Hein Gericke Gear

[Robertjp]

Whats the general consensus, good or bad?

My wife and i recently did CBT's and are looking to get a 125 and some decent gear in the next week or two to practice and build a bit of confidence before spring, when we intend to take a DAS test.

I had previously been recommended HG kit by a friend, who swore by it until he came off recently and his cruise trousers didnt hold up as well as he expected them too, he has said he wont buy HG again.

So - in Limbo, we were headed to a HG store - now not sure what to do...
i would rather spend a bit more and be safe and get gear that will last than buy a false economy...

Any advice from the masses?!

[Glade]

My experience of HG is very good. Though i've never come off in any of their kit. Salesmen always seem to know their stuff and they have a lifetime warrenty on stitching for all their gear. I have heard that people have had stuff replaced no questions asked and had loan garments until their stuff was fixed/replaced.

I have a set of 2 peice leathers which cost £300 (cheap) and they seem pretty good. I also have a pair of their leather race gloves which are excellent, I wore them throughout the winter for commuting (very cold, i must be mental) and they held up well to getting wet every day.
The Mrs has a textile top which she loves, but it doesnt get used very often really.

[Wedg1e]

Can't fault my jacket, trousers and two different pairs of gloves, all HG. Had to take a pair of wimmin's trousers back to get waist stitching repaired but no problems apart from that.

[F.M]

Good affordable gear...just that everybody has `em...

[dern]

I've got a set of their textiles and a set of their pro-sport leathers. I really like them but haven't fallen off in either set yet.

The leathers are really comfy in hot weather due to the cloth panels but they let the drafts in when it gets cooler. The textiles have seen me completely dry in awful weather and have been superb.

[m3psm]

I bought some waterproof winter gloves two years ago and they've been down the road, done loads of miles and still don't leak. I had a pair of their leather jeans for about a year now and they've been down the twice with no more han a scuff to see. I also bought a GTX Cruise textile jacket a few months ago and that's 100% waterproof in even the most torrential rain.

I've always found their staff helpful and their products good so far.

[dern]

m3psm said:

I've always found their staff helpful...

...definitely true of the Reading branch.

[m3psm]

dern said:

m3psm said:

I've always found their staff helpful...

...definitely true of the Reading branch.

and Clapham and Gants Hill

[johnnystorm]

m3psm said:

dern said:

m3psm said:

I've always found their staff helpful...

...definitely true of the Reading branch.

and Clapham and Gants Hill

and Norwich and Birmingham.

I've been out in filthy conditions in mine and stayed toasty and dry. Better quality and protection than much more expensive "outdoor" gear I've bought for mountaineering.

[tim2100]

And Birmingham Branch.

I have been using HG 1 piece tribal suit for some years, good stuff.

Recently brought some Arlen Ness stuff from there. they ordered in two sets of trousers for me, always with a smile.

The HG branded stuff is higher quality compared to some of the others makes at reasonable cost.

Unfortunatly though is that everybody wears Hein Gericke stuff, but that does show how good they are.

[Dibble]

I got HG GoreTEx textile gear. Unfortunately, because I'm such a fat knacker, the only stuff that fit me was also the most expensive. The sizing across the ranges doesn't seem to be very consistent, so one XL jacket may be a completely different fit from an XL jacket in another range.

I can't fault the quality of the stuff though. Kept me warm and dry so far. Thoroughly recommended by me.

[IsMad]

A Third post for the helpful Birmingham branch. I have had a Textile jacket from them, it has been down the road, through a motorway storm experience and has done really well. Kept me dry and warm and no damage from the off. As Dibble mentioned you have to try on a variety of sizes to get the right fit.

[y2blade]

HG is very good gear and their aftersales service is excellent

[Ballon]

y2blade said:

HG is very good gear and their aftersales service is excellent

I swear by it and they do cater for the fuller figure!!

[wassy]

Just don't bother ordering off the website.
The special offer stuff is always out of stock.

[Fats25]

Mrs has full HG leathers, and textiles from there - no issues so far. Always find the service excellent - at least in the Maidstone branch.

Have to be honest have also used Welling, and it was not so good! I think they had employed people that had previously worked in Matalan or somewhere like that!

[RemaL]

I have had 2 low speed offs in my HG textiles and they have held up great. only a small ware patch on the neck area behind my heads. apart from that war, comfy and still waterproof

[anonymous-user]

johnnystorm said:

m3psm said:

dern said:

m3psm said:

I've always found their staff helpful...

...definitely true of the Reading branch.

and Clapham and Gants Hill

and Norwich and Birmingham.

I've been out in filthy conditions in mine and stayed toasty and dry. Better quality and protection than much more expensive "outdoor" gear I've bought for mountaineering.

And Bournemouth. My goretex leather jacket was NOT what I wanted to buy but they advised me on it based on what I said and it's been awesome - in the wet too. Still had to go back later to get the Alpinestars Red/White and Black jacket I wanted to match my bike though

[SVS]

For safety, things you ought to consider are:

- Stitching, i.e. whether the suit bursts in a crash. Reviews by RiDE magazine of stitching strength for HG gear have generally been good.

- Impact protection for knees, hips, elbows, shoulders and back. Again, HG protectors have come out well in tests. However, their suits don't always include a CE-approved hip and back protectors, but you can buy the extra hip and back protection. The HG shop staff can always help you fit this.

- Abrasion resistance. This is where there's considerably variability in the HG range:
-- The best textile gear uses Armacor, which offers similar protection to leather. Only the HG PSX XCR jacket and trousers use this.
-- Second best is probably Schoeller® Dynatec, which the Cruise GTX jacket and trousers use.
-- Third best is probably Cordura, with the higher number indicating higher strength (look for at least Cordura 500 or Cordura 700).
-- Below that, there are various untested and lower protection polyamides.

If you can afford 'em, and they fit, then try the HG PSX XCR jacket and trousers for best safety and comfort.

Of course, the best thing is to avoid being knocked off, or crashing, in the first place! As soon as you've passed DAS, then a BikeSafe and/or IAM 'Skills for Life' course come highly recommended
www.bikesafe.co.uk
www.iam.org.uk/eshop/membershipshop/RideCheck.htm

Hope this helps

Edited by SVS on Thursday 11th October 19:01

[Brite spark]

Had hein gericke leathers on the other weekend when I got shunted off, they survived without a mark, the bike and I didn't survive quite so well, but they did the job