There was a time when good and decent riding gear in India was only available if you were rich enough to buy the gear which was imported from various countries where rider safety is taken very seriously. I remember the time when a rider's jacket, with protection gear would cost upwards of 10-15 thousand bucks in India. well, not anymore.
Many of us (me included till last year) used to consider safety gear to be a good helmet, eye wear to prevent the dust and muck getting into the eyes and a good pair of gloves. A rain suit for those occassional showers and our list was over. Then one fine night, I ended up in a bike crash. Dont ask how or the why but the net result of that crash was that I ended up with 3 fractures and a 2 month stint holed up in the house. I was lucky to escape in the manner I did. It could have been much worse if I was actually on a highway, where there are loads of vehicles coming and going and you are usually riding at a fast pace.
The 2 months in bed gave me ample amount of time to think and re-think the safety aspects of riding. The best option would have been to hang up the riding boots, hang up the bike keys and let the matter rest. Sell of the bike and buy a car (the down payment from the bike sale). But when you are a little crazed in the head as I am, hanging up the riding boots is not an option. I remember the way I had to convince parents and relatives for buying the bike.
Not being able to give up riding was a reason why I invested in the riding gear. Many people might think it is a waste of money but lemme say this "Protection is better than getting cured for fractures."
Although wearing the gear will not make you immune to bike crashes and accidents like Super Man, it will ensure that the extent of damage and injury is reduced/minimised.
There are loads of entreprenuers in India who have managed to fill in the gap for safe, durable and not so expensive riding gear in India. There are three players in the market. I have been able to find only three, who are Angels Racing, Cramster and PlanetDSG. If you know of some more, I would appreciate if you could post the details here so that the readers are benefitted from the info:
Angels Racing
A Pune based enterprise, run by 2 gentlemen, going by the names Bhuvan and Rohit. Although I don't know them personally, I believe that their products could be something to talk about.
I could not find their their website, as it is in the process of being made/uploaded, but their contact details are:
angelsracingonline@gmail.com
Phone Numbers:
Bhuvan Chowdhary : +91 9881445704,
Rohit Paradkar : +91 9822217198
http://angelsracing.blogspot.com
Gear being offered:
Gloves:
4 styles of gloves which basically cover all kinds of requirements.
The B-ZerO : Priced at INR 1,200 (Excluding VAT, Shipping and Octrois)
Textile construction, Carbon kevlar protection on the knuckles and rubber pads on the fingers. A re-inforced palm area to reduce wear. Suitable for city riding
The Carbon : Priced at INR 1,500 (Excluding VAT, Shipping and Octrois)
Mesh construction, Carbon Kevlar protection on the knuckles, Rubber protection for fingers, side of the hand padding of foam and leather reinforcement for the palm. suitable for city riding
Kroozr : Priced at INR 1,650 (Excluding VAT, Shipping and Octrois)
made out of leather, leather kevlar protection on the knuckles, leather reinforcement on the finger and palm, fit for city riding, basic touring
Slipstream : Priced at INR 2,000 (Excluding VAT, Shipping and Octrois)
made of cowhide leather, meant for touring purposes only. carbon Kevlar protection for knuckles and wrist sides. Leather reinforcement on the palm.
Jackets
3 Styles of jackets:
Meshlite - INR 4000
Short Jacket, Mesh Material, adjustable waist, Protection for Shoulders, Elbows and Back, Reflective Piping
Xpdition - INR 5000
Long Jacket, Codura material, Air Vents, Removable Thermal Inner Liner, 70%Waterproof, Waterproof Inner pocket for storing cellphone and documents, Adjustable waist strap, Reflective piping
RC-One - INR 8000
Made out of 1.2mm thick cowhide, with protectors for elbow, back and shoulders, Extra padding on the chest, especially designed for racing, adjustable waist.
Cramster
A Bangalore based company with a website (www.cramster.in) and a product line-up to boot. I mean you name the stuff you need for rider protection and touring, this site has it all. Gloves, Jackets, Boots, Riding Suits, Touring Luggage like saddle bags, tank bags etc etc. The person in-charge is Keerthi, with whom I have had a couple of dealings with. They are pretty prompt in shipping out the orders provided you manage to meet the deadlines otherwise it is next day shipping. Impressive operation with an qually impressive client list. many a die-hard tourers swear by this stuff.
