New riding kit, what have you bought lately and why?

[Ditchfinder]

Bought some noise cancelling earbuds a few weeks back as the office was getting noisy with work being done in the office above us.

Anyway turns out that in Active Noise cancelling Mode they work very well at reducing wind noise on the bike.

Had to use a balaclava to stop them falling out when I put the helmet on, I guess a skull cap would work just as well.

One's I got were these ones https://www.amazon.co.uk/TOZO-Cancellin ... B085NPCQLT. I got a 15% discount off the price so keep an eye out for codes but i'd say they were worth the £40 easy.

Nice low profile so not uncomfortable, you can tell they are there but they don't hurt. Lots of silicone buds included to help you get a decent fit. I can hear the bass tones of the bike engine and a little bit of wind noise but it's easily 50% quieter if not more.

I discovered it's so much more relaxing to ride without so much noise but also you need to recalibrate your aural speedo as I found myself 20mph faster without realising

Haven't tried with music or nav directions yet on the bike but will report back when I go for a longer ride. Sound quality in normal use is pretty good and on a par with my sony over ear headphones with good but not boomy bass and good clear midrange.

Going to try Android Auto to see if I can get voice commands to work on the bike too but I think there will be too much noise for it to pick up from the mic. There's no way to pick up a call without pressing on one of the pods so if OK Google could be made to work then all boxes would be ticked. Maybe you can set Android to auto pick up calls.......

Battery life is only 7 hours in NC mode when playing audio (it will probably be less that that in real life) but I think it will be longer if you don't have music streaming and are just using the NC with say Nav directions. They come in a little case which is a powerbank and can charge the buds a few times too.

[Beancounter]

Also bought a pair of Rev’It Discovery H2O:

Have used the boots a few times now, for a couple of hours at a time and some thoughts come to mind.

1. I have quite chunky calf muscles so regularly find velcro shin closures have to be pulled, almost stretched, to get the two pieces of material to meet at the top of the boot. This is slightly exacerbated by the lumpy boa retention system though the shin 'flap' is designed with this in mind. The net effect is that the boot closes but the velcro doesn't overlap 100% and can rub on exposed shins. It's not enough to bother me but may well do for someone else. Rev'It have at least used the soft velcro on the flap facing the skin.

2. The boa closure is very comfortable. At first I was sceptical because I have Fizik cycling shoes that use the boa and they're uncomfortable to wear after 15 minutes. I can only assume it's down to the padding in the tongue (thin on the cycling shoes, thick motorcycle boots) and also the spread of the boa across the top of the foot and shin compared to the cycling shoe which is simply on the top of the foot.

3. I'm normally a UK size 9. These boots are a UK 9.5 and thick socks are a no-no. Again, not an issue for me but might be for some else. This is similar to my other previous Rev'It boots so I guess the general rule is half a size up on normal at least. I'm not a wide fit and the boots fit snuggly.

Overall very happy with the boots with one caveat - I haven't tried them in rain yet. They look like a cross between a road boot, an adventure boot and a walking boot. No cheap nasty plasticy zips, a decent grippy sole, flexible enough to walk in but with more support around the ankles than my old TCX Baja wannabe-adventure boots.

[weeksy]

This looks like it might be a misadventure, I emailed today to ask about any update as I'd had no dispatch notice.
They told me they were in the post and should take about a month! I paid £20 postage for a pair of small gloves and it takes a month! Urban Rider charge the same for jackets and get them to me in two days.

I'll think I'll give these guys a miss in the future.

Quick update - I had a moan at them and they responded very quickly and sent them out via Express delivery, they arrived today and I'm back to being happy again.

In the end the customer service was very good, which is nice because occasionally things happen but if they get put right very quickly then it makes all the difference. So they're back on my recommended list

And how are they ?

[Ditchfinder]

Bought some noise cancelling earbuds a few weeks back as the office was getting noisy with work being done in the office above us.

Anyway turns out that in Active Noise cancelling Mode they work very well at reducing wind noise on the bike.

