Road Cycling

xdcx · 22 Nov 2018 at 08:56

I have transformed our boiler cupboard in the kitchen into a cycling wardrobe. Shelves and hooks and everything of course nice and warm with it being in beside the boiler.... nothing amazing you might think but I have managed to accomplish this over a 4 week period without consent from the better half and she is STILL none the wiser.
If she ever ventures in there or finds me out.... well at least you boys know what has happened when I stop visiting the forums to annoy you. I'll be murdered.

Roady · 22 Nov 2018 at 08:57

Cold one here this morning, -3! But no Haar to speak of...

Fusion said:
Roady, you must have a wardrobe (or box room?) dedicated to cycling kit!

A single wardrobe? Naaah, I have two!

One More Solo said:
In his defence I have three drawers dedicated to cycling kit and one to normal people clothes.

Not too dissimilar to me, one side of a triple breasted wardrobe is cycling kit on shelves. I have two - thicker jerseys & tights and shorts. Then I have an 'underwear' drawer in a chest of drawers for all hats/gloves/buffs/warmers and then drawer below for all jerseys & base layers. Ikea furniture ftw!

Normal clothes are generally hanging in two other wardrobes, one for 'formal'/work and the other normal. Quite how the hell we fitted everything into our 2 bedroom house previously I don't know as even now with 4 bedrooms we need more...!

Saytan said:
You can get another £150 off the Evans synapse by trading in a bike you bought from local free ads for £20 too

Now that's getting a bit clever/crafty. I approve!

Almost had a working rainforest site discount code for you guys... There was an AMEX code giving £15 off a £40+ spend but typical it's stopped working now I re-found the TV stand I wanted. Gah! At least the other half got some kids toys we where watching for Black Friday deals on. Will let you know if we get another!

xdcx said:
I have transformed our boiler cupboard in the kitchen into a cycling wardrobe. Shelves and hooks and everything of course nice and warm with it being in beside the boiler.... nothing amazing you might think but I have managed to accomplish this over a 4 week period without consent from the better half and she is STILL none the wiser.
If she ever ventures in there or finds me out.... well at least you boys know what has happened when I stop visiting the forums to annoy you. I'll be murdered.

Hahaha, brilliant! Well done! She can't complain that you got there first! Our airing cupboard seems to be getting smaller otherwise I'd be tempted... New bigger boiler, new powershower system, new pump and we're left with half the cupboard we had 3 years ago!

Totally unrelated one for you mate, one for your little man - Vtech 'Toot toot' cars. They're amazing! Hours of fun for boys & dad's alike!

One More Solo · 22 Nov 2018 at 13:40

What softshell jacket is everyone wearing these days? Looking at the Castelli Alpha.

SoliD · 22 Nov 2018 at 14:09

One More Solo said:
What softshell jacket is everyone wearing these days? Looking at the Castelli Alpha.

I've got the Sportful Fiandre, Alpha ROS and Perfetto. All very good in their own rights. Sportful is warmest, Perfetto is great in pretty much everything and the Alpha is awesome in the wind and also pretty flexible but suffers in the wet. If I was just getting one I'd get the Perfetto.

Shamrock · 22 Nov 2018 at 14:23

I'd have expected the ROS jacket to be the best. Does it not really live up to its water resistance claims?

xdcx · 22 Nov 2018 at 14:46

Roady said:
Totally unrelated one for you mate, one for your little man - Vtech 'Toot toot' cars. They're amazing! Hours of fun for boys & dad's alike!

I've already spied the toot toot range and have dropped hints in the mummy direction

As well as various diggers/tractors that I WANT... I mean, what I want the wee man to have of course.

xdcx · 22 Nov 2018 at 14:47

SoliD said:
I've got the Sportful Fiandre.

Me too. 3rd winter with it and still ticks all the boxes and gives me no reason to question or replace it. Superb jacket.

SoliD · 22 Nov 2018 at 14:50

Shamrock said:
I'd have expected the ROS jacket to be the best. Does it not really live up to its water resistance claims?

I've only ridden it once in the wet and it wasn't as good as the Perfetto, but possibly not the same conditions. Still a great jacket. The price they are at the moment isn't justified over the Perfetto. I got mine for £120 I think and it hits this level in my opinion.

xdcx said:
Me too. 3rd winter with it and still ticks all the boxes and gives me no reason to question or replace it. Superb jacket.

I've got the older version with 1 pocket which really does ruin the jacket. Apart from that it is fantastic.

Shamrock · 22 Nov 2018 at 14:54

SoliD said:
I've got the older version with 1 pocket which really does ruin the jacket. Apart from that it is fantastic.

