Gear Question(s)

I just picked up a bike and I'm trying to amass good riding gear. I've already got a nice jacket, gloves and a helmet. I'm riding in jeans and tall boots now but I know they aren't going to help too much in the event of a crash. Looking at pants and boots just reinforces how little I know about them so I need some help. My riding is going to be dual sportish so I need stuff that's equally at home on and offroad. As is typical here, I'm on a budget so what do you think I need?

My favorite place for research: webbikeworld.com

Place to buy:

Newenough.com Revzilla.com Motorcyclecloseouts.com

Gear up!

Osterkraut listed most of really the good sources. Check to see if you have a Cycle Gear store near you. They have been closing out a bunch of summer gear lately, I picked up a pair of their house brand mesh pants for a little over half normal retail.

One word: waterproof. Not water-resistant...waterproof.

I bought all of my gear with the exception of the helmet in the ADVrider classifieds. The pants were so new they came with the tag. The boots were only worn a half dozen times. I've got less than $400 tied up in head to toe gear, most all of which is brand name stuff.

I found the pants the most frustrating to buy--too many choices and finding the right size to fit me was a PITA. The ones I wound up with may be a bit too long but they'll work. The need for proper pants outweighed the desire for the perfect fit. I got overpants, which some people aren't wild about but should be good for the cooler weather we're going to have for awhile. I figure I can shop for some mesh stuff closer to spring when the bank account is back in shape.

One experienced biker/instructor I spoke with said he buys his gloves at Lowe's; I bought mine at Tractor Supply. I'm really happy with them and they didn't cost $80. I'd rather have comfortable gloves I like to wear than uncomfortable gloves I won't that ultimately don't protect me at all.

For boots I read a lot of reviews on the various vendor sites to see what people liked or didn't. If you don't mind buying used you can try them for awhile and if you hate 'em put them back up for sale. There's always a noob somewhere looking for cheap gear. Find something you like and buy a new pair when you're ready.

If you are trying to protect your handes from blisters, then wear the crap from the hardware store. If you want to protect your hands from rash & more likely broken bones, then get real motorcycle gloves. Ones with straps that will prevent them from being pulled off by the road if you are sliding.

I have crashed many times on the race track, and never had any issue with abrasion on the glove except the time I got my finger stuck under the bar and ground off my nail.

The bigger problem is when you tummble, you will smack the ground over and over - that is why it is very important to have good padding or armor on the back of the glove and padding on the back of the fingers. Same thing with boots, make sure you have armor/padding over that bone on the outside of your ankle.

I broke both hands in one crash - bike siezed and I went off into deep gravel. I mush have tried to catch myself with my left hand and got my thumb wrenched by the throttle or brake lever on the right side. Trust me - you want to protect your hands. I will ride in jeans on the street if I have to in order to pay for good gloves and boots.

thatsnowinnebago wrote: I just picked up a bike and I'm trying to amass good riding gear. I've already got a nice jacket, gloves and a helmet. I'm riding in jeans and tall boots now but I know they aren't going to help too much in the event of a crash. Looking at pants and boots just reinforces how little I know about them so I need some help. My riding is going to be dual sportish so I need stuff that's equally at home on and offroad. As is typical here, I'm on a budget so what do you think I need?

Dual sporting, as in gravel dirt and fire roads with the occasional two track? Or as in 'this is really an enduro without checkpoints" dual sport?

For the former, find a pair of good street pants. I like mesh overpants with waterproof liners, I've had both the Olympia Airglide's and currently own FirstGear HT Air's and they're the perfect do-it-all pant imo. Pull out the liners and ride in summer, liner in to make them waterproof and warm enough over jeans to get into the high 30's to low 40's.

For the latter, pick a pair of good dirt pants and knee pads/braces. Don't forget hip protection too. I prefer Klim gear, my Baja pants have been durable as hell and very comfortable.

Boots - Pick a tall street oriented boot if you're doing mostly road. I like my Tourmaster Solution boots for everyday use. Pick a tall dirt bike boot for true off road work, I like my Alpinestars Tech 6 (eBay, $80 shipped vs $300 new). For an in between boot, my Alpinestars Scout boots are fantastic. comfortable enough to walk around all day in, but protective enough for like off roading.

Gloves, gauntlets rule. Summer winter fall and spring, make sure the gloves cover up past your wrist. Get motorcycling specific gloves, they're (usually) curved to make them more comfortable gripping the bars and they're (usually) armored or at least built up in areas to give protection.

All I know after crashing a few times is that I am investing in a good pair of boots made for motorcycling. Heavy work boots are good until they hit the pavement and the leather grabs the asphalt and twists your ankle. I put my bike down hard on my foot a coupla months ago breaking a foot and hand. I figure with the right boots my foot might have only gotten sprained. I was wearing boots and the crash ground through the leather on one side.

Even if you end up paying 500$ for the right gear you still get off cheap compared to medical bills and lasting injury. Not only physical injury but getting back onto a bike after crashing takes a lot of confidence away which isn't good.

Water proof sounds great, except for one thing: if you are riding in a downpour then come out into the sun, your waterproof gear now becomes a sauna bath. Gore Tex is tough and breatheable, I'd go with that instead. I have an older Moose Racing XCR enduro jacket, anorak style, which also has zipper vents all around. That sounds like a gimmick until you ride with it, man it's nice. On a cold day, zip the front vents closed and open the rears, you stay comfy. On a hot day, open them all. It fits over chest protectors etc and can be rolled up into a 'fanny pack' complete with its own quick click belt. That jacket has been all the way from the South Carolina swamps to the mountains of Colorado and worked well everywhere. My brother even borrowed it for snow skiing.

I've had a nylon jacket, they don't 'breathe' well and much like a tent if you touch the inside water will almost immediately begin wicking through at that spot.

Boots are a must. As noted, work boots etc will do in a pinch but it's best to eventually invest in good quality true riding boots. For dual sport, you will probably find yourself doing some walking. True MX boots are not good to walk any distance in.

MX pants generally include a pocket where you can insert a plastic knee cup. That's not perfect but it beats grinding a knee into hamburger. Good dual sport pants will generally have hard plastic covered with padding in that area.

I barked an elbow pretty good once, so elbow pads might be useful. The biggest complaint I have about those is the cheap ones tend to slide down your arms if you are riding standing up.

Something for your bike which will be invaluable: Bark Busters. Those have saved my bacon more than once.

Get the plain ones without the plastic guard molded onto them, then drill and tap for the universal plastic guards. That way you can put on small guards for summertime, then big ones for winter. For really nasty cold wet days, I have used gallon milk jugs zip tied to them to keep my hands dry. It looks stupid but it works.

ddavidv wrote: I bought all of my gear with the exception of the helmet in the ADVrider classifieds. The pants were so new they came with the tag. The boots were only worn a half dozen times. I've got less than $400 tied up in head to toe gear, most all of which is brand name stuff.

Unfortunately for some of us, the crowd at ADVrider tends to run a little...husky. But yeah, there's really good stuff on there!

Thanks for the help all. I ended up with a Fieldsheer jacket and pants (both waterproof and breathable), Fly ATV boots (little shorter than MX boots), and my helmet and some kinda armored gloves. Got all of it for right around $400 too; mostly from motorcyclecloseout.com. The jacket and pants are so awesome. Zip out quilted liners on both, lots of reflective stuff and tons of pockets. Nice thing about buying the same brand pants and jacket is that the zipper that connects them is already compatible. Now its time to go ride and (hopefully not) break them in

Oh and good call on the bark busters, they're on my short list.