I have personally used material from Cramster like the saddle bags, knee protectors and the Enduro style touring jacket K2K.
The saddle bags I use are the ones which are suited for straight silencered bikes, although there are variants which would fit on the angles silencered bikes as well. amazingly rugged, tough and well made. The material used is tetron which holds on pretty well when it comes to facing natural elements and rough use. Ease of installation on the bike through straps makes it good enough to be put on and taken off the bike in a jiffy.
Loads of storage space on the Stallion variant means you never have to carry another bag on the bike for 2-5 day trips. There are plenty of pockets which can be used to store the water bottle, immediate usage tools for emergencies and the zipper fitted plastic pouch on one side above the main storage area comes in handy for storing knick knacks and documents. Overall, a must for serious riders who like to go off into the Yonder to get away from the maddening rush of city life.
The knee protectors (INR 1300 +shipping and handling) are something which are a must when touring in India. Given the condition of the roads and f****d up drivers, a spill is never too far and if you end up hurting yourself, the adventure/thrill can change into a plaster cast and you would be on bed for a good month or so.
I have personally been a party to such a scenario and hence can vouch for the benefit of using this apparatus. If I had been wearing the knee protectors when my bike crashed, I probably would not have suffered the fracture. Probably an injury would have been the call of the day and I would have been limping around for some days, but not bed ridden with a plaster cast on the leg. It is easy to use the protectors. They are supposed to be worn over the trousers and the Velcro straps make it easy to put them on and take them off.
Yeah, those knee guards do not gel very well with the Dare-Devil Stunt Biker image most of the Indian Bikers like to project but I feel much better if I look like an alien than having to deal with the after-effects of a bike crash.
The jacket is also a good deal for the price mentioned on the website. I had it delivered home for an amount of INR 5800 (inl shipping and handling) and by far, this is the best investment I have had in terms of safety. The jacket is lined with protetion for the shoulders, Elbows and forearm and a padding on the back prevents direct impact on the spine. There is also the provision of using a removable inner thermal liner. This is really effective when it comes to riding in the cold weather. The jacket is about 70-80% water proof and does a decent job of keeping you relatively dry when riding in the rain.
The only drawback in the jacket was in the form of ventilation slits on the arms and the back, which are not adequate for the purpose. Most of the time, when I wore it in august for riding, (minus the liner) it got pretty hot under the collar but not uncomfortable to compromise the riding safety. I guess it is a small tradeoff for the added protection you get in terms of the protective armor inbuilt in the jacket.
The products at Cramster are reasonably priced and not too expensive given the fact that the safety these products offer more than offset the cost implications.
PlanetDSG
From what I could figure out from their website www.planetdsg.com, they offer the high end variety, imported from beyond our borders. The brand they sell most is the Alpinestars, a very well known company from the US of A.
In light of the fact that Alpinestar gear is famous around the world and has proven its durability and reliability, products with tags like INR 3750 for the Alpinestar knee protectors and INR 10,250 for the Alpinestar T-Breeze riding jacket (protectors on the shoulders and elbows, and optional back protector costing extra) are ok. But given the fact that for most of us, shelling out 10K for a jacket which you could wear only for riding is a little too steep.
CONCLUSION
Given all that I have written, it makes sense to buy the Indian products which are not too far behind the imported gear in terms of features. However, personal comfort and vanity factors determine our buying decisions and that is something I respect.
I mean if you could afford to buy a Mercedes, would you want to settle for the Ambassador? Maybe I would, but only coz I love that old buggy :-)
All in all, those who have bought any of these companies' products, Congratualtions on a sensible buy. Be it the Alpinestars range or Cramster or Angels Racing gear or any other brand as a matter of fact, the important thing here is to be safe and ride safe.
Disclaimer:
All thoughts and words in this post are mine and mine only. I am not being paid to write about them, either good or bad. and neither do I nor any of my family members hold any personal interest or derive any benefit from their mentioning.
