Leather for commuting

rowanh

I bought a cheap jacket and trousers when i got my bike, i have a bit of cash and id like to get something better now. Im not exactly sure what to get though. I was looking at goretex stuff on ebay but im just wondering how (im)practical leathers would be for commuting. Id like to do the training track day in mondello at some stage and id imagine id like to keep going now and then. So im wondering,

If you treat them to make them waterproof are they still much worse than textiles for getting soaked and taking ages to dry?
Are they a lot more awkward to take on and off?
In summer are they much worse for being hot and sweaty? None of them seem to have venting.
Would it be harder to buy them online and get ones that fit well? I think they are supposed to be quite tight?
Is there any other major drawbacks im not considering here?

Rowan

Bikerguy

honestly.... they are not build for rain - you will need an extra layer / jacket / overall to cover them against water.. and they are hard to take off / on as you need tight fit... you will be sweting your ass off... they are good for sunday fast spins...but not for daily comute to work or so..

get an alpinestars set drystar or goretex.. and you are good to go...

on other hand.. tracking days and some speed runs.. will need eventualy some leather... the best is to get both.. if your budget is tight.. get RST 2 piece textile waterproof gear - cca 200e full set..and RST leathers 350/450e full set... if you aint gonna do the tracking then textile first...

why textile? you can keep shirt under or even pants.. that you wont be able to do so with leathers...

my 2 cents


edit.. i was in the market not long time a go... alpinestars 2 piece andes or valparaiso (higher spec) will get you for 350e-500e good protextion, good breathable gear and there will be no water or rain that will stop ya... it has a drystar membrane and alpinestars means you cant go wrong with them... A++ quality...

dont buy leathers before you try them on before... you better go to shop try them and then order online.. or so...

rowanh

Thanks thats good advice. Ill check out the valparaiso stuff, i havent heard of it.

Mr Sheen!

I commute an 80k trip everyday it takes me about a half hour. I wear leathers everyday as I find them more comfortable on the bike and they offer better protection.

I bring clothes into work on a Monday and a fresh t shirt everyday. I always have the rain gear with me so I can throw it over if needs be.

2 piece leathers are Piss easy to get on and off once you get used to them you will have them on and off in no time .

Don't buy leathers without trying them on. You need to get them as small as possible and they will stretch to tour body.

Bikerguy

rowanh wrote: »

Thanks thats good advice. Ill check out the valparaiso stuff, i havent heard of it.

I have them myself. Jacket 270 pants 190 online price for them is like 360 and 240.. . from megabikes on wexford street in dublin. Speak to the owner not to the chap behind counter. He will give you better price. You wont find it cheaper online, his price is by far the best. And they can be zipped together. The jacket is the best i ever had. Its 4 in 1 jacket you can use her any season. And the protection is A+++. You can even buy aditional bionic protectors that will fit her. As they can replace the standard padding that the jacket comes with. The jacket has like a spoiler on the back so it fully covers your back / ass even on sports bike while you lay down on the tank - i dont have to use kidney belt anymore the jacket is really spot on.. i had few jackets before but this is the one i can put my money down on.

Leathers are ok, i didnt wanna say they are not.. but in summer they are to hot and in winter to cold.. i comute daily 115km highway mostly

Anyway best of luck

rowanh

They look good but I dont like the way it has a separate waterproof layer on the inside. Im not 100% sure but i think some of the goretex gear has the waterproof layer very close to the top of the material so that the whole thing doesn't get soaked through. The stuff i have now takes ages to dry and is horrible to put on in the morning when its cold and wet.

Mr Sheen!

rowanh wrote: »

They look good but I dont like the way it has a separate waterproof layer on the inside. Im not 100% sure but i think some of the goretex gear has the waterproof layer very close to the top of the material so that the whole thing doesn't get soaked through. The stuff i have now takes ages to dry and is horrible to put on in the morning when its cold and wet.

Best thing for drying fast and keeping you dry is a two piece rain suit over whatever your wearing leathers or textiles.

rowanh

leppla wrote: »

I commute an 80k trip everyday it takes me about a half hour. I wear leathers everyday as I find them more comfortable on the bike and they offer better protection.

