Kitting out a beginner

Good tee shirts though

 

I have a couple of A/stars T-shirts, and I'm always afraid they'll ride
up and strangle me to death if I fall over while wearing them.

--
Lozzo
Versys 650 Inter-Continental Hyperbolistic Missile , CBR600F-W racebike
in the making, TS250C, RD400F (somewhere)
BMW E46 318iSE (it's a car, not one of those 2-wheeled pieces of shite
they churn out)

 

I was only joking - should've added a smiley. RiDE impressed me by
revealing that the so-called Kevlar reinforced gloves contained no
Kevlar at all.

They're good for kit. The rest of the magazine, though, is DiRE.

 

Their gloves seem alright. Haven't had to crash test them yet,
fortunately.

 

Some of their gloves and their MX boots are good. The rest is shit


--
Lozzo
Versys 650 Inter-Continental Hyperbolistic Missile , CBR600F-W racebike
in the making, TS250C, RD400F (somewhere)
BMW E46 318iSE (it's a car, not one of those 2-wheeled pieces of shite
they churn out)

 

I find when looking for a lid you can get some really good bargains by
picking last years model. I got my HJC Smoke II[1] for less than 100
quid just because the Smoke III came out.


[1] RRP 199.00

 

Also don't forget Gumtree if you are happy with second-hand kit, plus
GhostBikes do some really cheap helmets, both brand names & 'others'.

I believe Aldi / Lidl do gear a couple of times during the year, but it will
never be when you need it!

I'm a near neighbour (Killie), there's plenty of decent roads / runs down
your way to get a few miles under your belt.

--
Frooty

GSX1300RX Hayabusa - Inter Continental Ballistic Motorcycle
TT250R - Wee dirty wan
Lifan LF50QGY - Wee monkey wan
Down to just three toys :-[

 

Their ST1 Drystar gloves are the best waterproof gloves I've ever had.

 

I've got three sets of Alpinestars gloves. Jet Road GTX, which are't the
warmest winter gloves in the world but do stay dry; 365 GTX, which are
full leather so allowed on track but Goretex lined so stay dry (useful
at Cadwell last year); SP1, which, aside from being a bit sweaty due to
lack of vents, seem spot on.

None of them cheap, mind. 130, 150 and 100 quid respectively, I think.

 

look out for decent little used kit to appear on Ebay..
Quite a few people seem to shell out a small fortune on top notch gear
and never use it, wifey sells it for them etc..
probly not the best time of year for bargains right now BTW !

 

Mine were £33 when bought new years ago. Pre 2002, as they were bought in a
shop near my old Xerox workplace.

Seems they are not made any more but J&S have the end of line stock in the
nasty red colour. Mine are blue.
www.jsaccessories.co.uk/alpinestars-st-1-drystar-glove-in-red-4379.html
Bargain at £20 and ideal for commuting.

 

Ghostbikes mail order is good if you know what size you want. He'll need to
travel to somewhere with decent stock to make sure of a decent fit.

 

My Alpinestars waterproof boots are excellent. So yeah, they get top
points from me and all.

 

Always worth reminding certain types of folk that your suit is
considerably more expensive than theirs and when not spending time in a
damp heap in the corner is used for rolling down the road. Armani eat my
shorts.

 

My Alpinestar winter boots are nearly old enough to be criminally
responsible and are still winter warm and leakproof and fortunately
somewhat faded from their original nightmare colour scheme.

 

When I go to work in the morning I'm in a 300 quid Arai helmet, 100
quid Held jacket, 50 quid Held gloves, 90 quid Red Route armoured jeans
and 400 quid Daytona boots and I feel woefully under-dressed.

--
Lozzo
Versys 650 Inter-Continental Hyperbolistic Missile , CBR600F-W racebike
in the making, TS250C, RD400F (somewhere)
BMW E46 318iSE (it's a car, not one of those 2-wheeled pieces of shite
they churn out)

 

OTOH, Beginners are more likely to _need_ good kit.

 

Good kit, perhaps, but not expensive kit. As has been pointed out you
don't need to spend loads to get perfectly functional kit with decent
protection.

 

Lots of good advice in the thread but no-one has mentioned gloves. I've
found gloves can be a real hit and miss affair as to fit. I have wide
hands with stumpy fingers and some gloves I've bought like BMWs are a
shitty fit. Cheaper gloves I've bought have fit me much better. There
is nothing worse than shitty fitting gloves or leaking waterproofs. So
make sure whatever you buy you try it on in a shop and preferably sit on
a bike while wearing it.

Fraser

 

Ayup. Helmets are pretty easy to figure out. Once they have a
certificate, it's only the fit that matters. But with clothing, it's
often the stitching that matters, and that takes a bit of education.
Gloves may look sturdy, but if the stitching is crap, they're
worthless.