Took the plunge, sold my Teknic Chicane and coughed up the dough (cough, cough) for an RS Taichi. It's their entry level suit but I'm still hoping for a big step up in quality.
Some thoughts: The shape is athletic. Good thing I've been spending some time in the gym for the last 18 months or else forget it. Another inch from the waist and I'll fit as intended! Actually, the fit of the suit itself IS perfect, it only becomes an issue when additional armoring is worn underneath. More on that in a second. Included armor seems better than my Teknic, wish I still had it for a side to side comparison but I'm pretty sure the armor in the new suit is more substantial. The race hump is well positioned and sized. I tried an Alpinestars CR before this and the hump was very noticeable and uncomfortable. Can't even feel the hump in the Taichi. Very comfortable. My Knox Contour back protector and armored shorts fit underneath the suit but as of today my chest protector does not. Hoping that changes after some break-in. Probably wouldn't hurt to up my running from one mile every other day to two miles every day, LOL. Quality of leather and stitching seems top-notch. Have not found a single defect, even a minor one. Lots of perforation. On my test ride today I could feel the air flowing nicely, all under 75MPH. Nice extras like a space for name and blood type and collarbone padding. The liner is removable. Zippers seem to be the highest quality. They're YKK locking. The stretch material on the back of the neck is generous and covers my back protector fully whereas the old suit left half an inch exposed. The stretch material in the arms and legs is Kevlar based Keprotech, as opposed to the stretch cordura/spandura on my Teknic Chicane. Another minor extra - the hanger it came with is strong enough to actually support the suit. The hanger for my Teknic suit bent easily under the weight. A small concern, but I'm a big believer in companies that sweat the little things. One criticism is that the inside of the collar is not neoprene lined. That would make comfort a 10/10 whereas right now I would give the suit a 9/10 based on my limited experience. I would recommend this suit.
Also, a big thank you to K3 Chris Onwiler for helping me make a selection. While in reality he made some other reccomendations based on his own experience, he got me thinking along the right lines as far as what my priorities are.
Update - after an hour or so of semi-aggressive street riding the suit has broken in enough to allow for my chest protector along with my back protector and armored shorts. It helped to remove the attachment point of the chest protector and simply insert it into the suit, as I know many people do. I originally feared that it may not stay in place without straps, but trust me, it's going NOWHERE. So, as I discovered when first wearing the armored shorts (they kind of interfered with the waist of my back protector the first time I used them), try rearranging the order in which you layer your different pieces of gear for the optimum fit. Experiment with the different adjustments available to the item. Lastly a thank you to Jason from STG for getting me the right size suit. He predicted that with my measurements the chest would be the most snug part of the suit and he was right. He also advised that with a couple hours of wear it would be just right and again he called it!
I liked reading this thread. Great to hear it worked out well in the end. I myself also picked up a new suit over the winter (Speed and Strength 2.0) and the first 10 minutes I was ready to return it since it was so snug. I began going to the gym too and lost weight... kept trying it on about once a month, then finally last week took it on an hour street ride - still going to take some getting used to; I went down a full size than my old suit! The fit is now really good even with the back protector. The knees are still really tight on me though on the bike; I hope that loosens up.
Good to hear Sherry! Gym time always pays off! Now if I could just get a little better handle on diet... Also glad someone is enjoying my ramblings.
Thanks for the review, I was just going to ask if anyone had experience with this suit before purchasing. It's time for a new suit, and who can say no to STG's free gloves deal!
Paul - I can also now say that I've crashed in the suit, lowside at Putnam, and the suit emerged without needing any repairs and I emerged unscathed. Just a little sore for a few days!
Sounds like the best possible scenario for a crash. Glad you and the suit held up just fine. I put my order in for the white and black suit, can't wait to try it on! Thanks for the feedback once again.