Riding pants for Ladies.... what's out there?

[Tusk]

My wife just picked up a cheap pair of chaps for riding. She couldn't find a pair of overpants that fit. It's a hip thing she says.

What's available out there girls? I know fit is a big thing. She's a bit tall at about 5' 10" and around 130 pounds.

Cindy (said wife) has a Vulcan750, so the chaps go with the cruiser look for now. But she would like "full coverage" as she gets cold easy.

Thanks for the time.

[sockmonkey]

Most of the manufacturers that make ladies gear have done a reasonable job of making sure the stuff actually fits women, but there's still a ways to go.

Joe Rocket makes pants called "Trixie" that she might like. They've gotten decent reviews, and have a flare at the bottom that would look better on a cruiserish bike than some of the other armored pants.

I'm hippy, and have, er, a bit of extra padding in the behind, and have a pair of leather pants from Alpinestars and a pair of mesh pants from Joe Rocket and both fit very well. I bought a jacket from Cortech last year for inclement weather, and they seem to get women's figures as well. (Unfortunately their ladies gear logo is horrible, and I'm still trying to figure out how to tear them off.)

New Enough has some women's gear, and they actually have women try the stuff on, and review how "true to size" items are. They carry the Joe Rocket pants, and a couple other pairs of leather overpants.

If she still has problems, she can also buy pants that are a little too big and have them altered by a reputable leather tailor. There's a woman here in Milwaukee who does all the Midwest CCS racers repairs, and she definitely knows how to fit women properly.

[Tusk]

Thanks Mon-kay! I'm going to look for some mesh summer riding pants for wifey. Hoping to be able to put more miles on comfortably!

[sockmonkey]

No problem Mr. Tusk!

I've got the Joe Rocket "Cleo" mesh pants and jacket. The jacket kind of feels like it'd shred apart upon impact in a crash, and it's a little too short (I'm 5'6" and have a longer torso/shorter legs). So it rides up in the back if it's not zipped to something, and gives me a wedgie if it is. (Then again I'm leaning forward more than she would) The pants are good though, they feel more substantial since they're not entirely made of mesh like the jacket.

[Lady Hawk]

Joe Rocket Cleo Pants

I'm going to have to go with sockmonkey on the Joe Rocket "Cleo" pants. I wear mine all the time and I find that they have a good fit for a lady with hips and a little height (I’m 5’8”). Though I normally wouldn’t be caught dead in pants with a high waist, I can live with these since I can ride knowing my ass won’t be hanging out. I also like how they zip into the back of my jacket.
Regarding the Joe Rocket ladies mesh jacket I fully agree with sockmonkey, the jackets truly do feel like they would shred apart in the event of a crash. So, I forsook fashion and bought the men’s jacket and it fits me fine. I didn’t want a pink jacket any way, which is all that stores around here seem to stock. Yeah, I know about the Internet but one of the downsides to being a lady is that I HAVE to try things on to make sure that they fit. I am very particular about fit and I don't like to be bothered with returning things.
As for leathers I can’t speak with any authority on the subject since I don't do track racing. In regards to regular leather riding gear the weather is so warm here that I can wear summer mesh in the winter. Of course when summer comes around it will be my turn to suffer.

[Tusk]

Thanks again ladies. Cindy has a JR Phoenix jacket. I have the Men's model and we both like them fine.

Question regarding the pants. Could (or maybe should) one wear shorts under the mesh pants in the summer? I imagine the risk of shredding precious parts would increase. Yes? Sorry, but ignorant minds wanna know. :P

I also considered Kevlar Jeans for myself. But here again it's the fit thing for her! Well, at the end of the day it's a "fit" thing for all of us. It's just harder to find those with opposing chromosomes.

[sockmonkey]

I usually wear them as overpants, the mesh is mostly at the thighs, and the fabric is solid mostly everywhere else. If I'm going a longer distance on a really hot day, I wear padded bicycle shorts under them. If I'm riding to work, they're usually over pants/capris. There's enough armor in them that I feel reasonably safe in them. Certainly safer than wearing leather and passing out from the heat. (Which I've nearly done, twice, ergo the purchase of mesh gear)

[sockmonkey]

Re: Joe Rocket Cleo Pants

Though I normally wouldn’t be caught dead in pants with a high waist, I can live with these since I can ride knowing my ass won’t be hanging out.

Ha! yeah, the highwaistedness is icky, but since the jacket rides up so much, I don't mind. From now on I make sure that the jacket either has an extra ass flap in the back or is long enough to not ride up because my butt sometimes likes trying to escape from my pants. (have you seen that highwaisted pants are making their way back in style? esh, not a fan of the ultra low rise, but very very very few women look good in high waisted pants. I will not however miss the overabunance of female plumber butt and muffin top.)

I didn’t want a pink jacket any way, which is all that stores around here seem to stock.

Eck! yeah! *WHY* so much pink? ...and while I do now own two powder blue jackets, I wish more manufacturers would recognize that there are other colors out there beyond pink and light blue.