It's our Birthday! (And we've got a superb competition on!)

Held has been in business for 70 years this year- it's our Birthday! To celebrate we're running, in conjunction with Held HQ in Germany, a competition with oodles of prizes! 

So, 70 prizes worth 70,000 Euros! The first prize is to be a stunning BMW custom made motorcycle, put together by those talented chaps at Wunderlich. 

Check out the prize list here

What does it look like? That's the key question- each week choices of colours, seat styles etc are appearing on Held HQ's Facebook page and you can vote on what you'd like to see. So, truly a bike designed by bikers for bikers! You can vote for the current bike 'part' - by clicking here

The state of the build at the moment- being built by votes from bikers!

How do you enter? Very simply you can enter the free raffle by visiting any participating Held dealer in the UK. The list of current dealers that are participating, and this list will keep on growing, is located here. No purchase is necessary. Or you can simply email your name to us directly here

Held 2in1 gloves- the facts

GORE-TEX 2IN1 TECHNOLOGY: Held 2in1 Gloves

Summer - 1 glove – 2 options!

GORE-TEX® glove with + Gore 2in1 System offers a quick and simple changes between 2 separate hand chambers; guaranteeing you protection against rain and sweat while providing the most tactile grip possible. The optimal solution for sunny and inconsistent weather conditions.

In the moisture "dry" chamber

Optimum comfort via use of GORE-TEX® ultimate tactility, water/windproof and breathable. 

In the grip "breezy" chamber

This chamber is unlined and offers a high tactility as well optimal ventilation.

Advantages:

• Optimum comfort in different weather conditions, whether in rain or at sunshine
• Optimum protection against moisture when using the moisture chamber or ultimate breathability and comfort for riding in high temperatures when using the grip chamber
• Durable waterproof, windproof and highly breathable in the wetness chamber
• High tactility and ventilation in the grip chamber

Winter - 1 glove – 2 options!

GORE-TEX® gloves with the + Gore 2in1 winter technology present a quick and easy change between chamber "warm" and chamber "grip" meaning between cold and rain and also between rain and a tactile grip. The glove is an ideal partner for trips with rainy weather and/or cold conditions.

"Warm" chamber insulation

Ideal isolation by Primaloft thermal lining, ideal for cold conditions.

"Grip" chamber

Due to the innovative layer construction of the + Gore grip technology, this chamber offers ideal tactility and optimal grip.

Advantages:

• ideal comfort in different conditions, whether cold, rain or snow
• ideal protection against rain, durable waterproof, draftproof and highly breathable by GORE-TEX® technology
• high tactility in the "grip" chamber

Held Onesies!

It's fair to say that we've had a LOT of interest this week in our Held Onesie Competition, and where they are available from etc.

Held Onesies! 100% cotton, based on the 'Slade' race suit. RRP £66.99 (adult) £58.99 (youth) £41.99 (kids)

Here's the deal at the moment:

These were not actually supposed to come out until next year, but we've managed to pull out all the stops and fingers crossed a batch of adult-sized ones will be ready before Xmas- just! (The rest to follow early in the new year). 

No guarantees on that one though. It may be just after. They are however worth waiting for, and to all those that get ££s for Xmas here's a great idea for what to buy!! They are available, on a PRE-ORDER Basis from Held retailers GetGeared AND MotoCentral. Links: http://www.getgeared.co.uk/held-9695-slade-jumpsuit-onesie-red AND http://www.motocentral.co.uk/held-slade-onesie.html

Held Onesies! 100% cotton, based on the 'Slade' race suit. RRP £66.99 (adult) £58.99 (youth) £41.99 (kids)

Here's the official word on what they're like:

• Held motorcycle onesie: The perfect gift choice
• 100% cotton with quality badges & detailing
• Two pockets with an integrated hood for the perfect look

The quality you'd expect from Held: These onesies are proper. They're great quality and make the perfect gift for any motorcyclist. When you're fed up of buying them more gear for their bike, a onesie is the perfect solution. The badges and detailing is much better quality than you'd find on many high-street onesies and come on, they just look awesome. Nothing better for lounging around at home in, watching the racing in, etc!!

Here's those links again: 

http://www.motocentral.co.uk/held-slade-onesie.html

AND

http://www.getgeared.co.uk/held-9695-slade-jumpsuit-onesie-red  


AND NOW: Links are up from MotoCentral too to pre-order kids / youth sizes:

http://www.motocentral.co.uk/held-slade-onesie-infant.html

http://www.motocentral.co.uk/held-slade-onesie-youth.html

The 35,000 miles Held Gear test!!

