Bilt boots, any good?

[Raider]

Any input on the other Bilt gear CG carries. I was wondering how waterproof the $50 waterproof suit really is.

The leather pants for $99 are pretty decent, I got a pair of those...

I had also bought a pair of the Sedici Corsa gloves... the leather is soft and comfortable, but not sure how well it'll fair during a fall... seems really thin. I returned those after a couple weeks because my ring finger on both hands couldn't extend all the way, like the ring finger on both gloves were too short... got a pair of cortech gloves instead...

 

[Wormwood]

Bilit = Frank Thomas

Low dollar gear is better than no gear.

Buy what you can afford to protect yourself.

Dont go low budget like your shopping for tee shirts at 10 fer 12.

Buy the best you can in your price range. If that is Bilit then buy it.


An entry level full suit at less than 400 bucks blew me away.
It seemed track worthy upon general inspection.
YMMV

 

[Raider]

An entry level full suit at less than 400 bucks blew me away.
It seemed track worthy upon general inspection.
YMMV

There is a site sponsor on another site i visit that's selling Cortech Latigo 1 piece suits for under $400 shipped...
I'd take a cortech over a bilt suit 8 days a week...

 

[Wormwood]

There is a site sponsor on another site i visit that's selling Cortech Latigo 1 piece suits for under $400 shipped...
I'd take a cortech over a bilt suit 8 days a week...

I guess I am just amazed at the idea of suits at this price.

Been a long time for me but as I recall a suit under 800 could not be found 5 years ago.

Sorry for the derail OP. The boots I looked at last time there seemed to be comparable to the old Frank Thomas Boots which is to say it is a decent low budget boot.

Few boots provide the kind of ankle protection needed for heavy torque or impact injuries but many will do better than bilit.

 

[Kestrel]

Stopped into CG a few days ago. The stores have been completely changed. Over half of it is filled with Bilt / Sedici products, with a significant decrease in other brands... Local shops used to play random old videos - now there is some 'Cycle Gear TV' stuff going on in the background on repeat that is utterly annoying, blaring sale prices and talking about 'Change is good' BS - I've got no idea how the employees tolerate it. CG, though corporate, could at times have a smaller moto shop feel. That seems to have largely disappeared, and it is a shame. I can see customers being driven away by some of that crap.

Anyway, Suit quality was blah. Seams weren't as reinforced on the Sedici / Bilt suits as the old FT stuff. The pucks they stuck on them are an absolute joke. They actually sell those same pucks too, under the Speedmetal brand. Felt like hollow plastic toys, like a poor excuse for a halloween costume. The boots were equally poor in construction. Some of the gloves were decent, and some of the ladies gear looked nice, but... It is cheap. Lots of the textile stuff uses an incredibly low abrasion resistant material, that felt more akin to cheap ski-pants than anything I'd ever want to crash in.

Mixed bag, really. Some of the Bilt stuff was decent - the mesh stuff seemed much better than the old FT stuff they used to sell... But much of the other stuff was pretty terrible. Seems like they're filling the shelves with as much in house stuff as possible, trying to eliminate the middle man. The selection, however, tended to be a bit better than the usual load of FT stuff that they used to have. Many more options were available. Lots more women's stuff, which was a plus.. but again, a lot of it was pretty poor quality.

Anyway, I was disappointed on the whole. I'm not sure that I feel positive about the direction the company is taking.

 

[terdog55]

I'm not sure that I feel positive about the direction the company is taking

I've felt that way for yrs. Used to be you could get a price on everything that was below retail. When I worked at the Concord store back in the 80's, I never charged more than 10% off retail.

 

[afm199]

+1 on this, folks!

It doesn't take much to snap an ankle like a twig, and most boots on the market will allow this to happen. Stick to Dainese, Daytona, or most other higher end boots for ankle protection.

It takes much more force to snap your leg than your ankle. If the force of the crash is strong enough to snap your lower leg, than, likely you are in a serious crash and will have significant other injuries as well.

Obviously, even the best gear on the market can't be 100% effective, but if the top names in the boot business have reinforced ankle protection, they must know something we don't and who are we to argue with them?

Dunno? If the boot is rigid enough to stop the ankle from bending in a crash, it's rigid enough to snap both leg bones at boot top.

 

[Roadstergal]

I'll take the absorption of part of the force by the plastic protection, and transmission of the rest to bigger and stronger bones, over snapping my ankle again any day. Every crash is different, of course, but I haven't broken anything in a crash since I got my Supertechs.

These pens keep getting stuck in my back protector, though.

 

[rsrider]

I got my Cycle Gear catalog yesterday, and was looking at their crap, cause it's crap. There are so many places on the web that have discounted, decent gear, that may be just a bit higher in price, but worth it. The cheap boot is going to rot away and not hold shape within a year, so you're either going to buy another cheap boot or suffer with wearing crap on your feet. Save up, bite the bullet, and buy a pair of Sidi's. the B2's, or whatever their midrange boot is called now is around $325, and worth it. The Sidi Strada is a nice boot at around $200. Look around and you can find deals on these.

Prices went up on the B 2's since I bought them. I got them for $185 a few years back, now they're $325, not $225!! Still, Sidi's are a great boot.

 

[Dallen]

I got my Cycle Gear catalog yesterday, and was looking at their crap, cause it's crap. There are so many places on the web that have discounted, decent gear, that may be just a bit higher in price, but worth it. The cheap boot is going to rot away and not hold shape within a year, so you're either going to buy another cheap boot or suffer with wearing crap on your feet. Save up, bite the bullet, and buy a pair of Sidi's. the B2's, or whatever their midrange boot is called now is around $225, and worth it. The Sidi Strada is a nice boot at around $200. Look around and you can find deals on these.

I just thumbed through the new CG catalog last night. I have always been a big supporter of CG, but my visit last week (i bought the cheap Bilt Boots) was very disheartening. It seems like every time I walk in, they have more House Brands, and less quality gear. The dirt section still had the major names, but the street side was lacking. It almost looked like they were clearing out the A* and Dianese stuff, to replace it with Bilt, Sedici, Street and Steel, seven 0 Seven, etc. My local store can't even stock Sidi boots (not their fault but still). I think Road Rider will be getting most of my business. Its really too bad

 

[DayDay]

I just thumbed through the new CG catalog last night. I have always been a big supporter of CG, but my visit last week (i bought the cheap Bilt Boots) was very disheartening. It seems like every time I walk in, they have more House Brands, and less quality gear. The dirt section still had the major names, but the street side was lacking. It almost looked like they were clearing out the A* and Dianese stuff, to replace it with Bilt, Sedici, Street and Steel, seven 0 Seven, etc. My local store can't even stock Sidi boots (not their fault but still). I think Road Rider will be getting most of my business. Its really too bad

I went to two different stores to find some A* stuff but it could not be found. Just bilt and sedici garbage.

 

[JPK]

This is actually the only thing I care about in a boot. I've broken well over 12 bones (and countless fractures) in my foot in a crash but my ankle is what I am really concerned about.

Daytonas are pricey but they are what you want.

^^^ This. I'll take a tib/fib fracture, even a spiral fracture, over a broken ankle any day. The latter is much harder to heal and the likelihood of permanent damage much higher.

If you want to see what real ankle protection is about, head over to Helimot and try on the Daytonas. Other boots pale in comparison.