nm6r
08-23-2006, 08:00 PM
We just got our 2 piece Aerostich Roadcrafter suits and gave them a try today for about 50 miles in 90 degree (plus and minus a couple degrees) weather.
I will preface my comparisons with what we have been wearing for gear. First Gear HT mesh overpants with liners in the winter and wet weather, without liners in the summer. Joe Rocket Phoenix 4.0 mesh jackets in the summer and Motoport Spyder jackets in the winter and long road trips where we might encounter cold and/or foul weather.
We wore our Motoport jackets on our recent 4600 mile road trip. We were glad we did when we encountered cool mornings and rain. We were seriously baking when the temps got close to or over 90 degres. These jackets have no ventilation at all. We would put the pants liners in when in the rain.
The Roadcrafter 2 piece suit is zipped together. Getting into it and out of it is really pretty easy. It has a stiff feel to it as it is brand new. It looks neater than our previous gear as it's a better fit. Especially for Hope. It felt quite comfortable on the bike, better than just walking around. I attribute that to the new stiffness. It got uncomfortably hot when running our errands in town. Mesh would have been warm but much more tolerable. It was very tolerable on the freeway when we could get some air flow. I think we would have been just fine on a long ride. Much warmer and we would have needed our cooling vest on and a Camelbak bladder in the back. That would have been the case with mesh too.
The construction of the Roadcrafter clearly offers superior protection by far to our other gear. The general design and workmanship is excellent. There are pockets everywhere. We needed to figure out where to put our commonly carried stuff in the new pockets. The sleeves open to allow air flow up the arms, there are underarm vents and a large vent across the back. The pants allowed some air flow up the legs by leaving them loose at the bottom. I tried opening the zipper from the bottom to around my knee. Initially, this felt pretty good, then it became uncomfortably warm.
The Roadcrafter jacket can work well by itself. The pants cannot. They are made to be held up by zipping them onto the jacket. They do sell what is essentially suspenders so the pants can be worn alone. I see this whole arrangement being a PITA for major restroom stops. A PITA for Hope on major and minor restroom stops. Fortunately, it easy to get in and out of.
I think on a short ride, running some errands in town in 90 degree or higher temps, we will opt for the mesh gear. On any long ride, playing in the twisties, or less than 90 degrees we will opt for the 'stich.
I will post an update when we have more mileage on the new suits.
Any questions are welcomed as well as advice or tips from other Roadcrafter wearers.
Ray
http://www.frontiernet.net/~st1300rider/smile04Bikerwheelie.gif
I will preface my comparisons with what we have been wearing for gear. First Gear HT mesh overpants with liners in the winter and wet weather, without liners in the summer. Joe Rocket Phoenix 4.0 mesh jackets in the summer and Motoport Spyder jackets in the winter and long road trips where we might encounter cold and/or foul weather.
We wore our Motoport jackets on our recent 4600 mile road trip. We were glad we did when we encountered cool mornings and rain. We were seriously baking when the temps got close to or over 90 degres. These jackets have no ventilation at all. We would put the pants liners in when in the rain.
The Roadcrafter 2 piece suit is zipped together. Getting into it and out of it is really pretty easy. It has a stiff feel to it as it is brand new. It looks neater than our previous gear as it's a better fit. Especially for Hope. It felt quite comfortable on the bike, better than just walking around. I attribute that to the new stiffness. It got uncomfortably hot when running our errands in town. Mesh would have been warm but much more tolerable. It was very tolerable on the freeway when we could get some air flow. I think we would have been just fine on a long ride. Much warmer and we would have needed our cooling vest on and a Camelbak bladder in the back. That would have been the case with mesh too.
The construction of the Roadcrafter clearly offers superior protection by far to our other gear. The general design and workmanship is excellent. There are pockets everywhere. We needed to figure out where to put our commonly carried stuff in the new pockets. The sleeves open to allow air flow up the arms, there are underarm vents and a large vent across the back. The pants allowed some air flow up the legs by leaving them loose at the bottom. I tried opening the zipper from the bottom to around my knee. Initially, this felt pretty good, then it became uncomfortably warm.
The Roadcrafter jacket can work well by itself. The pants cannot. They are made to be held up by zipping them onto the jacket. They do sell what is essentially suspenders so the pants can be worn alone. I see this whole arrangement being a PITA for major restroom stops. A PITA for Hope on major and minor restroom stops. Fortunately, it easy to get in and out of.
I think on a short ride, running some errands in town in 90 degree or higher temps, we will opt for the mesh gear. On any long ride, playing in the twisties, or less than 90 degrees we will opt for the 'stich.
I will post an update when we have more mileage on the new suits.
Any questions are welcomed as well as advice or tips from other Roadcrafter wearers.
Ray
http://www.frontiernet.net/~st1300rider/smile04Bikerwheelie.gif