Aero Buco J-100 fit jacket: your feedback is greatly appreciated!

[SklounstDraxxer]

Hi all! I finally pulled the trigger on an Aero Buco J-100, and just received my fit jacket from Thurston Bros. Thanks to everyone's advice on this forum so far!

I think the fit jacket fits almost perfectly, except the sleeves are a little long. I also notice a slight ripple near my left shoulder on the front of the jacket (you can see it better with the jacket unzipped), and the back of the jacket looks slightly baggy in certain places. Anyhow, maybe I'm being nitpicky, or maybe that's just because the Vicenza has not yet broken in. What do you all think? I would really appreciate your feedback!

 

[Guppy]

The back looks like it has a lot of extra material... very baggy.

 

[Bjorn240]

Too big I think. Something odd going on in the back for sure.

 

[Harris HTM]

I would recommend to try a size smaller. This jacket is supposed to fit tight, the pictures from the back show a loose fit.

 

[ton312]

I think the back fit might well be the pattern. The front and side pics look great but doesn't the BR have a more tubular shape in general? That would account for the lack of taper...
Going down a size might make the shoulders too restrictive.
You might need to split the jacket in half...like a 42" up top tapered to a 40" in the waist?

 

[Harris HTM]

I think the back fit might well be the pattern. The front and side pics look great but doesn't the BR have a more tubular shape in general? That would account for the lack of taper...
Going down a size might make the shoulders too restrictive.
You might need to split the jacket in half...like a 42" up top tapered to a 40" in the waist?

tapering might be indeed a choice (I have to taper my jackets the other way around for obvious reasons).

 

[sweetfights]

Ton312- I agree. Needs a taper to the waist. Otherwise you might want to size down but........ as Ton312 mentions, may or may not be restrictive if you size down. Sometimes you get a jacket cut that is either too big or small with little option in the middle. Certain body shapes look best with certain cuts- part of the discovery journey.

 

[Harris HTM]

The original Boardracer has indeed a tight fit (see photos here: https://www.thurston-bros.com/colle...f-scotland/products/in-stock-aero-board-racer). The "buco" however is a customisation of the boardracer, as the back consists of one panel instead of two. Maybe the op should also ask Carrie or Aero for their opinion.

 

[JMax]

I would try a smaller size. It looks like you still have some space up top to size down. Though I like my jackets pretty snug. How does the jacket look and feel if you layer underneath it a bit?

 

[SklounstDraxxer]

Thanks for all your thoughts! Yes, I did think the back looked baggy but wasn't sure if it had anything to do with the initial stiffness of the leather.

I think sizing down (this is a 40) is not an option because the jacket fits my shoulders perfectly, in fact perhaps a touch too narrow. So it sounds like maybe a taper is the way to go...Is this something Aero routinely does, and does anyone have any specific experience with getting a cafe racer tapered?

I have already sent these fit pics to Carrie and also mentioned I thought the back looked baggy.

 

[SklounstDraxxer]

I would try a smaller size. It looks like you still have some space up top to size down. Though I like my jackets pretty snug. How does the jacket look and feel if you layer underneath it a bit?

Up at the top of the jacket, even with just a T-shirt or Henley it's already pretty snug. When I get home maybe I'll try and stuff in a layer.

If I want to try on a different size of the fit jacket, does Thurston charge me extra?

 

[Sloan1874]

You need to have a word with Carrie. She can advise you, but there's too much leather flapping around at the back.

 

[ton312]

I've always felt the BR pattern is for tall/slim guys. If you've got some mass in your shoulders and chest it just won't play. Even if you are sporting a bees waist.
TBH @SklounstDraxxer I immediately thought ( from your pics) a standard CR with some taper to the waist would be a better option.

 

[SklounstDraxxer]

I've always felt the BR pattern is for tall/slim guys. If you've got some mass in your shoulders and chest it just won't play. Even if you are sporting a bees waist.
TBH @SklounstDraxxer I immediately thought ( from your pics) a standard CR with some taper to the waist would be a better option.

