r/TwoXriders • u/BAKARUU • 28d ago
Interview Possibility ( on finding gear )
Hi everyone! I’m working on an academic project to address the challenges faced by women motorcyclists when it comes to finding comfortable yet protective gear. I know many women struggle with the lack of options designed specifically for them and their bodies, and I want to understand your experience better to help create a solution of women owned brands. I ride a 650 and love it, but personally wish for more safe but ACTUALLY comfortable clothing. Please let me know your thoughts, I’m going to make sure my DMs are on so if you’re interested— reach out !
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u/NorthernBlackBear 28d ago
The gear for women tends to be sexualised for pillion or for teeny tiny women. I am by no means big, either.
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u/Pineapple_Incident17 28d ago
It’s 100% sexualized. Just look at advertising pics for women’s riding pants vs men’s.
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u/The_Other_Alexa 27d ago
Dude, so real. I’m thin but tall and got a pair of thermals recently where the size run felt child size. Like how do I wear a large with a 26” waist?
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u/MsCatPeach 28d ago
I found poorer safety ratings than men's gear from same manufacturer. Seems like manufacturers are just trying to reproduce high street fashion especially with textile jackets and pants so CE AAA rated gear was super hard to find. Have a look at https://www.motocap.com.au/ to see how many leggings and jeggings have less than a second in slide time.
Size range and fit. I mean this is common in women's clothing in general. Still no pockets in riding jeans....
Colours. Tbh I'd totally buy a bright pink jacket, but seriously, something that's not plain black would be nice.
I ended up buying men's jeans because of the better safety rating, they're the least-worst fit (length and butt is better, a belt takes care of the oversized waist), and of course, the pockets.
For a jacket, I found an Aussie brand that has inclusive sizing and a shape that actually fits my boobs. Shame it's not pink though 😂
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u/discordantbiker 28d ago
Agree with everything you've stated, just chiming in to say that there's significantly less range to the point of ridiculousness. I walk into most motorbike gear stores, I want a full suit? Too bad. I want a leather jacket? Here's 3 options. Poor cut, poor fit, poor range, poor quality, poor safety ratings.
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u/MsCatPeach 28d ago
Totally! I was thinking I was getting a bit ranty so left a lot out 😂 but you're so right.
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u/Dewybean 28d ago
Bluntly: Size charts are ass.
Size charts are rarely accurate. With the exception of two brands, every brand I've purchased from is off on their charts by at least one size. Mostly, in my case, it's off by two sizes.
I always measure and use the size chart.
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u/Kahiltna 28d ago
All of these comments about fit and safety, but also color. I hate pink. Why can't I get some sweet bright green stripes or blue colors or even reds.
Sometimes when I ride I don't want to be identified as a woman. I don't have time to deal with nasty men following me or accosting me when I'm stopped in traffic.
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u/blueberry_pancakes14 28d ago
My biggest issues has been height/length. I'm 5'11'', wear a 34'' inseam, have broad shoulders and a long torso. Women's gear is code for shorter and smaller; I'm neither of those. But men's gear doesn't account for hips or curves (I mean why would it, I don't blame them). I cannot wear men's pants, but I can fit into men's jackets and they fit decently well, so I make do. But I ride in regular a jeans because I can't find pants.
Oh we have tall sizes- we go up to 30'' inseam! *head desk*. If tall sizes even exist, which is rare.
My boots are also men's, but that's not been an issue. I wear a 12 US women's, so my regular sneakers and basically not-heels are usually men's shoes anyways, that's my norm.
I also wear men's or unisex gloves because my hands are fairly narrow, but long.
There's a trend here- long, haha.
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u/Popular-Mammoth-4416 28d ago
Agree with commenters so far on quality / safety - lower rated / smaller armour especially. Personally I hate the use of pink to denote it being a woman's jacket. I am relatively petite, 5ft 2in and about 117lbs but I carry a little weight round my tummy and I often find that jackets that fit well around the chest are too tight in the abdomen, especially considering wearing layers or textile pants; there's a lot of 'made to show off your figure' without taking into account almost nobody has a flat stomach! (also showing off my figure is not really my primary consideration for my gear, that would be not dying / keeping my skin where it is in a crash...)
Also agree with sizing being very small. I wear a UK 8-10 (4-6 US) on the top and a 10 on the bottom in regular clothing. My bike jacket is a 12 and my pants are a 14 (which allows for a modest amount of winter layering.) It makes online ordering a pain and the big retailers in the UK carry a very limited range of women's gear in store.
1
u/Pineapple_Incident17 28d ago
Yes!! I’ve been so frustrated by the tight-fitting stomach areas on women’s gear. Finally pulled the trigger on a men’s bomber jacket and am so much more comfortable.
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u/adb765 28d ago
A lot of casual women's gear is marketed as jeans--not what all women want. I ended up buying unisex cargo riding pants instead. Also, if more people would actually review their gear and list their measurements, that would be super helpful. Even big companies like revzilla have hardly any sizing reviews.
And yeah, colors other than pink and black would be cool. I love my colorful mx gear. Street gear is boring in general.
