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BILT, the new Anti Status Status Symbol?

22 days of hard riding with it in Pakistan, through mud, through a crash with a car, through rocks and water and snow and it has held up.

The only minor complaint is a lack of hip area padding. I had a bruise.

Id call that solid, reliable, and a good deal.
 
Bilt gear - relatively inexpensive and accessible. IMHO, perfect for beginning riders who aren't sure they are going to be riding for 35 years. Is a 'stich better? Of course it is. Still, new riders often crash. Sadly, many haven't invested in even minor gear - often, all their money is spent on the bike and a pipe. I think Bilt gives the new rider an economical alternative to the considerable expense of well crafted safety gear.

Like ICON, Joe Rocket, AFX, etc., I feel the "budget" safety gear is a welcome option for those who simply can't or won't drop $1300 for A'stich, Vanson, Helimot, Dainese gear. After a few years, if the rider is still interested in riding, they likely see the value and upgrade.

I had my 'stich cut off of me in an accident. When the dust settled, I couldn't afford a replacement. Consequently, I bought a tourmaster suit. It's bulky, uncomfortable, barely water resistant and clearly inferior to the 'stich. However, it has saved my skin on more than 3 get offs and it hardly looks any worse for wear. Worth the $299 is spent, you bet! Do I care if Beemer guy in his Trail Guard or Aerostich gives me a disapproving look? Hardly. That said, I truly believe you should buy the best gear you can afford and even save up for good stuff. Next year, I'm getting a Helimot dammit!
 
Goose916 said:
Bilt gear - relatively inexpensive and accessible. IMHO, perfect for beginning riders who aren't sure they are going to be riding for 35 years. Is a 'stich better? Of course it is. Still, new riders often crash. Sadly, many haven't invested in even minor gear - often, all their money is spent on the bike and a pipe. I think Bilt gives the new rider an economical alternative to the considerable expense of well crafted safety gear.

Like ICON, Joe Rocket, AFX, etc., I feel the "budget" safety gear is a welcome option for those who simply can't or won't drop $1300 for A'stich, Vanson, Helimot, Dainese gear. After a few years, if the rider is still interested in riding, they likely see the value and upgrade.

I had my 'stich cut off of me in an accident. When the dust settled, I couldn't afford a replacement. Consequently, I bought a tourmaster suit. It's bulky, uncomfortable, barely water resistant and clearly inferior to the 'stich. However, it has saved my skin on more than 3 get offs and it hardly looks any worse for wear. Worth the $299 is spent, you bet! Do I care if Beemer guy in his Trail Guard or Aerostich gives me a disapproving look? Hardly. That said, I truly believe you should buy the best gear you can afford and even save up for good stuff. Next year, I'm getting a Helimot dammit!
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+1

Strongly agree, except with the "barely water resistant" on the tourmaster, I always got "wet crotch" :laughing
 
planegray said:
+1

Strongly agree, except with the "barely water resistant" on the tourmaster, I always got "wet crotch" :laughing
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Well, you aren't getting any younger, Stephen. What's the best way to solve that issue? Depends. :laughing
 
I'll chime in too.
Gwynn, I totally agree and have had the urge to fire off a thread on the topic myself. Thanx for sparing me a suspension. :)
This has already been said, but yeah....BIlt takes un-deserved and furious abuse around here. It is what it is.....and generally a damn good value for what it is.
I have had too many examples of *quality* gear seemingly dissolve over an unforgivably short period of time with no incident to blame.
Do I deck myself out from head to toe in Bilt gear??? Uh...no.
But I would be lying if I said I didn't have any. Just as with any other purchase, you gotta do your homework and have realistic expectations of your demands and its limits.
 
My BILT boots aren't as comfy as my Sidi's, but they were cheaper. Globalization and Unions be damned. So long as the buyers of this gear don't gloat about their pensions and bloated wages, or bitch when the bottom falls out of their middle class lifestyle, then it's all good I suppose. I already make minimum wage at 47 years old so it's no skin off my teeth buying this stuff.
 
