Held Gear focus: Hakuna Jacket

With the chilly weather rolling in fast our focus switches to being warm, dry, safe yet not sweaty!

The Held Hakuna / Matata trousers combination offers breathability, waterproofness, windproofness and style at an affordable price.

Motor Cycle Sport & Leisure Journo Bruce Wilson puts Held Hakuna / Matata combo. through their paces!

Held Hakuna Jacket

• Dupont CORDURA shell
• Highly abrasion resistant shell fabric
• HUMAX Z-Liner membrane with light thermal insulation
• Waterproof, windproof and breathable
• AIR-VENT zippers front, back & arms
• Zip-off side panels for max airflow
• COOLMAX mesh lining
• KNOX CE shoulder and elbow armour
• TEMPERFOAM foam back padding
• Back upgradeable with CE armour
• SCOTCHLITE panels
• ISO4916 safety seams
• Connector zip for trousers
• Fully adjustable

Take on the world with confidence in this cutting edge touring jacket. This jacket also has AIR-VENT zippers in the front, back and arms, zip off side panels, and a concealed AIR-VENT channel underneath the front zip for extra cooling when the going gets hot! With dupont CORDURA outer shell, COOLMAX mesh lining, and HUMAX Z-Liner membrane it is the ultimate in comfort for the long way round, down or up! It also packs a punch with KNOX CE armour at the shoulders and elbows, TEMPERFOAM at the back, upgradeable to CE armour. If you are after style, comfort and protection in a jacket that can take on continents and win, this is THE jacket for you!

Retails at just £269.99! For a list of Held Stockists visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Also available in Black / Grey and as above with orange trim instead of grey.

JOY FOR JEACOCK AT BRANDS FINALE

SUPERBIKES – Stockingford’s racing sensation and Held wearer Leon Jeacock ended his 2012 campaign in a blaze of glory at the Brands Hatch Racing Circuit in Kent over the weekend.  Taking part in the last round of the Metzeler National Superstock 600 Championship, Jeacock was determined to end the season on a high note.

Leon Jeacock- good finale at Brands

Struggling in Friday and Saturday’s qualifying sessions, Jeacock started  Sunday’s race in 19th position and back on row 5 of the grid.  Making his typical  blistering start and holding position throughout the 14-lap race, Jeacock made up an incredible seven places to cross the finishing line in 12th position.

“Absolutely delighted with today’s result” said Jeacock “I struggled in qualifying which always makes the race hard work from row 5, but it all came together when it mattered and I am thrilled with 12th place”.

Sunday’s result meant another 4 points added to his tally, and overall Jeacock finishes in 16th place on the Championship leaderboard.

“It’s been a mixed bag this year” said Jeacock reflecting on his 2012 season “we’ve had some good results, some bad, some real bad luck and some brilliant top 10 finishes!  But I’m pleased with 16th place in the Championship overall, we have a solid Team now, all pulling in the same direction and it’s definitely made a huge difference with my racing this year.  We definitely have something great to build on and take forward into the 2013 season”.

“I would like to say a huge thank you to all of the Team for their support this year; Mike Dorey at BMC Racing for preparing a superb bike for me all year, Mum and Dad, my fiancé Jo Dearden, Craig and Lennie Collins, Kath and Richard Dorey, Jordan Hodgson, Richard Johnson, In Touch Sports Media and Marketing, and to my sponsors; Held Bike Gear, Nexx helmets, Advance Forwarding, Arbury Gates, Moto Central and Nuffield Health Nuneaton”.

Leon is actively seeking sponsorship for the 2013 season and would love to hear from anyone who may be able to help in any way. If anyone would like to get involved or receive a 2013 Sponsorship Portfolio, please do not hesitate to contact Leon directly at leon@leonjeacock.co.uk or Richard Johnson at richard@leonjeacock.co.uk.

Leon Jeacock is kindly supported by Nuffield Health & Wellbeing Centre Nuneaton, BMC Racing, Held Rider Equipment, LJR Race Products, Manbat Ltd, Arbury Gates & Railings, DP Brakes, Nexx Helmets, Moto-Central, Advance Bike Shipping, In Touch Sports Media & Marketing and The “#55” Club.
 

