elbow and knee pads on steriods. Is that something I can wear on "th3 d34dly str33ts"? Like under my jeans or whatever? I guess the question is, are they meant to be used in conjunction with street gear? Or under street clothes? On the track?

[SBT Deb]

They can be used many different ways. Icon is a company that targets the street rider. They make good products but be careful which one's you try. THey make a great summer jacket called the TIMAX 2 Jacket. Typically I am NOT for anything textile because when it hits the deck (cement, concrete pavement etc..) it burns and can create holes which can make contact with your skin which means road rash. This Jacket is great because it has Titanium Plating inside and armour. It is breathable and you can wear it comfortably when it is 90 + degrees outside. The titanium is important because once you burn throught the mesh or textile material usually your skin in exposed next. This Jacket can combat that. The price is nice too. Retail is $290, but you could pick one up for $246.50.

It has armour, and is one of the only Jackets I know that has a fully sleeved liner for chilly riding. And for the ladies who don't want pink or purple girly, the jackets come in red, white, black, green yellow, and blue xs-xxxl for the guys.

DEb

[GMAN226]

Originally posted by SBT Deb
I would also suggest that you purchase a fiber glass helmet. NOT an HJC as they are made of polycarbonate or better known as plastic. You need to be properly sized for a helmet to make sure it does it's job in the event you do have a crash.

The AC11 is a fiberglass helmet..






This is HJC's high-end series. We put our best materials and features into our AC's including exotic shell materials like the advanced composite fiberglass / Dyneema weave or full application carbon fiber, Aquatrans® moisture wicking interior material featuring open cell technology foam, superior CAD developed fit and form, and our ACS Advanced Channeling System for ventilation to name just a few!
All our racers wear out of the box AC Series including pros like; Ben Spies, Aaron Yates, Jason Pridmore, Nathan Ramsey, Broc Hepler, Nick Wey, Ryan Mills, Matt Buyten, etc.











HJC's CL Series has been the most popular helmet series in North America for over a decade, and for good reason. The styling and features available on any CL Series model rivals helmets up to 3 times the price! Features like advanced polycarbonate composite shell construction, Bioceramic Nylex interior material with odor reduction properties, and the widest sizing and styling range in the business. HJC has been the #1 brand in North America for over 10 years and our CL Series is the main reason why!










The CS Series is our most affordable model range and you get most of the same great fit and features you'll find on our industry leading CL Series. Pound for pound, the CS Series packs quite a punch!

[bigred875]

Originally posted by hqp921
Oh... I had a question about armor. I saw an ad in Sport Rider or the ilk for (I believe) Icon armor. Looked like elbow and knee pads on steriods. Is that something I can wear on "th3 d34dly str33ts"? Like under my jeans or whatever? I guess the question is, are they meant to be used in conjunction with street gear? Or under street clothes? On the track?

that stuff is made to fit under your street clothes...

[sanfelice]

you can often find gear at a dealer on closeout. selection might suck, but you can at least see what's around. That said, it's always good to support a local (depends on the definition of "local" I know) dealership if you like them.

[GonePhishing]

Regarding gear, as a new I was in a similar boat. I had just put down a decent chunk of change on buying my bike, and hadn't fully expected gear to be so expensive. I picked up an icon textile jacket that fits great for about $150, HJC cl 14 helmet on sale for about $100 or so (plus $35 for a tinted shield) - kind of lame graphics on it, but as long it protects my head I'm happy with it, some gel gloves for about $30, and for the MSF class I bought some Sketchers low rise but over the ankle shoes that I wore once during the msf class.

During my msf class, no one was wearing gear per se. Helmets and gloves, and long sleeve shirts / hooded sweatshirts. So I wouldn't say you need to go out and buy a jacket pre- msf class.

Eventually, I'll buy proper gear - a decent leather riding jacket and a helmet that fits better. Right now, after a couple of hours of riding my forehead hurts like hell. And swapping shields is a royal pain in the ass. The sale at brocton Cycle has got my interest for sure.... looks like some nice stuff on sale big time. May be worth taking a ride up there soon.