TCX Street Ace boots

Tested by: Mikko Nieminen / £125 / www.nevis.uk.com

These boots certainly look like they were made for walking, and they do that well, but they are also surprisingly suitable to wear on a motorcycle.

I know urban boots like these will never be quite as protective on a motorcycle as a big pair of top-quality touring or adventure boots, but the Street Ace are made of full grainleather with reinforcements in toe, heel and ankle areas, and they are CE-certified for motorcycle use.

What really surprised me was the waterproofing. It’s something called T-Dry, which presumably is an inhouse technology of TCX, so there’s no fancy Gore-Tex stuff here, but it works remarkably well.

Just before the lockdown started I rode in driving rain for hours and my feet were the last part of me to get wet. That’s pretty impressive.

I like the scratched waxy finish, which give the boots that vintage look. These are ideal boots for urban riding when you’re on and off your bike a lot, but they also work on longer journeys. If you need to get them on and off a lot the laces may be a bit of a hindrance (some boots like these have a zip too, but these), but other than that the boots are great to live with – comfortable, sturdy, waterproof and good looking.

Halley’s Helmet Rack is not cheap, and it’s not something you NEED, but as soon as I saw it I knew I WANTED it!

The Helmet Rack is the Barcelona-based company’s flagship product (others include helmet hangers and stands), designed for storing and displaying your helmet with pride. Its spherical design allows your helmet to sit smoothly on the stainless steel surface, avoiding damage to the helmet’s inner padding.

The rack can be easily mounted to a wall, it’s practical, and it looks great. The thing is that with a rack this nice, you need a goodlooking helmet to show off (maybe the Davida lid that Bob tested?).