kit reviews... ?

[Pierscoe1]

Hi all..

I'll be doing my DAS soon, and it's time to start kitting up!
I have come across a serious lack of useful info on the web though, despite much google trawling.

Where should I look for comprehensive and trust-worthy reviews?

At the moment I'm mainly looking for helmet reviews and boot reviews.. but obviously will want the rest of hte kit too soon...
There just doesn't seem to be a good place to search through for this kind of stuff....

any ideas/links/suggestions greatly appreciated..

Piers.

[black-k1]

www.ridetriangles.com

[Pierscoe1]

A lot of this seems very out of date....
This is the 'Product Tests' page (or am I missing something?):

RideTriangles said:

Gloves - Sept - 06
Waterproofs - June 06
GPS - May 06
Helmet Noise - April 06
Exhausts - March 06
All weather suits - Oct -05
2-piece leathers - August 05
Helmets - May 05

[dern]

Pierscoe1 said:

A lot of this seems very out of date....
This is the 'Product Tests' page (or am I missing something?):

No, they are.

[Talksteer]

Pierscoe1 said:

A lot of this seems very out of date....
This is the 'Product Tests' page (or am I missing something?):

RideTriangles said:

Gloves - Sept - 06
Waterproofs - June 06
GPS - May 06
Helmet Noise - April 06
Exhausts - March 06
All weather suits - Oct -05
2-piece leathers - August 05
Helmets - May 05

The DoT is doing an NCAP type test on popular helmets.

http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/

[Pierscoe1]

yeah.. read the SHARP website...

...but I want reviews, not just crash tests.. I want to know how helmets (AND gloves, boots, jackets etc) compare to each other for comfort, durability, build quality, features, value, everything else that's not in a crash-test....

It's wierd, I would have thought there'd be loads of this around.. if you're looking for a laptop, PC, digital camera, book, printer, etc etc etc there are thousands upon thousands of reviews and review sites on the internet.. yet there seems to be all-but-none for helmets and other biker gear...

[black-k1]

The problem is that unlike PC’s, digital cameras etc. reviews of bike gear is very subjective. Where, for a PC, you can compare capacities, performance etc., with bike gear, one persons really comfortable is another persons really uncomfortable and value for money is very subjective where comfort/fit is one of the top criteria.

Probably the best you get will be the tests done by Ride magazine. There are newer tests than those on the web site but you’ll need to subscribe to get access to those.

I would suggest that a good approach is to decide your approximate budget for each item then put a request for recommendations on here within that budget. From the responses pick two or three of each item that you can then go and actually try to find what best suits you.

[Sossige]

black-k1 said:

Probably the best you get will be the tests done by Ride magazine. There are newer tests than those on the web site but you’ll need to subscribe to get access to those.

I'm a Ride subscriber - are the newer group tests accessible from the website with my subscriber number or similar?

S

[black-k1]

Sossige said:

black-k1 said:

Probably the best you get will be the tests done by Ride magazine. There are newer tests than those on the web site but you’ll need to subscribe to get access to those.

I'm a Ride subscriber - are the newer group tests accessible from the website with my subscriber number or similar?

S

Are there not tests of kit in the magazine each month? (most months anyway!)

[Sossige]

black-k1 said:

Sossige said:

black-k1 said:

Probably the best you get will be the tests done by Ride magazine. There are newer tests than those on the web site but you’ll need to subscribe to get access to those.

I'm a Ride subscriber - are the newer group tests accessible from the website with my subscriber number or similar?

S

Are there not tests of kit in the magazine each month? (most months anyway!)

Ah, I think we may have crossed wires. I thought you were suggesting that subscribers could get access to more recent pdf group tests on the website, than those listed above....

[black-k1]

Sossige said:

black-k1 said:

Sossige said:

black-k1 said:

Probably the best you get will be the tests done by Ride magazine. There are newer tests than those on the web site but you’ll need to subscribe to get access to those.

I'm a Ride subscriber - are the newer group tests accessible from the website with my subscriber number or similar?

S

Are there not tests of kit in the magazine each month? (most months anyway!)

Ah, I think we may have crossed wires. I thought you were suggesting that subscribers could get access to more recent pdf group tests on the website, than those listed above....

Ah!.... Sorry!

I don't know if there are new "group tests" than those on the website - might be worth asking Ride magazine!

[Felters]

Pierscoe1 said:

Hi all..

I'll be doing my DAS soon, and it's time to start kitting up!
I have come across a serious lack of useful info on the web though, despite much google trawling.

Where should I look for comprehensive and trust-worthy reviews?

At the moment I'm mainly looking for helmet reviews and boot reviews.. but obviously will want the rest of hte kit too soon...
There just doesn't seem to be a good place to search through for this kind of stuff....

any ideas/links/suggestions greatly appreciated..

Piers.

Oh it's dead easy really...

Textile suits, jackets etc. = Rukka
Leathers = BKS
Helmets = Shoei or Arai
Boots = Sidi or Altberg

Nothing too controversial there I think...

Alternatively get yourself into a local Hein Gericke and see what fits/feels comfy. Largely speaking you do get what you pay for, so deciding what you need/want is the first key move. I commute 50+ miles daily on a 1200GS - so a Dainesse one piece isn't really the answer.

Edited by Felters on Monday 7th July 05:42

[Pierscoe1]

thanks for that.

So far, I've narrowed the helmet choice down to:

Shoei Raid II (waiting for them to get a Large in to test fit, and it's the most expensive)
AGV S-4 (fitted nicely, and good price)
HJC FG-15 (fitted nicely, and had things like breath-guard, chin curtain etc, but is it as good as the AGV & Shoei?)

I haven't even started looking at boots or gloves yet.. so will bear your recommendations in mind...

Here's another question.. I'm not really keen on the full-on leathers idea, and would much prefer some (for example) Draggin Kevlar Jeans.. as they seem to be quite well regarded as far as protection goes... what's the equivalent for a jacket?
Bear in mind I want the coldest possible clothing, would a textile jacket be any good, or does it really need to be leather?

[Hooli]

if your just after gear for the two hot sunny days each year get a summer jacket. they do perforated ones with the armour & no insultation, ment to be almost as cool as riding in a t-shirt yet still work when you fall off.

[Sossige]

Get an EDZ T-Shirt or one made from Coolmax. They are much better than cotton at keeping you cool and allowing moisture to wick away from your body.

I've got both an EDZ bodysuit and a Coolmax bodysuit from Hein Gericke. The EDZ product is the best of the two, but the HG one is still much better than just cotton clothing.

[Hyperion]

Set yourself a budget and try stuff on...at the end of the day we're talking about clothing which is very subjective.

[Pierscoe1]

does anybody have any experience of how good the venting is on the three helmets I mentioned above?

When you say you got these EDZ & Coolmax things from Hein Gericke, does that mean that the Hein Gericke shops sell other manufacturers stuff, or are these just trademarked materials used in the construction of Hein Gericke clothes?

Thanks again..

[Sossige]

Pierscoe1 said:

When you say you got these EDZ & Coolmax things from Hein Gericke, does that mean that the Hein Gericke shops sell other manufacturers stuff, or are these just trademarked materials used in the construction of Hein Gericke clothes?

Coolmax is a trademark of the material manufacturer - I believe it's the same company that own the Teflon technology/trademark.

Hein Gericke's own range of bodysuits/underclothes use Coolmax material. EDZ is a manufacturer who manufacture undersuits and underclothing, but it's their own technology and patent.

I personally think the EDZ undersuit is nicer than the HG version, but that may just be personal preference.

Have a look here: http://www.edz.biz/wicking-base-layers-2.html