[ebonho]

Update on the Dainese gloves. Baburao tailor's confidence outraced his skills. He called to say his needle could not reach the tips of the fingers from the INSIDE ... that was a new one for me.

Anyways, here's something I got from Amazon that is quite easily one of my best purchases from Amazon in the recent past!



















A set of proper cow hide leather workman's gloves (yard work, building, welding, driving heavy machinery, etc). The white is a bit shocking and came with the customary jokes from friends ...butler, doorman, serial killer, going to rhe prom, axe murderer, scream, etc. But these do tend to scuff up well with use and should soon hopefully take in a dirty greyish tinge. The Amazon link shows photos in white, but brown in the description, so I took rhe chance and what could be a lottery at delivery. Either way I'm personally not fussed about aesthetics while riding, and definitely not color. They could be shocking pink for all I care.

The leather is surprisingly thick (in fact I had a huge smile on my face when i felt them through the Amazon packing itself and noted how thick they were without any lining whatsoever), really supple and soft, and even though the photos look clumsy, they fit and feel beautifully on the hand, and am sure will take up the shape and creases of each hand naturally, as good hide us wont to do. As an experiment, I even pattern unlocked my phone and took these photos with both gloves on! So riding a bike should be a piece of cake (and was).

The absolute icing on the cake was that these do not have an annoying irritating inner lining that will get dislodged. Just one thick layer of leather to get into. And out of. Perfect! There is an elasticated cinch waist at the level of the wrists to keep the gloves fitted firmly on the hands and stay in place.

A nice touch was a handwritten personal note from Daipayan, Co-Founder, DSY Gloves, India. A small startup, with big dreams, as he put it. While I am not qualified for putting up a review on Amazon, I like these so much, especially after a couple of rides in them, that they are probably going to become my cooler weather city gloves de facto now, and I thought of putting up a review here.



And if Daipayan is reading this, I would really like a brown/tan and a black pair too! All the best to you and your team.

Cheers, Doc

[ebonho]

https://youtu.be/OBB4I5Gkxwk?si=9cKa7RcaKiGxxpc0

Very high quality restoration on a completely knackered pair of motocross boots where the plastics have totally grenaded.

The master craftsman cobbler here has used thick sheet rubber instead of leather as in the case of my boots. He claims (I do not understand the language but can make out by his signs and actions) that it is a lot more flexible and long-lasting and will not crack like the plastic, while still being thick and stiff enough for the job.

The rubber sheet my cobbler had, which he had initially suggested for my heelcups was not as thick or looked like the same tough quality and was probably what they used for subber soles when resoling shoes or making new rubber soles. And the way I saw it, for the heel cup I wanted the added rigidity without the flex. For the shin plates we used both.

Wonder how much the above job cost. He's effectively replaced the entire upper, in terms of the huge surface area of material, pasting, and the very tough stitching. As well as redoing all the rotted away buckles and clasps.

Fantastic job.

Cheers, Doc

[PetaWatt]

Originally Posted by ebonho

.....had really started disintegrating in storage for some strange reason.

....the heel of the sole on one of the boots had started coming out, parting way with the upper.

Nothing is permanent. Boots are designed to give the protection only during their lifetime. It is also recommended to discard the boot after the crash depending on the intensity of the crash. What are the chances the repaired "not anymore Alpinestars" boot is going to pass the test?

This one should give some idea

.

Originally Posted by ebonho

When I had initially seen the condition of the falling to pieces Alpinestars I had honestly written them off completely.

Should have done that. I have seen many people using their helmets for 5+ years too. why-replace-helmet-after-5-years

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by PetaWatt

Should have done that.

I obviously disagree, which is why I went down the route I did and why this thread was made to share the options available to riders if they have access to a good cobbler.

All the damaged parts replaced were the outer largely plastics that had rotted away. The internal structure of the boots, with the internal toe cup and ankle protection and the chassis and leather shell and soles are intact. Soles come off on riding boots, and are glued and stitched back on all the time. The thin gauge plastics have been replaced with much stiffer and more rigid material to give both torsional support at the heel cup as well as impact protection at the shin.

