I am SO over motorbike boots

[Ixion]

Once, like everyone else, I wore safety boots for riding. Then I was seduced by the Gear nazis and decided I should wear "proper" bike boots.

Well, so much for that experiment

My present Oxford boots are literally falling apart! The uppers are cracking and coming away from the soles . And they are less than two years old ! I certainly could NOT recommend the Oxford brand.

My older Oxtars (note - Oxford vs Oxtar) are more repairable (the sole came completely off one, but goopy gluey glue has fixed that ; one zip has had it but the velcro still works) but they have long lost any vague claim they might have had to being water resistant. And they are only four years old!

I do have a pair of StylMartins that are in good nick still, but they are too uncomfortable to wear all day every day

Meanwhile , my $39 pair of Warewhare safety boots are still in decent nick after ten years.

I'm just a poor sweet impoverished old man, eking out a penurious existence on the smell of an oily rag. I can't be having with buying new boots every other year at my time of life.

Bike boots have got to be a major rip off. They cost hundreds of dollars, the design is crap, they leak like sieves, the workmanship is abysmal and they fall apart in no time at all

Next week I'm off to my faithful Army Surplus place to get a pair of combat boots. I'll bet they won't fall apart after only two years.

Bike boots - you can keep them

I'm not enthused about motorbike jackets either. I may see if you can still get Army great coats.

[firefighter]

Combat boots WILL fall apart......I changed mine a lot and am glad I never had to pay for them- remember untie Helen did wonderful things with defence funding during her destructive reign........(remember those skyhawks that are now rusted through sitting OUTSIDE a hanger wearing "protective" condoms....)

[Ixion]

Ah, that's NZ Army boots. I'll go for yurpean.

[RantyDave]

I hear you, man. I have some "Forma" brand boots I got from TSS. A year old at most. One zip has gone already and been replaced, the other zip has just gone. They used to be marginally comfortable to walk in (should I, y'know, be going somewhere) but now do an excellent job of eating through the backs of my ankles. Bastard things. Expensive bastard things, too.

Dave

[FJRider]

Try to get a pair of American, special forces, combat boots... I have a pair... Worn them regulary for 6 years now... patent leather...

[Katman]

The whole four years of couriering in London I wore a pair of quick lace German Army boots. I'd have worn them as slippers if I'd been allowed.

[Jantar]

In late 1979 or early 1980, I can't remember the exact date, I bought a pair of Frames motorcycle boots, made in Dunedin. 12 years later, they had done their dash with buckles falling to bits etc, but they had remained waterproof right to the end, and the soles were still in good order. I called into Frames in Dunedin to buy a new pair, only to discover they had stopped making them some years earlier.

Apparently there is no profit for boot makers who design a product to last. Boots have be made to fall apart within 4 years, or the manufacturer doesn't get enough repeat business to stay in business.

[thehovel]

At last Ixion you have rocked up at the same conclusion I made years ago. Protector safety GUM boots & a winter warm army greatcoat is the coolest bike gear you will ever use. The gumboot may be hot in the summer but you can kick them off Sooooo easly. Safety gumboots $50 and they last about 4 years constant use. regards Richard

[Mom]

At last Ixion you have rocked up at the same conclusion I made years ago. Protector safety GUM boots & a winter warm army greatcoat is the coolest bike gear you will ever use. The gumboot may be hot in the summer but you can kick them off Sooooo easly. Safety gumboots $50 and they last about 4 years constant use. regards Richard

Sheesh, you're all class really...

[enigma51]

Have a set of two set of spidi's The race vertibra and the normal ride one. The tourie one got a bit damaged in two many offs but is still good for touring type stuff

the vertibra after 2 years and some serious scraping is still good as new just replace some of the plastice bits

[KoroJ]

Bought my Spidi Canyons for $400 2-3 years ago and they are still in excellent condition and continue to keep the water out.

I happened to be in TSS the other day though and I see they are now $530 ...and I thought I was being extravagant at $400. I might have to resort to just wearing them on long rides.

[jrandom]

One of my (several) Christmas presents to myself was a pair of Gaerne GRW Aquatechs to replace my old Sidi Stradas, which stopped being waterproof after 18 months due to excessive dragging on the road.

Being $400 cheaper than a pair of the top-end Sidi Vertebras ($750 for a pair of boots? Piss off!) made the Gaernes a no-brainer. Guess I'll have to wait and see how they hold up. At least the replaceable toe sliders fully cover the join between sole and upper, unlike the Sidis, which tend to wear away the sole when they drag.

The Gaerne waterproofing seems to work well. My tootsies stayed dry in the rain on Monday.

[kave]

The zips on both my Gaerne boots have fallen apart in less than a year. I want to stick with motorcycle boots as I reckon they offer better protection but I cant afford to spend $200ish every 9 months on shoes. I really don't know what my next step will be.

[spookytooth]

had a pair of Gaerne for a few years now nice and comffy except in the rain,no matter what i use on them they leak worse than my jandels

[Mikkel]

you can kick them off Sooooo easly.

A bit like jandals then?


Being able to walk normally is invaluable! While expensive, the ankle joint scaffolding you can get on some of the top-end boots may be just what saves your ankle from being turned into a mishy-mashy gob of goo. Your mobility, your choice.