Leather or Textile?

Ohhh, we are very broadminded here .You dont even need a bike to go romping in leathers:tongue::biggrin:

 

Why do little kids get excited as you cruise by on your bike?
There must be something about the anonymous man in the carapace which appeals from an early age: spacemen, knights in armour, Batman and superheroes.
It must be some kind of jungian archetype.
And when you get older, you can continue assuming the persona of this character, which makes a nice change from wearing a suit and tie and having to be socially acceptable and unexceptional.
It IS the change from Clark Kent to Superman.

Are textiles going to do that for you?

No.

So practical, no doubt. Exciting they are not.

 

For fun rides, I'm with Ducbird in the leathers in the summer (or kevlar jeans and leather jacket if it's really hot) and textiles in the winter camp.

For commuting, it's now textiles all the time. I bought my Rukka goretex kit when I started commuting on my bike, and was sick of looking out the office window to see no rain, putting my leathers on and finding a black cloud and deluge waiting 2 miles up the road for me! With leathers I had to decide whether to put waterproofs on top, which is a hassle, and I frequently made the wrong decision. With my textile kit, it's waterproof all the time.

Downside of my textile kit is that the outermost layer is not itself waterproof and does rather soak up the water like a sponge (it's the Goretex mid-layer which stops me from ending up soggy underneath) and takes time to dry out afterwards. Probably need to try some of that Nikwax spray on waterproofing on the outside layer.

My leather jacket has quite a lot of perforation around armpits and sleeves so it's a lot more comfortable than the textile kit when it's really hot.

 

Leather all the way except for Kevlar troos in heat....

Gimp masks in textile just don't do the job really

 

For everyday commuting and in the cold/wet? Leather Goretex trousers + Textile Goretex jacket. Definitely feel the most comfortable and best protected in this combo, rain or shine.

For sunny and warm days days on the Duke, 2 piece leathers just because

 

Tried all combinations, touring in all weather home and abroad.
Found the most practical and comfortable option to be zip together leathers, with the trousers including vented material. Goretex over jacket for the really wet stuff and over trousers for the really, really wet stuff.