I am torn between the protection of racing boots (upper calf height) and the comfort and style of high-top motorcycle shoes (over the ankle, inner plastic shell) styles. Does anyone have thoughts to pros and cons to each?
depends on how much walking you plan to do with those boots on.... i normally go for more protection, but if i know that i'll be walking around a lot after i get off the bike, i'll put on my non full length boots.
imo, you'll probably wind up buying two pairs, one full race style and one more casual. its what i did because i realized that i did wind up having a need for both. but if you dont need to walk that much... get the full race style first. it'll let you do everything you want to do on a bike, up to and including a track day. just not as comfortable off it.
1. Both, if you can
2. High only
3. Mid only
[moto]
actual moto boots for me only, doctors can't actually rebuild an ankle
You'll get used to a good pair of " race " Boots .
If it's the look that has you " hung up , " then wear your pants over the top of the Boots.
Some " race " Boots are definitely more comfortable than others for walking.
Dolph [moto]
I appreciate the advice. I found a nice pair of Sidi on Craigslist. Guy was nice on the price too.
I have a pair of Sidi Doha's that I wear when I commute to work, i wear those because I can wear them all day and not have to carry an extra pair of shoes in. For other riding I have Sidi Fusions.
Picked up a pair of the Shift riding shoes and they are high enough but I couldn't get the ankle strap quite tight enough.
Grabbed a pair of the icon chukkas and they are freaking sweet.
(http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac302/droopzanonymous/Stuff/IMG_0364.jpg)
Don't get those gloves thou. Tarmacs in red. Awesomely cool to ride in, which was the idea. But I'd hate to stack in them...
Quote from: Droopz on March 12, 2011, 02:08:44 AM
Picked up a pair of the Shift riding shoes and they are high enough but I couldn't get the ankle strap quite tight enough.
Grabbed a pair of the icon chukkas and they are freaking sweet.
(http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac302/droopzanonymous/Stuff/IMG_0364.jpg)
Don't get those gloves thou. Tarmacs in red. Awesomely cool to ride in, which was the idea. But I'd hate to stack in them...
I don't mean to offend you in any way...but those Boots are more suited for working than protecting your Ankles from permanent damage or even a sprain if you have a go down on your bike at even 5 MPH.
You should really save up if you don't have the $$$ now and get a proper pair of Race Boots that will protect your Foot, Ankle, Shin and Calf ..plus not only lessen your chance of sprains and broken bones , but loosing skin from a slide of 5 MPH or faster.
Ask most any member who has ridden any length of time or has been a member of this Forum for a while and has learned from the experience of others who have leared the hard way.
Just because something looks neat and feels good doesn't mean it protects YOU !
Same with the Gloves...they have no hard armor to protect your Knuckles and are not long gauntlet so there's no protection for your Wrist or the side of your Hand ..and usually the first thing to hit the ground in a crash is your hands.
These items are not about just looks..they are about looks and protection .
Dolph [moto]
I understand and life, as i'm sure your aware is all about compromises.
Firstly, I'd like to reiterate from another thread that those gloves have been on the bike ONCE, before they were thrown into a tool box for mech glove duties.
As for the Icon boots I understand what your saying about the 'twisting' of the ankle in an acco and I agree, but with a pair of the field armor guards, that is the only thing I can fault them on. Since posting that pic I have had a 'step off bike' incident at what i guess was about 30kph, which had me awkwardly standing (very briefly haha) and then rolling, and then standing and then sliding etc... and they preformed very well.
As someone that is involved in motor vehicle cut-outs in a fairly 'hands on' way I understand that what happens to a body in a crash is often as much luck as it is preventative protection. Especially on a bike. So it all comes down to risk management, and as I said, these boots are the compromise I was prepared to live with for my commuting.
I have 'better' boots for the trips or spirited riding where the risks increase and the ability to walk long hours in them reduce.
Got into a bit of a rant there haha. So in closing... Those gloves are sh!t.
i have mid-calf length boots. I thought it was a good compromise. i loosen up the straps when i know i will be walking around. tighten back up once im about to ride
I just picked up the Alpinestars Afrika commuting shoe/boot, and I really like them. They have pretty good heel/ankle/toe protection, and a really stiff sole.
I wear full length Sidi when I'm riding on the weekend, but for daily stuff I wear the Afrikas. They look nice enough to where I don't need a second pair of footwear at work anymore, and they are comfortable to walk around the city in.
Quote from: Turf on February 19, 2011, 07:15:31 PM
actual moto boots for me only, doctors can't actually rebuild an ankle
+1
- I'm not willing to compromise on on footwear knowing that I could end up hobbling around for the rest of my days just because i decided to wear something more daily-wear friendly...
I wear a full race boot all the time and have additional shoes to change into at work.
Full boot. After crashing at 15mph in a nice 2/3 Alpinstar boot and getting a pretty bad sprain that I probably would not have gotten with a full/stiff boot ive decided to switch to full. A harder crash would have wreaked the ankle, I'd rather wreak a knee then feet, too many little bones in the feet.
I recently picked a hardly used (almost brand spanking new) Sidi Vortice. It takes about 2-3 minutes to put on each feet but once on, I hardly feel it's on. Only downside is that it squicks so much (makes a f'n duck sound) :'( Not sure if its because it's knew or not.
But everyday commute, I wear my beat up but one that saved my toes last year during low speed lowside that gashed the front sides of one shoe - Alpine boots. Need to pick another decent everyday boot next.
I don't have much dough, but I try to not compromise on gear.