I was informed by a manufacturer of leathers that protective clothing should never be loose for two reasons; one is that in the event of an off, it can grab the road surface rather than slide over it; and two, flapping clothing at speed can cause bad bruising and skin injury.
Worth looking at (admittedly pricey) options like Dane as they support a more Nordic figure... I'm increasingly in love with textiles.
Vented leather trousers with either a sport style leather jacket (low collar, short jacket) and a goretex cyclist over jacket plus cheap over trousers, OR Leather trousers and a zip on quality Goretex motorcycle jacket. Not one with 'removable waterproof' liner, they get too hot and the outer holds water, the shell needs to be the waterproof material. In both instances the Goretex is fairly breathable. Its always a battle between heat control and being waterproof when caught in the inevitable downpour at some point. I'm happy to ride in light rain/showers in the leather jeans, once things get heavier then the £20 over trousers come out. Considering the speeds we do when on 'unlimited' roads then the thought of jeans or textiles on the lower half is not appealing. Textile jackets if chosen carefully will have Aramid, Kevlar combinations and products like Rukka have superb impact protectors. This year will be vented leather trousers and a Rukka Goretex jacket. The jacket has zips on the side and under a flap on the back to aid air flow. The thinking being a bit rain is OK. Heavy rain, stop and pull on wp trousers. Best combination of protection, convenience and space used in luggage. The Rukka jacket also came with a zip on extended waterproof collar, it goes right up to the crash helmet to keep out extreme wet! Kept in the jacket pocket just in case. Have probably tried every combination, boil in the bag over suit on top of leathers. Textiles with leather on impact areas and inner liners (toooo hot). Leathers with Goretex over layers. I think textiles with inner waterproof liners were my least favourite. Either cooking or not waterproof with liners out, plus you then need space to store the liners. They can be a real pain to zip the legs in on the pants. Not great with wet hands. We have toured through Germany, Italy and France and had between 30c with blue sky and 0c and snow going over the St Bernard pass. All in the same week of July 2014.
My previous textile Halverssons had a uv reflective coating and a few small vents. In Tuscany in July it was bearable. Now have a Klim 2 piece and it’s hotter in the same heat as it doesn’t have the reflective coating, but does have far bigger vents! In scorching weather I use my 2 piece heavily perforated BKS leathers. One more point to look out for with textiles&armour. If you can move the armour around the joint it’s ment to be protecting with your hand, it’s going to move around if you roll down the road. I think only one UK company do made to measure waterproof textiles,,where the armour shouldn’t move away from the area it’s ment to protect!!
Textile, all vents open, and full forcefield pro long sleeved vest and long sleeved pants, very comfortable, and the forcefield pro is excellent with an enormous amount of protection, as it is skintight the level 2 protectors, stay in place very easily.
For the UK, unless the forecast is for it to be really hot, I tend to wear my commuter Goretex. Not being laminated, if the weather has been as wet as it was in Scotland, the outside does soak up the water, but it doesn't soak through to my shirt. For previous WDW continental trips, I've worn my leather jacket & trousers for most of the riding, and Draggin jeans and leather jacket (which does have quite a few perforations) when I get there, for riding to the circuit from the hotel. Having to be peeled out of my leather jacket at the end of the day is not nice! I've always taken my one piece waterproof boil-in-the-bag oversuit, to wear over leathers if it rains. I've been very glad of waterproofs, not just in torrential downpours in Sussex and Kent on the way to the Chunnel, but also in Tuscany (more torrential rain) and as a warmer layer going over the Grand St Bernard Pass. For this year's WDW trip, especially as I'm going for a few days touring Sicily on the bike before heading north up the mainland, I've bought a mesh jacket to wear instead of my leather jacket, and will take waterproofs again. Am dithering about whether to wear my leather trousers for most of the touring, and Draggins in Sicily and at WDW, or (in the unlikely event I'm feeling flush), to invest in the Rokkertech jeans (single layer, with the abrasion resistent fibres woven into the denim, rather than an abrasion resistent full or partial lining that makes many riding jeans hotter & heavier than my leather trousers). I always take at least one merino longsleeved top (sold as a base layer) and sometimes wear it as a mid layer. Reasonably warm but don't take up much space. I also take an EDZ light nylon shell, that stuffs in its own little bag and doesn't take up more space than a pair of socks - great as another non-bulky slightly windproof layer.
