I've been thinking about getting a pair of Icons for when I ride to work... does anyone wear riding jeans on a regular basis? has anyone gone down on them? how did you fair? i would prefer being comfortable, but not at the cost of skin/bones...

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/1/40/10478/ITEM/Icon-Insulated-Denim-Pants.aspx

--alex

I haven't been down, but being military, I've seen plenty of guys go down in denim. Some even had those fancy pants with kevlar at the knees, etc. NONE of them fared well. Denim only has a slide time of 2-3 seconds at speed. Usually makes a mess.

If you want real riding pants, save the money on the denim and buy some all season pants that you can zip in/out the liner. Money well spent, IMHO, as they will have knee pads, and often hip guards too, for just a little more money and a huge amount more protection.

I have full over-wear, and wear ATGATT. And as you can see on the link, those denims are "heavy 14oz denim with integrated Aramid® reinforced knee and hip panels"... not normal denims. the Aramid should last even if the denim is gone, no? so out of those that had Kevlar aided jeans, how badly did they fare? obviously going down at all isn't faring well, but are we talking about a broken knee cap? did the reinforced jeans actually not maintain structure and just rip away? they've got to provide some kind of protection, no? clearly not impact protection, but abrasion resistance?

i would like to know about the kevlar jeans as well. i realllly dont want to get heavy pants, i get hot enough as it is in the summer, and i imagine im going to be boiling in my gear already. the jeans seem like they would be lighter and cooler. i will be commuting to work and i dont want to show up all sweaty.

I have the non insulated version.
http://www.rideicon.com/product_details.jsp?category=3124&id=11054

They wear really well and hold up good in the wash. They beat wearing regular jeans. You may also want to look at some padded shorts to go with them.

draggin jeans have armor you can buy:
http://www.dragginjeans.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=SAS-05

i just got a pair of Shift Racing Lodown Jeans in the mail today. They seem really good. They look awesome, only way to tell they are motorcycle jeans is a small seem where the kelvar is stiched in. They are 14oz denim and have kevlar in them. The kevlar seems perfect, not really heavy but not to light. They should be awesome in the summer. When seated on the bike the kelvar perfectly covers my knees.

Only problem i have is the groin area seems a little tight. It may have been that I bought a size to small, but any bigger and the kelvar would not line up correctly with my knees. The waist is almost perfect but the groin is a little tight. I'll probably still keep them as they are a good price (80) and dont appear to be has "hot" (summer riding) as DragginJeans.

Cant say I have worn them while riding yet tho as we just got about 8 inches of snow (only sat on the bike to make sure everything felt good - and to cure my motorcycle withdrawal LOL)

I have the non insulated version.
http://www.rideicon.com/product_details.jsp?category=3124&id=11054

They wear really well and hold up good in the wash. They beat wearing regular jeans. You may also want to look at some padded shorts to go with them.

how well do you think they might hold up being slid along asphalt? does the aramid seem very strong?
i noticed the icon website says they have optional knee and hip pads... i don't suppose you have these, but i assume you do infact have pockets for them?
and also, what about the expansion panels? do they let any air through? how warm is the non-linered version? get cold much? :)

sorry for the grilling :D

Aramid stops fire. Kevlar stops fire, knives, bullets, small rocks, etc.

Let's put denim into perspective a little bit. I've screwed up landing a jump on my mountain bike, fell onto dirt going less than 20mph. Ripped right through the jeans I was wearing and skinned my knee. Double layered 50/50 NyCo (the material some BDUs are made of) is much, much more durable than your average Levis.

Now how much more durable than standard denim do you really think the denim in 'motorcycle jeans' is?

It ain't that bad, I have a pair myself and have been down on them twice. The denim is has a rip and a couple of scuff marks but the kevlar is untouched and saved the skin on my knees. The problem about these "riding jeans" is that they can't hold up with any type of hard/strong impact, but in sliding terms they do an okay job.

I've got a couple pairs of the Icon jeans and honestly wouldn't trust the Kevlar to stay where it's supposed to be in a slide - even if it does work as advertised. Admittedly I haven't had a chance to test them yet though, so I've got no firsthand knowledge.

I picked up a pair of the Icon Field Armor knee/shin guards to wear under jeans in the summer. They're comfy, stay in place and feel reasonably sturdy; haven't been down in them, but between them, kevlar/aramid reinforced jeans and some padded shorts I suspect one would do ok in a fall. Not as well as leathers or good textile pants, but hella better than Wranglers or shorts.

I got a pair of Shift Lowdowns because they look like they have good coverage over the ass and knees and I knew I wasn't going to suit up in full armored pants for spins around town.

While this topic is here, what's the cheapest, best "bang for your buck" riding pants I could buy? My gear budet was expended after I got a jacket, helmet, gloves, and boots :/

These are the cheapest I've seen. http://www.jafrum.com/Motorcycle-Gear/Mens-Textile-Motorcycle-Pants;jsessionid=0a010c461f437bfad525e3c547eabd6e85bf54c00ecb.e3eSc3qPbN0Te34Pa3 8Ta38QaNn0 I have a friend that has ordered from this site and they were very impressed with their customer service. Based on the reviews it looks like these are a good deal.

Check out eBay for bargains: I have bought a few items there. My riding pants are bib-style with armor, reflective piping, and zipout liner. Price was only about $40 plus shipping.
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