Yes I have this version and it's used for commuting due to the pocket situation since I wear a rucksack. I would say it's basically a Gabba/Perfetto with some fleece lining for insulation.

For non-commuting, winter rides I normally wear a Rapha PT jacket. It's pretty rubbish in the wet but I'd probably stay in at that point.

xdcx · 22 Nov 2018 at 15:16

Ah, mine is also the 1 pocket version. I use it for 4 hour rides on weekend and use it all week commuting.
Can't say I have ever wanted more pocket space. Does me perfectly. I just have some food, multi tool, levers, tubes, CO2 and my phone in the pocket which it's big enough for in my case.

SoliD · 22 Nov 2018 at 15:48

The pocket is plenty big enough, but it's the faff of trying to grab something from a big pocket when you've got big gloves on, that and the opening is smaller than the pocket so stuff usually gets stuck in the corners. However it is my go to off road winter jacket as I put a hole in it last year coming off and so don't mind it getting ruined. Worked great last night in 3-4c with a warm base layer on.

Roady · 22 Nov 2018 at 15:53

SoliD said:
I've got the Sportful Fiandre, Alpha ROS and Perfetto. All very good in their own rights. Sportful is warmest, Perfetto is great in pretty much everything and the Alpha is awesome in the wind and also pretty flexible but suffers in the wet. If I was just getting one I'd get the Perfetto.

Which Sportful Fiandre is it? If you google search them on wiggle you can get all the previous years product pages up to help.

I'll go through my winter jacket/jersey softshell range. I've tended to go with the more jersey style to wear as single layers (with different bases underneith) and tend to wear them with gilets and arm warmers to really expand their use. For heavy rain I go the jacket/hardshell route, for everything else (windy, drizzle, foggy, freezing) I wear a softshell.

Castelli team jacket, think it's about equal to the Velocissimo. Superb jacket but doesn't have much in the way of insulation, just good windproofing and thicker fabric to give it some ok waterproofing. Wouldn't wear it in heavy rain, or sub zero without some serious layering underneith.
Similar vein, DHB ASV Windslam Jersey. Better insulation than the Castelli, but think that comes from a more windproof fabric. Cold weather only as poor ventilation and fleecy inner, although I overheat in it easily. Perfect for around zero degrees with just a base layer.
My go to favourite jersey that DHB really missed a trick with dropping - the DHB Windslam Blade. Wow what a jersey! Great windproofing, great ventilation, great fit, just so versatile! So good I bought a second hand one on ebay for £30. Me spending that much on second hand clothing is unheard of. Not one for the cooler towards freezing, but general spring/autumn wear. Wear these and the R&D Wind the most.
My cooler weather/winter go to is the Sportful R&D Wind jersey. Incredibly light considering the insulation it offers, for the warmth it can keep in, it's also amazingly breathable. An amazing 'tech' style jacket which just shows you what can be done with some clever design ideas. Will occasionally wear with arm warmers in the bitter winds, the arms do come up a little loose. Can take or leave the thumb loops, in the cold they're great, but when not required they can be a little annoying. Ok in showers but can get damp in prolonged misty/grizzly weather and doesn't dry out that well due to all the layers.
Various other 'fleecy' type LS jerseys by Castelli, Sportful and DHB. Don't wear these as much as the more technical ones above so they're generally used as additional layers in the winter, or as LS jerseys.

SoliD · 22 Nov 2018 at 22:03

Science in Sport offering some good discounts on most of their stuff and extra 5% off for BC members. Just bagged 60 Gels, 12 bars and 12 whey gels for just under £30 along with a bottle. Shall keep me going a while.

Shamrock · 22 Nov 2018 at 22:37

Sigh, it's that time of year again where I moan about my freezing hands and plentiful supply of inadequate winter gloves. I'm testing a new pair of Endura gloves tomorrow which have a suggested range of +10C to -10C. :rolleyes:

I reckon I'll be taking Endura up on their 90-day "satisfaction or your money back" guarantee! I've already returned some Kalf gloves that weren't warm and fell apart after one month and I've a pair of DHB "Extreme" gloves are pretty rubbish below 10C.

I keep looking at this site https://www.dissent133.com/ but it's really expensive and I'm highly sceptical since I've already tried layering 3 pairs of gloves without any luck. You just end up with constricted fingers that are even colder!

Lethal` · 23 Nov 2018 at 10:10

xdcx said:
Me too. 3rd winter with it and still ticks all the boxes and gives me no reason to question or replace it. Superb jacket.

