Riding Kit

If you cannot afford the latest leathers, glove's, boots and lid and have to settle for a complete riding ensemble for less than £600 does it make you a bad rider ?

I get a little narked off at the various mags that suggest if you dont buy the latest Dianese Unobtanium leathers etc etc you should'nt be riding a bike.

My leathers are 4 year old Akito Race Line's, My lid id a year old HJC HQ1 (I have a Caberg V2 & a Nitro as well), my boots are Switft Torsion-X's and I have a pair of Sidi Vertigo's, My gloves are Swift summat or others.

We used to have a couple of sayings in Down hill mountain biking when we saw a young wanabee with all the latest bling. " All the gear andf no idea or all the kit cant ride for sh*t"
I guess the same is for mo'bikes.

My shark is 4 years old. Belstaf leathers the same. Buffalo gloves and Oxtar Evo boots and the best bit of kit I own and they are 3 years old.

lol...had my ixs 2 piece for 8 years (£199 at the nec),boots a little longer (£50 clearence ),finally bought a new helmet and a pair of gloves this year...must admit i dont do huge miles about 2-3000 a year.

I got decent kit but always going for the deals. Got my dainese leathers in the states about 2 years ago when the pound was strong against the dollar, so less than half price. Boots are sidi vertigos, second hand but mint condition. Gloves are fecked so trawling ebay for something decent (and cheap).

I do feel more confident knowing my kit is decent quality, tho I wouldnt pay full price for any of it tho. Im sure the overly inflated price does not reflect the same increase in protection.

Well Scott, since this thread looks destined to become a 'list your kit-fest' (and competing for who wears the crappiest!) I've got a set of Frank Thomas leathers which I bought for £250 - they were cheap at George White's - probably because they've got ridiculous titanium bits sticking out all over the place. But they're black and comfortable (in order of importance).
I would be wearing a set of Akitos i bought off Ebay for £40 but I was too fat to get into them so had to flog them again.
I've got a Dainese jacket (which I love) but I bought it when I was young(er) slim(mer) and less poor when I came back from Asia and is now a bit of a squeeze. I've also got a matching set of Dainese trousers which I bought off Ebay cheap.
Boots - Swift Torsions like yours for track and an ancient but wonderful set of Daytona shorites which one of the instep rubbers has just fallen off but are the most comfortable footwear (including my slippers) that I posses.
I did splash out on a Shuberth S1 (back when they were £300-odd, not the £150 they're selling for now:rant) but I still reckon that was well worthwhile. I've also got a cheap X-Lite.
Gloves? Racers but cheap in a sale at Infinity.
Ear plugs? B&Q
Hi-tech undersuit? Boxers off the market and £3 T-shirt.
I also bought an XXXL jacket to go over my leathers - more to give me some pockets than anything else - man bags are so gay - which was £40 from GWs.
Who's next?

8 year old crowtree leathers with large patch ont arse after sliding down the A43. 5 year old Sidi vertabrae.shoei helmet not sure but bought it new at half price in Ireland.Any old fleece for the pockets but admit to wearing MAN-BAG after loosing 2 mobile phones and a wallet out of said fleece.
Kevlar undies changed frequently after scaring myself......and last but not least a U-TAG (Best bit of kit I know of)

My 'new' kit was under £600 (£599 to be precise) Nice 2 piece Teknic leathers, AGV Ti-Tech, Alpinestars SP2 gloves & Alpinestars SMX4 boots.....and very lovely it all is too!

Before anyone else decides to contribute PHOTOS ARE NOT REQUIRED this not AF1

RSV Zone fleece - end of

Sabre said:

Before anyone else decides to contribute PHOTOS ARE NOT REQUIRED this not AF1

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Gee, that's kinda unChristian there buddy:nana

supertedlover said:

RSV Zone fleece - end of

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Talking of which ................................:dunno

Sabre is only worried that we will see him in his riding kit...........

Straw Hat
Dungaree's
DocMartens

Sabre said:

Before anyone else decides to contribute PHOTOS ARE NOT REQUIRED this not AF1

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kiwi_rsvr said:

Sabre is only worried that we will see him in his riding kit...........

Straw Hat
Dungaree's
DocMartens

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Yuuhhr, done eee be dissen the zdraw hat. Aunty mom bought us that frum North Molton market a week last Tuesday. It was rainen an its a beauty. A finer maid you never did see, dressed up in er sunday best an all.
So no more of that city boy nonsense if youve a mind, or youll be seein the insides of a tin of whup ***. Any way, cant stand ere a jawin all day.Gotta go cos the grockles need fleecinirate

The only way your kit would make you a bad rider, (in my opinion), would be if it was too tight for you to be able to move around in. The much older suit's are maybe less protective, but any suit is better than the t shirt, short's and trainer's combo's I see from time to time... I bought all new kit when I bought my bike, I had to as i'd sold all my old kit with my last bike. Does having new or expensive kit make you a bad rider ??

RStuVR said:

Does having new or expensive kit make you a bad rider ??

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Not if you can ride.

Sabre said:

Not if you can ride.

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onder I'd better dig my Grandad's old riding gear out then...

i personally like being the underdog. I used to love shoving my hornet underneath ducati's on track. i was extremely chuffed one day when i went underneath a black RSVR factory at redgate until i realised he only had one leg.

Anyway, point is, wear crap kit, when people diss you or look down at them go underneath them and make then look daft in front of their mates.

bottom line. it doesn;t matter what your wear. Just ride the mille and love it. end of

RStuVR said:

onder I'd better dig my Grandad's old riding gear out then...

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Dont get me wrong, I like spangly kit as much as the next dude but Id rather ride in old kit and ride well than wear the latest fashion but have my riding skill suggest it would benefit from upping my game either through trackday tuition or advanced rider training.:eatcorn

Ideally Id like to ride like a god wearing the most expensive kit - but that aint going to happen!

Yeah I know what you're saying mate, but even old kit was new once.:biggrin. I'm happy with where my riding level is, but i'm no Mr Rossi and i'm still learning. I bought new kit as I needed to, and because for once I was able to afford it. I just hope I don't need to test if the newer stuff is more protective than the older stuff, and that goes for everyone else. As long as there is something protective between you and the road if the worst were to happen, then I cant see what kit you're wearing make's a difference, (to go back to the original question). :thumbup

It really doesn't matter what you wear as long as it does what it is supposed to do. Pretty much all my kit is Alpinestars but ALL of it was second hand. Jacket was a £100 Boots £50 Gloves £35 trousers £50. Oh, and none of it matches my bike! In fact, none of it matches at all....The only new bit of kit I bought was a Kreiga rucksack that was worth every penny.

It was all in perfect nick when bought and I figure I am just benefitting from the people who change all their kit whenever they get a new bike, more fool them!

If your not such a great rider (and I include myself in this!) why draw attention to your limitations by wearing what amounts to a billboard saying "look at me"

I'd much rather pass undetected under the radar!