Now wearing my new Knox Richmond. Nice and comfortable. Long in the leg though so wearing them without boots means you tread on the bottoms. This makes sense though as when you swing a leg over the bike and put your feet on the pegs, they are perfect and the armour suddenly finds the right spot in your knees. The zips to hold the armour are basically invisible. They're also the first pair of jeans I don't feel like I have to remove the armour for a day in the office.
I have two pairs of Rokkers. The Rokkertech and the "waterproof" ones. They cost an arm and a leg but are very nice and make excellent protection claims. BTW the waterproof ones aren't really. They'll resist a shower but moisture will soak through where you sit on your arse. You end up damp not soaking but damp nonetheless.
Rokkertechs every day of the week and twice on Sunday. As Firebladeboy says they're expensive but fit, style and protection claims are, IMHO, unsurpassed. Would happily do a summer tour in a pair, in fact last year I rode to the Dolomites and back wearing them. No regrets about my purchase. Motolegends patiently take as long as you require to get model and and fit spot on. Returned with my girlfriend for a pair for her plus a Rokker jacket, she loves both garments and was also impressed by Motolegends. We have no connection with the company but will willingly travel the distance there to do business with them.
TOP 10 SINGLE-LAYER BIKING JEANS Motorcycle jeans have been around for something like 30 years. The original concept was very simple. You created a really baggy jean, and then you lined it with a thick aramid-fibre lining of some sort. In the early days the lining was almost invariably made from Dupont’s Kevlar® material. Which is why these jeans became known as ‘Kevlar® jeans’. Now looking back, these jeans really did look rather horrid, with a leg width so huge that even the Bay City Rollers would have been embarrassed to wear them. But bikers were so excited at the notion of wearing jeans on the bike that considerations of style and comfort were largely overlooked. The principle of ‘lined’ jeans hasn’t changed much over the years. Basically, the outer material is a bog-standard denim of some description. Attached to the inside of the denim is the liner that provides some level of abrasion, tear and puncture resistance. As time progressed, some manufacturers added armour and, for most brands, it became ‘de rigeur’. Protective motorcycle jeans have undoubtedly become easier to wear over the years. The linings have become thinner without being any less effective. But all lined jeans have one thing in common. They are still lined! Lined jeans are not normally very flattering. They can be heavy and uncomfortable to wear, and they are nearly always hot and sweaty when the temperature goes up. At the height of summer a lined jean is not nice to ride in. What we now call single-layer jeans are different. In a single-layer jean a super strong fibre —normally something much stronger than Kevlar® — is woven into the denim to create a fabric that looks and feels like denim but that, in reality, is much, much stronger. What all these jeans have in common is that they are light and easy to wear. They feel and look like a pair of Levis. And they wear like a pair of Levis. You can wear them all day as though they were a pair of normal jeans, but if you fall off the bike they provide you with much enhanced levels of protection. These jeans are particularly nice to wear in the summer and hot weather, because they flow air almost like a mesh pant. Because there’s no lining they fit close to the body, and so look much nicer than a lined jean. And they’re light too. Now, as ever, single-layer jeans come with different levels of abrasion resistance, although nearly all these jeans take hip and knee armour. At the lower end of the market we have jeans made from Cordura® and cotton. These jeans might deliver a slide time of a little over two seconds. That’s not amazing, but in the real world rarely do we slide on any one area of fabric for more than a second. On the track, yes; but on the road, not so much. We have jeans with a slide time of around four seconds, which puts them on a par with leather. But perhaps our favourite jeans are those made by Swiss maker, Rokker. They are lovely to wear, look super cool and have a slide time of 6.4 seconds, which is 50% better than leather. They’re the nicest single-layer jeans out there, but their quality is reflected in their price. We even have a single-layer jean with a slide time of 11 seconds. This makes them the most abrasion-resistant jeans on the market; stronger than even the toughest lined jean. They’re perhaps not quite as nice to wear as the Rokkers, but they are more than twice as abrasion resistant as leather. When it comes to considerations of safety, of course, the other thing you have to realise is that single-layer jeans deliver their strength everywhere, whereas lined jeans are only protective where there’s a lining. Some lined jeans deliver 100% coverage, but many offer as little as 20%! Anyway, here below we list 10 pairs of our favourite single-layer pants. Some are jeans, but we’ve also featured single-layer chinos and cargo pants. In the coming years, all the protective motorcycle wear manufacturers will move to single-layer; and indeed already lined jeans are starting to feel a little old-fashioned. Anyway, we hope you like our selection of some of the best of the current crop. THE ROKKER ROKKERTECH SLIM The fabric used by Rokker in this jean is called Armalith. It's incredibly strong; in fact, it’s one of the strongest wearable fabrics on the market. On YouTube there’s a video of a Hummer 4x4 being hoisted by a pair of Armalith jeans. These jeans are more abrasion resistant than any leather or textile touring pant out there. But because there's no lining, they are incredibly light and easy to wear. Bottom line; if you didn't know these were protective jeans you would simply think they were a regular, high-quality