Cycle Gear Bilt Products - any good?

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I've always been skeptical about Cycle Gear Bilt brand products. I guess I've always figured they came from China and had to be cheaply made in order to be so low priced compared to brand name products. I don't see a lot of brand name items in the Cycle Gear store or catalog. But I need to get a pair of new riding gloves and decided I really should find out if maybe I've been unjustifiably putting them down. So, my question is does anyone here have experience with Bilt products, particularly things like jackets, gloves, and helmets? Are they worth considering? What's been your experience with them?

[cptjam]

Mac, buy the best gear you can afford. Bilt products are cheap, value vs quality. You ride a lot, and I’m afraid you would be disappointed. Have you ever been unhappy with the very best?

[Motorcycledave]

I've always been skeptical about Cycle Gear Bilt brand products. I guess I've always figured they came from China and had to be cheaply made in order to be so low priced compared to brand name products. I don't see a lot of brand name items in the Cycle Gear store or catalog. But I need to get a pair of new riding gloves and decided I really should find out if maybe I've been unjustifiably putting them down. So, my question is does anyone here have experience with Bilt products, particularly things like jackets, gloves, and helmets? Are they worth considering? What's been your experience with them?

I have used several BILT branded products and have had NO TROUBLE with them. the helmets are all DOT and some are also SNEL check for yourself
if you have worries about the helmets buy another brand you feel safe with, their other products are good such as jackets, pants, boots and such

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I've always been skeptical about Cycle Gear Bilt brand products. I guess I've always figured they came from China and had to be cheaply made in order to be so low priced compared to brand name products. I don't see a lot of brand name items in the Cycle Gear store or catalog. But I need to get a pair of new riding gloves and decided I really should find out if maybe I've been unjustifiably putting them down. So, my question is does anyone here have experience with Bilt products, particularly things like jackets, gloves, and helmets? Are they worth considering? What's been your experience with them?

For riding gloves either lined or un-lined .... I have had really good luck with Deerskin .... they can be treated ( by you ) with waterproofing or not .... after they get wet , you dry them and they don't get stiff .... and they wear like iron ...... when I was vendoring, they were a good selling item ..... Mike :ohyea:

[AVBIZ]

Cycle Gear’s helmet selection is unmatched. They have every brand to evaluate fit and finish. You can then either buy in person or look on line for the best price. I have have found their low end lines are junk and you really are just throwing your money away if you plan to use more than a couple times. It comes down to how much you value your own well being- by appearance these products all look comparable but if you do the research and know what ratings and materials will actually keep you safe you will find a wide gap in what’s acceptable and what isn’t.

[Pandy]

Have gone through several Bilt modular helmets and can find no fault. DOT approved and all that. The winter gear, for the money, has suited us very well in what passes for winter down here.As stated, Cycle Gear does have an excellent variety of gear, not just helmets. (YMMV) And, yes, the low end lines can be sketchy, but you can always do a comparison on the spot. We have the Hi Viz mesh jackets for summer and they work as advertised.
You know what they say about opinions......
David

[triplethreat]

I have always been one to stay away from lesser quality PPE when it comes to motorcycle riding gear.....and Bilt products are definitely lesser quality gear, in the scheme of things. Yes, many times they look just like the other brands, but there is a reason that the pricing is so much lower than higher quality brands of the same product. Unfortunately, just looking at a given product does not offer any kind of definitive proof on quality. The true test is lab testing to see how various products hold up when subjected to tests that are meant to stress the product. Some of us, myself included has crash tested some of the products that we use. I've only been down once on the street, but three different times on the race track. In all four instances, the products that I was wearing prevented much more serious injuries and I was happy that I had spent the time on researching and the money on buying products that I felt were superior to some of the others that were of lesser quality. I have always been an ATGATT type of guy, and will continue to wear what I feel offers the most protection to keep me safe in the event of an "off". Dress for the crash, not for the ride!

[Scotts8826]

My first jacket came from Cycle Gear. I was pleased with it. After a few years i upgraded to a higher priced, higher quality jacket but i was never disappointed in the Cycle Gear brand. Besides online sales, they have a significant retail chain. If a location is near you, you should try on the gear yourself once they are open.

