frank thomas 1 piece

[twowheels]

i was thinking about buying a frank thomas leather suit but i wasnt sure if it was a good choice, any ideas on what brand i should buy?


http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=3&L2=&L3=&L4=&item=FTL_FTL260BZ38_G&tier2=47

[V4]

there are quite a few BARFers that are happy with the Frank Thomas/ Cycle Gear brand but my suggestion would be:

try the suit on and then go sit on your bike or at least have a seat on a chair and get into riding position and then take notice how the suit fits you....

many make an error of putting on the suit and stand there looking in the mirror checking the fit....while this can work , the true fit comes to life when on the bike where some people find out too late that a backprotector won't fit properly...too tight in the shoulders....too restrictive in the chest...pants sleelves doesn't line up right....armor doesn't position correctly...etc

and if possible, try on 2 of the same size...just like jeans, sometimes the same size can have a slightly different cut so one can be loose/tighter than the other...


g'luck...

[Sidewalk]

Buy the best you can afford...


..which is why I have one. I couldn't afford a $2000 custom made one, but I look forward to the day I can. Until then, I drag knee at the track with what I have. Been down a couple of times without damage, but only low speed low sides.

[Coffae]

Saved my butt at least 5 times and is still kicking. Very think and well made suit!

One thing though. It is a heavy suit (at least the one I have) and it can get a little warm in there. However, wetting down my shirt before and during a track day will keep my temp in control.

I agree fit is real important too. Mine took a little breaking in--but it fits like a glove now.

[Tof-Corey]

I am unhappy with the zipper on my frank thomas jacket. The zipper tends to seperate after I eat a large meal. This concerns me a bit, and would like to see a heavy duty zipper placed on frank thomas gear.

[34robert]

I Use my Frank tomas and ive low sided and fliped with it on and there really is no damage.

[kxmike]

My FT suit split open at several seems after a 50 mph low side.:mad

Cycle gear gave me a 100% credit for it....and I used it to upgrade to an Alpinestarts suit :thumbup.

[Hooli]

I have two Frank Thomas suits. One I highsided in back in 2003 and it's still holding up fine. Good value, but next year I plan on getting a custom suit, either Helimot or Zooni. ;)

[34robert]

Mine is fine after i lowsided this weekend.

[McBride61]

One of my damn magazines that I have rated it #1 suit in 2006. Above all the normal name brands. I was surprised, a friend bought one, went down at Infineon at over 100 mph and only had one little whole in the side. He said he slid forrrrever. what ever fits the best and feels thick.?!?

[DarkNinja75]

To me, Frank Thomas feels like the economic brand. It's priced reasonably and of decent quality and comfort, and if you need the gear, Frank Thomas will work. However, there is better stuff out there, but appropriately it's more costly.

[pbenzone1969]

my friend has one and went down 3 times on it at a pretty brisk pace. no holes. i would buy those!

[Ratters]

Eh, I gave mine away. Alpinestars is much more comfortable. And when it came time for the track I got a Spidi which was even more comfortable and did a great job in a 110mph lowside at the track. Just wish they didn't cut it off me. :cry Definitely will get another.

[jboat]

I had one lowside and one highside in my old Frank Tomas suit and other than scuffs it held up great. I'd recommend their stuff to anyone on a budget...

Heck, I even sold it to a local AFM'er (Oldcat) who as far as I know still wears it to this day...

[RCJonB]

I went with the full suit this weekend at cycle gear, for 399 you can't beat it, plus they threw in some kangaroo full gauntlet frank thomas gloves that they were blowing out for 69 bucks!! Ridiculously good deal I had to get it. Might want to check that out if anyone is in the market for some great gloves.

[Aluisious]

there are quite a few BARFers that are happy with the Frank Thomas/ Cycle Gear brand but my suggestion would be:

try the suit on and then go sit on your bike or at least have a seat on a chair and get into riding position and then take notice how the suit fits you....

many make an error of putting on the suit and stand there looking in the mirror checking the fit....while this can work , the true fit comes to life when on the bike where some people find out too late that a backprotector won't fit properly...too tight in the shoulders....too restrictive in the chest...pants sleelves doesn't line up right....armor doesn't position correctly...etc

and if possible, try on 2 of the same size...just like jeans, sometimes the same size can have a slightly different cut so one can be loose/tighter than the other...


g'luck...
The armor has to fit well while you're standing, not just when you're on the bike.

I've had people try to tell me "it will fit when you're on the bike." I don't need armor on the bike...I need it when I'm ragdolling down the road.

[Sidewalk]

I had a reasonably hard impact Sunday with my one-piece on. While I wasn't exactly going fast as I was going into a corner on an NSR, it was still a hard impact. I landed nearly dead on my right shoulder with a minor impact on my head. I hit hard enough that after getting my ass off the track to be safe I had to sit down to kind of do a self check to make sure I was okay.

I haven't really checked the damage myself yet. My team mates didn't make any mention of suit damage, nor did anyone else. I was in an endurance race and was the next rider on the bike after the wreck.

I am damn glad the shoulder pads work. My shoulder was hurting pretty bad on my drive back home and even worse the next morning. By Tuesday it was feeling better and now I barely notice it at all. The suit did its job well and I am happy.

Wreck was caused when I was going into turn 1 at Willow Kart track (fourth gear) as I was being passed by a faster SM bike. Problem is the NSR carries a lot more corner speed and the SM rider parked it in the corner. I went through hoping to cut the corner tight and go along his inside but he turned sharper then I expected and I plowed right into him while in the process of low siding the bike (front brake while leaned in, made the wreck less painful). The other rider was fine, I was back on the bike in about 30 minutes, duct tape fixed the bike enough to finish the race :D

[AkatomboR6]

there are quite a few BARFers that are happy with the Frank Thomas/ Cycle Gear brand but my suggestion would be:

try the suit on and then go sit on your bike or at least have a seat on a chair and get into riding position and then take notice how the suit fits you....

many make an error of putting on the suit and stand there looking in the mirror checking the fit....while this can work , the true fit comes to life when on the bike where some people find out too late that a backprotector won't fit properly...too tight in the shoulders....too restrictive in the chest...pants sleelves doesn't line up right....armor doesn't position correctly...etc

and if possible, try on 2 of the same size...just like jeans, sometimes the same size can have a slightly different cut so one can be loose/tighter than the other...


g'luck...

very good advice even if you're just buying regular pants...
i got a pair of jeans from BR, looks great, but i can't sit in it :cry

p.s. your avatar scares me :cry