denim pant. The Rokkertechs take D3O armour in the hips and knees. The pants come in four leg lengths, and as the armour pocket is fixed you need to order the right length to get the armour in the right place. Remember, obviously, that to be right on the bike, the leg length needs to be longer than it would be for the street. £349.00 BUY NOW THE SPIDI J TRACKER Made from a mix of cotton and Cordura, the J Tracker jean delivers an official slide time of just over two seconds, but for many motorcyclists that may be more than adequate. A jean like this is going to perform infinitely better than a shop jean, which will almost certainly just bust on impact with the road. If you ride around town a lot, and tend to poodle about rather than give it gas whenever you can, the Spidi J Tracker may be perfect for you. We wouldn't want to come off at 80mph in a pair of J Trackers but, in most circumstances, they will be up for the job if you come off at 50 or even 60 mph. But the reason for our enthusiasm for the J Tracker is how they feel and wear. They're no heavier than a pair of lightweight Levis, and they're just as comfortable to wear. You could wear them all day, and just not think about them. They come with knee armour, but what's great about the armour is that it fits into a pocket from the outside. There's a zip concealed in the seam, and when you're not on the bike, you can simply take the armour out. They come with pockets for hip armour, by the way, but it is not supplied. This is a bike jean for people who don't really like bike jeans. We love them, and the price is amazing. There may be times when you want or need more protection, but much of the time the J Trackers will be everything you need. There are two washes for these jeans. One is a bit lighter than the other, but neither is aggressive. £149.99 BUY NOW THE ROKKER REVOLUTION The Rokker Revolution is a single-layer jean, but it is a single-layer jean with a difference; that difference being that it’s waterproof. And we mean totally waterproof, because the ‘C-Change’ waterproof membrane in the Revolutions is bonded to the inner side of the highly abrasion-resistant outer fabric. This makes them every bit as waterproof as a £900 Rukka pant, and indeed you can ride in the rain all day in the Revolutions, and not get wet. The only way the wet can get into these jeans is via the two front pockets, so just occasionally you might get a touch of dampness on your boxers. The outer material is made from denim woven with Dynatec. This gives them a pretty impressive slide time of over three seconds. The jeans are super light, and the can best be described as relaxed in fit. But there is a downside to the Revolutions, and it is that, in really hot conditions, they can get a little sticky. And this is because there can be times when the membrane simply cannot cope with the amount of perspiration that is being generated by the rider. What we’re talking about here is temperatures approaching the thirties. But in cooler conditions, and obviously when it’s raining, these jeans are brilliant. The Revolutions do come supplied with D30 armour for the hips and knees, but to get the knee armour in the correct position, you need to order them in the right leg length, because the armour pocket is fixed. The leg lengths are 30”, 32”, 34” and 36”, and we recommend going for a leg length that is a little longer than you would go for on a street jean. Rokker’s Revolution jeans are quite special; there’s nothing else quite like them. £349.00 BUY NOW THE SPIDI J&DYNEEMA Made with Dyneema fabric, the J&Dyneema jean offers a highly impressive level of abrasion resistance, with a ‘slide’ time of a little over four seconds. This puts the jeans on a par with leather and, frankly, this means you’re getting a higher level of protection than you’re probably ever going to need on the road, in normal circumstances. The fit of the jeans is pretty slim, and whilst Spidi calls this a black jean the reality is that it’s a very, very dark blue in colour. It is, of course, a single-layer jean, but it does come with a mesh lining for comfort. The J&Dyneemas come with adjustable, CE armour in the hips and non-adjustable armour in the hips. £279.99 BUY NOW THE ROKKER CHINO Rokker make the best motorcycle chinos money can buy. No contest. They’re made from Dynatec and deliver an amazing ‘slide’ time of over six seconds, making them around 50% more abrasion resistant than leather. But, in the weaving, the material is treated for waterproofing, and although we would never call these chinos proper waterproof pants, many of our customers have reported of riding in them for an hour or more in the rain without getting wet. On balance, though, we would still consider Rokker’s chinos to be strongly water repellant rather than properly waterproof. The cut is very neat, with a straight leg of an almost military bearing. The material is not light, per se. You wouldn’t necessarily want to walk around in them on the hottest of days, but on the bike they will still flow the air very nicely. They take D30 armour in the knees and hips, although it does not come as standard. In the knees, the armour is adjustable. These chinos come in four different leg lengths, and to get the armour optimally positioned you need to order them in the correct leg length. Just remember that, for the bike, you will want a leg length that is a bit longer than you would go for on a pair of pants bought for normal street use. These chinos come in sand or black. £299.00 BUY NOW
Yep, just going there is a danger to your wallet. Whilst they do also seem to cater to the London/SE Hipster market they have some excellent regular kit, are passionate about the products they promote and sell and have a great customer service attitude. Their warehouse is on site and they commit to stocking in depth. Having worked in the MC clothing retail trade in my distant past they have my admiration. Quite frankly, if I lived closer I would be beating my way to their door with my CV to try and get a job.
