This week’s Guide features the Hedon X The Bike Shed collaboration helmet, a tailoring service that turns your favourite jacket and jeans into full protective motorcycle wear, a robust wool jumper to keep you warm on your steed, some terrific indigo died and screen-printed Ts for the summer, and a great wax cotton vest.
HEDON X THE BIKE SHED COLLABORATION HELMETS.
The Bike Shed are excited to announce the launch of two new collaboration Special Edition helmets with our friends at Hedon. One is a retro inspired matt helmet featuring the colours of our classic The Bike Shed logo with a matching brown leather interior and trim with brass fittings; the other is gloss stealth black/grey featuring our BSMC logo with black leather trim and interior with black fittings. Both designs are based on the Hedonist helmet.
I’ve had a Hedonist for well over a year now, and it’s terrific. It has a very slim profile and a snug fit. The leather interior is incredibly comfortable and breathes well, so even in the Southern European heat of last summer’s Wheels & Waves my head remained cool. The sound insulation is exemplary, which matters when you’ve got loud pipes and Tinnitus you don’t want aggravating. These are excellent helmets.
Hedon is a two person company of Lindsay Chong and Reg Flint. They design and assemble the helmets themselves in their West London studio. They make their helmets to the highest of standards in limited numbers, and their products sit at the luxury end of the open face helmet spectrum, combining luxury and uncompromising safety standards. They believe “...when form and function come together seamlessly, style is effortless.”
These are ECE 22.05 certified, meaning they are road legal for all of Europe and the UK.
Both helmets are available to buy at next weekend’s Bike Shed Show at London’s Tobacco Dock, and then in our new online shop.
Lifestyle images by Ben Curwen.
PRODUCT REVIEW BY THE BSMC’S VERY OWN ROSS SHARP – SHACKLETON EXPLORER SWEATER
As a bonefide Brit with over 30 winters under my belt and having the body temperature control capability of arthritic lizard, I can confirm that I know a thing or two about being cold. I’ve ridden across The Alps in January in vented gloves, water skied in the North Sea without a wetsuit and once even dared to go out on an English “summer” evening without a coat.
On these and pretty much every other shivery occasion the thing I lacked, apart from sense, was the correct gear. Sir Ernest Shackleton was no such fool. A century ago, before plastic, Gore-Tex, Thinsulate and 12 volt under-crackers had even been invented, Ernest and his hardy crew set off to explore Antartica and have a butchers at the South Pole. If you don’t know the story write to your school and make a formal complaint about your incompetent history teacher, then click the link above.
Inspired by this incredible feat, The Shackleton has produced a line of products replicating what Ernest and his gang would have worn. Using photographic archives and scrutinising research, these garments have been made to the same exacting standards. Now, before you go thinking “Oh here we go, another hipster twit utilising sepia-toned adventure to pedal some old toot“, stop right there! Company founder Simon Middleton has staked his livelihood on producing proper British-made goods, not something imported with a Union Jack hastily stitched on, and subsequently takes the sourcing of raw materials and labour very seriously.
The Explorer Sweater is made from 100% British wool in a mill ooop north where skilled loom operators still exist. It took Simon months of scouring the land to find a company that still used the old looms and techniques, one of the last in the country. The search was well worth it as the quality is instantly obvious.
I trialled the sweater on a two hour ride to Silverstone, a place known for it’s lack of protection from biting crosswinds, wearing only a cotton long sleeve tee underneath; and a leather jacket of course. It was 9 degrees out, not exactly Arctic I know, but for me that’s pretty flipping chilly and I arrived perfectly comfortable and enjoyed a day free from chattering teeth. The roll neck is just the right length to negate the need for a scarf and doesn’t interfere with one’s beard or make you look like a necklaced Kayan lady.
The knit is incredibly warm given its lack of bulk, I was expecting a space suit feeling garment but The Explorer isn’t super thick and rolls up easily into your bag if required. The other surprise was the softness, I can wear this against bare skin without feeling all itchy and scratchy.
The cut is generous without being billowy so those of you selling tickets to a gun show will have no problem. For everyone else it means that you can fit a couple of layers under and ride unrestricted. Or as you will see form these photos, try to hide how well you have wintered. You can also ride without dealing crack to your mates as the split hem comes down far enough to cover your belt line in the prone position.
If you’re looking for well made gear that’s suitable off the bike as well as on The Shackleton Collection could be for you. Rather than a chunk of the unit cost being made up of marketing spend in glossy mags and high street rent, these garments are instead good old fashioned quality made by people in a comfortable factory where tea breaks involve biscuits, using wool from sheep called Geoffrey, George and Charlotte, sold by a man who drinks ale with a handle.
To order this sweater and check out boots, jackets, scarves and other products click here.
