Over Pants For The Daily Commute

[slo-ride]

My office has a strict dress code requiring, among other things, dress pants. No jeans. :angry2: So, I ride to work wearing jeans and boots then change when I get there. Then I change back into jeans and boots for the ride home after work.

There has to be a better way!

So, I've been googling around and discovered overpants. Tourmaster makes some as does Aerostitch and others. They are quite pricy but I'm willing to pay if I get what I want. What I want is something that can be worn over my dress pants - comfortably - and gives me good protection should I end up in a skid. I don't have to have all that body armor. I'm looking for good wind protection, durability, reflectivity (3M), all at a reasonable price.

I wear a 34 waist with 36 inseam. Do I purchase that size or one size larger to make room for my dress pants?

Suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[C&C]

I wear Joe Rocket mesh overpants and they are okay (a little over a hundred dollars if I recall correctly). I generally wear 34/34 jeans and bought the Joe Rocket XL (which fits but is kind of baggy; if done again, I would get the large). I think there was a thread already posted on this, you might try a search for other responses.

 

[Ignacio]

Most any will do, however it's hard to go wrong with 'Stich products. I regularly wear khakis, dress pants, or occasionally a suit under My AD1 Pants and Darien Jacket to work or other events. And I wear the same pants on things like the Iron Butt Rally. One gets used to the extra 45 seconds at home and work unzipping the sides and shucking the pants.

As for sizing, call and they'll hook you up with a telephone consult with people that actually use the products.

The only thing I keep at work is a pair of dress shoes that takes the other 45 seconds at the beginning and end of the day to swap with motorcycle boots.

 

[Capt. Bob]

This is what I wear Clicky

Meets some of your desires but falls way short on price but........

They are very easy off and on.

Durable??? I think so

Armor? Can be removed.

Can be custom made to fit just you.

Good luck.

 

[automag928]

Joe Rocket Alter Ego pants for me...Wear them over shorts if I'm out riding, or khakis if I have to work.

 

[zip]

Watching this thread with interest. I've got much the same issue with my daily commute here in Boston.

I just bought a pair of Fieldsheer Mercury pants, and I'm not necessarily thrilled with them. I've been wearing a pair of Goretex rain pants from LL Bean, but figured I wanted more protection than those. The Fieldsheer pants are heavy, stiff, and don't fit all that well for me (opposite of you: 36 x 34). Their suggestion was to order XXL Tall. Waist is too large and length isn't long enough. Knee pads are very stiff and tend to pull the lower legs up even further.

Overall quality of the pants is decent, but the fit ain't great. These pants will be better for touring and riding when it gets very cold, along with the quilted liners.

 

[luvtoride]

Overpants are the most versatile piece of gear that you can have in the gear closet IMO. I am presently wearing a pair of Honda sport touring overpants that I bought off of Ebay for 1 song & 1 dance. I will not be trusting them in the rain past a light drizzle by nary a stretch.

I had a pair of First Gear overpants. They worked well, were very waterproof & fit rather loosely. Any overpant is going to wrinkle whatever is underneath somewhat, though. Are you ok with that?

I think that I may possibly try try the Aerostich Darien overpants next... but not sure.

Be aware... The Aerostich Roadcrafter line is form fitting... & especially in the leg department. If I were going to buy Aerostich, I think that I'd buy the Darien pants (AD-1 or AD-2) because of the leg issue. These are shell pants & are unlined They will require an additional layer if you intend to wear them in really cold weather.

The First Gear Overpants have a removeable quilted liner that comes with them.

 

[luvtoride]

For the person who has issues with waist too big & length not long enough would probably benefit from the customization of the Aerostich line of cycle clothing.

 

[paulie]

If you have a long-ish commute and have to deal with bad weather, you can't beat the Roadcrafter suit, IMO. It really does go on and off in 15 seconds once you get the hang of it. I wear office clothes under mine, no problem. If there are times when you just want pants, I would consider (am considering) the Roadcrafter two-piece. I find suspenders important and the Roadcrafter pants have an optional zip-in suspender bib. In terms of sizing, follow the instructions on the website and you'll get one that fits. If you don't like the fit it can be altered for $50. They are NOT form fitting - plenty of room underneath for a suit, if that's what you wear to work. Only downside I have found is that they are spendy.

 

[luvtoride]

So Paulie, are the legs tight as hell? I tried a pair of the Roadcrafters... waist fit but legs (in the calf area) were WAY too tight & I didn't even have boots on or begin to layer. Believe me, the Roadcrafter was the suit that I wanted... but with the leg situation I had to reconsider.

The RC is form fitting.

