New leathers.. fit?
Discussion
After a good few years biking in textiles, and renting leathers for the occasional trackday.. I'm looking to buy my own.
Think I know roughly what I'm going for, but I'm pondering over size - if I go a bit larger, they're easy to get on, and can accommodate my back protector and the fitted one comfortably, the legs feel a little long. If I go a size down, the legs are about the right length, but they're a bit snug around the thighs, and I need to take the integrated back protector out to fit my own in. Wearable, but a bit on the snug side.
We're told that snug is better if you fall off.. I guess my question is twofold:
How much would you expect them to give out - I'm guessing that like shoes they break in somewhat, don't want to have the larger ones get much larger..
How snug should they be?
Cheers.
Think I know roughly what I'm going for, but I'm pondering over size - if I go a bit larger, they're easy to get on, and can accommodate my back protector and the fitted one comfortably, the legs feel a little long. If I go a size down, the legs are about the right length, but they're a bit snug around the thighs, and I need to take the integrated back protector out to fit my own in. Wearable, but a bit on the snug side.
We're told that snug is better if you fall off.. I guess my question is twofold:
How much would you expect them to give out - I'm guessing that like shoes they break in somewhat, don't want to have the larger ones get much larger..
How snug should they be?
Cheers.
Depends on the design...
Full leather: will give after initial break-in period and therefore feel spot on.
Half leather: (stretch zones, etc) will not give much at all... as I found out the hard way and had to get my trousers adjusted as they never gave in the hip / crotch area which were a tad too snug.
Full leather: will give after initial break-in period and therefore feel spot on.
Half leather: (stretch zones, etc) will not give much at all... as I found out the hard way and had to get my trousers adjusted as they never gave in the hip / crotch area which were a tad too snug.
Fitting your own back protector on top of the one already in the leathers wouldn't be a consideration for me. I'd be more interested in getting a set of leathers that fitted with a full size strap-on back protector such as the Forcefield Pro Sub 4 and the Forcefield Elite Chest Protector.
A bit of room to breathe is a good thing, too tight and they'll constrict you and make moving around the bike a chore. Personally, I'd want a set I could wear a full-length back protector under, without having to feel like I need to breathe in just to sip them up.
Also consider that most of us gain weight as we get older, few of us get thinner as time goes by.
Also consider that most of us gain weight as we get older, few of us get thinner as time goes by.
Thanks all.
Wrt the back protector, I was just trying to 'illustrate' sizing - I have a forcefield l2k which I'd be wearing rather than the built in. Also reckon I'm a bit on the porkier side of my natural weight at the moment.. All a bit hard to call, ho hum. Shall have to try more on.
Wrt the back protector, I was just trying to 'illustrate' sizing - I have a forcefield l2k which I'd be wearing rather than the built in. Also reckon I'm a bit on the porkier side of my natural weight at the moment.. All a bit hard to call, ho hum. Shall have to try more on.
A bit snug on the thighs will be fine when new. My trousers felt a bit too tight on the hips and then when I got on the bike my knees felt like they were being crushed! Thought I'd bought the wrong size for quite a while but giving them time to stretch was wise and now they fit nicely.
Jacket was a different story. Went for the size up from the trousers as it fitted in the shop and wanted some room for warmer clothing underneath but after some use it felt too big. Went out and bought the smaller size (still got to sell the bigger one actually, that reminds me).
Jacket was a different story. Went for the size up from the trousers as it fitted in the shop and wanted some room for warmer clothing underneath but after some use it felt too big. Went out and bought the smaller size (still got to sell the bigger one actually, that reminds me).
Ideally not custom - am looking at RST tracktech kinda price point. Mostly I'm a commuter, will prob stick with the textiles most of the time but splashed on a silly sportsbike, and msv stopped doing leather hire (which seemed to make sense for my once or twice a year trackday pattern).
Have rather big thighs(!), and a pretty decent handle on my weight. all joking apart I should actually drop it given I'm training 10-14hrs a week, just coming off 'down' season & having eaten a lot of cake - of course there's christmas to consider
Have rather big thighs(!), and a pretty decent handle on my weight. all joking apart I should actually drop it given I'm training 10-14hrs a week, just coming off 'down' season & having eaten a lot of cake - of course there's christmas to consider
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