Images: Ian Ward www.bikesportpics.com

For more information on Held and a list of UK dealers please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

HARD BATTLE FOR JEACOCK AT SILVERSTONE

SUPERBIKES – Stockingford’s own track-ace and Held wearer Leon Jeacock found himself in the middle of a hard-fought battle for points this weekend as he took part in Round 11 of the 2012 Metzeler National Superstock 600 Championship at the Silverstone circuit in Northampton.

Held wearer Leon Jeacock

 Friday – Free Practice & Qualifying 1
Miserable, drizzly weather hampered Friday’s free practice session, and despite feeling under the weather himself, Jeacock clocked up some pretty impressive lap times to finish sixth fastest at the end of the half hour session.

“Really pleased with that, the bike felt great even in the wet which isn’t the best of racing conditions but I’m pleased with how it all went and hoping we can continue that sort of form in this afternoon’s qualifying” said a satisfied Jeacock.

The rain had stopped by the time the first of the qualifying sessions started on Friday afternoon and completing a total of 10 laps, Jeacock took twelfth position overall.

Saturday –Qualifying 2
Saturday welcomed glorious sunshine and blue skies over the Northamptonshire circuit and the second qualifying session for the Superstock 600 riders saw Jeacock once again recording some very quick times to finish 11th quickest from the 36-rider field. That performance, added to his times from Friday meant Jeacock qualified for Sunday’s race in 11thposition, and starting from row 3 on the grid.

“Very happy with qualifying today” said a delighted Jeacock“bike felt really quick and really pleased to be off the third row tomorrow. Fingers crossed I can make a good start!”

Sunday – Race
Sunday’s race was declared dry and hoping for a good start from P11 on the grid Jeacock unluckily got caught behind a couple of fallers on the first lap, pushing him right back in 25th place. However, not to let this defeat him, Jeacock battled hard for the remaining 9 laps and managed to pick off a further 11 fellow competitors to take the chequered flag in 14th position.

“First lap didn’t make things easy!” said Jeacock “was hoping a good start would have put me right up in the running today, but I guess these things happen in our sport! Really pleased to have added some more Championship points to the tally though, looking forward now to the season close at Brands Hatch in a couple of weeks”.

Jeacock goes into the showdown of the 2012 Metzeler National Superstock 600 Championship in 18th position on the Championship leaderboard. The season finale takes place at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent from the 12 – 14 October.

Leon, who celebrates his 24th birthday on Thursday, is seeking sponsorship for the 2013 race season and would love to hear from anyone who may be able to help in any way. If anyone would like to get involved or receive a sponsorship portfolio, please do not hesitate to contact Leon directly at leon@leonjeacock.co.uk or Richard Johnson at richard@leonjeacock.co.uk.

For more information on Held in the UK, and for a list of stockists please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Held Air N Dry Gloves- by Infinity Motorcycles

Keith, head man at Infinity Motorcycles in London has written the following review about our Air 'n Dry gloves:

It’s not very often that a completely new type of product lands on our doorstep at Infinity Motorcycles but this year saw the arrival of a new type of glove that was truly unique; the twin chambered Held Air N Dry.

Held Air n Dry Gloves

Held is a relatively new brand to us at Infinity Motorcycles but it arrived with an excellent reputation, especially in the glove department, so when I was given the opportunity to be the company test mule for these gloves I naturally jumped at the chance.

Like most year ‘round riders I own a variety of gloves, and quite often wear one pair into work and another type on the way home to best match the prevailing conditions. The design of these means that I can choose which chamber to put my hand in for the journey instead of carrying a spare pair of gloves with me.

Two chambers- vented and Gore-Tex

The gloves are gauntlet style with kangaroo skin used in the palms for strength and durability. Cordura is used on the back of the glove with hard plastic knuckles and vents on the fingers. They have a very easy to use wrist restraint, not at all fiddly like many I have come across, and there is a very hard ceramic material called Superfabric at the base of the palms which helps prevent wrist and shoulder injuries if it all goes wrong.