[LongIsland]

I've purchased and still use items from Cycle Gear. BILT coats for myself and my sweetheart for cold temperature riding. Both have Cycle Gears Freeze-out liners which keep us warm, base layer freeze-out pants to keep our legs warm, and freeze-out head caps. We've had these products for about 7 years and we are very satisfied with their performance.

[JimH]

I am admittedly a fanboy of the Cycle Gear store and online. I called online with questions and received great, on-point advice. The store employees have a great depth of knowledge and are very helpful before, during, and after the sales. If you buy something it is easy to return and they have great prices and selection. I have not bought BILT gear, but use Cycle Gear for my purchases.
Jim

[easysuper]

My wife and I have a number of Cycle Gear products and have not been disappointed, we like the heated gear and use it often with no problems.

[Mazo EMS2]

My wife and I use several Bilt products too...no disappointments here. I suppose it depends on what you want the gloves to provide...warmth, comfort, cooling, slide protection....they're gloves......everyone has an opinion of course.

[KX5062]

Mac, buy the best gear you can afford. Bilt products are cheap, value vs quality. You ride a lot, and I’m afraid you would be disappointed. Have you ever been unhappy with the very best?

I agree.:agree:

When Cycle Gear was a young up and coming company they featured a variety of brands with no house brand and they grew rapidly. They got bought out by a conglomerate company (Now owning Revzilla BTW) and came out with the low end Chinese BILT brand. I've found their helmets (they have to be DOT or they can't sell them), jackets, boots, and gloves are all at the very low end of the spectrum, but completely serviceable. Some of their undergarments, like their Freeze out and Heat Out lines, and socks are actually pretty decent.

They have in the last year or two came out with a higher end house brand, Sedici, which is supposed to be a little higher quality than BILT. In speaking to the clerks at my local store they did this because they got too many complaints about the lack of quality in the BILT stuff. Some of the Sedici stuff doesn't look half bad for the money, but I haven't tried it.

I've found over many years of riding that you get what you pay for in the gear department. If you don't ride much, then BILT or Sedici will be okay. If you put a lot of miles on your gear, then don't fool around and buy the best you can afford. (I personally like BMW gear, which frequently goes on sale for reasonable prices, considering the quality.)

[RICZ]

Cycle Gear is my go to clothing store. I have a lot of their gear and had it for many years with no problems. I have seen the same things on others that were popular brands and they paid twice or more what I did.
I like to try before I buy and they have tryout rooms for that purpose.
Go to Cycle Gear and YOU decide for yourself. Don't let me or others influence you.

[ARtraveler]

Good points of view from both sides. :yes:

[HayRog]

Both Deb and I like Cycle gear, owning several pair of their gloves and Deb's winter jacket and waterproof boots. Never any problems with them as far as quality and great prices.
Helmets ? I've always purchased named brands (mainly Shoei, also HJC, Bell, Scorpion, etc) and always full face. Always wanted to try a modular but not at the $500-$600 price point. Thought I'd give the Bilt Power Boost Modular a try - great on sale price !

I have not been disappointed at all. Good fit, comfortable, drop down sun visor, pinlock shield ready and installed. My only small gripe is the inability to crack the shield any less than a 1/2" - I can live with that. We ridden a few miles, as our signature map shows.
Hope this and the previous posts help the OP

[JayBros]

I have two experienced views of Cycle Gear clothing. On the good side, I recently consigned to the dust bin a Bilt mesh summer jacket that gave up the ghost after 5+ years and 65K+ miles. It was miserably faded, had some wear holes beginning to show and was getting generally ratty. It served me very well. On the bad side, my first pair of mesh summer gloves were impregnated with a really s****y dye that came of on my hands every time I donned them. Needless to say they had a very short wardrobe life.

[Highwayman2013]

I've always been skeptical about Cycle Gear Bilt brand products. I guess I've always figured they came from China and had to be cheaply made in order to be so low priced compared to brand name products. I don't see a lot of brand name items in the Cycle Gear store or catalog. But I need to get a pair of new riding gloves and decided I really should find out if maybe I've been unjustifiably putting them down. So, my question is does anyone here have experience with Bilt products, particularly things like jackets, gloves, and helmets? Are they worth considering? What's been your experience with them?