I bring clothes into work on a Monday and a fresh t shirt everyday. I always have the rain gear with me so I can throw it over if needs be.

2 piece leathers are Piss easy to get on and off once you get used to them you will have them on and off in no time .

Don't buy leathers without trying them on. You need to get them as small as possible and they will stretch to tour body.

Well good to know its an option, if you were on the bike half way home and it started drizzling would you stop and put on the waterproofs? Also do you treat them for rain and does it make much difference?

rowanh

leppla wrote: »

Best thing for drying fast and keeping you dry is a two piece rain suit over whatever your wearing leathers or textiles.

If i was buying "expensive" textiles id prefer to get stuff that didnt require an over suit in anything other than a downpour. Maybe this is unrealistic?

KTRIC

rowanh wrote: »

If i was buying "expensive" textiles id prefer to get stuff that didnt require an over suit in anything other than a downpour. Maybe this is unrealistic?

I have a Hein Gericke Gore-tex ProShell suit, its 100% water proof. The outer layer is the Gore-tex membrane rather that having it inside the fabric. All well and good but cost me the guts of €1400 and its let down by the fastners which being from Hein Gericke are shite !! :mad:

neamhspleachi

KTRIC wrote: »

I have a Hein Gericke Gore-tex ProShell suit, its 100% water proof. The outer layer is the Gore-tex membrane rather that having it inside the fabric. All well and good but cost me the guts of €1400 and its let down by the fastners which being from Hein Gericke are shite !! :mad:

:eek:

KTRIC

neamhspleachi wrote: »

:eek:

That was when I had more money than sense

Mr Sheen!

rowanh wrote: »

If i was buying "expensive" textiles id prefer to get stuff that didnt require an over suit in anything other than a downpour. Maybe this is unrealistic?

I don't treat them with anything. I'm usually good at judging the weather I check the latest rainfall if I'm worried about rain. I never stop to put on the rain gear on the way back but now that I think of it I never get caught without it on much.

Sometimes I throw on the rain jacket and not the bottoms on a cold morning as it helps keep the wind chill off.

AgileMyth

neamhspleachi wrote: »

:eek:

I wear a 20 year old hein Gerick jacket. Its 100% waterproof. Don't know what it cost at the time as i was only 3 when my dad bought it. I inherited it about two years back. Id say between us we've got the value out of it!

You get what you pay for.

rowanh

Saving money to buy a house was the initial reason i bought the bike so spending 1400 quid on a suit would probably not go down too well.. Assuming i keep the bike long term i probably would get fairly high end gear for commuting but for now id say my budget is more like 500 for a jacket and pants. I saw a Rukka Athos goretex jacket for 300 online which might be a good option. Im not sure if its their budget jacket and not the same as their more expensive stuff.

CNTRLR

louis.de and dc-moto.de always decent discounts on textile suits, be they just the jacket or a 2 piece. either way you will get what you pay for, if you decide to save a bit of money you might replace them in 2 years time as they may not stand up to the daily commute, however spending 500 now might get you a decent set of gear that will last a good few years.

All weather gear is difficult as most will have a few sets of gear, one for a bit of fun, then rain and fine weather, especially those of us who commute year round, there is no worse feeling than putting on cold wet clothes the morning after getting soaked,

Frigga_92

rowanh wrote: »

I bought a cheap jacket and trousers when i got my bike, i have a bit of cash and id like to get something better now. Im not exactly sure what to get though. I was looking at goretex stuff on ebay but im just wondering how (im)practical leathers would be for commuting. Id like to do the training track day in mondello at some stage and id imagine id like to keep going now and then. So im wondering,

If you treat them to make them waterproof are they still much worse than textiles for getting soaked and taking ages to dry?
Are they a lot more awkward to take on and off?
In summer are they much worse for being hot and sweaty? None of them seem to have venting.
Would it be harder to buy them online and get ones that fit well? I think they are supposed to be quite tight?
Is there any other major drawbacks im not considering here?

Rowan

If you are just buying some gear to keep you going until you've more cash, you are still going to have to spend a bit to get something decent.

