Alternatives to a $1400 suit

[eddiekay]

I start with the premise that falls on the street are not like falls on a track.
In most cases...we dont slide for more than a few yards before we hit a tree,wall, car, guardrail or some kid on his BigWheels.
To me...all that means is that I dont really need to pay for leather. Yet...a tight leather suit seems to offer some advantages a looser fitting textile suit doesnt...Like maybe keeping the armor closer to our joints.
Is that guess true ? Still...on street, impact and not abrasion are the most likely hazards. It seems to me....and I like being corrected....that spending my money on strap on armor and maybe even using much cheaper skateboard and soccer gear could be just as functional at a fraction of the cost. Like any sport...we all accept what the manufacturers tell us becaue they offer stats and give free gear to winning riders and all that stuff but a lot of it is pure BS.
I used to dive and like biking...gear was very expensive. I watched guys drop hundreds of dollars on gear that was hyper-specialized and engineered to work in conditions no human would ever encounter....and everyone ran out and bought it. The ONLY advantage i see on the $1400+ suits is that they might keep the armor close to the joint....am I right or wrong ? Or are there a lot of things i'm just not seeing ?

[CThunder-blue]

There are cheaper suits to be sure, but the difference between a $1400+ suit and a sub $1000 suit is how many times it can be re-worn after a crash. Many high dollar suits can be re-used over and over. Cheaper suits usually have thinner leather (quality can be questioned too) and the stitching is probably not as strong. I do agree that I wouldn't wear textile on the track.

For the street, you can still buy high quality gear and not sacrifice protection. I've been down in my textiles and I got up and walked away with some bruising or a little bit of rash from the mesh material of my jacket on my forearm.

Correction, the rash was actually from my A*s leather jacket. It was nice and tight, but I got a little scuffed up. Lots of textiles have adjustments that you can make around the armor area to make them more secure.

[CC Cowboy]

Only leather at the track. They won't let you on with anything else.

I've seen suits for under $500 lately (and that's new).

Just remember, you get what you pay for.

[csmith12]

Some orgs will let you out in textile in the novice or c class. Read their rules but..... get leather and a back protector.

Check the wera classifieds for used top quality suits.

Good luck!

[cuong-nutz]

The stitching on Frank Thomas suits don't hold up well. Browse craigslist, local forums, bike forums, and Ebay. I bought my old Dianese suit on Ebay for 300 and my current Frank Thomas suit for 110 on Craigslist.

[Jiggles]

I got a $350 suit

[sharky nrk]

I have crashed a $750ish dollar suit and a $500ish suit and neither really held up better than the other. Lots of issues with the stretch panels - not the leather itself.

[NDspd]

I'm hitting the same issue. I don't need a suit with all the bells and whistles, but one that will hold up to some abuse if it comes around. I've seen how cheap gear holds up...I'm sorry I'll spend the money on stuff that will protect me, no questions. I know there are going to be situations that eve the best gear can't prevent, but I'll do my best with what $$ I have.

Craigslist is an Ok place to look, racing classifieds work as well. But, don't fall into the trap of buying a $400 one-piece, again I've seen the results....not fun. If you are looking for quality I would some searching, there are several small companies out there that make some good stuff. Like Kobe Leather, the designs might look a little dated, but they are made to withstand just about anything:http://www.kobeusa.com/default.aspx

[eddiekay]

Nice lead to KOBE....it led me to a wera site for gear....and i stumbled across Teiz....
Kobe...on the reviews I found, is well reviewed. Came upon a post by our Alex S. from Nov 11 and he had nice things to say so.I'm thinking maybe Kobe looks like a good alt to the $1400 suit.

Thanks

[the big mike]

I wear textile gear for 1500$. i need it because I have to commute very long distances. It is very confortable, I'm never wet or never cold and I crashed once with it. There was minimal damage to the gear and I still use it as before...

[eddiekay]

I have a textile suit too. Very comfortable, nice looking, well made but armor is very light and very loose. Really...it's more like a padded suit than armored.
I got to admit that enough people have told me to get a suit that I should get one.

[Dragonracer76]

I got a suit from the Army a long time ago.

[eddiekay]

Went with NYC Steve and panda.
Looiked at $1400 dianese suits, technik, looked at alpine stars and Bilt. Have concluded that there is no alternative to a $1400 suit....unless maybe it's an $1800 one.

[NDspd]

So what brand do you think you will go with?

[psych0hans]

My old model Teknic Violator suit cost me less than 300$ with tags. I almost bought a lightly used Dianese suit for 300$ from this site, but it didn't go through. Shop around, you're sure to find something.

