The Ride Home Was Only 40 Minutes. The Cold Took the Whole Next Week.
Fall riding
The Ride Home Was Only 40 Minutes. The Cold Took the Whole Next Week.
Wet jeans don't stay on the bike. They ride home with you. Don't carry your cold in your pants.
It's a cool Saturday morning. The rain stopped an hour ago and the sky is starting to clear. You pull on your jeans, zip up the jacket and head out for one more good ride before the season ends.
The road is still wet. Ten minutes in, a pickup passes you and throws a sheet of spray across your legs. Then a puddle you didn't see. By the time you stop for gas, your jeans are dark from the knees down.
You tell yourself it's fine. It's only forty minutes home.
Forty minutes in wet denim
Here's what those forty minutes feel like. The wet cloth sticks to your skin. The wind at highway speed runs over it the whole way. Your jacket keeps your chest warm, but your legs are wrapped in cold, wet cotton, and there's nothing you can do about it until you're home.
You get home chilled to the bone. A hot shower, a cup of coffee, and you forget about it.
Until Monday.
Then the cold shows up
Monday it's a scratchy throat. Tuesday you're tired by noon. By Wednesday you're on the couch with a box of tissues, and the weekend forecast is perfect.
Saturday comes, sunny and cool, the kind of day you wait for all year. The bike stays in the garage while you blow your nose.
In the fall there are only so many good weekends left. Losing one to a cold hurts.
Your mom had a rule for this
Get soaked, catch a cold. Every mom said it. Most of us rolled our eyes.
Years ago, a tissue ad put it another way. It told people not to carry their cold around in their pocket. A cloth handkerchief soaks it up and keeps it with you all day.
Riders do the same thing with denim. Jeans soak up the wet and keep it on your legs for the rest of the ride.
Why jeans hold on to it
Denim is cotton, and cotton drinks water like a towel. Once it's wet, it stays wet, pressed right against your skin.
It doesn't take a storm. Spray off the road, a wet seat, ten minutes of drizzle. Any of it is enough.
And nothing you wear on top fixes it. A warm jacket stops at your waist.
So the answer isn't more layers. It's a pair of pants that doesn't let the wet soak in at all.
RoadArmor: a shell that sheds the spray
EKON RoadArmor are stretch cargo pants with a water-repellent shell. When spray hits them, it beads up on the surface and runs off before it can soak in. So you don't ride home in a wet pair of pants.
They're riding pants too, with CE Level 2 armor at the knees and hips. From the outside they look like plain cargo pants, so you can walk straight into the diner without changing.
- Water-repellent shell: spray beads up and runs off
- CE Level 2 armor at the knees and hips (EN 1621-1), the higher of the two levels
- The knee armor slides out of a zip pocket, and the free hip pads lift out
- Zip vents on both thighs for when the sun comes back out
- Ankle zips that open over your boots
- Men's and women's, XXS to 5XL
About half of the riders who buy RoadArmor rode in jeans before. Here's what a few of them wrote:
Also felt better about not wearing Levi's because we all know they're not gonna hold up...
Mike F.I have ridden for many years in jeans, as most of us do.
Gregory B.Fair questions
- Are they waterproof?
- Yes, they're waterproof. Road spray and rain bead up on the shell and run off instead of soaking in.
- Won't they be hot once the sun comes out?
- They're a light stretch shell, not heavy denim, and the thigh vents unzip at a red light.
- What's certified?
- The armor at the knees and hips. It's rated CE Level 2 under EN 1621-1, the higher of the two levels. The pants themselves aren't certified.
- What if they don't fit?
- Check the size chart before you order. If they're still not right, the sixty-day refund covers you.
Half price right now, with a free belt and a free neck gaiter.
And a sixty-day refund. If they're not the most comfortable riding pants you've ever owned, send them back and get your full money back. No questions asked. Plus a one-year warranty.
Check your sizeOpens the RoadArmor page, where you pick your size and color.
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Word for word from customer reviews
We rode for 4236 miles over 16 days. We saw temperatures as hot as 103° and lows in the 50's. [...] My pants are black and not one time did they get hot from the sun. [...] On day 3 of our trip I ordered another pair and had them waiting when we got home.
Kris4,236 miles in 16 daysMy riding experience has always been in jeans, for many miles over many years. When I saw these EKON pants I was skeptical. [...] I tried them out on a very warm 600 mile day. They were light, cool, comfortable, and never stuck to me like jeans would've in the heat.
Wally H.Rode a 600-mile day in themAs a former MSF instructor, we recommended to our students the importance of safety gear/attire. [...] These pants are the best I've experienced in my many years of riding. [...] Still riding at 70.
Charles W.Former rider safety instructorI love these pants! The fit and finish are First Quality and are very comfortable. [...] I will never ride in regular jeans again!
Ken M.First pair of riding pantsI thought that Ekon pants would be scam to be honest. [...] they 100% delivered what they promised. Great pants, comfortable, great pads that do NOT move around.
Nathan W.Was sure it was a scamAs an owner of several pairs of motorcycle pants I can say I am very happy with my new Ekon pants. They fit nice and are very comfortable. They are not near as heavy and hot as others I own!
Jeff K.Owns several pairs of riding pantsWe are sometimes reserved about spending money on something that we can't try out first especially when it is ordered online. [...] they look really great and they are some of the most comfortable pants that I have ever owned.
J.C.Wasn't sure about ordering onlineJust tried them out riding 360 miles. [...] The pants are more comfortable and a lot easier to use.
Marty G.360-mile first rideP.S. The last good weekends of the year are the ones you don't want to spend on the couch. Try RoadArmor for sixty days, and keep the wet off your legs on the ride home.