The boots no longer being quite Alpinestars is a GOOD thing in my book. They are definitely as good if not better, based on the evidence of the materials used and the functions they are meant to perform. And the materials used were chosen on the basis of function and not just the bare aesthetics of replacing outer damaged layers and getting back a boot looking object in shape to be worn.

Cheers, Doc

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by ebonho

A set of proper cow hide leather workman's gloves (yard work, building, welding, driving heavy machinery, etc). The white is a bit shocking and came with the customary jokes from friends ...butler, doorman, serial killer, going to rhe prom, axe murderer, scream, etc. But these do tend to scuff up well with use and should soon hopefully take in a dirty greyish tinge. The Amazon link shows photos in white, but brown in the description, so I took rhe chance and what could be a lottery at delivery. Either way I'm personally not fussed about aesthetics while riding, and definitely not color. They could be shocking pink for all I care.

The leather is surprisingly thick (in fact I had a huge smile on my face when i felt them through the.

Attachment 2534966

And if Daipayan is reading this, I would really like a brown/tan and a black pair too! All the best to you and your team.

Cheers, Doc

These are solid gloves indeed. I have one pair permanently stationed in each of my vehicles. They are perfect for when one is fiddling with the mechanical bits and tyres and things.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

These are solid gloves indeed. I have one pair permanently stationed in each of my vehicles. They are perfect for when one is fiddling with the mechanical bits and tyres and things.

I agree. They are great to wear, and handle the evening chill better than my other armored city gloves. And the leather is great too. Just the fingers need to be a bit better fitted for riding/driving duties versus industrial/mechanical/yard work.

I spoke to the young man who sent me the handwritten note with the gloves. He is a biker too. And has the facilities and the workers and the materials and machines. To customize a line of these very neat leather shells into riding gloves. Let's see how it goes. He seems really enthused with the idea.

Cheers, Doc

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by ebonho

You are lucky. Just 4 years so the damage is less. 6 years and the same plate would be in small brittle pieces, you could pick out with your fingers. This same thing is happening to almost all boots. Blame rhe pandemic? I don't know. Learned that black armour also becomes powder. Not just on DSG price range jackets, but high end Dainese ones as well. Also zippers and metal press buttons are regular storage casualties. Lots of expensive lessons learned man.

Accidentally came across this thread and this what exactly happened to my perfectly fine and occasionally used Falco oxegen 2s after the covid years storage Why do these European boots have such poor plastics on them. They were kept in their original box and in my room and not inside a storage. Mine is pretty much trashed right now after spending 15k on them and only using them for 5k+ kms The vents gave away first and a hairline crack spread to the heel plastics and the boot was split. The upper part of the boot looks like it can do 10 more years. No amount of adhesive can help it unfortunately.

[Senotrius]

In general they're not durable. My Falco Marshall wasn't waterproof as advertised (for light Kerala rain) either even after replacing under warranty (thanks 6kiom). The toe shifter pad, left boot, gave away in a year's time. But the Marshall model has no plastics and they're comfy plus good velcro strength. Some may justify these boots need to be used regularly but good virgin plastic doesn't disintegrate if stored properly. My Ryo TRex boots are still doing ok.

[Senotrius]

Left boot toe shifter

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by b16h22

Accidentally came across this thread and this what exactly happened to my perfectly fine and occasionally used Falco oxegen 2s after the covid years storage

Yup. Same terminal dry rot.

Do what I did. I've been using these boots on longer racy rides, and they (the repair) is holding up.

Mine were 30k+ Alpinestars. Imagine the abuse I heaped on them!

Cheers, Doc

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by Senotrius

In general they're not durable. My falco Marshall wasn't waterproof as advertised (for light Kerala rain) either even after replacing under warranty( thanks 6kiom). The toe shifter pad, left boot, gave away in a year's time. But the Marshall model has no plastics and they're comfy plus good velcro strenght. Some may justify these boots need to be used regularly but good virgin plastic doesn't disintegrate if stored properly. My Ryo TRex boots are still doing ok.