Had to use a balaclava to stop them falling out when I put the helmet on, I guess a skull cap would work just as well.

One's I got were these ones https://www.amazon.co.uk/TOZO-Cancellin ... B085NPCQLT. I got a 15% discount off the price so keep an eye out for codes but i'd say they were worth the £40 easy.

Nice low profile so not uncomfortable, you can tell they are there but they don't hurt. Lots of silicone buds included to help you get a decent fit. I can hear the bass tones of the bike engine and a little bit of wind noise but it's easily 50% quieter if not more.

I discovered it's so much more relaxing to ride without so much noise but also you need to recalibrate your aural speedo as I found myself 20mph faster without realising

Haven't tried with music or nav directions yet on the bike but will report back when I go for a longer ride. Sound quality in normal use is pretty good and on a par with my sony over ear headphones with good but not boomy bass and good clear midrange.

Going to try Android Auto to see if I can get voice commands to work on the bike too but I think there will be too much noise for it to pick up from the mic. There's no way to pick up a call without pressing on one of the pods so if OK Google could be made to work then all boxes would be ticked. Maybe you can set Android to auto pick up calls.......

Battery life is only 7 hours in NC mode when playing audio (it will probably be less that that in real life) but I think it will be longer if you don't have music streaming and are just using the NC with say Nav directions. They come in a little case which is a powerbank and can charge the buds a few times too.

OK so bit of an update after using them on the commute for the last few days.

Cannot get OK Google to work with helmet on even if stationary so no good for answering calls. Can't seem to use auto answer on Android 10 either although there might be an app for that. Although if the mic isn't picking up 'OK Google' voice quality is going to be poor.

Putting helmet on with balaclava is no drama but when taking off you need to be careful they don't pingfuckit This isn't a problem until someone starts talking to you with your helmet on and you can't hear a thing without taking it off as you can't turn the ANC off

Looked into remotes for controlling volume and play pause and there are some aimed at remote controlling Android head units from the steering wheel which could be made to work and still wouldn't allow toggling of the ANC.

Conclusion is that I think they work great at reducing the wind noise and for Google maps directions but nothing else. I'm tempted to look at some wired ones with the mic on an inline remote that I could fix near the chin on my helmet which would allow toggling of the ANC but then we introduce weather protection into the mix

[weeksy]

Just ordered nearly £1000 worth of gloves. I've still not found a pair of gloves for track and using my track gloves yesterday showed me i really dislike them. So i've got 7 sets of gloves on their way from Sportsbikeshop.

[Mr Moofo]

Wore my cheapo Ducati Branded Arai Chaser for the first time yesterday - and it is great fit . And i even like the look of it (now)
The half tinted visor thing is a tad annoying - and noisy ...

[Skub]

Just ordered nearly £1000 worth of gloves. I've still not found a pair of gloves for track and using my track gloves yesterday showed me i really dislike them. So i've got 7 sets of gloves on their way from Sportsbikeshop.

[weeksy]

Just ordered nearly £1000 worth of gloves. I've still not found a pair of gloves for track and using my track gloves yesterday showed me i really dislike them. So i've got 7 sets of gloves on their way from Sportsbikeshop.

Well 5 pairs arrives, 5 x NO.

There's a couple of potentials in a different sizing, but they're all basically a NO as they stand.

[Ditchfinder]

I have a real problem with gloves too, I have short fat fingers and relatively small hands so end up needing a large so the circulation isn't restricted at the base of my fingers but then end up with a crease on my palm and fingers that are too long

Only the stretchy fabric street type gloves have fitted so far but they are useless in the wet.

[weeksy]

Another 4 pairs today.. LOL.

However, we're absolutely happy with 1 set.

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorc ... rod/486022



Sadly for me, they're more than i wanted to pay for gloves ideally. But as they really do fit beautifully, i think i'll have to bite the bullet and keep em.

Return raised for the other 1000 pairs to send back to Sportsbikeshop.

