Buying racing gloves in person in Sydney?

[soviet_merlin]

Hey folks,

does anyone have a recommendation for a store selling motorsport gear in Sydney? I'm specifically thinking gloves. OMP for example.

Not intended for serious use so personally I don't care too much about motorsport association approvals. This is just for the odd track day and karting. But might as well get something decent whilst at it.

Thanks!

 

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[Duncan]

I've mostly used V-sport for in person stuff, they have a good range and service in my experience.  

https://goo.gl/maps/6d6MwJhf9NHyYR8eA?coh=178571&entry=tt

Of course all motorsport stuff shop is expensive, online is cheaper but obviously you can't tell quality/fit etc that way, and if all the physical shops go out of business we will lose the option to check stuff is comfortable before buying

[Murray_Calavera]

I picked up my gloves from Revolution Racegear in Auburn.

https://revolutionracegear.com.au/

[soviet_merlin]

8 hours ago, Duncan said:

I've mostly used V-sport for in person stuff, they have a good range and service in my experience.  

https://goo.gl/maps/6d6MwJhf9NHyYR8eA?coh=178571&entry=tt

Of course all motorsport stuff shop is expensive, online is cheaper but obviously you can't tell quality/fit etc that way, and if all the physical shops go out of business we will lose the option to check stuff is comfortable before buying

Thank you, I will check them out next week. It's just up the road from Unigroup so I'll pop by in the morning on the way out. Lucky because they are only open during the week.

And yes I fully agree. I'm a big believer in supporting quality local businesses despite it not being the cheapest. Going hard on getting the cheapest is a race to the bottom ending in shitty experiences all around.

I did actually order some gloves online a few months ago. But the size guide was way out and the returning / exchanging was a hassle and it's why I started this topic in the first place.

 

2 hours ago, Murray_Calavera said:

I picked up my gloves from Revolution Racegear in Auburn.

https://revolutionracegear.com.au/

Thank you, noted. It's also quite limited on the weekend so will keep it in mind for now. See how V-Sport goes for a start.

 

 

Funnily enough I didn't come across either of those two stores when I did a search online. That might just be me though.

[Duncan]

Rev racegear have also been around forever, I've bought a lot of stuff there too. Staff are racers themselves which helps, but they don't stock as much as Vsport.

[soviet_merlin]

Made it to V-Sport today. They had two kinds of gloves in stock and two kinds of balaclavas. Made all of the difference being able to try the gloves on so I'm happy with that. Though I did feel like somewhat of an imposter around all the serious racing gear.

Looking forward to trying it out though. Good riddance to sweaty hands slippery steering wheel issues.

 

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

I might need to make a trip out there soon too, my helmet is so old (from my riding days).

Did you see a good range of helmets there on display? I have a somewhat large head so finding one that fits well can be a mission. 

[Murray_Calavera]

Let us know what your thoughts are after you try out the gloves.

[soviet_merlin]

On 11/05/2023 at 4:45 PM, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

I might need to make a trip out there soon too, my helmet is so old (from my riding days).

Did you see a good range of helmets there on display? I have a somewhat large head so finding one that fits well can be a mission. 

Hmmm, I don't think so. It's a pretty small room so it's quite limited. They only have one or two things of each on display. Possibly just stocking good stuff instead of a wide range of things. I don't remember helmets specifically as it's not something I was looking out for.

I'd say give them a call and see what they say. I'm sure they'd be able to help you out, but I wouldn't just go there expecting to find something like that on the spot.

 

On 11/05/2023 at 5:22 PM, Murray_Calavera said:

Let us know what your thoughts are after you try out the gloves.

Sure, will do.

[soviet_merlin]

On 11/05/2023 at 5:22 PM, Murray_Calavera said:

Let us know what your thoughts are after you try out the gloves.

Jen was saying they are the Gucci of race wear. Designed and made in Italy. Proper fancy stuff

[niZmO_Man]

My Sparco gloves were like $80 for the pair. What do yo need Gucci fancy stuff for?

[soviet_merlin]

On 14/05/2023 at 4:27 AM, niZmO_Man said:

My Sparco gloves were like $80 for the pair. What do yo need Gucci fancy stuff for?

How else am I going to impress people at the race track?!

Where did you buy them?

Edited May 15, 2023 by soviet_merlin
Swapped birds for people. May not as clearly have been a joke because some people actually talk like this.

[Murray_Calavera]

5 hours ago, niZmO_Man said:

My Sparco gloves were like $80 for the pair. What do yo need Gucci fancy stuff for?

I suppose you don't need fancy gloves, but spending more gives increased comfort. Pre-curved fingers and external seams are nice. 

I use RPM XTech 2 gloves and think they are totally worth the price of admission.

[MBS206]

On 5/11/2023 at 4:45 PM, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

I might need to make a trip out there soon too, my helmet is so old (from my riding days).

Did you see a good range of helmets there on display? I have a somewhat large head so finding one that fits well can be a mission. 

Depending on the features you want/need on your helmet, you will likely get a better deal, on a more comfortable helmet at a bike shop.

 

There are some new standards that came out last year in the USA for helmet protectiveness which will really help motorbike riders, and finding a helmet that meets those standards I'd recommend for track use, if you don't have a HANS device in the vehicle, and especially if people are not using a harness at all.

The new standards are about twisting forces (moments) that get applied on impact.

To date, tests have only been on impact to skill/brain from straight forces, not reducing turning moments on impact.

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

I actually want a helmet with the Hans device attachment points. Planning to get a Hans device too.

Most motorbike helmets unfortunately don't support Hans (that I could see online).

[MBS206]

On 5/14/2023 at 1:48 PM, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

I actually want a helmet with the Hans device attachment points. Planning to get a Hans device too.

Most motorbike helmets unfortunately don't support Hans (that I could see online).

I see you're ordering at least a half cage now then

 

Yes, if wanting HANS, bike helmet is not suitable.

[niZmO_Man]

On 14/05/2023 at 7:57 AM, soviet_merlin said:

How else am I going to impress people at the race track?!

Where did you buy them?

Bought them ages ago online, think it was rpm-something. Was from Sydney somewhere so shipping wasn't too much.

Not going to lie though, almost bought some adidas ones from demon-tweeks (I think, imports so would've ended up costing like $300). Luckily I got over that

[soviet_merlin]

On 11/05/2023 at 5:22 PM, Murray_Calavera said:

Let us know what your thoughts are after you try out the gloves.

I'm pretty happy with the gloves. They are super light and soft. I didn't think about them at all once they were on which is probably the best to hope for. I'd say grip-wise they are fine as well. No comparison to bare hands.

I was more impressed with the balaclava actually. I got it for not sweating into my helmet as much but it actually feels really nice. Hard to describe what it's like but it somewhat separates the head from the helmet. Look a bit like a sperm when wearing it without the helmet but oh well.

The real test will be using these in summer.

These are the two products.

https://vsport.com.au/product/sabelt-challenge-tg-2-fia-racing-glove/
https://vsport.com.au/product/sabelt-fia-underwear-balaclava-ui-100-series/

[soviet_merlin]

On 11/05/2023 at 4:45 PM, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

I might need to make a trip out there soon too, my helmet is so old (from my riding days).

Did you see a good range of helmets there on display? I have a somewhat large head so finding one that fits well can be a mission. 

I was there again today to grab another balaclava for Jen and checked. They do have a couple of helmets in store. Pretty much all of them with HANS support. They said to come in to try them as they have different sizes in stock. And even if the specific model isn't in on the day they can order it. Sounded worth checking out.

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

Thank you!

Will definitely make my way out there before the next track day 🙂