[Ani0404]

Hello all

I have been planning to pick up my first riding jacket and was comparing among various brands. Requirements are for weekend rides, one or max 2 long rides in a year. So planning to just have one set of riding gear as multiple ones dont make sense. I have compared between Rynox and Solace.

Solace Sabre Mesh jacket has Safetec Level 2 armour for Shoulders, arms and back. It also has Evo foam chest protectors which are upgradable to Sastec level 1. Has many other small features like a hydration pack pouch in the back etc. The construction is mainly high density polyester 600D as main material with 1000D Invista Cordura for shoulder and elbows.

Similar safeties are available on Rynox Tornado Pro 3 jacket and above which is priced almost similar online (with few exceptions like Knox L2 armour on shoulder, arms etc). Further, it has only pockets for chest protectors which have to be bought separately.

But I hardly found any review online and even this thread hardly speaks about Solace gear. The features seem to be good but I hear none speaking much about this brand. Is it not good? Did anyone buy riding gear of Solace? Any light on this is appreciated. Thank you.

[bhargavd]

Originally Posted by Ani0404

Hello all

I have been planning to pick up my first riding jacket and was comparing among various brands. Requirements are for weekend rides, one or max 2 long rides in a year. So planning to just have one set of riding gear as multiple ones dont make sense. I have compared between Rynox and Solace.

Solace Sabre Mesh jacket has Safetec Level 2 armour for Shoulders, arms and back. It also has Evo foam chest protectors which are upgradable to Sastec level 1. Has many other small features like a hydration pack pouch in the back etc. The construction is mainly high density polyester 600D as main material with 1000D Invista Cordura for shoulder and elbows.

Similar safeties are available on Rynox Tornado Pro 3 jacket and above which is priced almost similar online (with few exceptions like Knox L2 armour on shoulder, arms etc). Further, it has only pockets for chest protectors which have to be bought separately.

But I hardly found any review online and even this thread hardly speaks about Solace gear. The features seem to be good but I hear none speaking much about this brand. Is it not good? Did anyone buy riding gear of Solace? Any light on this is appreciated. Thank you.

Hi Ani0404,

It would be great if you could put up a brief background about your bike and the kind of rides you do to really give you a perspective on which riding gears are suitable.

I use the Solace riding jacket you have mentioned. Its is good for the price and fits me well to keep me comfortable. Have been using it for the last 2-3 months. I have done one almost non stop ride of 250 odd kms (in rain) and it was a good experience. I have the pants that go along with the jacket, both which get rain covers (not a rain liner) which makes them really useful to put them on in a jiffy. The hydration pack pocket is something that has become extremely useful in Covid time. I never carried a water bottle to school and drank from every other tap. Circumstances makes you to change habits, the hydration pack helped immensely here.


Having said that, would I recommend them now? Not really! Riding gear is an investment. I bought the gear thinking I will buy a Husqvarna 250 and mostly use it for short rides around town. At that point wasn't even planning on getting the pants. However ended up buying a used Tiger 800 (yup, crazy cross shopping, story for a later date) and after a few rides realised this is not the the right gear.

You might change bikes and/or would start riding more/faster but you would have already spent 15-20k on riding gear. An expense you wont be able upgrade as easily. I plan to make use of Solace gear (once I upgrade) for coffee runs/taking the better half out for evening ride-so she doesn't complain of spending a lot on the bike and then riding gear, kind of scenarios now.

Better to spend a lot more initially than spending over and over again. Hence think of riding gear as an investment- a better gear will end up making a huge difference if things go south, and if not it will hold up much better over the years and kms. Opinions may differ on this one, but a gear which is tested vs one which is not, is matter of peaceful sleep for the family.

Experienced riders on this forum can advise you better on the brands and types you should buy but to just start off- start thinking the lines of saving yourself from 2 things
1. Abrasion Protection- When you take a slide on the road- Go for the best if your rides are mostly through well laid tarmac doing good speeds while corner carving.
2. Impact Protection- When you fall and break something- If you end up doing more off road trails this is what you need.

In a perfect world, you would have two different riding gears (and two bikes, I am digressing ) for the scenarios, but a lot of brands can you give you the best of both worlds.

Personally I am getting a Bionic Vest and Knee Guard- impact protection which can go under a Jersey/Pants when on trails and under a riding jacket/pants when on roads. Some bits and pieces like hip protection isn't figured out yet. Will use the Solace till the time I save some moolah to upgrade to gore-tex levels. This set up gives me flexibility of configuring the gear as per the planned ride.

If only I had got the Husqvarna

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

Back in the year, 2013 when I started looking for Riding gears there were a few brands and stores available locally. Riding gears were part of trekking and mountaineering stores also.

The following brands were around in Pune, Rynox was just coming up and their riding jacket was heavy as hell.

