What to wear for commuting

[eric7]

This may be a silly question but i'm new so please bare with me.  I just purchased my first bike which is the gs500f that i really enjoyed.  I have a helmet, jacket and gloves.  I want to use this bike to go to work which is about 5 miles.  I have to wear business casual so i have to wear slacks.  I dont have a problem with the shirt b/c i will wear my leather jacket for protection as well as the helmet and gloves.  But what about the pants.  Since i have to wear slacks is their anything that i can wear over it for protection?  It may be difficult for me to wear jeans an then change to my slacks after.  But open to suggestions to anyone who has had to do this also.

Thanks

[Alphamazing]

While not ideal protection, I've found that long pants suffice fine for commuting such short distances. Likewise with closed toed shoes. Helmet, jacket, and all leather gloves are mandatory for me though (as well as jeans and shoes, as mentioned before).

[Onlypastrana199]

Maybe a pair of mesh over pants. Warm enough for cooler days and cool enough for warm days. Then you'll have some armor and it'll help keep your pants clean...yes I've had some disgusting encounters with bugs..

Most unzip full length to make it easy to put them on and off

[GS500F_n00b]

If you can leave a pair or two of casual shoes at work, check out some boots: http://newenough.com/browse/boots/. I wear the SetUp Vision race boots. Great value, armor in all the right places, comfortable enough to walk around in for short periods of time. As for the pants, leather or textile overpants would be a good choice. Textile overpants are more common. Just picked up the JR Ballistic 5.0 textile overpants. Try and get overpants that'll zip up to your jacket, whether 8-inch rear attachment or full length. If not, you can always sew the mating pair from the leather jacket (if it has) to the overpants. Good luck with gear shopping, and ride safe!

[Wrecent_Wryder]

I8

[scratch]

Welcome!

Fieldsheer Carbolex overpants for a mere $50; http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=23928.msg244881#msg244881

Or, FirstGear's Astropants, 330 denier, armor in the knees, pockets for hip armor, vented versions available.

You want both abrasion resistance (denier), and impact protection (armor).

[eric7]

Thanks.  I knew others had run into this situation before.  I knew of chaps but not overpants.  Thanks allot all for the responses

[makenzie71]

If I had to wear the stuff to work I would get a pair of leather chaps.  On and off in a minute a piece.  You will scuff your regular shoes, though, so carry them in your pack and ride with boots.

[GS500F_n00b]

Icon has a pair of greaves... uh, leg armor, that they say is low profile enough to be worn UNDER most jeans. If that's the case, they should fit under dress slacks with no problem. $65. Don't know if it would be worth the hassle, but for sure, on my commute, a collision is much more likely than a slide.

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=34640.0