PRODUCT REVIEW – BILTWELL GRINGO LE HELMET
As the new wave custom scene blossoms, there are a number of companies that have cottoned on and started gearing their products towards this expanding market. Biltwell are different, they grew out of the scene. Their products are designed from the bottom up for builders both shed and professional, and those who ride their custom machines. They are the real deal.
Founded in 2005, the Biltwell crew rebelled against the excesses of the conventional custom scene and the mainstream motorcycle corporations. Growing up surfing, skating and falling off BMXs gave them a healthy disregard for authority and the established rules of the game. They set out to make quality, practical products that represent good value to those who share their ethos.
“Forget the fashi
The Gringo has become the benchmark retro-styled full face lid, and in my mind the orange version is the standard against which all others are judged. Not content with dominating the field with their prime coloured lids, they have released a series of gorgeous Limited Editions.
The Limited Editions come in the classic Gringo shape, in four terrific designs:
Scallop in Orange/Black and White/Red;
Spectrum in blue graduations on a sparkling flake electric blue, and Spectrum in black with red through orange to yellow graduating stripes.
These are unashamedly seventies inspired, with more than nod to the halcyon days of Barry Sheene, Evil Knievel and Eddie Kidd.
The Gringo is a basic, but comfortable lid. The shell is constructed with a seamless injection moulded ABS outer shell with a hand painted finish. The fit is true with a hand sewn removable brushed lycra liner with a quilted diamond stitched open cell foam padding. The chin strap is lined with brushed Lycra for added comfort. It meets DOT safety standards but is yet to be European certified. The sizes run from XS through to XXL.
Each one of these helmets is exquisite, and after much deliberation I went for the black with coloured stripes. It’s going to run up some miles this summer.
PRODUCT REVIEW – HUIT WOMEN’S ORGANIC SLIM FIT RAW DENIM
REVIEWED BY THE BIKE SHED’S MATRIARCH VIKKI ‘THE DUCHESS’
REVIEWED BY THE BIKE SHED’S MATRIARCH VIKKI ‘THE DUCHESS’
I had the pleasure of test riding a pair of Hiut! I’m going to be honest, I hadn’t heard of them until the boys said these jeans are a must have for any worthy biker chick, and who am I to argue?
Hiut’s motto is “do one thing well” and they certainly do, coupled with a heap of love. Designed and produced in a small town called Cardigan in Wales, where only 4000 people live and 10% of them used to make denim before the local company closed. A group of denim lovers had this insatiable appetite to bring back manufacturing to their town and so The Hiut Denim Company was born. Using all the skill on their doorstep they breathed new life back into their town.
If that sentiment isn’t enough, The Grand Masters (that’s what they call their sewing machinists) only make 100 pairs of Hiuts a week and you can tell.
The quality of the denim is undeniable; it’s organic and stands at a hefty 12 oz. When you first get a pair, they are stiff and a bit snug (yes I was doing the laying on the bed thing and I had to ask Dutch to pick me up by the belt loops in the vague hope I would just slip into them), after a few days they suddenly morphed to my body.
Hiut only make jeans, they obsess over every detail and you really can tell. It’s great to find a pair of organic raw denim that hugs you in the right places, makes your curves look great and still manages to make you feel long and lean.
I’ve been jealous for years of how easy it is for guys to find good jeans. Especially ones that are thick enough to keep your legs warm, give you a bit more protection on a bike without losing the bits that make girls look great.
Hiuts are built to last, so each pair has it’s own unique number, you can go to their website & tag your history wearing them by uploading photos. Maybe not your thing, but still a cute idea.
So my tips are:
- Buy the size you are and don’t give up till they fit.
- Don’t wash them for 6 months, hard I know but a must!
- Don’t wash them for 6 months, hard I know but a must!
If you want to freshen them up, stick them in the freezer, their words not mine!
PRODUCT REVIEW – DYER & JENKINS “THE ORIGINAL INDIGO CREWNECK’ SWEATSHIRT.
A year round staple for wearing on the bike is the sweatshirt. It can be layered accordingly throughout the year, and can be worn day in day out. The search for the perfect sweat is as relentless as the quest for the perfect pair of jeans. The Original Indigo Crewneck from Dyer & Jenkins is as near to perfection as I’ve found yet.
