Picked a pair of these up from ebay last week for £119.99 (RRP at my local bike store £169.99) and got to use them yesterday. Pro's Look great Good fit Feel well made and sturdy with the protection Cons Limited grip on the fingertips. I find that when i am using the brake and clutch levers there is hardly any grip with fingertips and the levers feel very slippy. I had a pair of Alpinestar SP1's before and the palm and fingers had a suede finish and i could grip the levers will with them. Hoping that when i've gotten more use out of them the leather will provide more grip. Apart from that they are a decent glove.
I have a pair about a year old, they have worn in nicely now. I can't say i struggled with fingertip grip before but the sheen has definately been taken off the leather on the fingertips.
There are quite a few fake Alpinestars gloves on ebay. I bid on a pair a few weeks ago but was out bid, only to receive a second chance offer. When i looked through the sellers history they had sold a fair few pairs of almost brand new Alpinestars gloves which made me more than a bit suspicious and so did not take up the second chance offer.
I'm guessing its just because they are brand new, when the leather wears a bit they should be alright. I bought them for BIN price instead of looking at auctions. It was also one of these ebay shops based in the UK, with a few neutral feedback on some anti fog stuff and one bad one about a helmet. You have got to be careful on ebay with fakes but i think the company i got mine from is legit. Their website is Arai Helmets, RX-7 GP, Quantum ST, Chaser V, Tour X4
Yep they look OK. The seller I bid on had been selling nearly new Alpinestars for a few years. Not sure how you would come across so many almost new gloves unless they were fakes.
That definitely sounds a bit odd. I do like ebay but you have to be so careful, because there are so many muppets on there who will rip you off.
Just nipped out lunch time and spotted a guy wearing no gloves, why is this sight getting more common. I dont understand why people dont gear up . Also when you speak to people about it, why does distance always play a factor? 'im only nipping down the shop or into town'. whether your travelling half a mile or 10, if you fall off without the essentials its gonna hurt.
Yes definitely be careful with Astars gloves off eBay unless they're from a dealers ebay site or are the older GP tech. My mate bought some at what seemed a reasonable saving from new, not too cheap but good enough. We took them to Pidcocks as there was an Astars rep there and my mate had fitment issues, the rep informed us they were fake. You could bend the armour almost back on itself and a couple of other areas were pointed out, luckily Pidcocks simply matched the price on a pair off the shelf and my mate sent his back. I picked up the GP pro in black n white as per the op. It seems the GP pros are what is faked the most but also the short version. I think the GP tech have extra bits of rubber and composite on the palms so harder to replicate I presume
Distance always plays a factor because it's simple probability. You're far less likely to have an accident if you travel 100 yards than if you travel 100'000 miles. So popping down the road to the shops is less likely to end in a ditch than 200 miles at high speeds on roads you don't know. The main reason most accidents happen close to home is that statistically you spend more miles on your bike close to home. After all, you ride your street every time you take the bike out. If 100% of your biking was popping to the shops on it, 100% of your accidents would be whilst popping to the shops. I'm a huge believer in riding my bike almost only with the full kit but even I'm not going to wear all that to get my bike washed 5 miles up the road in the next town in 25+ degrees.
I dont fully agree with that. Your mind and eyes are not warmed up to riding, you are often stiff and the tyres are cold for the first few miles so more likely to have an accident in that time. I'm more likely to be wearing full kit when going distance simply because I'm more likely to be going faster but that doesn't mean I'm more likely to crash. Crashes I've had have been a few miles from home.
I see where you are coming from, but i still dont understand why people dont wear any protective clothing. If i nip to the shop on the bike i wont throw the one piece on, just my astars jacket, gloves, protective jeans and summer boots. if i go out for a run on some twistys then the full shabang goes on. When i was 16 i had a little Yamaha TZR 50, flat out it would do 65 but i just used to tootle about on that with a leather jacket, ordinary jeans, trainers and motocross gloves and i came off that once probly doing 35, luckily not much damage to the bike as it hit the kerb and popped up on the grass verge, but i got gravel burn on my legs, sprained my ankle and fractured my wrist. Ever since then i've made sure whenever i go out i've got the appropriate gear on because its just not worth the risk. hot day, cold day,5 miles, 50 miles, gloves are a must!
Re always gearing up what about this for a scenario.... working on your bike and needing to test ride and adjust. It maybe just me but can't see anyone doing the work leathering up, testing, coming back, taking off the leathers, doing an adjustment, leather up etc etc etc. It's all about calculated risk, personally in the above situation it's been helmet and gloves as a minimum, and maybe a jacket if the weather dictates. To anyone who doesn't consider gloves as the minimum I can tell you now that losing the use of your hands to the extent that you can't even wipe your own backside isn't funny, (I was 17 at the time) and hands being what they are with thousands of pain receptors the pain is enough to think that a rope and a high beam are a good idea.
Amazingly, when we had a week of good weather (few weeks past) seen guys in t-shirts and shorts. A bloke one morning, overtaking and doing about 70 in a t-shirt. Years ago, no visor, I got hit in the eye by what felt like was a brick, I think it was a bee, nearly took my eye out. Also years ago, I fell of a Honda 50 on the road, pulled gravel out my knee for a week. Still got the scar. Then again, it's their bike and skin and you only need a helmet to be legal.
Correctomundo! (Pulp Fiction) If someone wants to ride about in his Speedo's and a lid, then let em. It wouldn't bother me one jot. Safety is all about common sense. Even a slow off in yer Speedo's is gonna be messy. Ever hired a scooter or bike in a hot country? I have loadsa times. Did I wear full leathers? Ha, did I shite. Accept responsibility for consequences controlled by you and let others do what they choose. That's what I say....
I've had my GP Pro for a couple of years and they are excellent gloves. Mine are 2 sizes up as they are tiny sized so need trying on to get the best fit if buying them. Also I can get a pair of silk inner gloves on when temp drops below 5 degrees, I used them right down to -1 degrees in winter but also cos they're thin the heat from my heated grips soaks through quickly. Best gloves I've ever owned. Only negative is the fixed shape plastic wrist/cuff makes tucking them in your helmet a faff but then again they're easier to put on because of that. Once mine wear thin I'll buy another pair. No issues with grip on the fingertips? Even from new.
