[surjaonwheelz]

Sports Touring Riding Boots

My riding boots are due for replacement and the options are:

1. Forma Freccia - not available in my size (42) and no try and buy options around in Pune, only online

2. Shima RSX-6 - need to check it out if it's worth it at GT House, Pune

3. Gaerne G Evolution Five is another option from LABS, Mumbai

These are the 3 finalists in the import category, Forma not available in size 42, leaves me with the other 2. But if it looks and feels its worth then only I'll go ahead.
Else either I'll fallback to local RYO or XDI OR save up for TCX ST fighter or A* SMX-6 V2 (not happening)

As my feet sweat less and I can survive my current (The Riding Gear thread)Joe Rocket Sonic R Waterproof boots round the year, I don't mind WP boots but there aren't many options!

If anyone has the above boots, please share your experience or if I missed any available options below 20k (How the prices have increased!)

Ride safe,
surjaonwheelz

[Vikashmalya]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

The shortlisted options are all very good. Try and buy. On the jackets, my only suggestion would be to think of getting a lighter coloured jacket since it will keep you a lot cooler than a dark colour jacket would. Get the Orazo boots as well, they will offer better protection that a basic pair of Woodlands.

I finally managed to buy some of the gears. Rynox Air GT Jackets are not available in the market and i wrote down to Rynox to know when it will be available. They responded saying that there is no indicative date as to when it will be available in the market. So i went ahead and bought the Rynox Tornado Pro 3 which is slightly expensive than Air GT, but it has KNOX armours and Safetech at the back. For the gloves - i got Bikeratti Vind gloves that comes with Mesh. I also got the Orazo Picus riding boots. While i triedOrazo Picus, Orazo Ibis and Shield Raptor - i thought Orazo Picus was more comfortable and value for money.

Though i had planned to buy the MT Thunder 3, i could not find any reference to MT Thunder 3 being a Sharp 4 rated helmet on the website. So i ended up buying Axor Apex helmet that is ECE and DOT certified. It also comes with anti-fog insert, D ring and internal sun visor.

On the Rynox jackets it is mentioned that the warranty is applicable only if it is purchased at the MRP price. The dealer did mention that if discount is provided on the product, no warranty can be claimed. Wonder why?? May to curb unfair trade / undue discounts..

[trumpcard]

Originally Posted by Vikashmalya

On the Rynox jackets it is mentioned that the warranty is applicable only if it is purchased at the MRP price. The dealer did mention that if discount is provided on the product, no warranty can be claimed. Wonder why?? May to curb unfair trade / undue discounts..

Somehow this has become the new trend, When I recently purchased my caberg drift evo pro carbon helmet the same lines were shown to me, though eventually the retailer did call the distributor and offered some discount on the mrp.
This seems really weird given that almost all products across all categories come with valid warranty when bought from an authorised dealer with a bill irrespective whether on mrp or with some discount.

[neil.jericho]

Congratulations on your new gear, do provide a short review of the gear once you use them a bit.

Originally Posted by Vikashmalya

Though i had planned to buy the MT Thunder 3, i could not find any reference to MT Thunder 3 being a Sharp 4 rated helmet on the website. So i ended up buying Axor Apex helmet that is ECE and DOT certified. It also comes with anti-fog insert, D ring and internal sun visor.

For your reference, here is the link to the SHARP rating of the MT Thunder 3.

Originally Posted by Vikashmalya

On the Rynox jackets it is mentioned that the warranty is applicable only if it is purchased at the MRP price. The dealer did mention that if discount is provided on the product, no warranty can be claimed. Wonder why?? May to curb unfair trade / undue discounts..

That seems like a very weird way for Rynox to keep their retailers in check

[Vikashmalya]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Congratulations on your new gear, do provide a short review of the gear once you use them a bit.

For your reference, here is the link to the SHARP rating of the MT Thunder 3.

Thank you. I will sure plan to have the initial reviews soon. Just want to put some miles on the ODO wearing them, before I make my initial impressions.

Yes, looks like I conveniently overlooked to convince myself to buy Axor I did check the Spartan site before I got the Axor but looks like I overlooked.

I did visit the Spartan pro gear (which sells the MT Helmets) and it was too crowded to my liking. There wasn’t anyone available to help. I spent about 10 mins on my own and left the shop. I called them up over phone to understand if they have MT Thunder in stock and they said they have very few of those and expect the new stock in April.

Then I visited the MotoGear Performance. The shop was not crowded. The sales personnel were knowledgeable and were extremely helpful. They deal with Rynox and Solace gears. Regarding helmets they have Bell, AVG, SMK, Axor.

