Ventile Cycling Jackets

adifiddler

This post is duplicated on both Bikerader and CycleChat

I wear Ventile a lot when outdoors and although being cotton is a wonderful material for cold dry environments. Ventile is advertised as being waterproof which is not strictly true although if you keep it proofed with nikwax or smaller it is quite waterproof.

The main advantages of ventile is its windproof properties, breathability and bombproof ruggedness.

I know there are a couple of companies that make ventile cycling products and many of the ventile clothing companies are unusual in that they are very accustomed to customizing a product to your needs for an extra few quid. I am thinking of getting a ventile jacket with customized pit zips and possibly a net lining.

My question is do any of you use a ventile cycling top and is so what do you think of it and how does it perform.

I know it will only be of real use during the colder months.

ASC1951

adifiddler wrote:

Ventile is advertised as being waterproof which is not strictly true although if you keep it proofed with nikwax or smaller it is quite waterproof.

The main advantages of ventile is its windproof properties, breathability and bombproof ruggedness.

. I am thinking of getting a ventile jacket with customized pit zips and possibly a net lining.

I don't think you are supposed to wax Ventile. It works by being a very close-weave cotton, which absorbs the first rain and closes the weave. Waxing will prevent that. You will lose most of the breathability and end up with a Belstaff/Barbour type garment which is always heavy.

Yes, ventile is windproof, breathable and rugged. It's also very heavy, particularly when wet, not very breathable if you are working hard, and expensive. Excellent for shouldering your way through hawthorns, but on a bike?

Time has moved on. I'm as fond of cotton as anyone - who wears a Nylon Wondershirt these days? - but there are far better modern fabrics for a cycling jacket.

adifiddler

Nikwax is a brand name and not a wax.

It works by being a very close-weave cotton, which absorbs the first rain and closes the weave

this is true and works for a short time until the material wets out, it is advisable to proof the cotton to slow the wetting out process.

The advantage is that even when wet it is extremely windproof but as i said above it is best used in cold dry environments but when properly proofed can withstand most of what the UK weather can through at it.

I know the quality's of ventile, i wear it almost everyday and i know the benefits/pitfalls of modern materials in the outdoors. As for weight my 2 layer ventile is lighter than my goretex mountain jacket even when wet, infinitely more breathable, cheaper to buy and will last a lifetime. Old technology does not mean its dead technology, it still has a place, look at wool, it is again in vogue, merino wool has a huge following in cycling. A merino wool base layer and ventile jacket is the ultimate clothing system for the outdoors and will outperform any moder material.

My question was does anyone use or have experience of a ventile cycling jacket and how does it perform on the bike. I am surprised none of the touring cyclists have not answered as i would have thought ventile was perfect for that application.

spin-cycle

http://www.west-winds.net/cycle_top.htm

http://www.hilltrek.co.uk/acatalog/Cycl ... acket.html

http://www.howies.co.uk/product.php/191/27/

http://www.slioch.co.uk/

Hudster

spin-cycle wrote:

http://www.howies.co.uk/product.php/191/27/

This is the only jacket I know out of those you listed and it is indeed a very nice coat. However, it's far too heavy for cycling in and that's before it gets wet. You'd sweat so much in this and when it gets wet it weights a lot more.

I also think GoreTex isn't breathable enough for cycling - more of a material that ramblers get excited. I have a GoreTex coat for walking and it's falling apart after very little use - I can see how something like the Howies Ventile coat listed above would be better for this application as the material is very tough. But cycling is a far higher intensity , so I don't know if it would work for that.

I've just got a jacket made out of eVENT and it performed brilliantly when I've had it in the rain.