Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Ride Safe (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/ride-safe/)

-   -   The Riding Gear thread (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/ride-safe/42000-riding-gear-thread-275.html)

An update on my riding boots purchase. So I took my chances and went ahead with the regular Nexus 2s, rather than wait for the Nexus 2 Airs. Two primary reasons.

Firstly, like fellow BHPian Sebring stated, the ETA for fresh stock seemed to be in the eternal next month. The stores I checked for Alpinestars and others were all non-committal on the date that the fresh stock would roll in. Didn't want to wait around considering I needed a new set of boots a tad bit urgently with the RE Boots taking up office duties and my erstwhile Alpinestars Faster boots shredding apart.

Secondly, these boots were available in a colour option that I loved.



The Dainese Chennai store had a pair of these in the Spain colour in my size and I went ahead and placed the order last Monday evening. The boots were at my place the next day. The packaging was adequate though the box seems to have taken a slight hit.

The box that the boots came in:



Some more pictures of the boots









The velcro based calf-adjusters





The colour combination looks stunning in real life and serve an added purpose of aiding visibility of myself to traffic behind. The absence of any white parts will also allow for easier maintenance. The finish on these boots is top-class and it feels made to last. They are a little stiff since they need to be broken in, but they are relatively easy to walk around in. Wearing them on the bike is very comfortable and they allow just enough movement to easily operate the controls. Once I am in free flowing traffic, I move the balls of my feet to the pegs and these shoes feel very naturally inclined to that positioning. They also come with a set of velcros to allow for adjustment at the calf to ensure a snug fit.