[Hot_Air]

Spidi makes beautifully finished gloves

And the splash of red goes with the colour of your eyes after an evening on the beers

[MingtheMerciless]

New gloves time, my old ones are beginning to shed plastic bits , look a bit frayed and are probably 10+ years old. I always like alpinestars gloves, though on this occasion their sizing was a bit skewed (had to go for XL, normally L).

I find they take a while to bed in, but once that happens the fit is fantastic, it’s not helped by my somewhat wonky little finger.

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[Skub]

That finger wasn't watching for the doors and corners.

[MingtheMerciless]

That finger wasn't watching for the doors and corners.

The other little finger is actually a bit shorter due to a door! This one is wonky due to a rather nasty infection and 3 tendon flush ops in 7 days ( I have pictures but apparently they make people ill).

[Skub]

That finger wasn't watching for the doors and corners.

The other little finger is actually a bit shorter due to a door! This one is wonky due to a rather nasty infection and 3 tendon flush ops in 7 days ( I have pictures but apparently they make people ill).

The protomolecule will fix it for ya!

[Supermofo]

The Shoei was posted back today and as I'd decided to buy a lid I've bought this. Hoping it fits like my current Shark as Helmet City don't do free returns, but my Arai, my current Shark and the Shoei all fit in Medium so fingers crossed.

So wore this for the first time last Sat and again yesterday. I'm a bit odd as like to wear my old lid for the first few rides so I can do a back to back comparison with the new one. My old lid was a Shark Speed R.

First impression was 'wow' it's so much quieter! It also feels a fair bit lighter so less neck strain. Fit was good, bit tighter than the old one but you'd hope so. Drop down visor was a bit more fiddly to operate as the slider is in the middle at the back rather than on the side. So had a few moments where I was flailing around trying to find it but that'll come with practice. Chin vent isn't up to much, top vent works fairly well.

All in all for £220 quid I'm well happy with it.

[Supermofo]

Ordered some of these back in Nov as they were discounted from £180 to £100 and looks like they are still that price. Wore them for the first time yesterday. They are to replace/go alongside my old Bullit SR6 jeans.

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorc ... rod/430315

Main attraction was that they were mainly single layer (they are reinforced in some areas) but AAA rated. First impressions were they are less warm than my SR6's which makes sense as the SR6 are double layered for 60% of the jeans. However in summer hopefully that'll make them more breathable.

I had to go down a size from my usual so 32 instead of 34 waist. My SR6 are size 34 and they are too big for me without a belt. I might sell them actually as being loose isn't ideal. Overall fit is much better than the SR6 too which were fairly baggy. I went with the straight fit which is fine for me. The Coverts also come fitted with level 2 armour which is nice. I had to buy D30 armour for my SR6 separately, having said that the Bullit armour isn't as soft so bit more noticeable on the knees but not un-comfy.

And last weekend I got to see them crash tested when my born again mate slid off on a roundabout. He had a house key in his pocket which punched it's way out through the material, I never have anything in my pockets so should be ok and I dread to think from the position of the hole how he'd have felt if it'd punched in rather than out The outer of the denim though was fine where he slid with not even a mark on them which was reassuring. His glove had a big scuff on and his jacket forearm went through. So hopefully the Bullit's should do their job in an off to an extent. He did say he thought the knee armour moved but that's always gonna be an issue in denim without getting something completely skin tight.

So overall I'm happy with them

[Horse]

a house key in his pocket which punched it's way out through the material, I never have anything in my pockets so should be ok

Don't have anything in your pockets that you're wouldn't want a surgeon to have to cut out.

[weeksy]

a house key in his pocket which punched it's way out through the material, I never have anything in my pockets so should be ok

Don't have anything in your pockets that you're wouldn't want a surgeon to have to cut out.

Where do you propose we carry things then ?

[MrLongbeard]

a house key in his pocket which punched it's way out through the material, I never have anything in my pockets so should be ok

Don't have anything in your pockets that you're wouldn't want a surgeon to have to cut out.

Where do you propose we carry things then ?

Saddle bag.