The Bilt stuff is good and their other store brand Sedici is a step up in features. Now that they are working with Revzilla they have stepped up the quality. I just purchased some Bilt gloves because my 5 year old Sedici's are worn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaqugXO56dc&t=2s

[AVBIZ]

A lot of people don’t realize you can upgrade a value purchase or gear you already own with more robust armor padding. Interesting article:

https://ridermagazine.com/2019/07/29/level-up-upgrading-your-riding-apparel-armor/

[ThreeWheels]

I've had some BILT products. I have no problem with them. My mesh gloves have failed at the seem by the palm from repeated tugging when putting the gloves on. I just sewed it up.
I have a winter jacket that I'm quite pleased with.
Value priced ?? Sure.
I'd say you get roughly 90% of the quality for about 75% of the price. Is that good enough ? Each one has to make their own decision.

[LeftCoast]

I agree.:agree:

When Cycle Gear was a young up and coming company they featured a variety of brands with no house brand and they grew rapidly. They got bought out by a conglomerate company (Now owning Revzilla BTW) and came out with the low end Chinese BILT brand. I've found their helmets (they have to be DOT or they can't sell them), jackets, boots, and gloves are all at the very low end of the spectrum, but completely serviceable. Some of their undergarments, like their Freeze out and Heat Out lines, and socks are actually pretty decent.

They have in the last year or two came out with a higher end house brand, Sedici, which is supposed to be a little higher quality than BILT. In speaking to the clerks at my local store they did this because they got too many complaints about the lack of quality in the BILT stuff. Some of the Sedici stuff doesn't look half bad for the money, but I haven't tried it.

I've found over many years of riding that you get what you pay for in the gear department. If you don't ride much, then BILT or Sedici will be okay. If you put a lot of miles on your gear, then don't fool around and buy the best you can afford. (I personally like BMW gear, which frequently goes on sale for reasonable prices, considering the quality.)

I didn’t realize Sedici was a house brand. I have a pair of Sedici summer over pants that are decent but the fastening system needs better design. Their weight, ventilation and padding are all good. I don’t wear them much since I got the Bohn armor that I now wear under my jeans.

The Sedici jacket is great for fall, Calif winter and early spring. Hi viz, 2 layers to remove depending on the temp. The only thing I’d change is more zippers for ventilation when it’s warmer.

Now that I’ve written this I guess I should just wash all the gear and get ready for being able to ride again!

[triplethreat]

Just curious.....how many of those that have posted that "Bilt" products are good, have actually crash tested that claim and was still happy with the product after the crash? I'm talking about hitting the pavement type crashing!

[Navydad]

Just curious.....how many of those that have posted that "Bilt" products are good, have actually crash tested that claim and was still happy with the product after the crash? I'm talking about hitting the pavement type crashing!

My son has a Bilt mesh jacket. I compared it to my Tourmaster mesh jacket. The padding is the same CE approved in both jackets. The mesh material on the Bilt is as heavy as the Tourmaster. The big differences are in the zippers and other fasteners, they are rather cheap, Also the liner with the Bilt is much thinner and less quality material. For those that can't afford the high $$$ stuff the Bilt brand is miles ahead of the T-shirt or denim jacket that a lot of folks are wearing. It's called variety and I'm glad we have it. Buy what you can afford or are comfortable with and enjoy the ride.

[triplethreat]

My son has a Bilt mesh jacket. I compared it to my Tourmaster mesh jacket. The padding is the same CE approved in both jackets. The mesh material on the Bilt is as heavy as the Tourmaster. The big differences are in the zippers and other fasteners, they are rather cheap, Also the liner with the Bilt is much thinner and less quality material. For those that can't afford the high $$$ stuff the Bilt brand is miles ahead of the T-shirt or denim jacket that a lot of folks are wearing. It's called variety and I'm glad we have it. Buy what you can afford or are comfortable with and enjoy the ride.