I would definitely recommend buying leathers first and textiles later. It is way more comfortable to have leathers and put oilskins on over them in the summer than wear textiles all the time.
I never use my textiles in the summer time, no matter how bad the weather gets so I wear my leathers and carry oilskins with me in my bag. You will become a pro at hopping in and out of these at the side of the road.
I work in an office where I am required to wear formal office wear so I bring clothes with me everyday and keep a suit jacket in my office at all times.
Definitely make sure you have extras in work. I drive in all weather so I always have spare socks, spare tights and a spare set of clothes for work just in case I get caught out.

I have never had a difficulty buying gear online. Most websites will have a size comparison guide, i.e. they will have normal clothes sizing chart and show the bike clothing sizes on it. You want your gear to fit you properly, not tight but fairly snug to your body.

I don't sweat on the bike in my leathers in the summer but you will probably sweat walking around in them but this also has to do with the amount of stuff you will be carrying, helmet, 99% of the time a backpack and either wearing your jacket or carrying it.

Alkers

I wear full leathers all year round and find them grand. I treat them every 6 months or so with waterproofing and it keeps out the rain except for when it's really lashing and even then it only tends to seep through at areas where they are flexing like my knees and my elbows. I have an oversuit but I never bother to put it on unless it is really torrential.

I can fit a pair of work slacks under my leathers and a shirt and thin jumper, in the winter I wear a neck warmer and that does me fine.

rowanh

26sdrawkcab wrote: »

It is way more comfortable to have leathers and put oilskins on over them in the summer than wear textiles all the time.

More comfortable in what way and why the summer? Do you wear textiles in the winter because of rain/cold?

Simona1986 wrote: »

I wear full leathers all year round and find them grand

I think ill try on some leathers in a shop and see how they feel. Do they feel very different when they are new and take breaking in to be comfortable?

Frigga_92

rowanh wrote: »

More comfortable in what way and why the summer? Do you wear textiles in the winter because of rain/cold?



I think ill try on some leathers in a shop and see how they feel. Do they feel very different when they are new and take breaking in to be comfortable?

Well I find my leathers way more comfortable than my textiles anyway but it's more comfortable in the summer to throw oilskins over leathers than to wear textiles because textiles are like a sleeping bag.
I wear textiles in the winter for the cold more than the rain, good set of oilskins would keep out rain but you need textiles once it starts getting cold in November.

Leathers do take a little to "break in", they kind of mould to your body shape.

goodlad

I wore textile gear for 3 years on the bike. I got leathers a few months back but only really start wearing them daily in the last 2 months. They were crazy tight when i first got them. As in so tight i was convinced the chap in the shop tricked me into buying a size too small.

They have loosened up like im told they would and are extremely comfortable. I had on textiles the other day and it just felt weird! I took them off and put the leathers back on.

If im worried about rain i just have a Richa Rain warrior 2 piece suit to throw on.

Hotblack Desiato

Never had a problem wearing leather jackets in winter cold or summer heat. If you're not going racing there's no need for the jacket to be skin tight (and there were plenty of flapping leathers visible on the high speed cameras at the TT!) so there's room for a thermal lining and a fleece/jumper underneath. Cheap overjacket for the rain. Vent zips for summer. Never got overheated even in the heat of European summer trips provided I could keep moving.

I wear a textile jacket year round now but that's due to laziness really, convenience in changeable weather, when it's not raining a leather jacket is still preferable for comfort and protection imho

I still wear leather trousers year round, can't imagine how people wear textile trousers in summer. Leather breathes so is less hot in summer, never found them too cold except in the most extreme winter weather (and long johns sorted that) and they fit better so the armour is less likely to move away in a crash. Have overtrousers (less than a tenner) for the rain but need them rarely enough.

Wonda-Boy

No need to go mental. A full set of RST Slice leathers will cost you €350 and they are well worth it. They are the same spec as the other higher brands (1.3 - 1.4mm leather and triple stitched, very same as Dainese or Alpinstars ) a set of Richa or the like rain gear will cost you €60. Thats what I got and I am sorted 365 days a year. Its done and dusted....no hassles.