I don't mind if it was just the shifter pad that came apart but the boot is basically structurally destroyed after just one year of storage in a cardboard box. It was just 4-5 years old with minimal usage too. Next time I'll be wary of getting boots with structural plastic protection and air vents.

Originally Posted by ebonho

Yup. Same terminal dry rot.
Cheers, Doc

This what Forma say about boot maintenance (mine was Falco). Wish I came across this earlier but you won't expect riding boots to be such delicate pieces considering they need to take the most abuse. It is hard to find a place to store when you live in an incredibly humid place going by their logic. And the prices of boots have crept up to prohibitive levels now which makes buying a similar spec boot a very costly affair in 2023.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by b16h22

This what Forma say about boot maintenance (mine was Falco). Wish I came across this earlier but you won't expect riding boots to be such delicate pieces considering they need to take the most abuse. It is hard to find a place to store when you live in an incredibly humid place going by their logic.

My boots are always cleaned with a wet cloth. Never under a tap. And when dry they are lathered in polish that is allowed to just soak in, without buffing to a shine.

I dry wet boots naturally under a normal ceiling fan, stuffing them with bunched up newspaper. And then lathering them in polish. I never use hair dryers or radiators to dry them.

And Im guessing the bike engine, where they are perched millimetres from, for hundreds and thousands of kilometres, is a whole lot hotter than any radiator or hair dryer.

My boots were not stored in a box, but in cloth laundry bags with drawstrings. The type you get in hotels. Fully breathable. Just to keep dust and insects out.

Cheers, Doc

[hikozaru]

All shoes crumble when not worn for long periods of time. This is known and accepted among the sneaker community. https://old.reddit.com/r/Sneakers/co...hy_you_should/ Seeing as how track boots use the same kind of plastics as Nikes and more of it, I am not surprised it breaks down. On a tangential note, does anyone have any experience repairing one piece leathers after a crash?

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by hikozaru

All shoes crumble when not worn for long periods of time. This is known and accepted among the sneaker community. https://old.reddit.com/r/Sneakers/co...hy_you_should/ Seeing as how track boots use the same kind of plastics as Nikes and more of it, I am not surprised it breaks down. On a tangential note, does anyone have any experience repairing one piece leathers after a crash?

Not using them for long and not using them for 1 year is quite different, like in my case. If a motorcycle boot can't stay in one piece when put in their original box and stored inside the house for a year, it is simply poorly built. Motorcycles boots are not vanity items like sneakers. They are supposed to take a lot of abuse and protect you in the event of a crash. If a mid range sports riding boot bought in 2017 and babied for most of it's life simply breaks apart in the event of a crash because the plastic has dry rotted in 4-5 years, it is no good is it? The plastic parts are structural components as well. Otherwise they should add a disclaimer that these are not made for hot and humid climates, hot running motorcycles etc

[hikozaru]

I share your disappointment mate. In fact my first post on team bhp was about this, about my TCX street 3 https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/ride-...ml#post5648944 (The Riding Gear thread) . I'd even doubled down on this mistake and now have a pair of track boots stuck in europe, so I know that feeling all too well.

Originally Posted by hikozaru

Since the Street 3s use D3O, I assumed the standard expiration date applies, so I called them and asked them for the manufacturing date and specifically not the import date. If I heard correctly, they said the air was manufactured on 12/21 and WP on 09/22. All the excitement left me as I discovered that it was actually manufactured in 02/21 and not 09/22 as I thought. I suppose I should have asked them for a picture of the manufacturing date as well. I was quite annoyed that I had about 2 years before I could use it only as fashion shoes but after I was satisfied with the fit of the shoes I gave up on returning them. Live and learn amirite. These stores should consider discounting shoes at least based on the remaining life left (at least after one year) instead of us customers paying full price.

I appreciate this thread for shining light on the dark side of riding gear, end of life, disposal, repairs. I have since reconsidered trackdays with how expensive gear is to repair and replace after a crash, it costs more than fixing up the bikes.