I appreciate your input and comparison. What you stated about zippers, fasteners, and many times the amount of stitching (or lack of it) and the material used for the actual stitching, can make a huge difference whether or not a product survives in a crash or get off scenario. Even the highest rated CE armor doesn't do much good if the jacket or pants that contains it comes apart during an incident. And I also know that not everyone can plop down a couple of grand for helmet, jacket, pants, gloves, boots, etc. but my opinion is that you should always try to buy the very best that you can afford....and like you said, any type of protective equipment is usually better than Zero equipment or blue jeans and t-shirts.

[troop]

Just curious.....how many of those that have posted that "Bilt" products are good, have actually crash tested that claim and was still happy with the product after the crash? I'm talking about hitting the pavement type crashing!

I hope I don't crash enough to test the Olympia/Cortech/Toumaster/Alpinestars/Indian/Harley/etc gear I have to verify effectiveness :( :)

[JeffandLori]

Just curious.....how many of those that have posted that "Bilt" products are good, have actually crash tested that claim and was still happy with the product after the crash? I'm talking about hitting the pavement type crashing!

How many times have you crash tested your gear?

[ARtraveler]

Enough of the "crash test" discussion :bowdown:. I was going to delete the references last night, but let it run through today.

No more back and forth on the subject please. Unless you are consumer reports, or some like testing agency...the question is out of line. It started as a discussion about the brand. Like or no like. We don't need to go beyond that here.

Happily...most of us have not needed to "crash test" our safety gear.

We all have choices. There are many brands to choose from. The reasons for choosing are many. No need to diss a particular brand.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Enough of the "crash test" discussion :bowdown:. I was going to delete the references last night, but let it run through today.

No more back and forth on the subject please. Unless you are consumer reports, or some like testing agency...the question is out of line. It started as a discussion about the brand. Like or no like. We don't need to go beyond that here.

Happily...most of us have not needed to "crash test" our safety gear.

We all have choices. There are many brands to choose from. The reasons for choosing are many. No need to diss a particular brand.

:agree: ...100% with what you are saying about ...in-appropriate / un-necessary comments ...... WHY does this happen ??? .... because imho people " see a thread ... don't read any other comments ... and just post their point of view !! " .... an example of this is : people start a Question thread .... and the Same answer is repeated multiple times ....WHY - because nobody read ANY other posts .... personally when I try to give an answer, I try and re-view what has already been said .... if I can Add something new, that's what I do ..... frankly I think the world is getting LAZY, folks won't take the time to READ ..... if there is NO video or pics ..... ( just a detailed explanation ) ... I read comments like " well no video/pics - it didn't happen. ...... sorry end of rant, procede with caution ...:roflblack:......ride safe - ride happy .... Mike :ohyea:....PS, I think the long time members have a better sense for " not re-peating answers in the same thread " .....:thumbup:

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Thanks guys for all the comments. To sum it up the way I see it, Bilt products are OK, and pretty good taking price into consideration, but are at the lower end of the quality and durability spectrum overall for such products. I'm thinking their gloves would be decent, but probably ought to be replaced reasonably often, like every year. Plus, a pair of new Bilt gloves would undoubtedly be better than my several years old Icon gloves.

[SpyderAnn01]

We like to say they are Bilt, not well built.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Mac, buy the best gear you can afford. Bilt products are cheap, value vs quality. You ride a lot, and I’m afraid you would be disappointed. Have you ever been unhappy with the very best?
Well yes, I have. I bought a new Nolan 104 modular helmet at their closeout price during WingDing 2016 in Billings. I'm sure I tried one on, but don't recall now. I had and used three earlier 101, 102, and 103, Nolans. I really liked them. But the 104 wasn't quite the same shape and size as the earlier ones, even though the size designation was the same. It has never fit properly, even after squashing down some of the styrofoam liner around my ears. I think it's time to dump it and find me another helmet. And it may be time to loosen up on brand loyalty! :dontknow:

[Motorcycledave]

How many times have you crash tested your gear?

Just once, I dont want to do that again and my BILT armor worked just fine.

[RICZ]

I have gloves, riding pants, and jackets I bought decades ago at CG. There's not only years on them, but tens of thousands of miles with only natural wear.
I recommend CG.

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

i like cycle gear because i can try stuff on & they helped me install & tune my sena on my helmet i didn't buy from them. the one i go to sells tires
but they don't do installs so my dealer has to take care of my indian.