Shop Around with Karen Ramsay

This entry is part 14 of 18 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #52

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Karen’s shares a store of knowledge and a knowledge of stores.

Around 12% of Aussie motorcycle licence holders are female.

Shopping for suitable, well-fitting bike gear can be a bit hit and miss.

There doesn’t appear to be anything uniform between brands in the way of sizing. Add to that all the variations in arm, leg and torso length, chest, waist, bust and head sizes, foot width, desired colours, materials and features…

locating gear that’s ‘just right’ for you becomes as difficult as finding that unicorn adventure bike. The closer you are to the extremities of the bell curve with your body shape and size, the narrower your options for finding gear to fit.

This was the catalyst for a girls-only shopping trip to Brisbane, suggested by my friend Kylie Connolly, who is heading towards the shorter end of the curve for height.

KARENRAMSAY

No laughing matter

Something I hear quite a lot is the challenge for shorter adventure riders – for a start the mods they have to make to their bikes just so they can touch the ground on tiptoes. Or how difficult it is to find pants that fit. The last pair of bike pants Kylie bought, she had to cut almost 30cm off the length and make a few alterations to get the armour into the right place. For any petite riders out there, going to the kids’ section to find clothes, boots or helmets is often the only option, and finding any adventure-specific clothing is next to impossible. It then becomes a matter of compromise or expense to buy gear and have it altered to fit.

Having the option to buy pants in regular, tall or short in a greater range, (including women’s) would be a good start.

Trying to buy a helmet in a store when you’re an XXS is a feat. I know people who’ve taken to buying helmets (and other gear) from overseas just to have access to a larger range that fit.

That was why the shopping trip to The Big Smoke with Kylie and a few of our friends came about. There’s nothing like a girls’ weekend hitting up the bike shops to generate a few laughs.

Kylie Connolly, who is heading towards the shorter end of the bell curve for height.

Growing market

You really can’t beat going into a shop and trying on gear.

The range is limited where we live, and that’s understandable. Buying online has its own issues. One of the most annoying is how inconsistent and inaccurate sizing is on pants and jackets – even when the measurements are clearly stated in the sizing guide. There’s probably not much more humiliating than trying on jackets or pants, convinced you’re a particular size, only to find out in bike clothing that translates to double (scrap that. There’s plenty – like dropping your unloaded bike in a car park and not being able to pick it up, or getting caught with your pants down on an isolated track). Add to that most bike clothing appears to be tailored for men. “Fair enough,” you say, “most riders are men.” However, ignoring women is ignoring an ever-increasing section of the market.

According to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, ABS data indicates there were 800,000 motorcycle-licence holders in Australia in 2013. By 2020 that number had risen to 2.2 million. While data isn’t kept on the gender of motorcycle riders in Australia, the best estimates suggest around 12% of Aussie motorcycle licence holders are female. This matches trends around the world showing a dou-bling of numbers in the past 20 years.

All businesses that ignore this trend and don’t look for ways to tap into to this sec-tion of the market are pushing women to shop online or overseas. Asking shops to always stock a full range of sizes isn’t feasi-ble, but it’s probably time for them to start thinking about how they can overcome this and get people buying locally.

Something that’s starting to emerge is women designing gear for women. This ranges from individual pieces of body armour to clothing that’s not only safe, but is visually appealing without being ‘girly’. Thankfully, even larger brands seem to be moving away from simply adding pink or flowers to jackets and calling them ‘women’s’.

There’s a big range of motocross or road gear available. Adventure gear not so much.

Shop around

I guess having seven women striding through the doors of your store could be a bit intimidating.

We had all the usual reactions from complete ignoring to full-blown, “Let me check the boxes that haven’t been unpacked yet to see if we can find your size.” We visited a stack of shops over that weekend. For anyone looking for moto-cross or road gear, there’s a big range available. Adventure gear not so much.

Some of the issues we as women found when trying to find jackets and pants (that will probably resonate with men) were things like jackets with too much or not enough room at the bust (chest), lack of options to position armour, and pants coming in only one standard leg length.

Women are an ever-increasing section of the adventure market.
If it fits well, get it.

Finding something that fits your body shape well can be hard. Here’s some key points to look for when trying on pants and jackets:

• If it has armour in it, bend your knees and elbows. Kneel or squat to make sure the armour is where it needs to be. If there’s no adjustment to get it to the right position, it’s not going to help you when you fall
• While you’re doing all the bending take note of anything that’s going to annoy you, like clips, zips and buckles that might dig into elbows, knees or collarbones while you’re in your riding positions
• Try your helmet on with the jacket. Can you still move your head freely? Or does the jacket impede movement anywhere?
• Look for gear you can loosen or tighten (depending on how many burgers you eat at lunch or if you grab it out of the cupboard after a long lockdown break and realise you’ve ended up with more COVID kilos than you expected)
• When you find something that fits, buy it from that shop. We want them to stock stuff for us, so let’s support them.

Ness found some women’s pants to fit.
The option to buy pants in regular, tall or short in a greater range (including wom-en’s) would be a good start.
Trying to buy a helmet in a store when you’re an XXS is a challenge.

Success

Our shopping trip was, on the whole, very successful. Kylie managed to find jacket and pants that didn’t need any adjustments for her height. Ness found some pants in the women’s section rather than the kid’s section. It was a bit strange being together and not riding, but we talked bikes and gear. Information was shared about where to buy extra-small helmets, and what people wear under their bike pants. We reminisced about rides and planned new rides for the future.

Of course there was the pillow fight and scooter ride, but, what happens on a girls’ weekend, stays on a girls’ weekend.

A girls-only shopping trip to Brisbane. What happens on a girls’ weekend,stays on a girls’ weekend.

What I’ve learned

• All the gear, all the time
• It’s possible to find gear to fit most people, but the further you are from ‘average’ the harder it is to find it
• When you find a good store, keep supporting it
• Regardless if it’s ‘men’s’ or ‘women’s’ gear – if it fits well, get it
• Pillow fights are better when you’re all wearing helmets

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