Motorcycle helmets on display in the RaceLeathers helmet room in Darwen, Lancashire

Race Leathers Lancashire's Premier Motorcycle Clothing Store

RaceLeathers started in 2004 with five styles of our own-brand motorcycle gloves.

Five!

You could count the entire range on one hand, which was quite appropriate when you think about it.

More than 20 years later, our motorcycle clothing shop in Darwen, Lancashire, is packed with helmets, jackets, trousers, boots, gloves, race suits, armour, intercoms and all the other bits riders tend to remember five minutes after setting off.

We sell online across the UK too, but we are still a fully independent motorcycle retailer at heart. There is no head office sending us a laminated sales script, and nobody earns a gold star for persuading you to buy the most expensive jacket in the building.

The idea is fairly simple: help riders find kit that fits properly, suits the riding they actually do and falls somewhere within the boundaries of what they can realistically afford.

From Five Styles of Gloves to a Shop Full of Gear

RaceLeathers began small, but the range grew because riders kept asking us for more.

First came more gloves, then clothing, helmets, boots and accessories. Before long, what started as a small range had turned into a proper motorcycle gear shop.

Today, we stock thousands of products from brands including Alpinestars, Richa, Dainese, Klim, Rukka, Halvarssons, Lindstrands, Shoei, HJC, Schuberth, Nolan and plenty more besides.

Across the shop and website, you will find:

We also carry less frighteningly priced alternatives because not everybody needs, wants or can justify top-end touring kit.

Sometimes the expensive jacket is absolutely the right one. Sometimes the cheaper jacket fits better, does everything you need and leaves enough money for petrol.

Funny old world.

We Do Not All Ride the Same Way

There is no single set of motorcycle clothing that suits everybody.

Some riders commute every day in whatever weather Britain decides to throw at them. Others tour across Europe, spend weekends on the trails or head to track days whenever the bank balance allows it.

Some are learning on a 125. Some have been riding for decades. Some only bring the bike out after checking the forecast on three different apps and then looking suspiciously at the sky.

All of them need different gear.

A heavily insulated touring jacket may be ideal for someone riding through winter, but it is not much fun on a warm summer Sunday. A lightweight mesh jacket is lovely when the sun is out, but considerably less impressive halfway across Scotland when the rain starts coming at you sideways.

That is why we ask what you ride, where you ride and how often you use the bike before steering you towards anything.

The right gear is not necessarily the most expensive gear. It is the gear that fits properly, offers suitable protection and works for the riding you actually do.

Proper Fit Matters More Than the Badge

A famous logo does not make badly fitting motorcycle gear work properly.

Motorcycle helmet sizes are particularly entertaining. One brand's medium can fit perfectly, while another brand's medium feels like a Victorian punishment device.

Your head has a shape as well as a measurement. Some helmets suit rounder heads, while others suit longer or more oval head shapes. Moving up a size is not always the answer because the larger helmet may then move around too much.

That is why trying helmets on properly matters.

The same goes for jackets and trousers. Motorcycle clothing sizes appear to have been invented by several people who never met each other. One brand's large is another brand's not a chance.

A jacket might zip up but still be too loose to hold the armour in place. A pair of trousers might fit around the waist while putting the knee armour somewhere near your shins.

Armour needs to sit over the part of you it is supposed to protect, not wave at it from a safe distance.

In store, we can help check:

Helmet size and head shape
Whether a helmet moves too much
Where the shoulder, elbow and knee armour sits
Whether a jacket is too loose or restrictive
How jackets and trousers overlap in a riding position
Whether boots work with your feet, calves and trousers
Whether the product genuinely suits what you need it for

Sometimes the answer is a different size. Sometimes it is another brand. Occasionally, the answer is simply, That one does not fit you.

We would rather say that than send you away wearing it.

Premium Kit and Sensibly Priced Alternatives

We stock high-end motorcycle clothing because some riders genuinely need it.

If you spend long days touring in all weathers, good laminated waterproofing, effective ventilation, quality armour and strong construction can make a major difference.

That does not mean everybody needs to spend four figures getting dressed for a Sunday ride to the cafe.

Alongside premium brands, we stock properly approved motorcycle clothing and helmets at more affordable prices. This is particularly important for new riders who may need a helmet, jacket, trousers, gloves and boots all at once.

That shopping list can become expensive rather quickly, especially after buying a bike, insurance, training and enough security to make the average garden shed look like Fort Knox.

Our job is to explain where spending more gives you something useful and where it probably does not.

There is no prize for leaving the shop with the largest receipt.

