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Maybe I'm not that trendy but a pair of jeans for £95 to cycle in? At this time of year? Are you Maaad? 😉
We love the Epic Drover. They look just like a pair of regular jeans and they feel like them too, but they have a secret, they are water-resistant. We’ve been testing them all winter and they are a firm favourite here at howies. If you are caught out in the rain the water will just run off them. That’s because each individual fibre is coated with an eco-safe, solvent-free water-resistant polymer.Sounds techy, behaves techy, but looks just like any other pair of jeans.
Available in Indigo priced £95
Howies in selling silly expensive fashionable kit shocker!
To be fair if you're flush enough not to care about the price and [b]if[/b] the techno-crap is actually right, they'd probably be fine.
He's not wearing gloves and I bet he's wearing a skid hat 😉
Fantastic. I might actually buy a second pair (for both commuting and mountain biking).
How do you order? They look really good quality so £100 is nothing and they probably pay their chinese factory workers higher salaries anyway.
expensive but i have had my pair of indigos for nigh on 6 years now and i have put them through hell and back.
still not sure i would ride xc/am etc in jean though, only for street riding mebbe
What is that stem doing on a soul?! Its horrendous
It looks like its got a Brand X seastpost too. Dear oh dear
Maybe the jeans are something to do with it ..
hypotherma included in the price?????
same thing, without the Howies badge, has been available for a couple of years at Alpkit for half the price..
Have you ever met a guy who rolls his jeans up to his knees? Plus is that physically possible?!
Them's spafftastic looking jeans
Just think of the chafing!
Ah yes- might buy a pair if they are half the price:
http://www.alpkit.com/products/notes/water-resistant-jeans/
"Have you ever met a guy who rolls his jeans up to his knees?"
Its so he does't miss out on the oily chainring mark on his leg I assume?
I've got two pairs of Alpkit Epics and they are as good/better than the Howies pair I bought a while ago.
Amazing to watch water bead off Epics when new.
I think it's a cool idea, overprices as always but it's a "brand".
So wish I had some of their insulated jeans.
I've got some of the Alpkit ones and they are OK in mizzle. They wet out pretty quickly in proper rain though. Also you seem to sweat more in them than proper jeans, and they feel a bit weird and greasy.
It's good that people are making "normal" looking outdoor clothes though and balking at the price seems a bit silly, people will either pay it or they won't. Last time I looked Endura stuff wasn't pocket money either and at least Howies gear doesn't seem to fall apart after one wash.
James how big a chainring do you use? I find rolled upto top of sock height sorts that... or roll sock over jeans. Simples.
rolling your jeans upto your knees is for wading in rivers or looking special on a bike.
Haven't you lot heard of bicycle clips?
Howies probably make an organic freetrade made-in-china pair for £40.
Whenever I get an oily chainring mark on my legs (when wearing shorts) its from standing over the bike, as per the guy in the picture
44T, 42T, 34T and 32T btw (on different bikes)
Howies probably make an organic freetrade made-in-china pair for £40.
If they do-I'd buy a pair.
James. I no longer wear jeans on bikes purely as the crotch area always rips after a while 🙁
Oh dear I feel old now - [Mental Note] must be more trendy and move away from the black lycra and baggies 😉 [/Mental Note]
The Alpkits do look good for DH playing. When its cold your pads keep you warm to an extent but I did ride in jeans with pads under the other week and it felt nicer than just shorts, kept me warmer and mentally offered extra protection. Dont really like the DH nu-skool jim-jams.
Just from the title of this thread, I knew it had to be good old Howies...good call on the Alpkit jeans; going to give them a try.
foxyrider in the past 10yrs Ive only ever met one rider as scruffy as me out on the bike. All my bike clothes are mismatched, ripped and old! I just dont beleive in wearing anything co-ordinated or trendy.
I've got two pairs of Alpkit Epics and they are as good/better than the Howies pair I bought a while ago.Amazing to watch water bead off Epics when new.
tonyg2003, what was the fit like on the alpkits? i read on another forum (lfgss) that the jeans were good but not the best fit for cycling in
About 6 years ago I used to ride in cheapo Jeans all the time, for Dirt jumpy/trail riding in my local woods comfy cheap don't care if they get torn/dirty, but they were not really suitable for all day epics or putting in some miles, heavy and obviously normal jeans suck up water, I can see water proof jeans being handy, but then if it’s pissing it down and I’m off for a ride I’ll put on the chopped off surplus DPM which cost all of about £14 and look just as ****ty as overpriced Niche boy jeans.
For £95 I could have a fair few pairs of those and wouldn’t give a toss it I took a tumble and tore a pair…
Looking good on a bike is highly overrated.
Plenty of people wear jeans for DH. Tough and comfortable with practical pockets. What's not to love? I'm not sure I'd wear a pair of £95 jeans though.
Alpkits are cut for climbing, not cycling so they are on the baggy and long side. They do have a seamless crotch though.
One of the lads in our group rides in nowt but denim, although he just uses virtually disposable primarni denim.
I'd never pay that much for one item of clothing, haha. I DJ in old jeans, it actually looks ridiculous as they're about 4 sizes too big, but I don't have any older pairs that fit properly!
I'm finally done with Howies.
I went into the bristol store and it was full of cliftonites with their little jemimas and tarquins, never been muddy in their life. This brand no longer has eff all to do with biking and should concentrate on its proper market; posh ****s.
"oh, yah, Crispin this is soooo sweet" Rrrrrrrrrrr 👿
Jeans are fine for DH/DJ/FR type stuff but for XC I definitely wouldn't go any where near them. Anyhow, they don't look half as sexy as some nice, tight lycra 😉
twisted jeans are pretty comfy to ride in. a epic version of them would get my interest.
[i]This brand no longer has eff all to do with biking[/i]
Has it ever been a biking brand?
I've got a pair of the alpkit ones and they are great. The seamless crotch is nice and comfy. I don't go riding in them though. That's what baggies/lycra is for.
Only shorts should be worn for cycling ,never long trousers whatever the weather
Says you.
Other opinions/decisions are available...
Oh no they're not!...Actually they are, as I heard it was okay to wear long trousers for cyling but only if they had been made from Reynolds 853 tubing (like drainpipe jeans but lighter & stronger)
Ride in jeans sometimes...good when its cold and the trails are full of gorse or your liable to bin it!
Or when there is a pub stop
Has it ever been a biking brand?
Maybe not, but traditionally has been purchased by riders and marketed as MTBer friendly (in Pembs with no notable riding). The pioneer of the firm has gone and Timberland now run sh1t.
Double page spread in this months DIRT. Do you know a single mountain biker willing to spend £70 on a shirt?
Howies; **** off, you are now aiming at a market who despise you.
ah and that's where capitalism gets all messy...in a stange fashion / fabrictations food chain turn of fate a former Timberland head honch now has a hand with Indy Fab as a some kinda mentor...not making any particular point there but just an observation.
If it ever is or was a biking brand? dunno they make some nice stuff, with seemingly good intentions...but frankly my ideal for the company to be like a wonderful welsh patagonia / pattagucci has never quite shown up. i.e 'water proof jeans' doh! a possibly a product like when Homer Simpson get to design a his dream car
if there's no rain i often wear jeans.