Lands End to Lagos is an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest journey in a single country by motorcycle. Trying to raise £20,000 for Medicin Sans Frontieres (MSF).

The challenge will ride from Lands End in England to Lagos Nigeria, solo and unsupported passing through 12 countries before embarking on the attempt to break the Longest Journey by Motorcycle World Record in Nigeria. The total mileage will be in excess of 35,000 miles (56,200 KM)

Key Facts

•       1 Man and Motorcycle (solo and unsupported)- Held wearer Omo Alokwe

•       2 Continents – Europe and Africa

•       3 Ferry Crossings

•       35,000+ Miles (56,200 Kilometres) – Land’s End to Lagos + WR attempt

•       12 Countries

•       Min Temp -2°C

•       Max Temp 49°C

Omo will be wearing Held and riding a KTM for this trip

Terrain – from the snow capped Pyrenees, through the Sahara desert to Tropical rain forests. The Held gear we've supplied is going to get a real workout!

Donating to Omo and the charity through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and claim Gift Aid on eligible donations by UK taxpayers. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – Omo raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Every single penny counts - nothing is too small!

So please dig deep and donate now.

Or, you can donate via your mobile, just text LELA50£1 to 70070 with your amount; for example to donate £1, text LELA50 £1 to 70070 from your mobile phone.

We'll bring you updates from Omo as we get them - he sets off on 29th November! You can follow Omo on Twitter via @landsend2lagos.

To learn more about Held motorcycle gear and accessories in the UK, including a list of stockists and our online catalogue please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Boots ready to kick the ass of Winter (and the rest of the year too)

Conan Touring boot- RRP £229.99

Anyone old enough to remember Arnie as 'Conan the Barbarian' will know Conan stands for strong, durable and tough! ;) If there were any boots that will make me stop wearing and raving about my Held Shaku boots it's these! Boots that will certainly look after your feet, come rain, wind or shine as they say. 

Held Conan motorcycle touring boot- Available in just black too- no red bits :) 

Probably the best waterproofing in the world: The Outdry laminate membrane uses ground breaking technology to ensure that your boots are 100% waterproof. The Outdry membrane is laminated to the outer leather of the motorcycle boots. Usually in other waterproofing techniques there would be a separate membrane, it means that the rain would have to travel through the outer to the waterproof membrane and it would sit in between those two layers. That in turn means that your feet cannot breathe and they'd get cold! Outdry is laminated to the outer to ensure your feet can breathe and will be 100% dry and warm!

Outer shell
full-grain cowhide

Lining
soft fabric lining (100% polyester)

Membrane
OUTDRY®-Membrane, water-and windproof, breathable (100% polyester with 100% polyurethane)

Held Conan motorcycle touring boot- Available in just black too- no red bits :)

Fit/features
gear-shift pad
velcro adjustment at calves
anti-slip sole

Protection
detachable GFK-Fibre shin bone protection
reflective sections
ankle protection
hard plastic reinforcement inside of boot
good adjustability of the inner boot
shin protector

Colors
black 01,
black-red 02

Sizes
40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47

Boot Height (for size 43)
32 cm

To browse our collection for 2015, find a stockist near you and learn more about Held please visit 

www.held-uk.co.uk

Cowhide, Kangaroo, Stingray- Explained!

Cowhide, Kangaroo, Stingray- Explained! "Made from cowhide! Made from Pittards leather! Made from Kangaroo Leather! Made from Stingray skin!"

Ever wondered what the difference is, and why? we take a look at the different products used in Held gear..


Leather

The traditional ‘go-to’ material for motorcyclists. While often not as practical or adaptable as textiles, leather still leads the way in abrasion resistance and, with the right care, is extremely durable. Leather garments should be fitted as tight as possible in order to firmly hold protectors in place. With wear, leather garments ‘break in’ and mould to the body. Held Rider Equipment uses the finest cowhide as standard, as well as kangaroo, goat, hairsheep and stingray leather in certain applications.

Held Street II Jacket- premium cowhide

TFL COOL™ leather

Revolutionary treatment for black leather which helps it reflect solar radiation in the same way that white leather would, keeping the surface up to 20°C cooler and the wearer up to 12°C cooler, without the impracticality of wearing light colours. 