Since I liked the place and the way they helped me with trying out the gears one after another, may be sub-consciously I made up my mind to also buy the helmets there. Tried the Axor, liked the fit and quality and just got it. If my riding plans go well as planned, I will plan to upgrade to a better quality helmet and gear in future.

[ownerofazkaban]

Need help on how to maintain riding jacket and full gauntlet gloves? Got stuck in rain last few kms and could not get the rain cover out as Home was almost near!
How do you dry your riding gears?

[JoeTheWanderer]

Originally Posted by ownerofazkaban

Need help on how to maintain riding jacket and full gauntlet gloves? Got stuck in rain last few kms and could not get the rain cover out as Home was almost near!
How do you dry your riding gears?

If the riding jacket is mesh (i.e. very little or no leather), you can just dunk it in a bucket of clean water a few times and hang it to dry. You'll need to remove the armour first.

I got my leather semi-gauntlet gloves completely drenched in rain a few times as well. Here's what I did in those circumstances:

1. Dry the gloves first. I used a bunch of old newspapers. Some of them went inside the gloves while the others were used to wrap each glove. Just wrap the gloves completely (do not rub them or wipe them using the newspaper) and let them dry naturally.
2. Let the gloves dry naturally - do not use any artificial heat sources such as a hair dryer.
3. Once the gloves are dry - wipe them using baby wipes (or any other wipe that doesn't have alcohol) and apply a leather conditioner.

[surjaonwheelz]

Originally Posted by ownerofazkaban

Need help on how to maintain riding jacket and full gauntlet gloves? Got stuck in rain last few kms and could not get the rain cover out as Home was almost near!
How do you dry your riding gears?

Need not worry!
- Remove the armors from the jacket and dry the jacket in shade (no direct sunlight) It doesn't really matter as you ride it's under the sun anyways.
- If you want to wash it, use the washing machine in it's most gentle wash cycle or hand/bucket wash it. (don't be scared of the muck that will come out)
[Assuming it's a textile mesh jacket]

For the gloves, let them dry naturally, keep them on newspaper at the max again in shade.
- Apply a leather conditioner/cream to make it supple again. There are leather specific conditioners and creams available for leather products.
- Home remedy, if it appears very dry just apply a few drops of coconut oil on your palm and then gently rub it on your gloves
[try on a small area before applying to the entire gloves]

PS. I'm not responsible for any discoloration/damage caused to your gear!

/surjaonwheelz

[ownerofazkaban]

Thank you all, it’s a BBG Ladakh jacket and scala trekker glove! Btw, my Axor apex hunter worked awesome , got to use the cooling interior visor and also in rain. There was no fogging. Looks to be perfect product for the price.

[imranstael]

Originally Posted by RiderZone

I'd ordered an Icon Mesh AF jacket recently from FC-Moto.de, but it was a bit too big, and they didn't have one in size S. After a stupid amount of overthinking, finally bought a Rev'it Airwave 3. Bought it because it was the only jacket that I liked that came with space for chest protectors, and I was tired of looking around. Also it had this grey/black color scheme, which will hopefully not retain as much heat as the all black options out there.
.

Please do share us a brief review on your jacket and new protectors. Would love to hear how they feel and look. I am considering getting some ultra thin flexible armor replacements myself.

[RiderZone]

Originally Posted by imranstael

Please do share us a brief review on your jacket and new protectors. Would love to hear how they feel and look. I am considering getting some ultra thin flexible armor replacements myself.

Hey, sure I was planning to review this new gear for a while, so here's some info on all of them after about 800 kms of riding.

1. Rev'it Airwave 3 jacket + A* Nucleon Flex Pro shoulder and elbow + Dainese Pro Armor chest and back:

My experience with this over-engineered setup has been fantastic, this is exactly what I wanted, maximum airflow and comfort with maximum possible safety. The ultra flexible and vented Nucleon armors are brilliant, can hardly tell that they're there. The Dainese protectors are awesome too, tonnes of airflow. I've put the chest protectors in upside down, otherwise they sit too far below for my liking.



Is it worth the 30k? Not exactly. The replacement armors alone are worth 13k, so if you pick up for example the Rynox Storm Evo and shove these armors in there, it'll be around 24k total. If you choose less fancy armors, you could do it all under 20k easy.



The only reason you'd want to choose Rev'it over Rynox would be fit and finish. I've not needed to use any of the adjustment straps on my Airwave 3, it's an exact fit. The armors all sit perfectly, the whole thing is the definition of body-hugging. I've bought a sleeveless running tshirt from Decathlon which I wear under this jacket, couldn't be happier with how comfortable the whole package is.



