Commuting in Textiles... what/where to buy?

New to this whole '2 wheel' thing, but I have borrowed some gear to get me going - no-name helmet, no-name gloves, a nitro jacket and God awful yellow waterproof trousers that look like they were dragged off a drunk fisherman...

I'm just going to use the bike (scooter... have to start somewhere...) for commuting at the minute (aren't bus lanes awesome? ) and so I need my own gear. Don't fancy leathers as the commute is only 15 minutes, I'll be in my suit underneath ready to hit the desk, and it's liable to be widdling down the whole way, so waterproof and armoured textile is the way to go I think.

How does the armour work in the textile trousers? If I want to have hip protection, do I need to sew it in there myself or do most have a pocket? Are the hip protectors standard sizes???

I figure I have about £500 - £600 to spend on everything (including a lid). What would you recommend? I'm 6'2 by the way, 34 inch waist and legs, green eyes, and I enjoy long walks and talking til late at night...



Where should I be looking online? Are there any particularly good online shops? What would you recommend?

[ophic]

HG do a good range and have shops all over the place, and online too. I like the way I can see the prices & specs/sizes etc online, make a choice about what I like then go into the shop and try it on. They also have end-of-line sales occasionally, and various special offers. My entire goretex top-of-the-range-but-end-of-line Cruise jacket & trousers cost less that your budget with enough spare for helmet, boots & gloves.

I've just bought a new textile jacket of Ebay for £50 and it's miles better than my last jacket that cost me £180, it's warm as toast and waterproof, has loads of pockets in well thought out places and is perfect for comuting.
At that price you can't go wrong.
Here's the link:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Motorcycle-Waterproof-Textile-Armoured-Jacket-Med-42-M_W0QQitemZ370143362618QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Motor cycle_Clothing?hash=item562e437e3a

Looked at HG, but haven't had a chance to visit a shop yet and try anything on... Will take a wee trip up and see if they have any end-of-line stuff soon.

Shifter, that jacket looks pretty nice for the money - as you say, how can you go wrong... Will take a good look on ebay tonight I think.

No horror stories of people buying gear online which wasn't up to spec?

I can recomend it, I was riding to work in the rain at 7am this morning and actually getting too hot

I have HG textiles and they are great. i have the female "Journey" range, nice cut and fit and good quality.

Hmmm... this HG stuff sounds good... How do you find out about the end-of-line stuff coming up? Just keep your eyes peeled, or is there an email newsletter you can subscribe to?

[ophic]

Originally Posted by mikky

Hmmm... this HG stuff sounds good... How do you find out about the end-of-line stuff coming up? Just keep your eyes peeled, or is there an email newsletter you can subscribe to?

There is a newsletter that I subscribe to, but I can't remember how I did this. Must be on the HG site somewhere.

Originally Posted by ophic

Must be on the HG site somewhere.

*hem hem*

http://www.hein-gericke.co.uk/1/order-newsletter/

[the_lone_wolf]

I've done a few thousand miles in the HG "Tuareg" textiles I bought in August and they've been very good so far - only problem being they got salty on the ferry going to Porlock and the buttons have corroded slightly, other than that they just got a wash 'n' wax and they come up like new

HG also have a very good online size chart that's pretty much spot on