RUSTE PROTECTION TAILORING SERVICE
“Tailored protection for your favorite clothes. You’ll look good and stay safe on every ride”
Ruste Protection have come up with an ingenious idea, you send them your favourite garments and they turn them into protective motorcycle wear. Instead of trying to look good in over keen technical bike wear, you can send them a jacket or pair of jeans and they will bolster them up for you. They use Kevlar and Coolmax to turn them into fully protective motorcycle gear without changing the way they look.
Their expert tailors sew protective material into your jeans or jacket. They will be comfortable, safe, and no one will even know that you’re wearing motorcycle gear.
As the world’s strongest fiber, Kevlar® is frequently used in motorcycle gear. Safety tests have shown that it’s the best material to use in riding apparel. Unlike many kevlar jeans and jacket manufacturers, Ruste only use authentic DuPont™ Stretch Kevlar®, which is lightweight, flexible, and incredibly strong. It’s unique knit protects your skin from the excessive heat of friction during a fall.
They use Coolmax® fabric between your skin and the kevlar to help you stay dry, cool and comfortable. Coolmax is a performance fabric that has been used in athletic clothes for many years. Coolmax pulls moisture away from your skin and helps the air to circulate, keeping your body dry and cool.
Every pair of jeans and jacket receive customized protection. The kevlar is fitted specifically for your clothes, ensuring that they are fully protective and extremely comfortable. The kevlar covers the most vulnerable places in your body, while leaving space to keep the clothes flexible and comfortable even on long rides. Ruste use thread made of kevlar for stitching together the protective material. So if during a fall your clothes rip apart, the kevlar will stay in place and protect your body.
If you want even more protection against impact, Ruste can sew pockets for protectors into the knees, hips, elbows, shoulders, and back.
The tailoring process takes 1-2 weeks, plus shipping time. So your perfectly faded pair of Edwins and your beloved Carhartt jacket can now be made fully protective. Genius.
KURT’S INDIGO DYED HEMP T SHIRTS
Kurt’s Amsterdam makes high quality hemp t-shirts with modern designs, that are durable and produced locally by real craftsmen.
“Making clothing should be done with passion and love for the product, the design and the environment. Our dream is to make a product that is sustainable, has a unique design and that is made locally with real craftsmanship”.
Kurt’s have launched a Kickstarter for their latest hemp t-shirt collection. Silkscreen printed and natural indigo dyed in The Netherlands.
They explain: “We took a deep dive into the old techniques, fibers and production processes and found the answer in hemp, natural indigo dying and silkscreen printing. Hemp is a long forgotten and truly sustainable fiber that is comfortable, strong and breathable. In our opinion it is the perfect material to make clothing. In silkscreen printing and natural indigo dying we came upon the workmanship we were looking for.”
The Kickstarter campaign offers three types of t-shirts:
a) A plain Kurt’s keeps it simple – this t-shirt consists simply of three components: hemp, organic cotton and a tiny bit of lycra. Add a pocket to it and you have a stylish basic.
b) An indigo dyed Kurt’s is dyed by hand in a big barrel, full of natural indigo. In this way the t-shirt will turn completely blue. The combination of hemp and organic cotton, gives a deep and rich color effect, like it has been worn for years.
c) A printed Kurt’s is “…like a painting on a t-shirt.” Kurt teamed up with the Dutch design house ‘Paapje’ to crete the designs. These artworks are all silkscreen printed by hand, piece by piece. They use water based, low-impact textile ink for this process.
You can choose from a collection of 13 styles, some in light blue, others with a dark blue color. These make a welcome alternative to all those skull and flying eagle t shirts you have clogging up your wardrobes.
PRODUCT REVIEW RED CLOUD COLLECTIVE – WAXED CANVAS REVERSIBLE VEST
A few months ago we reviewed Waxed Canvas Fitted Work Pant from Red Cloud Collective, and they’ve already earned their money giving me a winter and spring showers worth of warm dry riding. They’re rugged and waterproof and getting even more handsome with wear.
Now’s time to take a look at their waxed canvas vest. It’s a classic 5 pocket reversible vest made with the best quality materials. 10.10 oz waxed canvas on one side and 24oz Melton Wool on the other. The wool side has pocket with a snap and the waxed canvas side has pockets that can be entered from the side or above.
It can worn either side out, and can be worn under a jacket or over one, to add that extra layer of warmth and protection against the elements. This works really well in the spring/summer, where it can be stowed in your backpack during the day, and slipped on at night over/under your jacket to deal with the cool night air.
Like everything Red Cloud produce, this limited run vest is constructed to the highest standards by hand in their Portland workshops. It’s available in Havana, Olive, Brush Brown and Black, and will just get better with age.
Red Clouds Collective is a group of individuals whose lifestyles and creative energy inspire the products they create.”We have been working with a group of friends, artists, and professionals to create a series of products that make sense in their lives.” All products are handcrafted in Portland, Oregon USA. “They are the wind beneath our wings. “
Uk lifestyle shots by Ben Curwen.
via The Bike Shed
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