TFL Cool leather on the left, not on the right!

Pittards leather

The hairsheep is a cross between a sheep and a goat only found in the mountains of some African countries. Its hide is soft and comfortable, like goatskin, but it has a more dense – and therefore hard wearing – structure which is ideal for glove making. Pittards are the leading producer of high-grade hairsheep leather. Moisture will cause normal leather to go hard, crack and shrink. We soaked two gloves in chemical sweat for 24 hours. The Pittards WR100 hairsheep hide glove was still very soft when compared to the cowhide glove of the same thickness. Plus it is also up to 30% more resistant to tearing and abrasion.

Held gloves with Pittard leather back

Kangaroo hide

Of the 48 species of kangaroo, many are protected. However the unchecked reproduction of largest breed has resulted in massive over-population and culls are therefore carried out under the supervision of the Australian government. Fortunately for motorcyclists, the hides make excellent rider equipment. 

Held Slade leather suit- with mix of Kangaroo and cowhide, with Titanium inserts!

Kangaroo hide is far more abrasion resistant than cowhide of the same thickness. This is because, unlike cows, kangaroos only sweat through their tail and therefore there are no pores in the hide. Kangaroo garments can therefore be lighter and provide more ‘feel’. Special tanning and drying methods mean kangaroo hide is resistant to moisture and so is less likely to loose its shape or degrade over time. 

Stingray skin

The most abrasion resistant material that is pliant enough to be used in the manufacture of gloves. Selected styles of Held gloves feature Stingray protection on the ball of thumb, knuckles and wrist, backed with shock absorbing gel pads in order to allow fallen riders to slide more easily with less chance of fractured limbs cause by rolling.When exposed to a 10 Newton load on an H22 friction wheel at Pirmasens testing Institute in accordance with DIN 53754, Kangaroo leather wore though after 4,000 revolutions, while stingray skin withstood a 20,000 revolutions.

Held Titan gloves- Stingray leather covered Carbon shell side & finger protection

For more information on Held in the UK, or to find your nearest dealer please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Held racer news: TRAYLER ENDS SEASON ON A HIGH WITH TOP FIVE FINISH AT BRANDS HATCH

TRAYLER ENDS SEASON ON A HIGH WITH TOP FIVE FINISH AT BRANDS HATCH  

Jesse Trayler ended his Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship campaign on a high with a hard-fought top five finish at the Brands Hatch season finale.

Held wearer Jesse Trayler - It's been a smokin' season!

At his home round of the season the Colchester Kawasaki team had a tough start to the weekend, with changing conditions making it difficult to perfect the right set up. However a determined performance in qualifying saw him move up the order, but would start on the fourth row of the grid.

In the race Trayler pushed hard to carve his way through the pack and with a battling performance he had moved through to seventh and with some of his rivals crashing out on the final lap he moved to fifth to celebrate a strong finish to the season.

Trayler said: “The first day on track for free practice was very difficult with the tricky conditions, I am usually comfortable with wet weather riding but it just didn't happen. We had a few problems and we were way down the order after Q1! Luckily we got almost a dry Q2 on Saturday and I found a bit of form and we were twelfth on the grid, which was frustrating but much better compared to the day before!

“Typically in the last round of the year after good starts in all the races, I got a poor one! I didn't really make any places up off the line but I managed to pass a few riders throughout the race and make a few positions up. I had a feeling there was going to be a few crashes throughout the race due to the tricky conditions and the fact everyone would be going hammer and tong since it was the last one of the year. I happened to be right and made a few more places to pip fifth from seventh on the last lap due to a few riders misfortunes and crashing out.

“It was a good recovery from twelfth on the grid and considering how poor the weekend started off for me it was a relief!

“I'd like to say a huge thank you to my dad for all his hard work this year, it's been just me and him at the track all season getting the job done and he has done a sterling job. A massive thank you to Nick Morgan at MSS Performance for building me a lovely ZX10r which has to be the best bike I've ever ridden, and also to Colchester Kawasaki for their involvement.

"Also a big thank you to my sponsors for making this year happen on which has been a tricky on our budget! They include Leonard Brooks, Colin Sweeney, Linxcel, Held leathers and Shark helmets.”

To learn more about Held Rider Equipment in the UK please visit www.held-uk.co.uk