Entries Tagged 'clothes' ↓

The great debate about cycling helmets is not likely to disappear. But, when cycling around Oxford, I am often surprised to see alot of people who wear a helmet, fail to wear it properly. If you do make the effort to wear a helmet you might as well wear it properly.

Incorrect Fitting of Helmet

from: flickr

In particular the most common problem is to wear the helmet too far back on the head. If you were to land on your forehead the first thing to hit the ground would be your head rather than your helmet. The other mistake is to wear the helmet too loose. It is suggested that badly fitting helmets can actually cause injury when you fall because they can twist your neck.

Tips for Correct fitting of Bike Helmet

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(Weather Forecast for Oxford again)

One thing I would advise any cyclist is never to leave home without a waterproof cape, unless you are 100% certain it won’t rain persistently. During the winter months and often during the summer, I carry a waterproof cape in a bottle cage. I use an old water bottle, cut off the top and sqaush in the waterproof cape. This means it is easy to carry and more difficult to forget. If you are racing, you will need to keep a race cape in a back pocket (unless you are on a real pro team and have a support vehicle)

The ideal race cape is both lightweight, small, waterproof and breathable. Unfortunately, it is difficult to have all characteristics at once; but for a race cape it is best to go for a lighter one, even if it starts to get damp inside after a while. Continue reading →

Rapha Cycling prides itself on creating custom designed ‘haute couteur’ cycling clothes for cyclists.

Rapha comes from the legendary French cycling team of the 1960s St Raphael, led by the tempestuous Jaques Anquetil. Jacques Anquetil won the Tour de France 5 times and broke the World Hour Record (except this was never ratified, because Jacques refused to take a drugs test)

Rapha focuses on the traditions of European pro cycling scene, evoking a former era of cycling. It produces many ‘retro’ clothes such as wollen jerseys and traditional cycling caps (which are less common in an era of compulsory helmets) It’s designer label cycling clothes come at quite a price, with some cycling jerseys costing upto £180. It is one of the few cycling companies who regularly advertise in glossy magazines. Rapha also produces its own cycling journal ‘le Rouleur’ which seeks to celebrate the drama and beauty of Road racing.I have to admit, I like Rapha clothes, but, I have never bought any because they are too expensive.

Rapha Clothes 

More cycling clothes

We wanted to create some custom cycling kit for our cycling club, Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team. We had a relatively modest order of about 8 jerseys, 3 pairs of shorts and other bits and pieces. After looking round, we ended up choosing Impsport, mainly because they seemed the largest company.

The pricing was reasonable and, although it took a while, the clothes were delivered without any problems. The material is fine. The shorts and jerseys are good. The skin suit for time trials was noticeably not as good as my previous skinsuit from MDT. In fact there was a lot of spare material in the arms. I had to ask my friend, bike mechanic and expert sower to double stitch the surplus material up. (I should say, my arms are particularly skinny, so the average cyclist may not have this problem. One thing I liked about Impsport was that there was no minimum order for other pieces of clothing. I got some oversocks, winter training jacket (which is excellent) and long sleeved shirts.

The other thing to watch out for is the sizing. Small is really small, Extra large is not particularly large. I took a jersey for a well fed American friend, and unfortunately he found the extra large too small.

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I was always under the impression that wearing a bright dayglo yellow waterproof jacket is the best way of being seen and avoiding cars running into you. However, there has been a report suggesting that motorists give less leeway to any cyclist they think ‘looks the part’. If however, you look unsuited to be on a bike - weird, non cycling clothes, maybe a bit of a wobble, then motorists will tend to give you a lot more room. see - safer cycling at Telegraph

On the way to work I sometimes pass the same lady cyclist. She looks as though she’s pedalling through treacle on a ladies sit-up-and-beg bicycle.

She struggles along wearing a rainjacket over a pleated skirt, and she wears a white helmet which looks like half a large billiard ball attached to the back of her head.

I’ve always thought she was in the wrong gear - mechanically and sartorially - but thinking about it more carefully, she justifies No 1 son’s theory.

