Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1172754
ALPINESTARS 2020 SUIT LINE UP P106 Feature One of the most significant changes in the 2020 A'Stars line-up is the fact that the Stella Women's race suit is now Tech-Air compatible. "This is our first women's Tech- Air compatible race suit," Cofran said. "It has a lot of the stretch paneling that all the other suits [GP Pro, etc.] have, but the Stella is prop- erly contoured towards a woman's body—the hips come out, the legs are designed a little differently. It's ergo- nomically fitted for a woman's shape. "With Tech-Air you're going to need areas to allow the airbag to expand when it's activated. When the suit deploys, you need that extra bit of stretch, that extra bit of mate- rial. There's more accordion stretch paneling in the shoulders and back, so it allows the suit to expand. And now it comes in two colors." STELLA $999.95 Rider analysis: Shelina Moreda (MotoAmerica Stock 1000 racer): "It was cool getting to see how the Tech-Air system works in the new Alpinestars Stella suit. Thankfully, I didn't test the deployment out, but I did test the suit with and without the Tech-Air vest in it. "I was impressed that I didn't look like I was wearing a life jacket when I had the Tech-Air vest in the Stella, and the suit has some nice lines to add to it being good looking (you've got to have some style). "Another of my worries was without the airbag vest inside, this suit would be baggy. Quite the contrary—when I took the airbag out, it barely changed the fit of the Stella. I also liked how the back-protector portion felt and how that stayed in place. "If I could improve two things, the first would be a way for the top of the suit to hang off my hips like a regular suit does when you're just walking around—that's the same with the guys' suit and just part of the technology. "The second would be for Alpin- estars to work with more women— track and road riders—to continue the R&D on the Tech-Air Stella suit. I've seen a couple of companies develop suits for women but leave us girls out in the department of style with safety—I feel like we tend to get stuck with one style or the other. "This is a big step, and I'd love to see Alpinestars progress and be a leader for female rider protection like they are for the guys. Props to Alpinestars for taking females seriously!" Stella is the first women's only suit on the market that features airbag technology. Moreda was getting after it in the Stella. She has a few improvements in mind but overall was impressed with the suit. (Left) The hip is dramatically different on the Stella to any of the men's A'Stars suits.