New Riders Are Welcome

Walking into a motorcycle clothing shop for the first time can be daunting.

Everybody appears to be talking about ECE 22.06, AA and AAA ratings, armour levels, waterproof membranes and enough model numbers to launch a small satellite.

You are not expected to understand all of it before you arrive.

We can explain what the different standards mean in ordinary English, without making you feel daft for asking. Nobody was born knowing the difference between Level 1 and Level 2 armour.

New riders often need to balance protection, comfort and cost. We will help you work out what matters most and where your money is best spent.

You do not have to dress like a MotoGP rider for a trip to work. On the other hand, ordinary fashion jeans, trainers and blind optimism do not make much of a protection system either.

There is a sensible middle ground, and we can help you find it.

Motorcycle Gear for Real People

Riders come in different heights, shapes and sizes. Motorcycle clothing manufacturers have occasionally noticed this, although not always at the same time.

We carry ranges for men, women and younger riders, with different cuts and fits across the brands we stock.

Some jackets are short and sporty. Others are longer and better suited to touring. Some are generous across the shoulders, while others appear to have been designed around somebody shaped like a racing snake.

Having a large choice gives us a better chance of finding something that fits properly rather than trying to convince you that the only thing available is near enough.

Near enough is not particularly helpful when the elbow armour is halfway up your arm.

What Customer Service Means to Us

Anybody can put exceptional customer service on a website. It takes about four seconds and proves absolutely nothing.

Good service means listening before trying to sell you something.

It means explaining the differences without drowning you in technical rubbish. It means being honest when a cheaper item will do the job perfectly well and equally honest when spending a little more would make a genuine difference.

It also means helping after the sale.

Nobody gets everything right all the time. Products can develop faults, sizes can be wrong and occasionally something simply does not work out as expected.

When there is a genuine problem, we deal with it rather than suddenly becoming impossible to contact.

Why Visit RaceLeathers in Darwen?

Buying online is convenient, but a website cannot tell you that your head is more oval than you thought or that your knees live slightly lower than the trouser designer expected.

At our Darwen store, you can try different makes, compare sizes and see how products actually feel before buying them.

You can also have a proper rummage.

We regularly have clearance items, discontinued lines, odd sizes and one-off deals in store that may never appear online. Sometimes there is nothing wrong with the product at all. We simply need the space because another mountain of boxes has arrived.

There is no obligation to buy the first thing you try, and there is certainly no need to pretend something fits because you have already spent ten minutes wrestling your way into it.

Come out, take a breath and try something else.

RaceLeathers
Britannia Mill
136 Bolton Road
Darwen
Lancashire
BB3 1BZ

Our usual opening hours are Monday to Saturday, 10am until 5pm. We are closed on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

You can find the address, telephone number and current opening information on our RaceLeathers contact page.

Buying Motorcycle Gear Online

Not everybody can get to Darwen, so our motorcycle helmets, clothing, boots, gloves and accessories are also available through the RaceLeathers website.

We deliver across the UK and provide as much useful sizing and product information as possible.

Even so, motorcycle sizing can be awkward. When you are unsure, give us a call on 01254 704000 before ordering.

We would rather spend a few minutes talking through your measurements and how a particular product fits than send the wrong size backwards and forwards across the country.

You May Have Seen Keith Wandering Around the Shop

Anyone following RaceLeathers on Facebook may already have seen Keith inspecting jackets, trying on helmets, demonstrating gloves or wandering slightly away from the original subject.

There is usually a plan.

It does not always remain completely intact.

The videos are not intended to be polished television adverts. They are there to show products properly, point out the useful details and explain things in the same plain English you would hear in the shop.

We do not believe every new zip is revolutionary, every jacket is game-changing or every black colourway needs describing as anything more exciting than boring black.

We enjoy what we do and do not take ourselves too seriously.

Fit, protection and giving people accurate advice are the bits we take seriously.

Why RaceLeathers?

RaceLeathers has changed considerably since those first five styles of gloves, but the basic idea has not.

Offer riders a proper choice.

Charge realistic prices.

Explain the differences honestly.

Help people find equipment that fits them and the riding they actually do.

No hard sell. No pretending that everybody needs the most expensive product in the shop. No baffling people with technical terms purely to sound clever.

Just proper motorcycle gear, straight answers and useful fitting advice from an independent motorcycle clothing shop that has been doing this since 2004.

After all, the purpose of the whole thing is fairly simple:

Keep the skin in & the road out.

Browse our motorcycle helmets, motorcycle clothing, motorcycle boots and motorcycle gloves online, or visit RaceLeathers in Darwen for proper fitting help and advice.

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