First Ride and Frist Impression of my new Roadcrafter All-in-One
Recently, I was able to buy a new-to-me Aerostitich Roadcrafter R3 (Light)... that’s a mouthful... so, “R3”. The seller, JN for purposes of this narrative, didn’t like the all-in-one style, and that’s what I’m going to talk about.
I received the suit and immediately tried it on. I had bought it sight unseen, but JN described the fit to his frame, and it sounded close enough. When just standing in the suit, it feels like the sleeves are an inch too long, but in riding position, they’re perfect, and I’m sure I’m going to appreciate the coverage in the winter when basic gloves cover the gap well enough, and gauntlet gloves will cover everything. (if you’re old enough, it reminds me of a skit with Dean Martin, where he looks great sitting on a bench in his tuxedo, but when he stands up it looks three sizes too big... hilarious!) The rest of the suit leaves enough room for insulating layers in the winter, and a bonus that my knees aren’t in constant friction contact with my knee-armor, that had been leaving bruises.
I live in New Orleans, and it’s June 5th the first time I try it on. I took it for a 300 mile ride the next day. My local buddy and I planned a long ride to breakfast, but there were legit threats of severe weather, so we ate breakfast in my zip-code. I wore the suit, and even ate breakfast, al fresco, wearing it. It bears mentioning that I washed the suit in a tub of water after my initial fitting. I should have read all of the warnings about type of soap, and hopefully I didn’t wash out the waterproofing, but that probably needs to be refreshed regardless. Back to breakfast. After eating, we sat for another cup of coffee when I noticed a little girl impatiently waiting for our table... so we tabbed out and let her and her parent’s have it. At this point, I’d been in the suit for a few hours, and I was still comfortable, but the day was getting hotter. My buddy, on his brand-spanking-new Honda NT1100, was heading home to do chores, and I took off to find the bad weather and scout some Tour of Honor locations.
I had unzipped my under-arm vents, but forgot the back... Kevin graciously unzipped it for me... first lesson... there are two zipper pulls, you should open them both so that they meet in the middle to help maintain the fitment across your back. Regardless, I rode all day like this, and was never overheated, except on extended breaks at planned stops.
During my ride, I encountered varying degrees of drizzle and rain, and the suit didn’t leak at all. The neck closure tab worked well, and kept me sealed up. My other jackets are too tight across my throat when wearing a silk gaiter, but this was perfect. The collar is lined with low-pile fleece, so it doesn’t feel hot or rough. Also, when not velcro’d closed, the collar has strong magnets that keep it open and a nice v-neck angle for comfort... a nice touch.
On my way home, I got a text to meet the wife at a brew-pub near home... and I was ready for a beer! We arrived within two minutes of each other and took our mugs outdoors. This was the perfect opportunity for my next experiment... can I sit with the top half of the suit off... I say it was a success. Regardless, this is a shake down cruise, and I was wearing cargo shorts and a t-shirt and could have taken the whole suit off if needed. Coincidentally, we ran into friends at the Pub, and my new optic-yellow-moon-suit got a few comments, but mostly they shy away from asking about my rides... if they get me going they can’t get away!
Like I mentioned, the suit is designed to wear light street clothes underneath. It’s natural for me to put my wallet in my front pocket, but it’s harder to get to in the suit. Let’s face it, gloves and pockets are a bad mix! So, for the last couple of years, I’ve been using a drop-leg-bag as a sort of fanny pack for this and that. That’s not going to work with the R3. I’ve also been using my credit card on a tether around my neck, so that’s how I buy gas and snacks. That won’t change, so the wallet problem is really very minor.
I meet a lot of riders that are ATGATT, but I don’t pretend to be... I gave up my car several years ago, so I ride my Vespa to work, drug store, Dr. appt., you name it, and wear khakis and a polo shirt, deck shoes... gym shorts to Pilates... and my full-face helmet. I sometimes ride my FJR out to the suburbs for a Professional Meeting or some such... again, street clothes and a helmet. But a typical weekend ride, I wear my full gear. The question is, will I wear the R3 for a 100 mile RTE? Probably not. But, I bet I wear it for every Cert ride from here on out, and I know that I will refresh the waterproofing, re-glue all of the velcro, etc., getting the suit ready for those really extended rides like 50cc and UCC rides. A suit that doubles as a sleeping cocoon!
I’m under no illusions that it’s going to be hotter than my mesh gear, but I’m rigging a second hydration bottle to be able to wet my base layers... which I was planning to do regardless.
All in all, I’m very happy with my new suit... buying it second-hand is a bonus. Buying a “‘Stich” was on my to-do list, but I would procrastinate for a long time debating which suit to buy, and never pull the trigger. This takes care of the analysis paralysis.