Thanks Ton. I really like the Buco J-100 style though, so hopefully through tapering we can get that pattern to work for me!

 

[Monitor]

I think the back fit might well be the pattern. The front and side pics look great but doesn't the BR have a more tubular shape in general? That would account for the lack of taper...
Going down a size might make the shoulders too restrictive.
You might need to split the jacket in half...like a 42" up top tapered to a 40" in the waist?

Agreed. People often have such problems with Aero's CR/BR patterns. It's not the first time I've seen this - the jacket fits perfectly everywhere except in the back where it's baggy. IMO, they make it so to make the jacket more comfortable on a bike. Stretch your arms out forward, you'll see the back will be good then.
In any case, I don't think it looks bad at all. Actually, I quite like it! I wouldn't size down on this but best you try on a smaller jacket before making any decisions. You never know. But the back will look better with time and yeah, it's never a bad thing to have some allowance for layering.

 

[SklounstDraxxer]

Thanks Monitor!

So do you guys think I should stick with this size but go for a taper, or first try on a size smaller to see what that's all about?

 

[AeroFan_07]

You're finding out the fact that even with a fit jacket, it's still really hard to determine size without trying on several at one, even different styles to determine what fits you well. Just FYI, I always zip up the sleeves and jacket completely to evaluate fit, and rarely if ever wear any of my jackets un-zipped. But I live in a windy place (Iowa) so this affects my preferences greatly.

I have an Aero 4-pocket CR, so my observations are as follows:

• Upper chest area looks good, fits as it's supposed to
• Rest of jacket is too large, including sleeves
• The area around the waist in the front sticks out a bit far (perhaps a bit large here as well)
• Back seems to "wide" through mid-section

Please again don't take any of this personally, it's a fit deal, and none of us are built exactly alike. Carrie will help you and I would encourage you to trust her directions. Enjoy the process!

 

[ton312]

Thanks Monitor!

So do you guys think I should stick with this size but go for a taper, or first try on a size smaller to see what that's all about?

You could try a size down and know it'll be to tight in the shoulders. I think sizing it in half would help. It's just one of those things where you won't know until it's done.

 

[SklounstDraxxer]

You're finding out the fact that even with a fit jacket, it's still really hard to determine size without trying on several at one, even different styles to determine what fits you well. Just FYI, I always zip up the sleeves and jacket completely to evaluate fit, and rarely if ever wear any of my jackets un-zipped. But I live in a windy place (Iowa) so this affects my preferences greatly.

I have an Aero 4-pocket CR, so my observations are as follows:

• Upper chest area looks good, fits as it's supposed to
• Rest of jacket is too large, including sleeves
• The area around the waist in the front sticks out a bit far (perhaps a bit large here as well)
• Back seems to "wide" through mid-section

Please again don't take any of this personally, it's a fit deal, and none of us are built exactly alike. Carrie will help you and I would encourage you to trust her directions. Enjoy the process!

Thanks for the detailed observations, I appreciate it! Regarding zipping up the jacket, I'm kind of the opposite since I live in mild southern California--I rarely need to zip up any of my jackets.

I agree with your observations. Regarding the sleeves being too large, do you mean too long, or that the circumference is too large for my arms?

At any rate, I think I would like to check out one size smaller to see what that's like.

 

[Fanch]

I wonder if a Cafe Racer pattern one size smaller might be a better fit for your frame. The Cafe Racer pattern might be easier to fine tune with its side panels than the Board Racer. Or maybe the Board Racer with a split back might alleviate the fullness in the back, keeping in mind what Aero has to say about this very issue in their description of the BR on their website:

"The back has a double kidney panel and is cut to fit close to the torso, to achieve this we've had to use a centre back seam, quadruple stitched for extra strength, which follows the contours of the wearers backbone. We are aware that a centre back seam isn't to everyone's liking so we are offering the option of a one piece upper back but one should be aware that this will compromise the close fit of the jacket."