The Original Indigo Crewneck is an all season sweatshirt made from 9.8oz French Terry 100% cotton. It’s cozy and comfortable, warm when worn as a base or top layer, and light and airy when worn on its own. It’s yarn dyed with natural indigo, and has started to fade like a good pair of jeans with wear. Its detailing is simple and subtle. Unlike so many sweats that stiffen after a few washes, this has retained it’s original softness. It’s cut well in a true to size slim fit, and has retained it’s shape.
Dyer & Jenkins are a micro-producer of denim based out of Los Angeles. They raised their start up finance via Kickstarter and launched in late 2013. Their inaugural range is compact, but delivers a quality line of products for an initial $40k capital investment.
Their philosophy rests on ‘Lean Manufacturing’. ‘Lean Manufacturing’ is the process of eliminating costly and wasteful elements from the traditional manufacturing methods that most mainstream clothing companies use. They are committed to providing high quality, ethically sourced, American made products at a reasonable price.
I have a feeling The Original Indigo Crewneck is going to become a trusty good friend.
PRODUCT REVIEW – COL. LITTLETON NO 48 PHONE HOLSTER
A good mate of mine never gave stashing his mobile a second thought, he’d shove it in the pocket of his leather jacket and off he’d go. That was until the day he lost his front end in the gravel in the middle of the City Road with a sharp turn whilst filtering. He hit the ground doing no more than ten mph, and was absolutely fine except for the two ribs he cracked landing on his phone. A stupid and utterly avoidable injury.
Watching him wince with pain whilst trying to perform even the most rudimental task, like laugh, take a piss, get in his jacket, I hit up Col. Littleton for his No 48 Phone Holster.
Made in supple Roadster leather it has a soft pig skin lining to protect the screen of your smart phone (mine’s actually quite stupid – Siri, he don’t know shit). The belt loop on the back holds it securely to your belt, and it has a simple little opening on the lower left side for the speaker. It comes in three sizes to fit your particular device. The build quality, like everything from the Colonel, is exceptional.
I wear mine on the rear side of my belt, so it doesn’t get in the way when I’m lying flat on the tank pretending to be Valentino. It’s light, comfortable and unobtrusive, the holster fastens securely with a ball stud closure, and I carry a credit card, a couple of notes and my drivers license in with the phone (getting rid of the wallet) when going out for a braaap. It’s actually a perfect fit for the compact Leica camera I’m drooling over but absolutely cannot afford (but someone’s got to take pictures at Wheels & Waves, right?).
The Col Littleton No 48 comes in brown or black.
COTTER PIN – ORIGINAL TOOL BOOK
There are plenty of tool rolls out there, plenty of good tool rolls, but the daddy of all tool rolls isn’t even called a tool roll, it’s a Tool Book. The latest creation from the Red Hook crew is top of the game.
It’s called so because it’s four panels fold up like a book. At 27’ x 11’ open it has enough capacity to house a comprehensive set of tools to get you out of trouble on the road. It’s constructed from tough water-resistant Martexin waxed canvas both on the outside and inside and including all the flaps, and the binding is made from top-quality leather.
Two tough leather straps hold the book together. There is also an integrated zippered pocket for stuff like zip ties, fuses, a clutch cable, cash, sticky plasters for bloodied knuckles, and anything else you may want to slip in there.
It all folds up to a very portable 7’ x 11’ closed, and is bomb proof. This is a really well designed piece of kit, the result of many miles ridden in the vast rural landscapes of the American North East.
GUEST REVIEW FROM WORN TO RIDE http://worntoride.com/ SPIDI WORKER WAX JACKET
Ever since their conception in 1977 as an Italian racing glove manufacturer, Spidi have had a passion for producing only the finest garments with the motorcyclist at the core of each one. The fact that they’re still going strong all these years later is testament to that ethos and the new for 2014 Worker Wax Jacket is a result of their evolution and a throwback to days gone by. At first glance, this jacket exudes elegance and style paying homage to a time when what you wore was as important as the bike you rode.
Fortunately, it still is and this was a key part of the brief given to the Spidi designers; to create a jacket that would mix the latest technology with old tradition, perfect for riding a Bonneville through Europe taking in whatever the elements threw at it.
The designers came up with a removable multi-layer, 4-pocket middle size jacket characterised by a short and slim cut, but something was missing. They needed a fabric that was old in style but new in the way it performed and a chance encounter with Halley Stevenson, a Scottish company who have been producing waxed cotton in Scotland since 1864, was the last piece if the puzzle.
The Worker Wax Jacket also features all the armour you need to keep you safe while the linseed oil treatment will keep you dry for miles and miles. What more could you ask for in a jacket?
via PIPEBURN
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