Ok so I've been riding for about 6 to 8 months using borrowed / not quite good enough equipment and I'm now looking into feeding this habit a little more. So in looking at equipment I find myself torn...there's street and there's off-road for boots, jackets, etc...which do you guys prefer? I imagine it depends on the type of riding that you're going to do so here is what I'd like to do (I think): Day/weekend trips 60/40 on/off with the off being dirt roads, forest service roads, fire roads, trails, etc...I'm certainly not doing wheelies up hill around rocks in the snow at night. So I'm thinking mild versions of Motocross equipment will fit my needs. Case in point, these boots: LINK Any suggestions / conversation would be appreciated, a good helmet and goggles is the extent of my current equipment.
try your luck with 'adventure gear' race leathers will not fit your bill neither will motocross gear think textile speed worthy material, vents, impact armor, ...
Adventure Gear...looks like I'm going to have to abandon my normal websites I purchase from. Thanks for the tip, didn't even realize that was a category.
not sure there is a category just read model names: Rallye, Dakar, Sahara, Pharao, Great Escape ... anything waterproof (for cold weather), well vented from sturdy material with good impact armor will do I ride the same roads you do (Dahlonega + x-miles) and wear a HG Tuareg Rallye II suit in summer, an old RC for most average temp rides and some Olympia overpants with a Fieldsheer Highland jacket for cold weather trials boots for summer, waterproof dualsport boots for cold/rainy weather gloves vary from leather with impact armor to gtx to heated
I have owned a dual sport bike of some kind continuously since 1977. In fact i have never owned or even ridden a real street bike. So I have been trying to figure out dual sport gear for a very long time. And I am actually pretty happy with what I have right now. For my head I own two helmets. I am not paying the crazy Arai or Shoei prices for a dual sport helmet and I am not impressed with the cheaper versions. So I have a full face street helmet for cold weather, rain and casual rides. And I have an offroad helmet for, well, offroad riding. Nothing works bette than real goggles in heavy dust plus the light weight and ventilation of an offroad helmet are nice when you are working hard. What I have settled on below the helmet is wearing a street mesh jacket in the summer and a three season street textile jacket in the winter for all of my riding. I find the CE armor in the shoulders and elbows plus good back protectors are better than plastic offroad specific gear. The trick is finding jackets with good ventilation that fit well with waist and arm adjustments to keep the armor where it belongs when you working hard offroad. But for below the waist I am the opposite. I prefer good offroad pants. Not lightweight MX or freestyle pants but heavy duty cordura or kevlar offroad pants. I wear armor under them as appropriate but always wear at least MX knee/shin pads under them. For casual street rides I will wear jeans but again I have strap on MX pads under the jeans. I like strap on pads because built in pants armor never seems to be where it needs to be when you hit the ground. And I prefer MX boots all the time. I have never warrmed up to riding boots with tread. I am a leg out cornering kind of guy offroad and treaded boots don't work for that. So I stick to slick soled MX boots. If I am going to be walking them I put sneakers in my tool bag. But I do wear riding boots pretty much all the time. A friend broke his ankle last year in a walking speed offroad crash in work boots. I don't want that to be me no matter how Mad Max I might look stomping around in MX boots. Gloves, again I am back to street gear. My hands are already a mess from firefighting and construction work. So I don't want to mess them up any worse. I wear good mesh backed street gloves in the summer and good over the cuff street gloves in the winter. I also have a couple of pairs of offroad gloves but those only get used if I really will be offroad only. I don't sweat serious knuckle armor because I have Cycras on the bike to fend off rocks and trees. I am only worried about road rash protection. BTW, both of my jackets and my pants were bought at tremendous discounts from closeout sales. If you keep your eyes on places like Motorcycle Closeouts and New Enough and aren't picky about colors you can score a lot of gear on the cheap. Helmets, boots and gloves I bought locally so I can try them on (and help keep the lights on for local shops). But those closeout deals helped restocked my whole closet over the last two years for less than $500.
Very good view point by Grreatdog. Hits all the pros and cons. It is tough finding a happy medium when you are riding dirt one hour, slabbing it through the city the next. It's 40 degrees when you head out and then an hour later you are sweating your ass off while playing in the dirt. He is right about Newenough.com. In the past couple of years their inventory has increased and they are some great folks to work with. You can browse through your local shops at some of the stuff but its tough for them to carry stuff for all the different cycle modes. Do some browsing through the Ride Reports and find some reports of some off road trips. The pics will give you some good ideas.
Klim has some good gear, Dakar pants, Valdez jacket, or the Traverse stuff from them is nice. Moose Racing is another brand I like. Expedition or Monarch pass line is good d/s gear. Look for waterproof, breathable, with vents. i like pressure suits for the protection they offer, many brands to choose from astars, 661, EVS, acerbis. I like MX boots as well. Alpinestar Tech 3 is a good d/s boot. I like the Sidi Charger as well. I wear an mx helmet, but would like an Arai XD-3 as well
Good plan. Examples include Olympia Bushwacker jacket and Airglide pants. Sidi Discovery or Adventure boots. Any DS helmet you can wear goggles with the face sheild up. Riding dirt is hotter. You're working harder and going slower. Mesh & padding with an insulated/waterproof liner are good for outer layers. Most of the DS helmets have more room in front so you get more air flow at slower speeds. Goggles are a must when your on a dusty road. There are good options less expensive than Shoei and Arai now. The Sidis or the boots you give as examples are good. Road boots won't protect your shins or give as good of support. Full MX boots are hard to work foot controls and don't walk worth a damn.