When I was in Spain last year I had textiles with all liners out and vents open, jacket and trousers. All helmet vents open (Arai Tour X4 is HIGHLY recommended as an all-day touring hat) and some light Klim gloves that are like MX gloves. Depends on your attitude really, but I’d say I ride in a very risk averse way when touring as just the ballache of getting a crashed bike repaired or home or having my holiday ruined is enough to keep my right wrist in check. And that is worth at least some of the protection that leathers and inch-of-life armour affords. It’s not a panacea but not taking daft risks, not riding tired and keeping mindful and alert is the best protection of all.
I think it works really well, the forcefield pro is a very thin undergarment which transfers heat really wel, but I guess, it is a personal preference?
I have great intentions to be risk adverse when in Europe, that soon goes out of the window when greeted by stunning roads and little traffic...
I've just bought the Dane Sealand Jacket paired with their Lyngby trousers. Can't fault the quality, absolutely perfect fit, slim cut with zero movement in the armour, and much lighter than Rukka or Klim. Well vented 3 Layer laminated goretex and CE L2 armour throughout.....best suit i've ever bought.
Just completed 1700+ miles in textiles, with temps ranging from 4 to 31 (we had one shit day) and had no issues at all.
Always use textile used leathers on year to go to Monza for WSB it was horrendous hot very uncomfortable
Textiles every time for me. They have their disadvantages but they're cooler, lighter and waterproof. I prefer my leathers for day riding in the UK even when its hot because they fit like a pair of old slippers but having to stop and don another layer if it rains when touring is too much of a PITA, especially in the UK. You end up riding with one eye on the road and the other monitoring the sky all the time. With textiles you just carry on regardless. And it they do get wet leathers are a misery and take forever to dry out again. For touring, textiles offer more versatility and they're cooler and lighter for walking around off the bike. Drop-down Gortex liner suits are the poor man's choice. My Dainese gear works but the outer does eventually get saturated and with only a thin waterproof membrane between your skin and the weight of cold wet outer fabric you feel wet and chilled even though you're not. But how many days do you ride in continuous rain? Not many. Most of the time its mixed. It rains, you start to feel the temperature drop, gets a bit uncomfortable but you stay dry. Then it clears, you warm up and the suit dries out again in the wind. I'll suffer the occasional all-day wet discomfort for the convenience of mixed weather versatility. But if I can afford it I'll go laminate next time especially now laminate technology is moving away from the sweltering, stiff and heavy suits like first generation Rukka. I'm tempted by Halvarssons but I had a pair of their gloves I wasn't impressed with and laminate textile gear is too expensive for experimentation so I'll wait for more reviews. Its a good point about liners. Personally, I think bulky zip-in thermal liners are a waste of time. They do stop the clammy feeling in prolonged rain but they are way too hot for any summer riding and there's no way the suit will be a good fit for most people with both the liners in and with them removed. Better to go for a fit without liners and use microfibre base layers in cold weather.
I second that. We have done a lot of two up continental touring. In the early days we used leathers but they are just not suitable for hot climates. Depending on the quality of the gear you may be sacrificing some abrasion resistance but in my opinion you will ride safer if you are comfortable.
Still prefer leathers. They are more comfortable and far safer to my mind. A few companies now make jackets and jeans that are a combination of leather in the more vulnerable areas and mesh where not.
For touring, leather trousers and textile jacket is my preference. More pockets for stuff, also shower does mean you need to out the full waterproof on and I then just carry w'proof over trousers, just in case
They will fit ok if they have the necessary adjustments available. So moral of the story is buy with good ventilation and adjustments. GOOD ARMOUR CORRECTLY POSITIONED IS ESSENTIAL TOO
When touring I favour comfort given you're in the damn stuff for weeks on end. Textiles work better IMHO with the venting options. I layer under it for warmth if needed. Also less to carry as you can pop down to the pub in your textile trousers at the end of a long day. Leathers give a whole new vibe...