Unlike the other cyclists in their helmets, rucksacks and leggings who look the part and merge with other road users in morning traffic at comparable speeds, this lady’s very obvious because she’s slow, looks a bit inept and quite vulnerable. As I pass, I do give her an extra-wide berth so she must have The Look just right. Continue reading →

Some of the best cycling clothers I have bought:

1. Thermal Base layer. It is vital to get a good thermal base layer which quickly wicks away sweat. There is nothing worse than using a cheap t shirt which keeps your sweat close to your skin. I often wear 2 underlayers to get rid of most sweat. Just avoid using a heavy goretex jacket as these tend to make you sweat alot.
2. Arm Warmers. In the UK you can be wearing armwarmers through most of the season. I had difficulty finding armwarmers which were thin enough and didn’t slip down the arms. Lycra makes the best type of armwarmers because they are so quick to dry. I also have some de Feet armwarmers which use a wool based material.
3. Cycling Overshoes. Because I have reynaulds diesease, my hands and feet quickly get cold. In particular, I find that it is difficult to keep my feet warm enough. Because of this I am usually wearing overshoes from October through to April. I tend to perfer neoprene. Some people find neoprene makes the feet sweat alot. But, I don’t get that problem. (also keep shoes clean as well)
4. Gillet. A gillet is a great invention and a necessity for any cyclist doing long hills. On the uphill the gillet unzips and naturally folds behind the back, giving maximum breathability. On the descent you can zip it up to give great wind protection. Invaluable for anyone likely to suffer from chest problems. Also essential if you go an any cycling holiday to the Pyranees or Alps
5. Winter Training Top. My winter training top is not waterproof but fully breathable with a full length zip. It’s not too heavy, or thick. I prefer wearing several layers, rather than one heavy layer. Continue reading →

Cycling Clothes can often be very expensive for what you get. Unfortunately, cycle shops often sell cycle specific clothes at quite a high price. If you want to save money on buying cycling clothes these are a few tips.

• Buy Out of Stock Jerseys. If you don’t mind keeping up with the latest ‘teams’ in the peloton look for some old team kit that has been discontinued. Apparently Astana and Discovery cycle clothes will be going pretty cheap soon.
• Buy Old Club Stock. Some clubs change their kit design leaving lots of unsold kit in the old colours if you don’t need to race in the latest strip, you might be able to pick up a few old cycling jerseys at a cheap price.
• Pair of Old Socks. It’s amazing what can be done with a pair of old socks. Instead of some expensive overshoes, just cut out a pair of old socks and place over your cycling shoes in winter, will keep your shoes cleaner, if nothing else. Continue reading →

If you are looking for a quick and light (140g) alternative to waterproof trousers, you might like to consider these award winning clip on waterproof trousers. They are only designed to cover the top of the thighs. Leaving the rest of the legs uncovered. This minimises inconvenience and overheating, whilst covering the area which receives perhaps 75% of the water.

Developed in Holland, where it is apparently wetter than the UK, these trousers are aimed at the commuter who wants to be prepared for the quick shower. I am tempted to get these because they are a lot easier to carry around. If I take my usual waterproof trousers with garters, they fill up a whole pannier bag leaving no room for any more shopping.

The only drawback is that other areas of the leg would inevitably get wet if it was a heavy downpour. Quite innovative though.

They include velcro clip on ties.

• Rainlegs Leg Protectors - £19.99
• More waterproof trousers

Waterproof cycling trousers are useful for commuting into work. There is no point for a training ride, you are better off getting wet - good lycra is also quite quick drying.

My first pair of waterproof cycling trousers were pretty useless and this kind of put me off. My solution, was to keep a spare pair of trousers at work and change into them when I got deluged. However, recently I got a decent pair from a local shop in Oxford. These have been pretty good, when used with garters to keep the gap between shoes and trousers dry. The other simple tip is to use plastic bags within your shoes, to keep all your socks dry. If you use this triple combination, you can keep yourself pretty much dry (even if it does take about 15 minutes to get ready…)

The other trick, I was told by the shop, is to wash the waterproof trousers with a special wax - this helps to keep the waterproof quality for longer.

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I’m a big fan of retro cycling clothes. I know wool is not as efficient as lycra. But, the wool tops look good. It invokes memories of great champions. Flandria was the team of great classic stars like Walter Godefroot/Roger De Vlaeminck/Rik Van Looy
Other classic tops include:

• Molteni (Eddy Merckx)
• Bic (Rik Van Looy)
• St Raphael (Tom Simpson)
• Faemino Jersey (Eddy Merckx)
• Flandria/de Clerck Jersey (Walter Godefroot/Roger De Vlaeminck/Rik Van Looy)
• Team Raleigh (Bernard Hinault - I think)
• Panasonic (Jean-Paul van Poppel, Allan Peiper, Jean Marie Lampers (Paris Roubaix winner) Continue reading →