If you’re after a lightweight and very protective pair of summer waterproof glove then these are the ones for you. They won’t keep you particularly warm when the ambient drops into single figures, but when there is a slight chill in the morning air that usually means reaching for something without vents then these work brilliantly. For the ride home on the rare occasions (at least this summer!) that the sun is beating down then they also do the job in a refreshing and cooling way that usually only a pair of full on summer gloves will do.

Anyone who has been touring will know that carrying a couple of pairs of gloves is almost compulsory as the morning air riding through the mountains is a lot different to the afternoon air in the valleys. These do the job of both pairs brilliantly, and from my experience this year they are the perfect gloves for the soggy English summer!

Unsurprisingly I have had the chance to try these out in heavy rain and like any Goretex product they simply work. The narrow cuffs mean that they fit under the cuffs of my jacket which is the way to keep things dry. Personally I would like the cuffs to be a little bit larger, or maybe elasticated so that they could slide over my jacket sleeves a bit easier as it’s a fiddly task getting them  under the jacket cuffs, and largely pointless when it’s not raining.

That’s the only criticism I can offer of what is a genuinely brilliant product.

Keith Roissetter
Manager, Infinity Motorcycles, London.

Thank you very much Keith! to find out about Held in the UK and your nearest Held stockist, please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Held wearer Tom Weeden- Donington race report

On the back of a successful weekend at the Triumph Live race meet at Mallory Park, with Held wearerTom gaining his first  podiums of the season with a 1st and 2nd position, Weeden was certainly feeling confident going into round 7 of the Triumph Triple Challenge at Donington Park last weekend. After dropping to 5th in the championship standings at Cadwell Park, Tom was eager to score as many points as possible. 

Tom Weeden- looking forward to Silverstone

Tom set about learning the track in practice and put as many laps in as possible in the time available. He posted the 9th fastest time but was confident he could find a lot of time with new rubber on in qualifying. Weeden went almost 2 seconds faster in qualifying to put him 7th on the grid after being higher up the grid early on in the session. 

From the inside position on the grid Tom got off to a great start and slotted into 6th position into turn 1. He rode aggressively into turn two and went inside of two riders going into the fast Craner curve bends to move up into 4th position. He remained in 4th position as he rode a pretty lonely race trying to keep the gap back to 5th position at a constant second and trying if possible to catch 3rd position man Chrissy Rouse. 

Tom put in some very consistent lap times however by lap 7 of 10 the gap back to 5th had been closed to only 0.2 seconds. Weeden put his head down and tried to gap the rider behind him when on lap 8 the race was red flagged and stopped due to the rider behind him crashing out at the Melbourne loop. Tom was happy with 4th and had been moved up to 4th position on the grid where he hoped he could potentially challenge for a podium. 

Weeden got off to another brilliant start in race 2 and slotted straight into 2nd position into turn 1.  He remained in 2nd until lap 4 when he dropped down to 3rd after Phil Atkinson passed him. Unfortunately Tom had a huge moment coming out of the Melbourne loop that almost saw Weeden highside, luckily he managed to stay on the bike however he had a lost 2 seconds to the riders behind him on that lap. 

Tom dropped to 4th on lap 6 after championship leader Rob Guiver passed him. He held onto 4th position for as long as he possibly could however unfortunately he lost out on lap 9 due to a false neutral to drop back into 5th position. He remained in 5th until the chequered flag and was happy to have stayed on and scored some decent points, on another note 6th position was almost 7 seconds behind Tom. 

Weeden is next out at Silverstone, a track where he qualified 2nd on last year is hoping to push for a podium position. 





For more information on Tom Weeden please visit www.tomweeden.com.

For more information on Held in the UK and a list of stockists please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Living with: Held Cartagena Sport boots

I love my Held Shaku boots. Like RiDE magazine said about the Held Agron (Shaku boot with extras) 'It's the most comfortable boot I've ever worn'. So, I was reluctant when I was asked to try the Held Cartagena sport boot, RRP £134.99.

