In the world of protective equipment for street riding, pants are often overlooked until they’re picking asphalt out of your ass at the ER. With that in mind, BILT Iron Workers jeans could be your solution when the bottom line is protection without looking ridiculous.
These attractive hand-washed denim jeans feature five pockets and multi-tone stitch detail, but more importantly they feature extra protection on all critical impact zones where you need it most. The knees, hips and seat all feature aramid/polyester mix fabric (Kevlar.) If you’ve ever worn thermal lined jeans for cold weather, the areas that have the aramid lining feel a lot like that. The knees feature removable CE-approved soft armor. “CE” is a European testing standard for measuring protective clothing against mechanical impact.
I subjected the pants to multiple test rides in temperatures ranging from 50 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit on 100- to 400-mile days and found them to be as comfortable as regular jeans in similar riding environments. The only exception was that when the removable knee armor was installed during the 90-degree days, my knees started to sweat a lot while riding. In pedestrian situations the knee armor also garners odd glances from passersby, but that should be expected.
The jeans are a darker, distressed-style denim with a relaxed fit and loose legs that have no trouble going over boots. They’ve held up well to multiple washings without special considerations. I’m going out on a limb here to report the jeans must be good looking, based on a real-life experience at a rally in West Virginia. Several wild women couldn’t seem to keep their hands off them, though in the interest of full disclosure, I was between them and country superstar performer Trace Adkins. Was it the jeans? You decide.
The pockets are of classic design and deep enough to carry your wallet or keys without fear of losing them while riding. The front pockets feature slanted entry for easy access and the jeans feature a YKK fly zipper and a short connecting zipper at the beltline on the rear for attaching a jacket.
My 34″ regular Steel Motorcycle Jeans seem to run true to size and they are available in men’s sizes 28″ to 42″. The CycleGear website offered a special price of $69.99 at press time, so keep an eye out for discounts.
The company also makes a men’s “Cargo Pant” with similar features in sizes 30″ to 42″, and a woman’s “Iron Pant” in sizes 4 to 16. The women’s pants also reportedly “stretch for the perfect fit,” which hardly seems fair. Both the men’s Motorcycle Cargo Pants and the women’s Iron Motorcycle Jeans are available for the same price as the men’s Steel Motorcycle Jeans.
If you’ve been considering an upgrade to your riding gear, and don’t want to look like Valentino Rossi in the pits at Indy as a result, these are the pants for you.
BILT Iron Workers Steel Motorcycle Jeans
Men’s 28″-42″
Dark blue
$109.99 ($69.99 on sale)
www.cyclegear.com
Why don’t they make Iron Workers steel motorcycle jeans for Big & Tall.