Talkback: The World's safest race suit? It has a certificate...

I'm not 100% convinced by the PR.

The Cambridge standard, from which the CE standard was derived, has three levels:

1. Capable of withstanding a low speed accident.
2. Capable of withstanding a high speed accident. 
3. Capable of withstanding multiple high speed accidents.

When the CE standard was drafted some of the gear manufacturers successfully lobbied to have level 3 removed, as they felt that it was too hard to attain.

However some of the small operations, such as BKS, Crowtree and Hideout have worked to Cambridge Level 3. So I'd argue that they're more protective.

Furthermore the GIMOTO suit's armour only meets CE EN 1621-1, and not the more impact absorbing CE EN 1621-2.

That said, most leathers don't meet any of the CE standards, so I'd take GIMOTO's offering over them. What's even worse is that without this certification a manufacturer cannot sell gear as being protective, but most of them do.

Thanks for the feedback.

I would add the following clarification:

1.  The Cambridge standard is primarily all about the robustness and quality of construction and protection - not about design, ergonomics, comfort or 'wearability'.  So, theoretically an Level 3 suit offers no greater protection than Level 2 in a first crash, but will (theoretically) retain more of its protection after a crash - with all of the design disadvantages involved in meeting that Level.
2.  Level 3 makes the suit very stiff and heavy, so not suitable ergonomics for racing.  (Or it must be loose, or take many years of 'breaking-in' before it is comfortable.
3.  Because a Level 3 suit is stiff and heavy it will need to be a looser fit to allow body movement and comfort - which means that it cannot be a close fit.  We know that a close fit is ultimately critical to rider protection because it makes sure all the armour stays in the right place, and helps to prevent skid/friction burns and associated injuries caused by the rider sliding inside the suit during a crash.  (See Andrews crash at Valencia - not a mark on his body!). That is why most of our suits are made-to-measure.
4. As far as we know, Level 3 suits have been usually made in thick leather, are 2-piece 100% leather designs (no elastic), only in black, in a limited number of standard sizes for police and military riders.
5.  Gimoto can make a fully ergonomic race suit to Level 2, in any of our standard colours, in any of our standard sizes - including made-to-measure - this is a huge step forward in design and technology.  For the first time a rider (or racer) can be sure that what he is buying will actually  perform as he hopes it will in a crash.
And, of course, this design and materials technology will trickle down to other suits in the Gimoto range, improving the protection offered by all of them.

6. There is only one level of CE standard for impact armour -  CE EN 1621-1

7. CE EN 1621-2 is the standard for back protectors (also used for chest protectors) - this standard has 2 levels of impact test and acceptable energy transfer.

I hope that's all clear and helpful.

Regarding airbags in suits - you need to be careful for what you wish for.

The consequences for a bike rider in an unwanted inflation are probably more severe than for a car driver, and probably more likely, given the more complex dynamic environment that a biker has to withstand.
Deployment of a 'built-in' airbag will require the suit to be professionally re-built, and at some expense.

With the current state of the technology, our view is that if you really want an airbag, then a 'gilet' type to wear over your main protective suit is the way to go.