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BMW City Pants.
I have purchased some new riding pants. My old draggin jeans no longer fit me and was looking for something better. For about the same money these pants from BMW have a special soft armor in the hip and knee that shapes itself somewhat and an inner comfort lining.
I was never really worried about the comfort of the kevlar lining in Draggins – not much that can be done about that however I can feel the difference of having a perforated soft inner liner in these BMW pants, really makes them more comfortable in summer.
They are also comfortable to wear off the bike. I found previously pants with armor to be uncomfortable however wearing these within 30 minutes I stopped noticing the knee and hip armor which seems to genuinely shape itself to your body to a certain extent.
I do have a problem with the pants riding up too much. The Alpinestars jeans when fitted with their armor do the same. Without the armor they really fail to meet the safety level I was aiming for so that is not an option. I will try and make the armor sit down lower perhaps I need to remove it and trim a small amount off and refit.
At this stage I am thinking these pants are good for 3 season riding but will be too hot for Summer. The leg zippers open allow more air in the warmer part of the day and can be zipped down when cool.
The cargo style looks great compared to regular blue jeans and the extra pockets are handy for odds and ends.
Update, well I have been wearing these for some time now. They work well in summer and even into the cooler months but not winter. So my original idea they would be heavy in summer was wrong.
I find them to be excellent pants except they want to ride up my legs and they faded very fast and very badly. I purchased some black dye and used that to bring back some colour to them but they remain looking a bit shabby so I have made these my travel riding pants for rides in SE Asia and with the armour removed I actually wear these on the plane since I travel super light.
Very comfortable on and off the bike. I like them so much I purchased a pair of the City Pants 2 however the originals are still better.
Update, still using these some years later but I took the knee armor out as this made them ride up my legs too much so now they are less protection like riding jeans.
2017 Update – at the end of their life now, stitching coming apart but I did some repairs and still great for hot weather slow pace rides like Philippines or similar.
I am using the version two of these pants now in Japan for my summer rides and also overseas for mid season rides and they are excellent with no issues of riding up but they are a bigger cut pants and bigger waist too.
2nd version has not faded, but not been exposed to Australian UV either. Honestly the best riding pants I have ever used.
Enjoyed reading your blog – great stuff !