| Author | Message | ||
     Buell |
Okay - I have a question to all of those women who ride out there: Are you finding it difficult to find technical gear, clothing, etc FOR WOMEN? I don't mean just finding what you want in a Small Men's size - I mean gear that is MADE for a woman! I have so much trouble finding a place that I can go for jackets, boots accessories and I wondered if that is a big problem to any of you out there. I know that there doesn't SEEM to be a lot of women who ride, but there are more than just what is thought, including girlfriends and wives of those who ride. I, for one, would love to have a bigger selection to choose from. I am looking forward to hearing you all speak out! | ||
| Dustyjacket |
At motorcyclecloseouts.com (here in town) my wife got a CLEO jacket by Joe Rocket and FirstGear MeshTex pants. They are very feminine and have curves and all. See my web page. I recently bought her a leather jacket (the VOlatile) at the H-D dealer because she said it was built for a woman as well. | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
Cycle Gear has some womens wear/leathers... | ||
| Csg_inc |
Also try www.olympiamotosports.com or www.revitusa.net | ||
| Buell |
Yeah - but that's my point - where can I GO that has a good selection of women's gear? I mean to an actual store where I can try on the stuff and see if it fits, instead of going to a website, ordering something, and then finding out that it doesn't fit right? Are there any physical stores that I can browse? | ||
| Court |
It's a BIG (pun intended) problem. I met my wife through motorcycling. She's about 100# and the size of a minute. She, when she used to spend time going to Baja' with the Wall Streeters, complained about having to dress like a 12 year-old Moto-crosser. She and a gal friend (President of Oppenheimer) lloked at starting a company but never had the time to move it past planning. Various people have appeared on the scene but they tedn to be the "Discovery Channel "we're 4 tough gals who road 100 miles a day" posuers". Huge opportunity as the moto-graphic changes. We still have a collection of itsy-bitsy Aerostiches that I bought her, she tried on, laughed and hung up. | ||
| Bomber |
as Court sez, it's a market that is hugely underserved -- my wife is still looking to find some pants w/armor that fit -- she had some luck with a number of dealers who, while not stocking much, if any, were willing to order a number of pieces of gear, with the expectation that she'd buy what fit -- could be a route for you to take | ||
| Deltacruiser |
My wife is also about 5'2" and 115. She found that ICON women's gear seems to fit her really well and still looks feminine. | ||
| Court |
My take on it.....from a stictly "business model" perspective is that I don't understand it. I **think**, and defer to Bomber the wiser of the busnoligists here, that if I had potential customers who were already accustomed to paying $900 for a pair of Jimmy Choo or Monolo Blahnik shoes, I'd not let it go unserved. I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me why a woman's blouse costs 3 times what I pay for a suit at Brook's Brothers. Bomber. . . pass the purple acid. Court | ||
| Chainsaw |
I see you're a local Colorado gal. I would suggest going to Performance Cycle on S. Broadway, about a block north of Evans. They carry Women specific gloves and jackets, and are competitvely priced. I think the ICON stuff for the ladies looks pretty cool. | ||
| Lake_bueller |
My local Kawasukonda dealer carries a good selection of ladies ICON gear. But being that I'm in Wisconsin and you're on Colorado, that really doesn't do anybody any good  | ||
| Blublak |
BumbleBuell (my loving wife) is 5ft nothing. And has a heck of a time finding anything that fits her right. In the end, we ordered custom stuff from Vanson for her (a two piece and later a single).. Boots for her are Sidi (very small size, still don't fit exactly right) and Frey Daytonas' (ordered from a place in CA) The Daytonas' fit the best, since they take a tracing of your foot and send a 'semi-custom' boot out. Takes a while and it's by no means economical. Now, if I could only get her to wear them more often while she's riding.. For the most part, you're average 'sport bike' shop will cater to the broadest demographic and have semi-clueless individuals working that area. There is no way they want to carry gear of a non-standard generic size. Sorry for the bad news, but you will have to search for proper fit. It's out there, more and more.. but it's not easy to find. | ||
| Outrider |
Personal recommendation based on both male and female riders I have known. Bite the bullet and either make a trip to Z-Leathers in So Cal or to Aerostich in Duluth, MN or both based on your desired riding outfit. Other than that, do what I do and buy what comes closest to fitting and have it altered. This applies to both leather and textile riding gear. The cost will pretty much be a wash regardless which way you go. However, your selection of textile clothing will be greatly increased if you elect to go with the alteration thing. | ||
| Josh_ |
Hey Court, let me know if you want to part with one of those 'stiches ... My wife digs the Joe Rocket stuff and more and more of the Metric shops I visit carry a nice selection of women's gear (mostly JR and Icon). If nothing else, find a good online place with a good return policy. I bought her 6 helmets on one order and returned the 5 she didn't want. | ||
| Tripper |
you are as bad as my wife. on returns. | ||
| Buell |
Well thanks for the input - I'm glad that I'm not the only one having a problem!!! By the way, are there any women that join in this forum? I am beginning to wonder... maybe there really ISN'T a big market to women and I am just SOL. Just the same, thanks!  | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
There are quite a few... No way to tell from just the profile/screen name and that's prolly a good thing...  | ||
| Buell |
Update for any of you that are still interested - I found a great website! www.newenough.com Check it out, it has women's gear too - I bought a pair of Sidi Vertabrae boots from their clearance for cheaper than anywhere else I could have gotten them... check it out! | ||
| Buellbabe |
I'm female. I bought jacket and pants from Motoport (Cycleport). They are web only I think, but their headquarters are close to me so I arranged a meet. They used my favorite, best fitting jeans to make my pants and get the armor in the right place. They measured my shoulder and elbows to get the armor in the right place in the jacket. The jacket I got is so flow-through that unless it is 80F or above, you need to think about a heavy shirt underneath. I bought zip in liners for windbreaker and a thermal that is good for really cold weather. In the over 90F desert heat, I ride with a long-sleeve wicking shirt under the jacket and stay cool. The whole set-up cost me around $1,000 as best I can remember. I love it. I'm a 5'5" size 18, so my problem is at the other end of the scale. I have very average feet, so boots have not been a problem. | ||
| Glitch |
Try She Rides, I know the owners and they are great people. Also for more things Women Motorcyclist related head to WOW, and Twisty Sisters. | ||
| Ara |
Barbara, I'm interested in those stretch kevlar jackets Motorport makes, especially the GP2. Did you get the mesh version or the stretch kevlar fabric version? Russ |