Having said that, when they arrived it was clear I was going to look more sporty from head to toe- like this: 

Cartagena- finished off the sport look nicely

Now before you say 'Power Ranger' Held do the gear in lots of colour combos- I just like to be seen from a safety point of view :)

I've now ridden over 1000 miles in them, through a lot wetter weather than I would normally like to in a sport boot, thanks to the lovely English Summer! On more than one occasion the road was ENTIRELY flooded, meaning the boots got a soaking. Here's how I got on with them:

Out of the box: 

 First impressions- look smart, really liked the comfortable sole- something that has lacked in boots I've previously owned. Lots of protection, liked the nifty little vents on the side.

See here for all the photos when the boot first arrived: Cartagena boots

Out on the road: 

The fit & comfort

I was expecting sore feet- as you'd get from new footwear. Especially as, by the nature of a solid, highly protective sport boot, they are quite hard. However! The fit was nice and a baptism of fire at a club racing event (walking around spectating, not competing!) left me feeling bewildered as to why my feet were unscathed. Not what I expected and pleasantly surprised.

The zips are 'YKK'- makers of fine zips, and the velcro is very strong and has remained in perfect working order despite lots of hammer and dowsings in water! Incidentally, I was surpised not to get wet feet with the amount of two inch deep puddles I went through over Summer. OK, I wouldn't wear these in wet, winter weather but when caught short during the awful Summer weather I was again pleased with their performance.

Comfy soft fabric mesh inner lining. Strong velcro

Sport boot squeak?

Yes! they did eventually develop that famous sport boot squeak in the ankle protection area, nowhere near the levels of Alpinestars and Sidi boots I've had in the past however. The squeak though was easily rectified with a two weekly little squirt-n-rub with GT85 (like WD40) that you can get from Halfords. Maybe not what the manufacturer would want to hear, but it works for me and cleans the boot at the same time!

Wear and tear

Over 1,000 miles covered in them, in the awful Summer in conditions you'd not usually put a sport boot through and they've been superb. Apart from scuffs down to clumsiness of the wearer (!) there's no stitching undone, no 'bits coming off' and nothing peeling. 

Detachable toe sliders- should you feel the need!

 I still don't find them as comfortable as my comfy Held Shaku touring boots- but I've worn nothing but the Cartagenas since I've had them- out of choice. The reason? They look smart, match my kit beautifully and were nice and light to wear, whilst offering excellent protection. In fact, if you watched Clare Myler in the Misano round of the Ducati 848 challenge she was wearing Cartagena boots.

If you're looking for a decent sport boot, these are brilliant. Also available in black and black / red (The Cartagena 'race').

For more information on Held in the UK and a list of stockists please visit www.held-uk.co.uk.

If you'd like your local dealer to stock Held- please drop guy@held-uk.co.uk a line, and he'll get on the case.

They've been talking about us, you know...

Our ears were burning, and we found out why!

Take a look at what they've been saying about Held in the motorcycling press:

We got some of these:

 Held Thunder Storm boots:

RiDE magazine: "Waterproofing- 10/10. Faultless on the road over nearly 2000 miles of mostly wet riding"


Held Agron boots: 

RiDE magazine tester: "Most comfortable boots I've ever worn"

Held 60 litre Roll bag

RiDE Magazine: "Best for big trips, RiDE Recommended"

Held Lungo Tailpack

Handle pops up trolley-style

 
Ride Magazine: "Best buy" 

Held Akira-Evo gloves 

Performance Bikes Magazine: "Really comfortable, no gimmicks, high quality"

Held Slade one-piece leather suit

Performance Bikes Magazine: "Pleasantly cool in Summer, decent detailing for the money"

All these comments in just one month. We're chuffed, of course.

For more information or stockists please visit www.held-uk.co.uk. If your local dealer does not stock Held and you'd like him too- email guy@held-uk.co.uk and we'll get on the case!