Commuting gear

[DonJuan]

What do y'all recommend for commuting gear? Does anyone use a one piece oversuit like an Aerostich Roadcrafter, Olympia oversuit, etc...? For years, I've been tempted to buy a multipurpose riding suit that'll hold up to 3 or 4 season weather, not wrinkle my office clothes too much, and provide a high level of protection.

I'm not stuck on the one piece concept, so if you wear something that works and is relatively easy to get out of at the destination, let's hear it.

[Bama_Rider]

I always wore my regular seasonal riding jacket and mesh textile overpants with a removable waterproof/windproof liner.  I used the liner for cold weather.  I carried a full rainsuit on the bike because weather forecasting is not that good and, to me, wearing Goretex gear all the time in warm weather is sweaty and uncomfortable.  I will explain below so you don't have to wade through it here.  I left a pair of shoes under my desk at work so I wore regular riding boots and changed when I got to work.  If you have the body build so that the perfect size above the waist correlates with whatever the onesie manufacturing thinks is the matching bottom half and you don't mind steaming inside Goretex in the summer, I am sure they work fine.  I don't think you are going to ride in Alabama heat wearing a Roadcrafter and not get to work soaking wet with sweat.  As far as I can tell the Olympia suit is discontinued.


Goretex and other "breathable" membranes do breathe but they block wind entirely.   Water vapor inside the gear can not get through the membrane to the outside unless there is a  vapor pressure difference across the membrane.  This means the atmosphere inside your GoreTex jacket, pants, boots, whatever, will always be more humid than the outside air.   This is not debatable.  It's physics.  You can't get flow unless there is a pressure differential.  Whatever the outside humidity, it will always be more humid inside the gear.   Unless it is below 70 degrees outside I can't stand to wear the stuff.  It is always feels clammy right after you put it on and you kind of get used to it if it's not real hot.  When it's hot, its unbearable.  For some reason almost everyone buys the stuff because it's hard to find gear that doesn't have it.  I prefer my waterproof membrane on the outside and only when it's raining.  I have a pair of Goretex summer boots that I wear in the winter because, even with no insulation, they are warm when it's 40 out and just plain hot when it's above 60.

[Chitza]

What's the issue? Wear a dress 🤷🏻‍♀️  They tuck nicely into your riding pants and keep modest as you slip out of the Gear. High heels fit nicely in the side bags or top box, too.

Seriously, I just changed at work. When I was able to ride to work :(

[klaviator]

I have an Aerostich suit that I bought in 1995 for nearly 700 bucks.  A new one is around twice that.  It is super easy to get in and out of but it's not comfortable in the Alabama heat.  It's  OK in cooler weather.  I rarely wear mine anymore.

My commute is only 3.5 miles but I do commute year round.  When it's warm I just wear a mesh jacket, helmet and gloves along with the pants and boots I normally wear to work.  For colder weather I wear a textile jacket and some overpants.  I have some Fieldshear slip-on pants.  They have full length zippers and are super easy on and off.  Unfortunately they are no longer made.

[klaviator]

What's the issue? Wear a dress 🤷🏻‍♀️  They tuck nicely into your riding pants and keep modest as you slip out of the Gear. High heels fit nicely in the side bags or top box, too.

Seriously, I just changed at work. When I was able to ride to work :(

Ride a scooter and you could wear that dress....along with those high heels :D

[LawnmowerRG]

I can wear pretty much anything.
I just suit up in the basement. Then open the door and then push the bike out.
I fire up the bike. Walk over open the door on my truck. Got to hurry cause the heat is building.
Then open the garage door and shut the bike off. Push it back in and take the riding gear off.
Walk out and get in my work truck.

In all seriousness.
I have the Olympia AST 2 jacket. (Now the Ranger) it is intakes all the way down the arms and in the chest. It has vent in the lower back. It is pretty good. I can and do ride in it up to the 90s. At that temp expect to be damp if you stop at all. If you sit at any long lights you will be wet. 

[DonJuan]

I'm getting the general consensus is that Bama heat and humidity does not work well with the one piece over-suit. That's what has prevented me from buying all these years, so it's good to know that my concerns are validated.

I've got a spectrum of jackets, from mesh to leather, and rainproof and insulated.

I've got some Held pants (don't work well over other clothes, but are amazing in all other respects) and some Bilt rain pants.

I think what I'll be looking for, based on the feedback are some mesh pants that have at least 1/2 zip legs so I can wear over clothes. I can pair those with an existing jacket, I guess.

[maydaymike]

I commute from Jasper to Bessemer daily in a one piece Roadcrafter 3. The R-3 is the version without the liner.  It's perfectly fine in the summer as long as your commute doesn't involve sitting in traffic.  It vents adequately as long as you are on the move.

It will spoil you for pretty much any other gear though.  Any of my old jackets (including my Olympia AST-1) feel downright flimsy in comparison.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[Bama_Rider]

I'm getting the general consensus is that Bama heat and humidity does not work well with the one piece over-suit. That's what has prevented me from buying all these years, so it's good to know that my concerns are validated.

I've got a spectrum of jackets, from mesh to leather, and rainproof and insulated.

I've got some Held pants (don't work well over other clothes, but are amazing in all other respects) and some Bilt rain pants.

I think what I'll be looking for, based on the feedback are some mesh pants that have at least 1/2 zip legs so I can wear over clothes. I can pair those with an existing jacket, I guess.

Mine are also discontinued but similar to these.   Full length zippers not only make getting into them a breeze, they make it easy to get into the pockets of the pants you have on underneath when you get all geared up and then remember where your keys are.  Mine unzip from either direction.  I suspect most do.  https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/olympia-newport-pants

[jrou111]

I rode today from my house in N GA down to John's Creek for work, about 120 miles round trip. The trip home showed 110 degrees on the ambient temp gauge. The first 45 mins home was in stop n go traffic...lots of lane splitting and filtering. I'll be honest it was pretty unpleasant. The last 45 mins was interstate and was hot but tolerable.

My summer street riding gear consists of a cheap River Road mesh street jacket and mesh Tourmaster Venture Air 2 pants which unfortunately are both black. They work fine up to about 92-95 degrees, but after that I don't know of much riding gear that's gonna keep you cool. My riding really shuts down in the summer - or at least transitions to more night riding when it's cooler outside.

Edit - you could use the Tourmaster Venture Air 2 pants as 3-4 season pants since they come with both quilted AND waterproof liners that you can use at the same time.

[bblass]

I've got the Joe Rocket mesh Phoenix Ion jacket and overpants. For the money they're one of the most versatile ones out there.

Never had an issue with it wrinkling the work clothes and works especially well wearing shorts & t shirt underneath for spirited summer rides. Not water proof at all but breathes well