2. Scorpion EXO 1400 Air Carbon helmet:

Like I've mentioned previously, it's a lovely lid. Don't know how it can be such a great fit, and allow glasses without any trouble at the same time. I've never needed to use the Airfit system so far. The weight difference between this and my old SOL is unreal. The internal sunvisor isn't super dark, so will probably need to use the dark outside visor all through summer, which also came with the helmet.

Only niggles I faced were when I tried to fit the pinlock insert. There was no reason for me to do it, only wanted to try because it's free But after fitting it, there was a weird reflection. Tried moving it around to get rid of it, but the insert started fouling against the rubber seal around the eye port. Gave up and took it out, will try it on in rains/winter. The only advantage of all this wrestling was that I can now take off the put back in the visor with my eyes closed, it's a piece of cake.

3. Five Stunt Evo Airflow gloves:

Here I compromised with safety for comfort, but the comfort here is just brilliant. It's difficult to describe how good the airflow is, the mesh around the thumb and top is super wide. The fit is a bit weird however, everything is great, except my right thumb, which for some reason feels too short on the glove. It has got better with time, may end up being less painful after more use.



4. Bull-it Tactical (Icon) riding jeans:

I can only compare these jeans to the Zeus and Spartan riding pants I've used before, and this is much much more comfortable. It's a single layer jean, so quite stretchy. It obviously doesn't provide great airflow, but doesn't get too sweaty, probably less than other jeans that come with an extra layer of Kevlar. The knee armors tend to slide inwards, but nothing that tucking the jeans into the boots can't help. For the price (~14000 INR), and the level 2 knee and hip armors, this is definitely worth a look.

5. Spidi Performer Air boots:

These are just fantastic, I love that feeling of sweat evaporating away as you gain speed, cool feet are underrated, it's nearly impossible to find vented boots in India for some reason. Here also there's some compromise for comfort against safety, especially when compared to MX boots, but not as much as the gloves, these are quite beefy in the right areas. The zip is a bit flimsy, I've smoothed it up with some candlewax, otherwise it feels at the edge of breaking all the time.

Here I am in full glory. Shouldn't have skipped leg day for 30 years

[Happysmiles]

Got some goodies couple of weeks ago, for the summer season.
The best buy was the Cooling Vest.



I got the Bodycool Smart and Bhpian Sriad84 took the Bodyool Pro.
We have been using it since couple of weeks, and these cooling vests really work.

The other buy (after months of contemplation) was the Klim GTX Adventure Boots. Retired the Alpinestars Toucan after almost 5 years.
The Klim GTX boots, though a bit steep on price, is top notch quality and a great investment in Safety.

[GreyNomad]

Hi everyone I have a noob question - How does one clean riding gloves from the inside? I have a viaterra holeshot pair and I periodically polish the exterior leather bits with a liquid polish and soft brush and spray fabric disinfectant inside the gloves and let them breathe out for a day or two. Thing is this inside spraying, which though removes the ‘unfresh’ feel, leaves the insides a bit sticky especially when driving in Mumbai summers. Viaterra’s cleaning guide on the site provides for care instructions if the gloves get wet but not periodic inside cleaning.
Any advice?

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by GreyNomad

Hi everyone I have a noob question - How does one clean riding gloves from the inside? I have a viaterra holeshot pair and I periodically polish the exterior leather bits with a liquid polish and soft brush and spray fabric disinfectant inside the gloves and let them breathe out for a day or two. Thing is this inside spraying, which though removes the ‘unfresh’ feel, leaves the insides a bit sticky especially when driving in Mumbai summers. Viaterra’s cleaning guide on the site provides for care instructions if the gloves get wet but not periodic inside cleaning.
Any advice?

You have to wash the entire glove in luke warm soapy water. Use baby shampoo. Soak for 15-20 minutes. Rinse well. Wear the glove and make a fist to remove excess water.

Then line dry in shade not in direct sunlight. When the gloves are just damp, wear them a few times and flex your palm to fist and back so the leather takes the shape of your hand.

Line dry further until dry enough. Now take leather conditioner gel and apply generously to soften and protect the leather. Inside, outside, everywhere. Apply gel on your hand and fingers and slip it inside the gloves. Allow to dry further inside your room.

Ride out in fresh soft clean gloves the next day. This routine About once in three months should be okay. Too much cleaning will also kill the leather and stitching.

[GreyNomad]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Ride out in fresh soft clean gloves the next day. This routine About once in three months should be okay. Too much cleaning will also kill the leather and stitching.

Thank you so much. Now I understand why the more experienced riders have multiple pairs