[Peanut_EOD]

I have a Pilot EVO suit and I don't see me wearing anything else. It was under $1400 and it was made how I wanted it.

[CC Cowboy]

Nice suit. Shouldn't it say peanut on the front though.

[eddiekay]

Based on what I saw the Dainese 1 piece is so much better made and much more details that I would buy it...any of them...
I think it was steve who joked, "well...how much do a few stitches cost ( at the doctor). Fact is....more than a titanium Diane suit. Not to say that an alpine or a bilt or coveralls with skate board elbow caps and newspaper taped around your shins wont do the same thing but my impression is that a less well made suit will work 99% of the time...the Daine feels and looks like it'll work 100% of the time. I bpught my stepdad a $120 shirt...it was $120 10 years ago...triple stitched, no threads hanging out, buttons tight, button holdes perfect and it wasnt made as well as a Dainese suit. I've seen high end garments, suits, police leather, scuba gear and I never saw anything that came close to the Daine suits....every freekin' detail is over-built. I wasnt a gear guy at all but I got to admit that seeing and touching and going over a D suit for like 20 minutes as i did yesterday...I was amazed. Most of you fast guys prob look at a suit as a tool....and that's 100% right.
Stillo...I walked outta Cycle Gear thinking some old woman stitched that sucker together piece by piece knowing her grandson was going to wear it. I know i'm going over the top with this but I've seen so much things done second rate that I'm amazed when i come across anything that's made like these suits

[Yaozer]

I have a fieldsheer one-piece that I use through the winter. I think I only paid like $130 for it shipped new from a vendor on ebay. It has CE approved padding and works well for me. I can't justify spending $1K plus on a stich.

My track suit was made by Spartan Leathers and it's great. I got it on sale and it was only $440. I would highly recommend Spartan and Dave. Great suit, great price, great guy. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post links, so just google Spartan Leather if you are interested.

[SPG]

Another option for a top quality suit that is reasonably priced is Furygan. The importer is here in Seattle, and I ended up with a nice suit for around $750. It has held up to 5 crashes and is still my cold weather/backup suit.

I just replaced it with a perforated Pilot suit which was made to fit, custom colors, and $1370 out the door.

Also, while looking at top quality leathers, you might want to check out some Sidi boots as well...

-Sean

[AlanDog]

Craigslist. I just checked my local CL (sacramento) and there are six suits listed right now, all under $250. Most are barely used and look new. It's not like you're buying underwear. I bought mine for $150 and it fits great. Suits are things often bought, rarely used.

[Peanut_EOD]

Originally Posted by AlanDog

Craigslist. I just checked my local CL (sacramento) and there are six suits listed right now, all under $250. Most are barely used and look new. It's not like you're buying underwear. I bought mine for $150 and it fits great. Suits are things often bought, rarely used.

Actually it's worse than buying underwear. My suit fits a lot tighter than my underwear and I'm working a lot harder every time I put on my suit than I typically do in my underwear. That and I like to freeball at the track.

[Peanut_EOD]

Originally Posted by SPG

Another option for a top quality suit that is reasonably priced is Furygan. The importer is here in Seattle, and I ended up with a nice suit for around $750. It has held up to 5 crashes and is still my cold weather/backup suit.

I just replaced it with a perforated Pilot suit which was made to fit, custom colors, and $1370 out the door.

Also, while looking at top quality leathers, you might want to check out some Sidi boots as well...

-Sean

Like I said, it was under $1400!

[psych0hans]

Originally Posted by Peanut_EOD

Actually it's worse than buying underwear. My suit fits a lot tighter than my underwear and I'm working a lot harder every time I put on my suit than I typically do in my underwear. That and I like to freeball at the track.

It's called a base layer, get one

[Redgeneral]

I would definitely check out the used route. I picked up a Dainese 2 piece from eBay for $300.

It looked, and more importantly smelled, brand new when I got it.

[CThunder-blue]

Teknic Xcelerator Suit - On Sale for just $679! From Ridersdiscount. Great company and awesome prices.

http://www.r6-forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166492

Has anyone heard of Perrini Suits? Found a bunch online for really cheap:
I plan on tracking this next season as frequently as I can afford!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tornado-All-...af37eb&vxp=mtr
http://www.topgearleather.com/produc...ther-Suit.html
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-Perrini-...4399f8&vxp=mtr

[psych0hans]

Originally Posted by codestp202

Has anyone heard of Perrini Suits? Found a bunch online for really cheap:
I plan on tracking this next season as frequently as I can afford!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tornado-All-...af37eb&vxp=mtr
http://www.topgearleather.com/produc...ther-Suit.html
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-Perrini-...4399f8&vxp=mtr

The most I've heard about them is this one guy on this one forum was going to buy it, but he backed out because: -
1) everyone else nagged him for being cheap
2) he got dicey replies from their customer service about product returns.