DSG - Oldest in Pune circle
Cramster - Holed out a pair of leather gloves, their product line-up never evolved
Aspida-Scimitar (Spartan Pro-gear) - Using two jackets, arguably the best local brand in terms of variety and reach
PGS Biking Gears - Seen on Bullet groups
Rynox - They have shown promising evolution of their product line-up

Over a period of time, 5-6 years so many local brands came up. It's difficult to keep track. I'll try to provide a link to all available brands.

RR Gears - Single product wonder, no website yet! RR Riding jacket
Lone Ranger
Raida
Scala - no website but available in popular gear stores
Mototech
Biking Brotherhood (BBG)
XDI
XTS
Solace
Tarmac
Zeus
Viaterra
TBG - been around for long but not seen their products
Bikeratti - Riding jeans but their waterproof gloves are an underdog. Get your D3O armor here

Do share your local brand riding gear experience and product you're using or used in the past!

I have immense respect for Planet DSG and Cramster because they got in the game at a time when motorcycling was just starting to take off and there were no companies catering to us riders. Had they not taken the plunge, who knows what riding gear would have been available to us over the years!

Some of the timelines are blurry in my mind, but to the best of my recollection, I have owned riding gear from
Planet DSG - Owned 2 pairs of their gloves between 2008 and 2010. Also owned their Nero jacket from 2009 to 2014, which was the go to jacket for touring in those day. Due to it's relatively less ventilation, I used to sweat buckets wearing it while going to office. As a result, my monthly expenses on deodorants were sky high! All said, I really loved that jacket and eventually gave it to my brother.

Cramster - Used their TRG2 gloves for a very long time. That was a brilliant pair of gloves and has lasted me longer than any other pair that I have owned. It took everything that could be thrown at it and soldiered on.

TBG - Their gear was a big hit in the Bangalore riding community as it was launched by one of their own. Quality was not very consistent over time, lots of complaints about stitching giving way in a short period of time etc. I bought their full gauntlet gloves to replace the Cramster TRG 2 in 2014 and it didnt even last half as long as the Cramsters. I was disappointed with that, considering that I had paid a big premium over the TRG2.

What I am impressed by is the step up in the quality of the Indian riding gear in recent times. But from what I have been told, the weak point of quite a few of these brands is quality control. Those who can master that will rise to the top.

Originally Posted by Ani0404

But I hardly found any review online and even this thread hardly speaks about Solace gear. The features seem to be good but I hear none speaking much about this brand. Is it not good? Did anyone buy riding gear of Solace? Any light on this is appreciated. Thank you.

I do know two forum members who use Solace riding gear and are very happy with it. Both Added_Flavour and ashwinprakas are super mile munchers are have given Solace products the thumbs up, in memory serves me correctly Mrs Added_Flavour also has Solace riding gear. I had tried out Solace jackets a few months ago and overall, the fit and finish levels were good. Do look up the Riding Gear thread on xbhp, you will find a lot more owner feedback on Solace riding gear over there.

[Avinash_R]

Originally Posted by Ani0404

But I hardly found any review online and even this thread hardly speaks about Solace gear. The features seem to be good but I hear none speaking much about this brand. Is it not good? Did anyone buy riding gear of Solace? Any light on this is appreciated. Thank you.

I picked up both the Sabre jacket and the riding pant (Cool pro mesh V2) and have been using it regularly, much more than I initially anticipated. I loved the fit and quality and the pant comes with velcros at top and bottom of the knee to keep the guard from sliding around. As people have suggested here, please try them on before buying, with and without thermals... The external rain liners are great and held up against very heavy rain as well. The dealer told me that sabre mesh jacket price is going up soon. Will I upgrade to goretex levels later? Definitely. But I didn't have that sort of moolah now and I was very keen on riding hence went with these. In terms of what solace offers, they definitely come across as vfm.

[surjaonwheelz]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

I have immense respect for Planet DSG and Cramster because they got in the game at a time when motorcycling was just starting to take off and there were no companies catering to us riders. Had they not taken the plunge, who knows what riding gear would have been available to us over the years!

What I am impressed by is the step up in the quality of the Indian riding gear in recent times. But from what I have been told, the weak point of quite a few of these brands is quality control. Those who can master that will rise to the top.

True, initial riding gears were heavy and tough. Later, I think the impact areas retained the toughness and rest of the jacket's shell/chassis are made lighter and easier to live with. DSG & Cramster were always bulky for my body type! The Cramster Breezer would have been my first riding jacket, otherwise. Surprisingly Cramster are selling the same line-up ever since and almost at the same price as before.

Most of the components of a riding gear are branded stuff, like YKK zippers, Cordura, CE rated armors, 3M Scotchlite reflectors etc integrated into a heavy duty textile of specific denier count. The weak points are the stitching and QC, as you rightly said. In addition, how true are the manufacturers committed to the specifications? This where brand trust comes in.