 

[Toecutter]

This is what I wear Clicky

Meets some of your desires but falls way short on price but........

Pales in comparison to the price of skin grafts.

And there's a very reasonable one in the classifieds right now....

 

[paulie]

I can only give you my experience - the legs have plenty of room in them. Since you are basically ordering a custom suit you can ask them to make it with more room in the legs. If you've looked at the size chart on the website you'll see that each size overlaps a bit on the next size. I ordered the larger of the two sizes that I fit in and am happy with that choice. Once I put the bike away for the winter I am going to send the suit back to get the legs shortened a bit, but that's not really a fit issue. Also, I really like the folks who answer the phone at Aerostich - they know what they are talking about in terms of fitting a suit.

 

[Geezer]

First Gear HT overpants are comfortable, actually sized to fit over your clothes, and mostly waterproof. I wore them for a couple of tears until I out grew them.

I use Joe Rocket Balistics now. They are not as well made as the HTs, but they fit me a little better and are not as warm as the HTs.

I also bought a pair of Olympia Patrol pants for the cold weather. They are very warm, so warm that I have never used them. Oh well.

I don't think you are going to wear overpants and still get to work with fresh creases and no wrinkles in your dress pants, so if that is a concern your best bet is to stick with your strategy of changing when you get to the office.

 

[Foxhuntr]

I wear the Tourmaster Venture pants, which come with an insulated liner for those frosty winter mornings. I commute 35 miles year round. The Venture pants are waterproof in heavy rain, and the large size is big enough to handle the liner and dress pants for me (32-30), although they are too long in the leg. In warm weather I switch to my Tourmaster mesh pants.

Like others have posted, I keep a pair of shoes at the office to change into out of my boots. I've also found it prudent to keep an extra pair of pants and shirt here in case I get caught in a rainstorm when I'm not wearing my waterproof gear.

 

[wfooshee]

I've been riding with Tour Master Venture Aire over a year now. They come in short and tall as well as regular sizes, so those flagpole legs shouldn't be an issue. By themselves are quite comfortable even in the summer, and they have a waterproof liner and a quilted liner for the cold days. I've worn them down to 25 degrees, which is about as cold as it gets around here. About 140 bucks online. Similar is the Venture, which is not an open mesh, but 35 or 40 bucks cheaper.

Crash tested at about 30mph, bruised my hip but no knee injury or skin injury. Pants held up, still wearing them.

At work, my jacket and pants fit in the Givi topcase, helmet and gloves in the sidebag. Other sidebag carries a rainsuit. Don't have to drag the gear into the office, except my boots.

Get the size you'd get for your clothes, not bigger. They're made to go over clothes that size.

I wear no-iron cotton slacks to work (dirt cheap at Sam's Club) and the overpants don't mess them up.

 

[cougar8000]

I wear Joe Rocket mesh overpants and they are okay (a little over a hundred dollars if I recall correctly). I generally wear 34/34 jeans and bought the Joe Rocket XL (which fits but is kind of baggy; if done again, I would get the large). I think there was a thread already posted on this, you might try a search for other responses.

+1

Joe Rocket has perforated over pants that I wear over my dress pants or jeans. I wear size 32-33 pants and Joe Rocket size M and fits just right.

 

[johnny80s]

+ 1 on the First Gear Overpants.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Aerostitch 1-piece suit does it all until the temps are above about 80 for me. Expensive but plenty get sold used.

As for just overpants, read the reviews at www.WebBikeWorld.com There's a huge selection.

 

[slo-ride]

I've been riding with Tour Master Venture Aire over a year now. They come in short and tall as well as regular sizes, so those flagpole legs shouldn't be an issue. By themselves are quite comfortable even in the summer, and they have a waterproof liner and a quilted liner for the cold days. I've worn them down to 25 degrees, which is about as cold as it gets around here. About 140 bucks online. Similar is the Venture, which is not an open mesh, but 35 or 40 bucks cheaper.
Crash tested at about 30mph, bruised my hip but no knee injury or skin injury. Pants held up, still wearing them.

At work, my jacket and pants fit in the Givi topcase, helmet and gloves in the sidebag. Other sidebag carries a rainsuit. Don't have to drag the gear into the office, except my boots.

Get the size you'd get for your clothes, not bigger. They're made to go over clothes that size.

I wear no-iron cotton slacks to work (dirt cheap at Sam's Club) and the overpants don't mess them up.

wfooshee - Do the Tourmaster sizing charts adjust for extra clothes worn under the pants? For example, the chart on Tourmaster's website indicates that I should choose a Large size (34-36W) but if that doesn't account for my dress pants underneath then I would have to get an XL. Right?

Thanks!