Spada Ronin review | Stylish AAA-rated jeans from the designer of Superdry

Date reviewed: July 2025 | Tested by: John Milbank | Price: £159.99 | spadaclothing.com

There’s a lot of competition for the Spada Ronin motorcycle jeans on review here now, and there are plenty at a similar price that do a great job. But start talking about ‘designer’ jeans and in many the price rockets. Some sellers will claim that the jeans they sell are the most stylish out there, then try to charge you £350 while batting away any questions of protective performance with disingenuous claims of supposed ‘CE slide times’ (which are cobblers). But what if I told you that these Ronins were created by a designer who used to work for Superdry, Fat Face and Holland Cooper?

I’ve been wearing the Spada Ronins on the bike and off it for the past few months to find out if they’re any good…

Meet the guy who designs your bike kit

James Kent leads the team of designers at Spada in the UK

Pros & Cons

Construction and fit

With no accordion panels or obvious external reinforcement, the only thing giving these Spada Ronins away as protective motorcycle kit is the armour at the knees and hips.

They’re unwashed ‘raw’ denim, which starts out a little stiff feeling, but gradually softens and moulds to your shape, for what’s described as a “perfect, personalised fit”.

When I first tried them on I was at my heaviest, and had to go up from a 34” waist to 36” as they were very tight and didn’t have much give. But over time (and helped by a reduction in cake consumption) they have indeed softened to be much more comfortable and compliant.

There are a few stray thread ends that perhaps belie the relatively affordable price, but these are easily trimmed and the stitching is neat and consistent, along with flat rivets that won’t scratch your tank.

Turn up the bottoms and you’ll see how neat the Selvedge and lap-felled seams are, and find the clever little reflective strips that just catch the light in the dark.

Sizes range from 28 to 40, in short (32”) and regular (34”) legs. The ladies version of the Spada Ronin also has short and regular leg lengths in sizes 8 to 22.

Protection & Certification

The Spada Ronin’s denim is reinforced with Cordura, making it 75% Cotton, 13% polyester, 10% nylon and 2% elastane.

The overall construction has achieved the highest level AAA under the EN17092 certification standard for testing abrasion resistance, seam strength, and tear resistance. It also sees testing for innocuousness (making sure no chemicals are used that could cause irritation) and dimensional stability, which is checking everything stays where it should after five controlled washes, and that the garment doesn’t shrink more than 5%.

AAA is the highest rating under EN17092, though our testing has shown that jeans lined with an additional para-aramid tend to be more abrasion resistant.

The Spada Ronins also come with Level 2 (the highest impact protection standard), Type B (the larger template) armour that’s got a small degree of ventilation and provides good coverage that sits in the right place. If the knee armour isn’t in the right spot for you there are three height settings in the pockets, making it very easy to get a good fit. With the trouser legs turned inside out it’s very easy to get at the armour pockets and slot the protectors in, where they stay very securely.

From April 21 2018, all new motorcycle clothing is deemed to be Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). To meet this legislation, it must be tested to a recognised standard. For more information on the new laws, click here.

Pockets

There are two main hip pockets on the Spada Ronins with plenty of room for a wallet, keys, or my large Pixel 7 Pro phone. A minor point, but I find there’s a seam inside that just catches under my nail when reaching in.

There’s also a coin pocket on the front, which isn’t too deep so you can actually fish things out of it (handy for earplugs), and there’s a good-sized pair of pockets on the rear too.

Fastening

There are five thick belt loops, including one in the middle rear to prevent them gaping at the back, along with an antique-coloured YKK zip fly and smooth button at the top.

Adjustment

Being traditionally-styled fashion-look jeans, there’s no adjustment on the Spada Ronins besides the belt, and with no significant initial stretch you will need to check your sizing. I found it’s consistent with what I’d normally wear though.

Ventilation

Being only part-lined with additional cotton material, the Spada Ronins are particularly comfortable in warmer weather, feeling pretty much like normal jeans apart from the armour.

Liner

An additional lining inside motorcycle jeans helps reduce the chances of a potentially painful skin-shear injury, where the flesh is dragged by the material and separates internally. It’s not life-threatening, but it hurts. The 100% cotton lining in the key impact areas that also carries the armour is comfortable and offers that extra degree of protection.

Waterproofing

They’re jeans. Of course they’re not waterproof!

Cleaning

The designer, James, says that he’d love to see people not wash these jeans so that they slowly create their own patina, though if you wear them a lot, that might not be very practical!

The Spada Ronins can be machine washed at 30°C with the amour removed, and should be left to dry naturally in the shade, rather than tumble-dried. I washed mine inside-out and while some dye did – as expected – come out in the wash, they still have a deep blue colour, if a fraction less rich.

Three alternatives to the Spada Ronin motorcycle jeans

It’s fantastic to see so many brands offering protective jeans at a great price, so there’s bags of choice now…

• Hood SK11, £189.99 | A small, family-run business, Hood has been at the forefront of protective jeans for many, many years. A dogged determination not to sacrifice ultimate protective performance by making single-layer jeans, their comfortable, stretch para-aramid-lined pants have been proven to offer some of the highest levels of protection. And contrary to what some shop assistants will try to tell you, they’re not overly heavy or hot in the summer. Read the full review of the Hood SK11 jeans here.

• Roadskin Taranis Elite, £180 | Superb single-layer jeans with a protective slip liner and a stretchy construction make these jeans very easy to wear and extremely comfortable. While not able to offer the protection of a quality lined pair of jeans, they’re still a LOT better than normal jeans, and a lot of bike kit on the market that in many cases costs more yet only achieves AA or even A levels of protection. There’s also the option to upgrade to Rheon’s incredibly well-ventilated armour at the knees and hips, which is worth doing in hot climates. Read the full review of the Roadskin Taranis Elites here.

• Roadskin Paranoid X, £199 | By combining the already AAA-rated outer shell of the Taranis Elites with a knitted Kevlar para-aramid lining, these Roadskins can promise high levels of protection. The lining is soft and comfortable, though arguably just a fraction warmer to wear than a smooth para-aramid. The Rheon upgrade is also an option here and worth the investment. Read the full review of the Roadskin Paranoid X jeans here.

These are just three of many alternatives – you can find all the motorcycle jeans we’ve tested here and be sure to regularly check for the discounts available through Bikesocial membership.

Spada Ronin motorcycle jeans review - Verdict

The Spada Ronins look so good that you may well want to wear them off the bike every day. You can take the armour out if you want a more casual look, though please don’t ride without it – claims from social media influencers hungry for clicks and affiliate payments that armour is ‘useless’ don’t just defy common sense, they’ve been firmly debunked by leading experts and medical professionals around the world.

Spada could have made the armour quick and easy to remove by putting external zips in, but that would spoil the lines of these great-looking jeans, and I have no problem wearing them all day on and off the bike.

If you’re doing high speed and a lot of touring, I’d tend to go for fully-lined motorcycle jeans like the Hood SK11s or the Roadskin Paranoid Xs. But for more city riding, and for styling it up in a bar or café as much as you do on the bike, the Spada Ronins offer great style and good value.

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