Rynox has come a long way by getting their riding gloves CE Certified. Hope more products get certified!

Other evolution are like the inclusion of chest protectors, hydration bag, external rain liner, most of these have become pretty common or atleast provision for them, for example in the Solace Sabre jacket discussed in previous posts.

Ride Safe,
surjaonwheelz

[meetarin]

I just discovered this thread and am amazed at the plethora of information around. I wont call myself a very seasoned long rider but have done five or six long to very long rides plus few breakfast rides since the time I bought my Thunderbird 350x in Aug 2019.

At the beginning itself, I had invested in some protective gear which includes BBG Breeze gloves, BBG Explorer jacket and Scoyco K11 knee guards. Recently I have also picked up a Forclaz Trek 100 waterproof boots from Decathlon. I'm happy with the quality and comfort of my protective gears and they have been good companions throughout UNTIL...

I experienced the extremely heavy rains crossing Dowleswaram Barrage, Rajahmundry over the Godavari while riding from Bangalore to Kolkata last week. Even though I had a rain jacket over my riding jacket (the one that comes with the riding jacket) and a raincoat pant, all my gears were like drenched cotton. It was a stressful and cold feeling.

My question to you guys is - what do you prefer using while on monsoon rides? How do you save yourself from such pour-downs? While the rain jacket gives protection from rain, it's not breathable and water still seeps in through the neck region. I generally use a jeans/chinos and am comfortable that way just lacking up the knee guards over it. The raincoat pant idea was a disaster and was very inconvenient to ride on. The pair of boots while great, just gave up to the water getting in through the ankle and it was literally a puddle beneath my feet. The pair of gloves too gave up amidst such heavy rain.

[surjaonwheelz]

Originally Posted by meetarin

My question to you guys is - what do you prefer using while on monsoon rides? How do you save yourself from such pour-downs?

Easiest way is not to ride in such 'heavy' rains! If rider's visibility is hampered due to heavy downpour. If heavy rains have hit your journey quite early and there is a lot of miles to be covered ahead! Stop over and enjoy a cup of tea/coffee by the road side 'dhaba'

In heavy downpour nothing can save you for more than an hour on your bike, water will find a way inside. An hour is too long in that sense!

Let's get the basics out and your chinos and waterproof trekking shoes out of discussion here. As you said they are comfortable, wear them till you get riding pants and boots later. (I've also used them)

Now coming to waterproof riding gear only God can keep you dry till man invented 'GORE'tex. Look it up! Goretex gear can cost as much as a 'pre-worshiped' motorcycle! But the neck area will always remain a weak waterproofing point. The beauty of Goretex is that it's woven into the jacket and pant material and it's waterproof and breathable at the same time. But it'll take time to buy such top of the line riding gears.

Same with boots and gloves, waterproof (WP) iterations can only save you. Feet being more considerate can bear a full length WP riding boots all day unless you have sweaty feet! You can always carry an extra pair of WP gloves. As WP and breathable at the same time is difficult to co-exist.

The problem with WP liners is that internal liners will get your textile wet and the jacket chassis will become heavy and take ages to dry. External liner may serve you a bit longer but eventually water will start seeping in. All the seams are internally taped to be waterproof but last only a couple of monsoons. That's when they're supposed to replaced but we don't and keep using it for one more ride! In addition, to the effort and time consumed to stop and put on the liners at the first place.

Long story short,
- Waterproof breathable riding gear is not affordable
- Affordable waterproof riding gear is not breathable

So you've to sweat in the rain till you reach that stage!

Note: One can have a million ways of using duct tapes, gum boots, surgical gloves, poly bags etc. jugaads (workarounds) but let's not discuss them here!
/surjaonwheelz

[meetarin]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

Easiest way is not to ride in such 'heavy' rains! If rider's visibility is hampered due to heavy downpour. If heavy rains have hit your journey quite early and there is a lot of miles to be covered ahead! Stop over and enjoy a cup of tea/coffee by the road side 'dhaba'

Thanks for the detailed insights! Looked up Gore-tex and I can see myself away by light years to invest on it
I think the moral lies in the first line itself - DONT ride in heavy rain. Makes perfect sense taking into account the safety aspect. I think I will adopt this advice.

Are riding pants usually water resistant? I understood how you explained the trade-off between breathability and affordability, but is there something which comes within a decent range (say 10K) where I wont have to stop and put the layer on? I feel putting on a rain pant is much more cumbersome that putting on a rain jacket.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by meetarin

but is there something which comes within a decent range (say 10K) where I wont have to stop and put the layer on? I feel putting on a rain pant is much more cumbersome that putting on a rain jacket.

No goretex no waterproof.

Yes, putting on a rain pant is next to impossible, you might just tear it up in frustration by the side of the road.