Did a small highway run this past weekend and am around 250 km into these boots. Did not face any issues with my feet getting warm so far. In fact, they were sufficiently cool throughout, but maybe because my ride was short and I was back home before 10 am. Will share further observations once they're fully broken in.

~~~

Also picked up a set of Dainese Impeto gloves at the Bengaluru store when I went to check out the boots. The gloves are made of goatskin and has TPU knuckle protectors. The gloves are also yet to be fully broken in, but they are very snug and the quality is multiple grades above the Solace full gauntlet gloves I had previously.





My only qualms with these gloves has to be the weird velcro system. While the size of the gloves is perfect for my fingers and palms, the velcro adjuster at the wrist seems to be smaller as adjusting it for my wrist leaves more than half the velcro open. Not sure if it was intentionally designed like this.

Plus for some weird reason, when I put on the right hand glove, the wrist velcro comes entirely out of the D-ring and you have to pull it back through with bare hands. The gloves are too thick to allow you to pull it through with your left hand gloved. This issue does not happen with the left hand gloves as the strap stays in the D-ring while putting it on.

But it has to be said, the TPU knuckle protectors and the protection layer under it makes a weird-looking face shape. Quirky design for sure.

Do you mean the Lavelle Road store run by Tusker PAM group? I visited this place and they still seemed to have a vast collection of Dainese gear. Both the shoes (from the Chennai store of the same Group) and gloves that I bought were imported in May 2022 by Tusker themselves. And Tusker PAM is still listed on the official Dainese website.

But I don't know more than this. Something might have changed recently and you may be right. Might be a good thing after all that I jumped the gun on the regular Nexus 2s rather than waiting it out :coldsweat

Based on what you said above, I seem to have bought a pair of boots giving me the worst of both worlds rl: The regular Nexus 2s that I bought are neither waterproof/repellant, nor are they perforated. But I have made my peace with the purchase and will probably buy a set of waterproof socks as a backup option.

Wow. Didn't know Orazo were still around.
I got my first pair at Rider Mania 2009. Wore them almost everyday for 5 years till the sole finally crumbled to bits, as seen below. Mine had a steel toe. They are okay for riding. Not if you want to walk. The insoles are too hard. Perhaps they have improved on this. Also; I am not so sure if these are the best bet for an Interceptor. They are more suitable for motorcycles like a Harley or an Indian, where some effort is required to shift gears. These motorcycles have more space to park your foot too. I used them when I rode my 96' Enfield 500. They were not suitable for my Duke 390. Anyway, they work for you.

They should have because they are quite comfortable. The soles are not too hard.

Everyday for 5 years is quite a bit of use and I'm glad it is hardy.

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience!:D

Shoes really looks like IRON MAN shoes for sure !!
———-
Mod Note: Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.
Thanks!

Alpinestars SMX 6 V2

Hope your experience has been good with them. I'm totally new to the world of non adventure biking boots. I just got the vented version the SMX 6 V2. To wear with a leather suit for some track outings - maybe even otherwise on some occasions.



Forma Adventure boots

In other news, my Forma adventure riding boots' sole completely opened up on my Spiti ride last week - a common complaint with the Forma quality and hit me at the worst place. All told I don't think it clocked more than 10,000 kms and was purchased in February 2020. Just putting the facts down for anyone considering these. I'm not sure if that's a legitimate longevity one should expect or not (to clarify, these got used enough during Covid - it wasn't kept in for very long periods with no usage like some office shoes).

I (or rather - our support crew) repaired it partially with tyre puncture glue and several puncture repair patches which got me through two days of riding till Kaza. At Kaza a local cobbler finally stitched it up so I could complete the final two days of ride to Manali and then on to Chandigarh.

The boot coming apart.


Gluing it up followed by putting multiple puncture repair patches.


Boot with the patches



The shoe in above condition pulled through two days of riding.

Finally got the cobbler to stitch it up.

Soles that are stuck on at the factory always has this issue. But my TCX gave way only after 6 years and over 120k kms!

I think the TCX is a better bet than Forma at this price point.

My TCX speed boot's soles split soon. Can't complain though because the boots were kept unused for long periods.Had the soles stitched and glued for now.

Been using them for around four months, it’s been very good. I normally have issues with shoe sizes but these were just so comfortable to wear and walk around from the beginning. It took me awhile to get used to them changing gears on the bike though.

Cheers

I can now confirm that a friend's forma, the exact same boots as yours also split open very similarly after a year or two, which according to me is extremely premature. So this does look like shoddy quality at the budget end of the market with Forma.

My Timberland glue gave way during a ride on Tiger. Such was the heat. On Orazo, I felt these are not your typical riding ones but the regular leather boot, built to a cost. I have those for 'stand-by'

I can imagine. This is a known issue with the Forma - I know one direct instance where this has happened (Zanskar in that case) and multiple instances anecdotally from my riding group.

I’m never buying these Formas again - that’s for sure. While I’ve kept the stitched up boot as a back up etc, I’m planning to replace these with the Alpinestar Toucans, which come highly recommended from folks I trust. Hopefully that experience should be better.

Even my older city / street boots which I’ve had since 2017 are still going along fine, with more time and comparable / more kms (I’m guessing) under their belt.

Very true. I think these are called Cemented soles and if one does not wear them regularly and is kept in the shoe rack for very long periods the sole comes off very soon. Regular use seems to make them last longer.
I just got a Forma and hope they last. I wear them at least for a few hours every week.
I had a Falco earlier and it lasted 4 years of regular use before the sole came off and i got it stitched it thereby losing the waterproofness fully.
Also the Gore-Tex coating starting falling off after two years... I think our harsh climate affects them sooner than later

Quick morning spin around the city on the Multi to break into the SMX6. First ride in these boots. Will try a longer one on Sunday. Hopefully combine it with leathers then.

TRR, do you mean that the strap is too long? Or is it too short (as seen in the picture)?

Does the right side glove feel a little more tight, when you slide it on? I remember experiencing something like this while trying an pair of DSG gloves, several years ago. This does seem like a manufacturing issue. Do check whether this problem exists with other units of the same model in the store.

Yes.

Axe77, where did you get these boots from? Planet DSG? The original SMX6 boots were a gem. Ive seen them widely used by track riders and tourers. They really were a great set of full length boots. Unfortunately, the Indian prices of the V2 are 50% higher than the original boots.

I got them for 29,999 from Alpinestar store in Mumbai (I believe they're related to the Planet DSG Pune guys). You can google their details either direct or via DSG Pune or else I can PM Wasim's cell number to you if you can't locate them online.

I had no choice but to get them asap in India since I wanted to use them for a track outing next month and didn't have suitable boots for that purpose, nor am I traveling outside.