Debadging is often easy. If it's stitched on I cut the stitching and take it off. A nice big sharpie works good to black out white plastic lettering. Done this with Bilt and S&S. My Icon jacket has matching color leather sewn over the logos. My tailor brought it up. Said a lot of Joe Rocket gear gets that treatment from her. I would really even prefer my Dainese stuff wasn't logoed.
 
solarae said:
Debadging is often easy. .
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To the other half of Gwynn's point.....yes, I concur. The badging is an issue. None of us are completely without ego. If Bilt could construct a D.O.T Kevlar/paper bag with eye holes cut out, big enough to fit over a helmet......they would certainly be on to something.
 
I am fat. I am a woman. They have gear in my size. It is comfortable. It did me well when I fell over on my wee yesterday- onto big ass rocks. :thumbdown. The hip padding protected my hip, my elbow and shoulder were unscathed. :dunno Sounds like it did its job.

If people want to judge me by my gear (which is about as cool as judging me by the label on my clothes) then I probably don't want to hang out with them anyway. :twofinger
 
Proof the BiLT brand has "arrived": an actor wore a prominently displayed BiLT open-face helmet in an episode of Breaking Bad.

Lex
 
Yeah, I don't care for the logos, but I am glad that they have provided a solid option for the entry-level and budget gear markets. You can get protected, cheap--which means that more riders will wear gear.

Also, as a woman, I gotta get gear that FITS--and the Bilt stuff fits, because they bother to care about the female riding market. That I can get behind. It also sounds as if Gwynne and the Pakistan adventure group just put their new Bilt gear through a serious adventure-riding torture test, and it passed with flying colors. Snobby as I may be, I applaud Cycle Gear for that. :thumbup
 
Roadstergal said:
Is it EN1621 rated, or the latest technology of Styrofoam?
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9304507762_cf6813ce1f_b.jpg
 
Nemo Brinker said:
Also, as a woman, I gotta get gear that FITS--and the Bilt stuff fits, because they bother to care about the female riding market. That I can get behind. It also sounds as if Gwynne and the Pakistan adventure group just put their new Bilt gear through a serious adventure-riding torture test, and it passed with flying colors. Snobby as I may be, I applaud Cycle Gear for that. :thumbup
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I'm curious about your experience with ladies' gear fit - I bought a pair of Bilt Typhoon boots, and have had a so-so experience with them:

- they are very comfy. for walking around, for riding, I ride to work in them and wear them all day

- I normally wear a size 8, and their size that fits me is a 5

- the size 5 fits my foot, but I can pull the entire boot off without unzipping/unvelcroing

The rest is unrelated to fit, but I figure since I've already started...

- these boots are advertised as waterproof - a wet afternoon on a ride down to LA last fall proved that they are *not* waterproof at all

- I'm on my second pair. After ~6 months, I realized that the seam on the shifter pad on the left boot had completely pulled apart, and went to exchange the boots for a new pair. I got a hard time from the Cycle Gear employee, who told me that those boots were not meant for everyday wear... ? But she exchanged them.

- I am now on my second pair, and the same seam is pulling apart, as well as the seam between the stretch panel at the ankle and the foot (rather than the shin). This is clearly an issue intrinsic to the boot, and I think I'll return them for store credit and order a nicer pair of touring boots.

- That being said, I got a year's worth of wear out of two pairs of boots for ~$100, even though I did end up with wet feet on occasion.
 
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I found the boot sizing large as well. I bought a pair of on sale BILT boots forn$39. I like to hike but not in my MOTO boots so this was a saceaficial pair that I punched a hole in so I could lock them to my bike. Interestingly, the amre the best fit of all my boots.ninsee a different level of quality between this boot and a similar style availableninnthe stores now.

I'm just assuming that we are beginning to see the second and third runs of the same stuff only with issues like you describe sorted out.

My Explorer jacket and pants appear to have survives 18 days of hard riding and multiple crashes along with two cycles through the washer intact.
 
ThumperX said:
I like to hike but not in my MOTO boots so this was a saceaficial pair that I punched a hole in so I could lock them to my bike.
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can't remember if I thanked you for your good advice on my "ride and hike" thread. I drilled a hole in my back protector and now run a cable through it whenever I go for a hike - peace of mind!
 
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