|
Besides my helmet, I think the most imporant accessory I own is my Joe Rocket Ballistic 3.0 suit. I bought the
suit in spring 2001, and before that my best riding gear was a leather jacket, gloves, and jeans. All I can say is,
"thanks goodness I never dumped the bike"
So, what about that Joe Rocket? I must admit that what I really wanted was an Aerostitch Roadcrafter. Some
people like Motoport, some like Firstgear or what have you... I happen to think that Aerostitch makes the best textile
riding gear you can buy. Opinions do vary though.
Unfortunately, in spring 2001 I was preparing to ride to Georgia. That in itself was not a bad thing, but the fact
that I had little time OR money to get a riding suit precluded buying the Aerostitch at ~$800 plus the time it would take
to get one. So I went looking for a cheap alternative.
In my humble opinion, that's exactly what the Joe Rocket suit is, a "poor-man's Roadcrafter" I've used this suit
in temps above 100 degrees F, below 32, and everywhere in between. The jacket is well vented, but the pants aren't,
so be prepared to sweat a little when the temp is above 85 or so. In cold weather I use a Widder vest under the suit,
and I'm probably as comfortable as the people gawking at me from inside their cages "Is he crazy? He must be freezing!!!"
The material the suit is made of looks and feels a lot like Cordura, but I don't know what it's actual composition is.
Whether it will hold up well in a crash I don't know, and hope to never find out {at least, not when riding MY bike}
My suit was advertised as waterproof, but water does get in after about 1 hour worth of even mild rain. I've read that the new
Ballistic 4.0 is better in this regard. Also, while the suit is well padded, the armor is dual density foam, and
doesn't have a hard shell like the best CE armor does. The suit was built to a price point, that's a fact.
I still want that Roadcrafter, and when finances allow, I'll be getting one. On the other hand, I don't hesitate
to recommend the Joe Rocket to someone who is looking for decent protection at a great price. I bought mine retail,
but you don't have to do that. This stuff is on Ebay all the time... with a little patience you could have the
pants AND jacket for about $200 total. That's tough to beat.
|
 |
| Available at www.denniskirk.com |
|
| Here is an almost identical glove from Dennis Kirk |
|
| 2001 Joe Rocket Speedmasters- mine are black with the chrome knuckles |
Gloves. I have a pair of Tour Master leather gloves with studded palms. I think they're great... super
comfortable, good control feel. Downside is that there is no lining whatsoever, so when your hands get wet or sweaty,
they turn black. I don't know that these gloves are available anymore. I did find a very similar looking glove
at Dennis Kirk... I know nothing about the quality of these gloves but they are what I would try if I had to replace
mine. I think they go by the name "Road Race" gloves although they wouldn't be my first choice for racing ...
I also have a set of Tour Master "Polar-tex" cold weather gloves. These are made with a Cordura shell, and insulated.
I've only worn them twice and one of the seams has seperated. I do NOT recommend these gloves. In fact, I'm going
to try to exchange them for a leather riding glove. Update- since that time, I got a pair of Fieldsheer winter riding
gloves off Ebay. They're real nice and real warm, I think the Tour Masters are going to spend most of their time in
my closet...
I also recently picked up a set of Joe Rocket Speedmaster gloves. Racing level of protection, nice venting, and
knuckle protection that goes with my KBC lid :) I like them a lot but have yet to get out on the bike with them.
As the weather warms up I'll be updating this space.
Boots. For years I rode with lace up workboots... bad. Then I got a pair of steel-toe engineers boots
from Wal-Mart... better. Now I've got a pair of Teknic Defender riding boots.
What can I say about the Defenders? They look fine, are reasonably comfortable and all. They are supposed
to be waterproof, but aren't much better than my Joe Rocket suit as far as that goes. I think they are now out of production,
so I'll say this... if you can get them cheap and don't care about the waterproof bit, they're fine. Don't pay
much over $100 for them because you will kick yourself.
|
|
|
|
Helmets, ahhhh helmets. The Shoei TZ-1 is probably the best helmet I own. It's the quietest, anyway.
The problems with the one I have is that I get a slight "hotspot" on my forehead when I wear it, plus the graphics clash with
my bike.
The KBC Wolf is a helmet I got for my birthday 2002. I love the looks of the helmet, and I think it complements
my bike well. The bad news is, it fits me too tight here and there. Uncomfortable to wear. I'm going to
work on that over the winter... do what I have to with the EPS foam to make the helmet comfortable. Update- over
the winter I did what I had to do with the EPS to make the helmet fit well. Now I gotta say it's very comfortable, reasonably
quiet, and looks like nothing else. This is now my new favorite lid. Quality pretty close to Shoei levels, at
a high-end Bieffe price. Gotta love it.
Last but not least, my Bieffe B8. Cheap p.o.s. helmet, but it IS Snell-approved. Not a quiet helmet, either...
wind noise is a problem. Still, it fits my head like it was custom-made. So I can't seem to part with it...
Like the Joe Rocket suit, I'd recommend it to someone who needs decent protection at a bargain price.
|
