Spidi J-Tracker Tech jeans 34" leg in blue

 

The original J-Tracker, just like this one, was made from a mix of cotton with a high percentage of Cordura for added strength. In many ways, it’s a classic-looking western jean. The cut is somewhere between a 501 and a 511. And what that means is that it’s not a super-slim fit, but nor is it in any way baggy. It looks good on most people. It works well on skinny sorts; and you’d have to be pretty stout of limb for it to be too restrictive.

 

One of the features we really like about the jean is the gusset in the crotch that Spidi builds into a lot of its biking jeans. It makes the jean a little bit more comfortable on the bike, but importantly it changes the way that the seams run down the legs, such that it allows the armour to sit centrally over the knee, rather than to the inside of the knee, where the armour tends to fall with most motorcycle jeans.

 

Interestingly, the armour on the Spidis fits into the knees through a hidden zip in the outer seam of the jean. This opens up the possibility of removing the armour when you reach your destination even though, in reality, not many people actually follow through with this.

 

The armour, by the way, comes as standard in the knees and hips. And here's a jean where we wouldn't recommend trying to upgrade the armour. The standard stuff is as pliable as D3O, and it's much larger than D3O. So leave well alone. The standard stuff is what is going to work best.

 

The Tracker Tech only comes in one leg length; and that length is 34”, which is quite long. In truth, that’s probably the right leg length for a motorcycle jean if your street jean has a 32” leg. But the J-Tracker Tech will simply be too long if your inside leg is much less than 32”. 

 

The original J-Tracker, which we also stock, does come in a shorter leg, however. And here you may need to concentrate for a second. To reduce the buying price of the J-Tracker in the Italian market, Spidi supplies this jean without hip armour. And under EN17092 when you do this the CE rating has to be reduced to single-A. But in every other way the standard J-Tracker is the same jean as the Tracker Tech, and uses the same outer fabric. So if you want a shorter leg, buy the standard jean, which comes in at 30". 

 

Now what we have done is to add the hip armour to that jean, and put it up to the same price as the Tracker Tech. I am sorry if this is confusing, but it's of Spidi's doing and not ours. But if you go for the shorter leg variant, don't be surprised that the label says 'A' !

 

Anyway the J-Tracker  in all versions is a lovely jean to wear. Even though they don’t contain much by way of stretch they’re as comfortable as pretty much any motorcycle jean out there. They are also not expensive. At the time of writing, the cost is £199.99; so they are a lot less expensive than a pair of AA-rated Rokkers.

 

There's a lot of talk these days about abrasion-resistance ratings; A, AA, AAA and all that. In truth, for many of us a single-A rated jean will be more than up to the job. Many Police riders, after all, ply their trade in their £2,500 A-rated Rukka Nivala suits.

 

A triple-A rating is way over the top for the road. It was only ever designed for the track where sliding a long distance is an ever-present possibility. But even those who created the standard acknowledged that this highest level would come at the expense of weight, comfort and wearability. And it nearly always does.

 

The J-Tracker's outer fabric is AA rated; and frankly that's enough for anybody who rides on the road.

 

It is perhaps true that our Rokker Legends are a little more stylish than the Spidis. They're a little more jean-like. They look and wear like a pair of Levi's in the way that the J-Trackers can't quite match. The Legends, with their built-in stretch might, in the margin even be a tad more comfortable. The Level 2 Diablo armour the Rokkers come with is the business. Whilst Rokker's 5-year crash warranty is also pretty impressive, but the cost differential is huge. The current Rokker Legend Diablo costs £365; the J-Tracker Techs are just £199.