@Bumpkin I went to motolegends this weekend - bought rokkertechs and a pair of tcx hero boots along with overtrousers. Broke now
Sorry to hear of your financial woes, it's probably guaranteed to be cold and chuck it down for weeks now Seriously, I'm confident once you've been out on the bike in them on a decent day, got to where you're going and walked around a bit, the cost will will be considered worth it. Girlfriend and I enjoy visiting National Trust properties, doing it on the bike brings extra pleasure for both of us. Our Rokkertech jeans and TCX boots make this very possible without a change of kit. Mutley top box and panniers swallow helmets, gloves and jackets. I have bought the over priced Dainese belt connecting zip thing to securely attach my various jackets from that brand plus a similar but shorter one for my Richa jacket. These just add a bit of extra protection helping to stop a jacket riding up in an accident but also prevent any wind up the back issues with a looser jacket.
I have the same shoes she’s wearing there.. I should wear them more. I usually bottle out and wear my power ranger boots. This was fine with my old Kevlar jeans (which bake my balls). They are a ‘dad’ fit and go over the boots. The rockers won’t hence the tcx hero purchase. I’m sure it’ll all be worthwhile as you say. Wearing that coMbo on tour in just over a week
I'm making a snap gender assumption here... You have the girls version with the pink trim? Nice I went for the non waterproof slightly perforated, not particularly effective airflow but anything except goretex and I get sweaty.
I have used Motor legends a few times over the past few years, and there are at times you actually get a fantastic deal, far cheaper than anywhere else, as they price match and again over seas online retailers.
My brother lives just two miles away... I took him in there to look around... (they are my favorite / No.1 retailer).... I said "take a catalogue".... the shop assistant smiled at him and my bro responded "there is not a single thing in here I can afford".....
Haha no I got the converse style waterproof ones. I now realise getting waterproof version of such a short boot is ridiculous
Over trousers and overboots are the way to go with this setup IMHO. Girlfriend ordered hers from them without asking me about the practicalities. I did buy her the Rokker Black jacket at the same time as the Rokkertech jeans, was her birthday and she just looked so bloody fantastic in them I bought them for me to look at her in too
I can't be bothered to trawl all 7 pages, but just in case nobody has mentioned them yet, my vote is for Roadskins. I bought 2 pairs of Roadskin Easyriders at the MCN show in March(?). They are the type which have the Kevlar woven into the denim, so they are lighter and thinner, not fair off fashion denim. They are also cut to look like fashion jeans rather than the Tesco Value specials which unfortunately the more utilitarian brands of bike jeans still look like, and they are very comfy, so much so that I wear them as normal jeans even when not planning to ride a bike. Plus, as they're an online and shows only company, they have fewer overheads and so their products are about 50% of the price of comparative items from eg: Rokker. https://www.roadskin.co.uk/shop/roadskineasyriders/
I'm not sure I would feel a lot safer wearing tight leather jeans tbh. I'm also not sure my girlf would let me leave the house...
I just bought the rokkertech jeans for the summer commute - I’m delighted with the fit and quality- spendy so cant afford to get fatter , but I got a free T-shirt and bag ...
