Gotta love new gear!

Today our local Cycle Gear had a 20% sale on all apparel. So I took advantage of the opportunity to pick myself up a new Dainese "Laguna Seca Pelle" jacket and G2 back protector




I also picked up a pair of Frank Thomas "Rage" gloves.



I had initially tried on the $799 Dainese Delmar but couldnt justify the extra $400 over the Laguna jacket. I'm a first time buyer of Dainese or Frank Thomas products and I have to say that both companies live up to their reputations for quality. I tried on several jackets from other companies but none of them had that perfect fit like Dainese. I also tried on several more expensive gloves but none of them provided the feel and quality of the Kangaroo leather in the Frank Thomas gloves. Now, I know white isnt everyone's first choice for gear but when you have to ride in constant 90-100 degree temps, black doesnt cut it.

I'm going on a nice long ride up through Mt. Charleston tomorrow and will provide some feedback on the new gear. At this point though, I'm very happy with both purchases.

Its a beautiful jacket indeed, but its gonna be hard to keep it looking that way!

I was very tempted to pick up the white perforated Laguna jacket at Indy, but they wanted $550!! I can get it locally for $400, so maybe when it gets cold & no one is buying white perforated leather....
The Frank Thomas stuff is OK - it is all knock-off gear - they copy from Dainese & Alpinestars & sell it cheap(er). They use decent leather, but the construction (seams & finish) is where you can see & feel the difference. Nice looking gloves, though.

Good choice. I can attest that the Dainese back protector is just awesome. Does its job perfectly....

Nice gear, white looks awesome.......

Frank Thomas is a UK brand and I've bought a few items over the years, with mixed results. On the downside I've had two pairs of FT boots which were both apparently made of paper mache and disintigrated in no time. I even sent one pair back they were so crap. FT fixed them and returned them, but they still fell apart again.
On the plus side I've had FT winter gloves and waterproofs and they've both seen years of hard service and are still going strong. Can't fault them.
So...I don't buy FT boots anymore, but their other stuff is worth a look.

Audrey (who owns Moto Liberty) was running the Dainese/RS Taichi booth at Indy, so I bet she can get what you want - neither brand is ever on much of a discount - both are absolutely top shelf kit.

Well I have some updates on the new gear.

The white laguna jacket is great. My only complaint thus far is the tailoring on the wrists is a bit different from left to right. I can slide my hand out of the right sleeve without unzipping the cuff. Cant do this on the left side. I thought that was kinda strange but nothing to complain about. Overall, I love the jacket. For those of you who said it was gonna be tough to keep clean, you were absolutely right. I would still buy white in Vegas though.

For those of you who suggested that Frank Thomas gear was sub-standard, you were right as well. I went through two pair of Frank Thomas gloves. Both having different fitment issues.

I'm still waiting on the Cortech Adrenaline gloves. The white/black combo is on back order from the manufacturer. I have to say though that Cortech is a pleasure to do business with. Earlier this year I purchased a set of their Accelerator 2 gloves from Parts 411. They ran me about $45.



These were nice gloves overall but I had problems with the the leather on the palm bunching up and causing blisters. I took a chance and emailed Cortech about the issue. Since then they have taken back the Accelerator gloves and agreed to replace them with the Adrenalines, free of charge. I thought that was pretty cool. They agreed to send me the first pair of white/black that comes in.

I had already spent $100 with Cycle Gear on the Frank Thomas gloves and needed something to last me until the Cortechs arrive. I couldnt continue to live with the Frank Thomas gloves because the armor kept digging into my knuckles. When I brought the gloves into the store today, they returned them without question. They had a pair of Held Ninja gloves left over from a previous shipment. This was one of three pairs left because Cycle Gear doesnt normally carry Held products. Since I had heard good things about Held and didnt care for anything else they had I decided to give the Ninjas a try.


Despite their lack of Kangeroo leather in the palm, the Ninjas have a very good feel at the controls. I've only ridden about 2 hours in them so far but I might end up hanging onto these gloves. It depends on how the Cortechs compare when they arrive.

Well, the Cortechs finally arrived and they do not disappoint at all. The fit and finish is top notch. They offer quite a bit of protection too. I havent ridden with them yet but hopefully I'll be able to try them out this weekend.

this pond betwinst us allows all sorts of insults dunnit?...