If you google it I googled it, check the link, you'll probably find what I'm talking about. When I was trying to find reviews for the same suit, I came up with nada.

p.s. they ship from Pakistan, so the item location is misleading.
p.p.s. If you do buy it, I demand a review

Originally Posted by kman0066 on gixxer.com

I'll give you my experiences with my Ebay type suit (actually Tilt Custom Leathers, but same Chinese difference). I got one in "Custom Fit", and it did fit rather well actually. The sewing appeared to be pretty good for holding up through usage (not crashing). The liner was crap, I had to tear out a lot of stitching in it to give me the range of motion I needed. I got to crash it out at Nashville Speedway in a low side (~50mph). The leather held up for the one crash, I did not even suffer a bruise. But I wouldn't wear it again now without serious repairs. A lot of stitching came out and the leather is damaged pretty bad. This is the suit in my signature pic (Blue/white/Black suit). The knee sliders that came with the suit were crap as well, I actually burned through them in 2 sessions at Barber.

I have since picked up a Teknic Xcelerator I bought on Ebay for $500 (store return). This suit feels so much better. The leather allows my arms/legs to move around at the joints a lot better. The suit is lighter (Kangaroo leather is why I guess), there is more armor in it, and there are expanders on the sides that allow me to choose different sizes of chest/back protectors and still have the leather fit snug. Oh, and the collar is much more comfortable. I had to get it altered to fit me though I'm 6'4", I have to have everything altered to fit.

In summary, the Ebay suits are crap. They're definitely better than nothing, that's for damn sure, but you'll be much happier with a name-brand suit in the long run. Keep an eye out for clearance suits or a store return and you can find one for that same price or round abouts.

HAHAH some guy said:
It MIGHT explode and you end up with a **** ton of road rash and broken ****

Id steer clear.

You wont

^^ that is what the internet is about... Person: " I want to get 1000cc for my first bike
should I?"
Everyone: "No"
Person: "I'm gonna get it anyways"

I'm finding some decent deals on used AGV suits and Dianese here and there. Shits expensive.

[lgk]

get a custom syed suit for $1200, it'll fit a lot better.

[psych0hans]

Originally Posted by codestp202

HAHAH some guy said:
It MIGHT explode and you end up with a **** ton of road rash and broken ****

Id steer clear.

You wont

^^ that is what the internet is about... Person: " I want to get 1000cc for my first bike
should I?"
Everyone: "No"
Person: "I'm gonna get it anyways"

I'm finding some decent deals on used AGV suits and Dianese here and there. Shits expensive.

Do what I did, eBay... I almost bought a Dianese for like 300$, from these very forums, but it didn't work out. I bought my "brand new" 4 year old Teknic Violator suit for like 288$ from eBay UK. Came new with tags and everything. I'm sure you can find a similar deal for not too much money. Keep looking.

Originally Posted by lgk

get a custom syed suit for $1200, it'll fit a lot better.

why didnt i think of that in the first place????@@#efgdsf

[lgk]

Wasn't directly relating to you but if you spend $1400 might as well be custom.

[psych0hans]

Originally Posted by lgk

get a custom syed suit for $1200, it'll fit a lot better.

I think like most of us mortal folks, Cody's on a pretty tight budget...

Very tight

[Vampyre]

Originally Posted by psych0hans

I think like most of us mortal folks, Cody's on a pretty tight budget...

Syed is located here in Orlando. I heard a rumor that if you go to his shop and find an off the rack one that fits, you can talk him down quite a bit on price.

[htdub]

I got my Arlen Ness Suit From amazon this year, great deal at $650 free prime shipping ($1300 normally)

Easy return policy if it didn't fit, so had to get it.

Noticed they had a few sizes left in blue, 50,52,54

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...tphienertum-20

[alex.s]

i still love my kobe suit... great protection, cheap price. made in america too.

kobeusa.com

[Alex]

Originally Posted by alex.s

made in america too.

kobeusa.com

Nope, they are made in Pakistan. KobeUSA is the arm of the company in the US to import and sell them.

[alex.s]

my suit has a tag with a usa symbol... i assumed that meant it was made here but i can see how i could easily be wrong.. maybe its the usa version of the suit