Suck it up and enjoy getting wet, or sit in a dhaba and have a hot cuppa

[meetarin]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Yes, putting on a rain pant is next to impossible, you might just tear it up in frustration by the side of the road.

I was just saving myself up from the embarrassment. Now that you brought it up, my regular rain pant did get ripped apart during my last ride while I was trying to put it on quickly in frustration!

[kozhissery]

Originally Posted by meetarin

My question to you guys is - what do you prefer using while on monsoon rides? How do you save yourself from such pour-downs? While the rain jacket gives protection from rain, it's not breathable and water still seeps in through the neck region.

Heavy rain - Take a break, why take risk as the visibility will be poor.
Light rain - Good raincoats are the best bet, like what you get from Decathlon with shoe cover. If money is not an issue go for dainese rain gears.
Waterproof gears are not practical for Indian weather, hence my recommendation would be to use raincoat over the riding gear.

[meetarin]

Originally Posted by kozhissery

Heavy rain - Take a break, why take risk as the visibility will be poor.
Light rain - Good raincoats are the best bet, like what you get from Decathlon with shoe cover. If money is not an issue go for dainese rain gears.
Waterproof gears are not practical for Indian weather, hence my recommendation would be to use raincoat over the riding gear.

Thanks kozhissery! I think I will then find out a good raincoat to counter light to moderate rain. Not thinking to invest in expensive rain gears since monsoon rides wont be more than one or two in a year, that too not every year.

[TheVaas]

Originally Posted by meetarin

Even though I had a rain jacket over my riding jacket (the one that comes with the riding jacket) and a raincoat pant, all my gears were like drenched cotton. It was a stressful and cold feeling.

My question to you guys is - what do you prefer using while on monsoon rides? How do you save yourself from such pour-downs? While the rain jacket gives protection from rain, it's not breathable and water still seeps in through the neck region.

Usually the 'wear over the top' rain jackets and pants that come with your riding jacket/pants are of the same size (or half size) as your gear. Some of the riding jackets come with inner-rain liners, but that means you need to put them before you ride (else putting them on in a downpour is going to be a messy affair).

For rain jackets 'over the top' - Viaterra has come up with a great rain jacket called M200 Rain Jacket Pro (please check the specs on their website). There's a slightly cheaper version also but the M200 has good 'rain-protection' feature around the neck. You should check them out.

The other alternative 'middle-class' solution that I used till very recently (with great results) was to buy raincoat jacket and pant from a brand called ZEEL. Go for the one that's called the 'double suit' or something - which basically means there's an inner layer that acts as an additional waterproofing material. I've ridden with it in the famous Mumbai monsoon - and though it gets a little hot, I've been dry as a bone inside. Complete paisa vasool till you upgrade yourself to proper riding jackets/pants/boots.

If looks isn't a dealbreaker, then the trick for rain pants is to buy a size bigger than what you normally would. This would let you easily slide the pant over your riding shoe/gumboots (in my case). Since you'd be seated on the bike the "XL-ness" would be hidden

[nutcracker]

I recently bought a Rynox Stealth Evo riding jacket. Since this is my first piece of riding gear, I really dont know a reference. How would you compare Rynox products to other high end brands like Alpine etc.

Also, got Rynox Urban X riding gloves for Rs. 3500. There are simply too heavy to use to for commuting. Does anybody know any good quality lighter gloves? Maybe something half-finger.

Reading through this thread I see that the general consensus is commuting with riding jackets. But then, dont you always have to carry the jacket with you when you're not riding? Isn't that inconvenient?

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by nutcracker

I recently bought a Rynox Stealth Evo riding jacket. Since this is my first piece of riding gear, I really dont know a reference. How would you compare Rynox products to other high end brands like Alpine etc.

Also, got Rynox Urban X riding gloves for Rs. 3500. There are simply too heavy to use to for commuting. Does anybody know any good quality lighter gloves? Maybe something half-finger.

Reading through this thread I see that the general consensus is commuting with riding jackets. But then, dont you always have to carry the jacket with you when you're not riding? Isn't that inconvenient?

Rynox gear is of good quality, when you bring the price into consideration they are extremely VFM indeed. We have a lot of happy Rynox users on the forum. One option is to wear the jacket when you walk around, or you can just sling it over your arm. You will get used to it in no time.

Even with the gloves, it is just a matter of getting used to riding with it. In fact, the Urban X gloves that you bought are excellent street gloves. Many of us here use half and full gauntlets, which are bigger and more cumbersome to put on. I too started off with street gloves like you have and then moved to full gauntlets around 9 years ago.

Once you get adjusted to using your Urban X gloves, you wont be able to ride without it. Also please do remember, with more protection comes more bulkiness / heaviness that you are experiencing first hand (no pun intended!).