I've had a Sportful Fiandre for maybe 2 years now... still not worn it. Every time I think about giving it a try I look at the single pocket and think "Nah, I'll just put the gabba on". Maybe this winter it will get a trial.

floatindolphin · 23 Nov 2018 at 10:22

I went out for a 30 mile ride in fingerless glove yesterday.... :eek:

freeeeezing!!

xdcx · 23 Nov 2018 at 11:32

Shamrock said:
Sigh, it's that time of year again where I moan about my freezing hands and plentiful supply of inadequate winter gloves. I'm testing a new pair of Endura gloves tomorrow which have a suggested range of +10C to -10C. I reckon I'll be taking Endura up on their 90-day "satisfaction or your money back" guarantee! I've already returned some Kalf gloves that weren't warm and fell apart after one month and I've a pair of DHB "Extreme" gloves are pretty rubbish below 10C.

I keep looking at this site https://www.dissent133.com/ but it's really expensive and I'm highly sceptical since I've already tried layering 3 pairs of gloves without any luck. You just end up with constricted fingers that are even colder!

Bloke at work just bought Castelli Estremo I think they are called? Was out in minus temps last weekend and he said he has finally found an actually warm glove. £70ish he said he spent on them.

Dissent "system". My mate who does the Strathpuffer every year (24 hour race in January in the Scottish Highlands!) has the Dissent system and said it is the best money he has spent on his setup for competing every year. Says it is superb and doesnt regret how much the glove system is after I gave him pelters for spending so much on them.

EDIT- http://www.wiggle.co.uk/castelli-estremo-winter-cycling-gloves/
That'll be the jobbers. Says only to -5 though but guy at work been through a load of gloves and said these are a league above.

Roady · 23 Nov 2018 at 11:51

SoliD said:
Science in Sport offering some good discounts on most of their stuff and extra 5% off for BC members. Just bagged 60 Gels, 12 bars and 12 whey gels for just under £30 along with a bottle. Shall keep me going a while.

Quite good deals on their website, bunch of stuff 50% off with a free gel bundle on orders over £20, recovery powder over £30 and endurance pack over £60. Shame most of their energy/electrolyte stuff doesn't agree with me...

Many other deals spotted guys? About to check the usuals...

Shamrock said:
I keep looking at this site https://www.dissent133.com/ but it's really expensive and I'm highly sceptical since I've already tried layering 3 pairs of gloves without any luck. You just end up with constricted fingers that are even colder!

It's a clever and looks well designed layering system but I'd want far more reviews or to find riders around using them to get a real world 'feel' of them first as it's a lot of money.

Was it you or @SoliD had the Rapha layering system one? I'm still quite happy with my Sportful Sotto Zero gloves but did wear them yesterday (-3) and my thumbs got cold. Maybe it's just less exposure to minus temps but I found them ok down to -8 or so last year, just once it hit -10 with windchill I suffered. As that's only a handful of days per winter I can bear it, but -3/-4 is more than a handful so may need to experiment with some other systems... Still quite tempted by the Sportful Fiandre gloves as they're meant to be more layered, so maybe slightly better windproofing. I've never owned other premium gloves like the Castelli Estremo or Rapha so can't compare.

Lethal` said:
I've had a Sportful Fiandre for maybe 2 years now... still not worn it. Every time I think about giving it a try I look at the single pocket and think "Nah, I'll just put the gabba on". Maybe this winter it will get a trial.

See, I've worn various Fiandre garments loads and really rate them. But because of that have not picked up a gabba/perfetto... I do own 2 a Gabba and a Perfetto as Gilets and they're great. But if the jersey was the same fabric as the gilet (always feels like it when I've fondled) then I know I have better garments!

floatindolphin said:
I went out for a 30 mile ride in fingerless glove yesterday.... freeeeezing!!

Nutter! Cold hands (+feet) is no joke. Get some gloves!

Shamrock · 23 Nov 2018 at 12:15

xdcx said:
Bloke at work just bought Castelli Estremo I think they are called? Was out in minus temps last weekend and he said he has finally found an actually warm glove. £70ish he said he spent on them.

I of course already have the Estremo gloves in my collection. Alongside the Rapha Deep Winters (+ liner) they are the least worst gloves I've tried but still don't quite do the job below 5C. Obviously, starting out with them on the radiator helps but it doesn't take long for the icicle fingers to appear, especially if there are some descents.

I tested the Endura PRO SL PRIMALOFT® WATERPROOF this morning compared to the Rapha DW by wearing one on each hand. I'd say it's not quite as effective as the Rapha but was slightly cheaper.

I'm tempted to try the Dissent system because they do offer '60-day ride and return', however, I've sort of replicated it by using a liner glove, a pair of Defeet Duras and a Rapha DW as the outer. It feels a bit too constricting with 3 layers but perhaps my outer glove is not sized appropriately.

Saytan · 23 Nov 2018 at 12:45

I have a couple of friends who swear by silk liner gloves under your least-worst glove of choice for the conditions