It may also very well be coming from the costs of medical care provided to unprotected riders by the state through our social health care set up. Making protections mandatory a way to reduce costs? Nanny or Bean counters?
The EU PPE laws stipulate that if an article is sold as “motorcycle gloves/jacket etc etc” then that article must pass the relevant PPE legislation. So it is very legal to sell anything for motorcycle usage, it only needs to meet certain criteria when the vendor stipulates its intended use/ market, ie motorcycle in our cases. So you can buy paper/chocolate boots from me as I am not saying they are for motorcycle usage.
I had a look at Kate's Textile kit when I got my Hideouts rebuilt for my slightly less modest Frame. They do look excellently made, with multiple redundant layers of extremely tough fabric. I can see why a jacket Costs £800... (!) I can't speak for BKS, but I know they share the same ethos. I think, as you rightly point out, they really are in the minority though.
So I called my insurance company this morning to check this with them and good news. Question : « What happens if I hurt my hands riding my motorcycle without approved gloves? » Answer : « We are forced by law to cover you, even if you ride naked (that’s when I wondered if she was cute). You may be fined by law enforcement officers, but you will be covered. Today, the only 2 things that would cancel your coverage are alcohol and drugs ». I therefore stand corrected.
I believe Held stuff is TUV approved? Spot on about the rider kit being special. RST kit seems mostly quite decent on the whole these days but I've heard riders say that their race kit is in a different league. Scott used to be good, don't know if they still are?
Yeah, pretty sure held is tuv. I can only call it how I see it. Most of the mainstream off the peg readily available non Uber expensive products aren’t amazing. This is where the likes of rst have excelled as the likes of Astars (for example) knock out their mainstream stuff for a pretty hefty sum living off of their name, the rst race dept stuff is as good as this and often cheaper, especially on the race programme, it’s a bargain really. However, despite the fact it’s got loads better, and is probably ‘good enough’ now, I still wouldn’t wear it. The amount of rst kit I’ve seen blow open, rip, come apart from going down the road is enough to put me off. But, it’s made to a price point and it does that very effectively. It’s more often than not knackered after one crash. Some might argue it’s done its job?! Not wrong perhaps but it makes an argument for buying the more expensive option if it’ll last 5 crashes instead of 1 or 2… People think that because they’re buying Dainese they’re buying quality.. but their normal stuff is nothing like the top knotch stuff. It’s like buying a Nissan micra because the Nissan gtr is good.
I use Dainese kit but my newest and I feel, best quality leather jacket is made by Goldtop. It feels lovely, fits me well has proper knox armour and smells great too! I have had three accidents throughout nearly 43 years riding; one wearing jeans when riding a CB250N two-up and we came off on gravel. Cracked a rib but my Levi's held up well. Second when standing still at a t-junction 200 yards from home riding a XT250; went to pull away and slid straight over, black ice! Put my knee into the side of the tank but my Levis's were fine, the black plastic over-leggings mind you were not. Then I had a proper accident; riding a Night Rod, car failed to stop at a roundabout and swiped me. Helmet branded Harley (actually made in Italy) did the job well but was toast. My Dainese leather jacket was in one piece but badly scuffed all down the left side as were my Dainese leather jeans. No seams split and I had no road burns or bone breaks. My shoulder was badly banged about and I was bruised all over it seemed but my kit held up. Make of it what you will but I still choose to wear Dainese armoured jeans both denim and leather. My helmets now are Simpson, LS2 and Bell (which is my favourite and I feel very well put together), so far no need to test any of it. I did have Hein Gericke one-piece leathers which fitted me well and felt like they would hold up in the event but pleasingly, I never tested them. So the point you ask...I buy and wear what has worked for me and I suspect many folk will be of a similar mindset. I'm not sure price plays in to that.
I'm sure they are good but I'd rather the extra few quid that the fancy packaging costs went into the product itself, but then that's probably a bigger more general issue I have with how things are marketed. I worked in a bike shop and we used to see all sorts.. the two big challenges we used to get was around the fact that a £60 helmet got 4 stars in a SHARP test and so did an Arai.... this was in the early days of things like SHARP. The thing that people don't account for is the quality of the FIT, a helmet can fit like a bag of crap but be strong, but if your head rattles around in the thing you aren't coming off well, as it becomes a weapon. We used to stand by the fact that an Arai after a year of regular use will still fit within 10% as well as new, where as a £60 yoghurt pot will have completely lost it's fit quality and be a waste of time by then. the other thing was on kit other than the helmet. I used to say to people that even if they ride in pants... which I obv never would and would never recommend, the minimum kit you HAVE to wear is helmet and good gloves, because when you fall over in any walk of life the first thing your body does is stick your hands out to try and break the fall. and quarter of an inch under your palm are all your nerves for your hand.... you make your own choice. the thing is in 2004 when I was in the shop, we didn't have the ranges of completely mesh but protective jackets etc that are out there now, there's no excuse now, you might need to have a summer jacket and a winter one, but in the grand scheme of things it's so worth it. We also never had ANYWHERE near the quality of armor as there is now, like the D3O and totally flexible stuff. We did have the embryonic Airbags, which people laughed at, mostly brands like IXS where they were tethered to the bike, but again I'm so glad these are becoming mainstream now.
Yep agreed. They’re widely considered the best gloves you can buy though so I’ll forgive them the packaging.
They’re not the worst gloves I’ve worn to be fair. The worst was rst track tech evo which I busted my wrist in twice before I stopped being a cheap skate. Closely followed by alpinestars gp pro which are also made out of paper. compared to those, the Knox are amazing
I used to like my Handroids but now I have glove envy and I think my dick has shrunk a little just from seeing those Held gloves - and then seeing the price!
I went down the road in a brand new pair (Knox Handtoid). It’s funny what goes through your mind as you slide down the tarmac- but I distinctly remember thinking ‘fuck, brand new gloves!’ My fingers were stinging when I jumped up but the gloves were miraculously unmarked! Like magic gloves Its that kangaroo stuff on the palms see…
I’ve had full detailed conversations with myself when I’ve been cartwheeling down the road. Funny, it’s like slow motion isn’t it
