Hey guys,

I have a set of alpinestars leathers for my bike which ill be wearing alot over the summer ( 70miles a day for a few months) which i also did last year. So i want to make sure that they are still gunna be good to do several years to come!

What would people recomend to clean and treat them with? Bearing in mind they have and will see a few rainy days.

Also they can be quite squeaky when walking, now i know this is normal with leather but it can be quite loud and annoying, is there anything i can do to them to reduce this, also my boots squeak like hell when walking in them, anything i can do to these?

Last thing, the velcro on my boots isnt brilliant anymore, any tips on renewing it so the velcro doesnt come off when riding?

Cheers All

Try Nikwax leather care, it waterproofs as well. Can't help with the Velcro, might be best to see a cobbler about them.

+1 for nikwax... very messy way to do it but I used to use my fingers to massage it in as the body heat used to soften it till almost a liquid. massage it into the creaky areas and it really helps with the noise. ensure all the seams are soaked as this will greatly improve the waterproofing.... but it is messy (p.s. tried most things over 15 years of riding and this worked the best)

[Edited on 25/3/11 by keithice]

As above but try to wear a big fleece or teeshirt over the top of your leathers to catch the squished flies. It's easier to put a teeshirt in the washing machine, than your leathers!!

I'd agree Nikwax is good stuff.

My Mrs revives velcro using parcel tape to draw the fluff and crap out, basically she sticks the tape on the velcro, gives it a good work into the hooks or loops, and slowly pulls it away, along with an amazing ammount of fluff and debris.

is the squeaking definately from the leathers, or do your joints need a bit of oil.

Nikwax is good but messy - best kept for boots, for your leathers try Glipton liquid leather; http://www.liquidleather.com/
I've been using it on one jacket for over 20 years and it still looks good.

Cheers for all the responses guys, will give it a try!