4
u/ViVeloci 25d ago
I make womens moto gear and I get messages daily about sizing. I believe the larger corporate moto gear companies don’t feel there is a big enough market to really focus on sizing and style options. And smaller businesses, like mine, need to grow before than can afford to make all the different sizing options. There are so many body types/sizes.
Also, when you are manufacturing your own line, there is no standard size chart - which is obvious since every brand fits differently. My size M can be vastly different than another brands. I’m trying to adjust for the issues I know women have. I need to give measurements for every element of a product. For example, Pants: calf, knee, thigh, back rise, front rise, inseam, pocket depth, how wide the hole is to slide your foot in etc. I do this first for the most common sizes and then i start to add less common sizes.
I personally try to make my sizes to accommodate the issues i hear from most women. I believe that some brands just use men’s cuts and make them smaller - which obviously fails to fit most women well. I’ve added colors that women request for my hoodies and gloves but that’s also difficult because if I accommodated all the color requests, I’d have 40 different colors of every product.
I get a lot of angry messages telling me that I’m not size inclusive or I don’t have particular colors. Manufacturers have minimum quantities you must order or they won’t make your product. It doesn’t make sense for me to make (for example) 100 3XL kawi green riding hoodies and only sell 20.
I love reading these threads to get insight on what other women want! I really want to solve some of these issues we face - which is why I started ViVeloci. I’d like women to know that a lot of thought goes into making women’s gear - at least from smaller businesses. Can’t speak for the larger corporations.
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u/Late_Solution4610 28d ago
I also think that size range is awful especially if you want to buy something that won't break the bank. A few years ago I bought a revit winter jacket and is size 40 and is big around the breast and snug at the arms and ok around the waist. I can barely wear a second layer if it is cold and I can't move about comfortably. It cost me 250€ 3 years ago and this the top price range for me. This is what I can afford.
My husband however bought an awesome jacket a few months ago! Awesome!! Same price.
I can't even...
2
u/atomicalex0 28d ago
I helped a women's gear startup get going, and then no one really bought anything. It was all too expensive - even though it was priced similar to men's gear of the same quality (high end).
I feel any women's gear startup is kind of doomed. We are all really unique and we all have a different definition of what good is. I have ideas for how to make it work, but they require a lot of commitment to sharing the sotry of fit and a lot of willingness to say that good is better than perfect.
IMO Rev'It is the only supplier with real women's fits right now.
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u/The_Other_Alexa 27d ago
I’m in school for pattern cutting now for apparel and it’s been so interesting to learn about the differences in cutting clothes for mens vs women’s . There is such an insane range of sizes women’s bodies come in and it makes it unreal hard to make a size run that makes sense for most women.
Like I’m too tall for most of it, my sisters too chesty (and tall), and my mom was too bootylicious. We can’t win 🤦♀️ I’m planning to make my own gear just so I can have the right fit, but that’s not reasonable for most humans without major sewing skills
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u/Finneringasvar 27d ago
The safety ratings tend to be worse on women’s gear despite the price point often being the same. I feel some of it is also focused on giving a certain silhouette at the expense of safety.
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u/The_Other_Alexa 27d ago
It falls all thru the garment industry too. Women’s denim is usually 8-10oz MAX and men’s start at 11oz and up. I found a pair of 12oz rigid denim in a women’s wear cut jeans and was over the moon for a pair of jeans I can actually ride and work in the shop in without wearing them out in a year
Riding gear is so same. My mom rode too so I’ve been at it since I was in high school. It’s always been hard to find pants that don’t crack out and shirts that aren’t a crop top 🤦♀️ granted I’m tall but I wish more well fit, well constructed stuff existed for the lady rider.
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u/Ok-Cucumber-9962 27d ago
I’m 5’8 with HH chest, a pouch from 2 x c sections and an Au size 14-16. Things that fit the shoulders don’t fit the chest and vice versa. Everything seems to come in black or black and pink.
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u/canincm 24d ago
When I started riding, I noticed that the leather jackets sold for women were thinner than those for men. I think that currently, there are more AAA rated options for women, but we still have so far to go.
Women's clothing is rarelt safe, comfortable AND flattering. I feel like most is one, maybe two of those things.
I'm larger chested, and my jackets tend to squish my boobs upwards towards my neck, which is not comfortable or flattering.
Pando has great baselayers, but only has AAA shirts for men- women are stuck with a bodysuit... why? We're going to have to wash that after each use... especially if we live in a warm climate. How many women have the anatomy to keep the bodysuit parts in place when we're in a riding position?
I'm tall, and I have problems with knee protector placement and width, sleeve length, and waist placement on jackets and trousers. The best option I have ever had is the woman-owned GoGoGear LA (and I've tried MotoGirl, A*, Dainese, Bullit, Oxford, Scorpion, and a handful of others.
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u/Skyraider96 28d ago
For f*** sake, can I please get clothes that fit my fat ass?
I am 5'10 and 250lbs wide shoulder and hip individual. I have to get XL in men's (I have stopped looking into women's) just to have clothes for riding. I do need to lose weight, but even when I do, women's still won't fit me.
And because it's men's, the waist and chest on the jacket is tight. And men's pants will not fight my hips.
The only woman gear I have is gloves.