Review: Riding suit from Jackets4Bikes

[redryderaus]

I've ordered one of these from Jackets4Bikes:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=014&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=330176652998&rd=1

Once it arrives I'll be doing a review here. For the price ($136USD + s&h) I think it is affordable for just about everyone and will offer a lot better protection than ordinary street clothes.

For those who don't know Cordura is a tough, lightweight, abrasion resistant cloth that has been used for many years by downhill speed-skaters and by minimoto (PB) riders in Europe. The addition of leather, kevlar and armour at critical points mean this suit should be adequate for the speeds our midbikes are capable of. Of course, full leathers would be better but I understand that they are too expensive for many people. Although Jackets4Bikes do sell full leathers for about $220USD + s&h.

Anyway, stay tuned. It normally takes stuff 2 weeks to get here from the US. I'll do the review then.

Cheers,

red ausflag

[rednek01]

awesome I'm excited!

[swheels]

Yep those were the suits i stumble across awhile back.I definitly plan on getting a set.

[redryderaus]

Your post put me on to them, swheels. It was a good find.

Cheers,

red ausflag

[Pinto93]

Sweet. I'm gonna have to grab me a set too!

[rednek01]

We should get Some midbike nation patches that we can sew or iron on all of our riding suits and jackets haha rock2

[redryderaus]

Midbike Racer is looking into creating a MNRA logo. Maybe then we could all throw some $$$ in a pot and get some patches and t-shirts made up thumbsup2 It'd be good advertising for the site and the sport in general.

Cheers,

red ausflag

[Pinto93]

Good thinking Red!!

[doug@xmr]

How did I miss those, thats an inexpensive way to get a descent amount of protection and they have a full leather too!!

[redryderaus]

OK, the suit arrived today. I'm impressed for two reasons. First, the post office date stamp shows they despatched the suit on the same day the order was placed!thumbsup2 Second, the various postage services got their collective act together (for a change lol) to get it here this quickly. As always I'd have preferred email notification from Jackets4Bikes that it had been shipped but it didn't happen.

The suit:

Going over the suit, I couldn't find any manufacturing faults. The stitching could have been tighter, but is good quality and is straight and even. It will hold up well in a crash.

The leather around the chest is perforated for ventilation and appears to be even in thickness and colour.

The leather arms and lower legs aren't perforated and are sewn in an "anatomical" shape ie pre-bent to fit the riding position.

There are corrugated stretch panels above the knees and running under the arms and over the back of the shoulders. There are plain stretch panels on the inside of the arms and legs as well as the groin area. All these are well sewn in and provide good movement.

The armour in the elbows and knees is anatomically moulded and will provide reasonable impact protection and are loosely fitted in pockets between the liner and exterior to allow them to adjust to your shape and riding position. There are small pads providing protection at the hips also. The back armour is flat high density rubber foam about 10mm (3/8") thick. This will provide some protection but I would upgrade to an articulated style back protector. I know from experience how painful cracked vertabra are. All the armour is removable.

There are zippers at wrists and ankles for easier fitting/removal. The main zipper on the front is a good length for easy fitting. All zippers are high quality, heavy duty YKK items. The neck closer is a press-stud of unknown maker but appears to be well fitted and swaged.

The suit has a full liner (not removable) of lightweight mesh material which will help with ventilation. The weight of the suit with supplied knee pucks is 2.9kg (6.4lb) which compares well with my race leathers at 6.5kg (14.3lb).

The fit:

I'm 6' tall and 168lb (yep, I'm a beanpole LOL). This makes it hard to find off the rack stuff that fits well. It's why my race leathers are custom made for me. The suit I bought is US 42.

Trying on the suit for the first time required a bit of fiddling with the knee and elbow armour to get them in a comfortable position. The arms were actually long enough (a happy surprise) and doing some stretching movements showed I had good movement. The legs finish above the ankles and this is normal as they are meant to be worn with motorcycle boots.

In hindsight US 44 would have been a better choice just to give me a bit more room but these showed up fine in the next stage.

The ride:

Ok, down to the nitty-gritty. Given the X1.25 isn't rideable yet, I decided on a two-part ride test of the suit.

First of all, I took the VTR1000 for a hard run through the local industrial estate. As you can imagine on a 1:1 sportbike the suit didn't give me any issues with free movement, even though I put both knee pucks on the tarmac.

Second I decided a torture test would be the PB. So I gave it a go. Here's where the next size up would have been better as this one was a little tight across the shoulders. Not enough to be a problem but comfort would have been better in a larger suit. On a midbike it would be fine. Again both knee pucks got a workout thumbsup2

Summary:

I think this is an excellent suit for the price. Quality of materials and manufacturing is very good, let down only by the less than ideal stitching and back protection. For midbike riding and racing the suit will provide excellent protection from both impact and abrasion injuries. The relatively lightweight materials used means a normal sewing machine could be used for repairs.

Would I use this suit on the superbike? No. But I'm more than happy to trust my health to it on a midbike. Just pay the extra bucks for a back protector, boots, gloves and a good helmet and you'll walk away from most crashes you'll have on the track.

Overall I'd give the suit 9/10. If the manufacturer tightened up the stitching and improved the back protection it would have been higher. But given the low price it's excellent value for money.

Cheers,

red ausflag

[Blitz$M.Inc.$]

gr8 review, i might look into one now thumbsup2

[swheels]

Yes Red that was excellent.So now i know i will be happy with it.

[rednek01]

No pics?dunno

Sounds like a great buy maybe I will be getting one for christmas! thinking_smilie

[The Nutty Professor]

Saving pennies as we type moon1

[redryderaus]

No pics?dunno

Sounds like a great buy maybe I will be getting one for christmas! thinking_smilie

I'll get some pics today or tomorrow, time permitting. I'm hoping Santa brings these to a lot of people. :)

Cheers,

red ausflag

[The Nutty Professor]

I just bought one of these suits also. As soon as I get a test ride I post a review. At this point I like the fit.The thigh area is a bit snug but everything I buy is like that. I guess manufacturers think everybody who's 5'7" has chicken legs dunno The one thing I will have to enhance is the back protection. The pad in the suit is way to thin. I broke my behind once I'll think I'll try to avoid twice.

[The Nutty Professor]

Well Red was right about the stitching. On the right knee were I went down the thread gave way real easy but I can easily fix it myself with a needle and some heavier duty thread. I smacked my elbow, shoulder, and knee and didn't know it until I saw the marks on the suit later. Worth every penny...but I still need that back protector ouch that I felt.