Recommendations for Riding Jeans

I find it very scary the lack of protection with many riders (some shorts & T-shirts around here in town in summer...ouch!!!) I've seen the results too (Not much out of town & on the Motorway either in respect to lots of scooter riders).

As well as Draggin K kevlar neck to ankles I have Knox Armour (Venture shirt, complete spinal armour & knees) leather jacket & boots....full face helmet always.

It amuses me when riders comment on my spinal armour along the lines of: "have you got a bad back?" To which I reply "No! & hopefully I won't get one due to wearing this"

I briefly used "Hood" Kevlar lined jeans but moved them on in favour of the Draggin K Kevlar leggings & sweatshirt. These though not cheap allow greater choice in outer layer.

Vanson leather pants here for any serious ride over 50 miles or overnight. Very comfortable whether it's hot or cold out . I wear a couple of different Patagonia capilene layers depending on temperature, those make the whole experience better as well.

I ride a vintage cruiser. If I get another sport bike I would go two piece leather suit with armor.

I very rarely wear my two piece German "Ergo" leathers because they're too hot most of the time in SoCal and because they have the Power Ranger look.

Having said that, I never venture out without dedicated riding gear. My typical outfit is either a one or two piece Aerostich Roadcrafter suit, or a mish-mash of the Aero pants and one of several riding jackets.

I really liked my old Maple Motorcycle Jeans, selvedge denim, kevlar lined, knee & hip pads etc. But they shrank and so ordered another pair last year - those didn't fit right, sent them back only to get an email a week later that the company had gone belly-up! Never got any replacement jeans or refund

I've tried on several of Revit's line of armoured jeans, but find their knee pads sit too low, no matter how much I fiddle with them, even have a pair in my closet that I have yet to wear a second time because of this.

My go-to for a while has been a pair of jeans from Japanese brand Kushitani, made from some abrasion-resistant fabric that looks like & feels like regular jeans. Last year it took a lowside slide over gravelly road with hardly a scratch to show. Lost Worlds horsehide leather jacket over Knox armoured undershirt took the hit on the upper half, only damage was a scuffed sleeve from the slide.

I also like Icon Hooligan riding jeans - lightweight for the heat of South Asia, and knee pads can be installed or removed from side-zippered access, no need to take off pants to do this, nice feature. However, Icon's finishing quality isn't all that great.

Then I have the Triumph Motorcycle brand riding jeans - knee pads, kevlar lining, looser fitting, comfortable while riding long hours. Swirly design on rear pocket is somewhat underwhelming, so is the jeans material's pre-faded appearance. Wish they'd just gone pure black and selvedge-style indigo, but no, it had to be the 90s faded jeans appearance ... oh well.

I also wear Bohn armoured tights under regular pants, everything from Carhartts to Iron Hearts, and they do the job well. And yes, have gone down wearing them as well, from a bounce on icy New York City street to rock-strewn dirt trails in the Himalayas.

Most recently I picked up a pair of riding jeans from a Thailand company called "Badass Jeans" (yup, Badass, that's their name!). Some of their lineup kinda look like fellow Asian brand Ugly Bros - skinny stuff which I cannot carry off - but the one I picked up is looser fitting, kevlar lined and has the outside zippered access to knee pads like Icon's, which I find really convenient.

Of course, for multi-day Adv trips I pull out the Triumph Navigator suit or the Revit Defender Pro goretex suit. But these are overkill for everyday riding, and I ride most everyday, most everywhere. Also, Revit's mesh riding pants (and accompanying mesh jacket) is a big relief when I ride down from the hills to the plains of India during the long hot summer months.

Kushitani EX413 Country Jeans are made of leather that's been embossed to look like denim. This is what I'd get if I wanted a pair of riding jeans.



Here in Melbourne I regularly see riders in shorts and a t-shirt. I wouldn't want to have an off in that combination!

I just wear 5.11 brand heavy canvass pants and call it a day.

I often wear Draggin Jeans with Kevlar in the main sliding areas.These have pockets for armour at knees and hips. Full Kevlar are very heavy, nearly as heavy as leather. You can now buy full length Kevlar leggings so you could wear Levi's, Wranglers or any decent jeans and still be protected. But having tried these they would be very hot in the summer months

http://www.roadskin.co.uk/shop/mens...th-knee-hip-armour-pockets-with-elite-armour/

I also have a full Dainese matching two piece, plus a vented Dainese mesh jacket that zips to the other trousers. One thing about Dainese suits are many of the different sizes have the same length joining zip so you can mix and match the sizes to a point, though they do change a little in length between the largest and smallest waists.

IXL said:

I just wear 5.11 brand heavy canvass pants and call it a day.

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Wear what you want really, we only had jeans and standard black leathers in the 1970s so I can't condemn anyone for what they want to wear.
This is normal wear for Spain and Portugal etc.

Well.... I am peeking down the raw denim rabbit hole. I had a few beers and ordered a pair of Bravestar 21oz. jeans. They had a black Friday sale. Got them for $100. Way more than I have ever spent on a pair of my "dad" jeans. Hope they fit my "dad" bod. lol. Should get them in a week or so.

roadking04 said:

Well.... I am peeking down the raw denim rabbit hole. I had a few beers and ordered a pair of Bravestar 21oz. jeans. They had a black Friday sale. Got them for $100. Way more than I have ever spent on a pair of my "dad" jeans. Hope they fit my "dad" bod. lol. Should get them in a week or so.

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As long as you're moving away as far as possible from this...

...you're good.

roadking04 said:

Well.... I am peeking down the raw denim rabbit hole. I had a few beers and ordered a pair of Bravestar 21oz. jeans. They had a black Friday sale. Got them for $100. Way more than I have ever spent on a pair of my "dad" jeans. Hope they fit my "dad" bod. lol. Should get them in a week or so.

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I don’t think you will be disappointed. I have a pair of their 21 oz jeans and they were a great buy.

I think a double knee workpants is also ideal for riding, double layer on thigh and knee, usually a straight fit so you can wear shin protector underneath without showing in the silhouette, usually has functional deep front pocket that won't crush your mobile phone when you sit.

I still havent found a heavy raw jeans that fit great on my waist and hip with functional front pocket, even 2 years later the front pocket is largely useless, feels like the edges trying to peel the skin of my hand everytime I use it
those front pockets only become functional when the jeans is 2 size too big

Best thing I’ve ever found for riding ‘legs’ is as follows:

Draggin K full Kevlar long John bottom or equivalent.
Knox Tubular knee armour and armoured shorts over that.
Whatever you like stride/pant wise over the above.

Works for me

I was looking for a thread to drop this in and I guess this one will do. CianoFarmer are offering 30% off today. I’ve never seen them do a sale like this before. The duck canvas work pants and chinos are really good for riding.

https://www.cianofarmer.com/

Well, the USPO finally delivered my Bravestar 21oz jeans the other day. After I opened them up, I asked myself, what have you done? I told myself, no more drinking and buying stuff online. LOL. These things were crazy!! Crazy stiff!!! I thought they would be a little heavier, weight wise. I was expecting something stupid heavy. These were STUPID stiff.

Somehow, I have to see if these things fit. The denim was not cooperating very well. They took about 5 minutes to pull up, not because they were too tight, because they were too unyielding! After fighting for about 5 minutes to pull them up, I COULDN'T button them. Another 5 minutes to take them off and out to the garage to get a screwdriver. I read somewhere to reem the hole with a screwdriver first, so thats what I did. It worked and loosened up the denim enough to barely work the buttons. Another struggle to get the jeans back on and buttoned up. I was actually surprised they fit. I got the straight fit and had enough room to put my hands in my pockets. I guess I am going to keep these suckers.

I did a temporary cuff (not super easy), and decided to go to a secluded park and try and start the break in process of these crispys. I was not ready for a public appearance yet. After a 3 mile stroll, the back of my knees were hurting. After I got home and struggled to get the jeans off, I had blood blisters on the back of my knees. LOL.

The next day, I was planning to go downtown for some Christmas shopping and dinner with my daughter and I wanted to wear my new threads. I decided to do a cold water soak in hopes to loosen them up some and make them "wearable." I soaked them in cold water for about 2 hours and hung them to dry overnight in the bathroom. The water was kinda yellowish after the soak.

I checked them in the morning and they were still damp but I wanted to wear them anyways, and did. They were just SLIGHTLY more manageable after the soak. But, no pain, no gain. I got my tape measure out and did a 2" double cuff. Wore them on the blustery streets of downtown Cleveland and they performed well. I think they stopped the wind quite well, so hopefully they will work well on the scoot.

This is day 4 and I am able to wear them without problems. I am actually quite pleased with these and am already looking forward to my next pair of raw denim. I doubt I will go back to my old standby Levis anytime soon. These things are kinda fun to wear and break in. Now I have to work on my "honeycombs" and "whiskers".

I thought they would be a little heavier than what they are. I took out my scale for @Hh121, and compared them to my standard 550s. The Levis weighed in at 28oz (1.75lbs.). The Bravestars weighed in at 45oz (2.812 lbs.). I am including a pic of them I just took, trying to show the stiffness of this denim. Overall, I think this will be a fun experience.

For longer trips I'll wear armored leather, but when I want to wear jeans I put on a pair of Forcefield bottoms underneath them. Then I can put on any jeans I want on top and feel like nothing can harm me from the waist down.

I'm not one to spend money to experimenting with clothing materials.
I've stuck to double front Carharts.
Wind doesn't flow through like my 501's.
Being a fair weather rider, I stay away from rain and when the thermometer drops below 50F.
I have a pair of heavy steer Langlitz with Bonneville waist band, but too stiff to move in, even though well broken in.

ProteinNerd said:

just wondering what everyone does regarding pants for riding?

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I wear jeans from Oregon State Prison.

Here ya go

I wear Diamond gusset Defender jeans, with Bohn Armour underneath.
https://www.gusset.com/defender
They fade real nice and are very comfortable, but never been down to test them.
I also like Wrangler Riggs Gusset crotch jeans for work wear from Rural King. Also a great winter time comfortable jeans.