The humble, cotton cycling cap

Bunneh

Bandanas are better! Just don't buy a Rapha one, they cost £45 (not sure if they sell them tbh). Get mine off the market for a quid a pop.

Pantani can wear one, so can I!

sandy hill

Aggieboy wrote:

Those of you that say they don't suit you are doing yourselves an injustice. We need to wear them and keep this tradition alive............

Seems to work with a tache quite well.

brakelever

bandanas for me, quite popular abroad this summer from what i could see when in italy

White Line

Cap all the time. For reasons already said. And because it satisfies my internal hipster.

Stone Glider

When the padding in the helmet became too stinky to bear I ripped it out. Then I thought, this helmet is ***** uncomfortable. To the rescue came The Humble, Cotton Cycling Cap tm; cool in summer, warm in wiinter, comfortable all year round. Also, the peak can be flipped down in the rain to see even less of where you are going.

There are snares and traps for the unwary however. The first cap I bought had the imprint of a team with a blemished history and was the subject of "words of advice" by a more knowledgeable cycling friend. My (not so) LBS has some plain cotton caps which serve nicely. Casquette does seem a touch petensious Non? I don't call a bottle a bidon, but I might if I spoke French

1footedninja

I wear a UV Buff and/or one of those half baseball cap thingies where its just the peak - usually that's my summer riding headwear. If its chilly I have one of those merino/possom wool hat's (so quite close to the cotton cycling caps), with a polaris neckgaiter/head beanie also which I can wear around neck or on me noggin also.


thats it

vitesse169

I've got a handful of them - from Prendas. Wear them (or a bandana) under the helmet thru the fine weather. I winter I use a skull cap or a woolly hat....

Bunneh

Wooly hats are awesome in winter. Got a few of them from the charity I work for and some of them are quite expensive ones which cost me around 50p. Charity shops are great places for hats!

Ben6899

Bunneh wrote:

Wooly hats are awesome in winter. Got a few of them from the charity I work for and some of them are quite expensive ones which cost me around 50p. Charity shops are great places for hats!

Charity shops are great places for everything. I've picked up some real bargains in the past: Christian Dior jacket, Mulberry handbags and knitwear, rare books, antique crockery...

Headhuunter

I always wear oneunder my helmet these days after hearing horror stories about wasps and bees flying into the vents. I find the also keep me cool as they hold sweat close to the skin.

deptfordmarmoset

Ok, you've collectively convinced me - I don't really care how I look and a cap's not going to be a major investment anyway.

jim453

Ben6899 wrote:

Bunneh wrote:

Wooly hats are awesome in winter. Got a few of them from the charity I work for and some of them are quite expensive ones which cost me around 50p. Charity shops are great places for hats!

Charity shops are great places for everything. I've picked up some real bargains in the past: Christian Dior jacket, Mulberry handbags and knitwear, rare books, antique crockery...

I'm as open minded as the next man, anything you want to share with us Ben?

Ben6899

jim453 wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Bunneh wrote:

Wooly hats are awesome in winter. Got a few of them from the charity I work for and some of them are quite expensive ones which cost me around 50p. Charity shops are great places for hats!

Charity shops are great places for everything. I've picked up some real bargains in the past: Christian Dior jacket, Mulberry handbags and knitwear, rare books, antique crockery...

I'm as open minded as the next man, anything you want to share with us Ben?

Only that I like a nice smart jacket, appreciate good writing and know how to make a bit of a profit; I sold on the bags and one or two of the crockery pieces.

Alain Quay

What people forget is how functional they are in hot weather.
Yoour sweat drips off the peak, rather than into your eyes.

JamesB

helps me go faster downhill .....keeps wind from going down back of my glasses and watering my eyes (and can`t get cycle specific glasses as too high a lens prescription), so at least I see better. Stops insects etc getting in hair, stops rain getting on glasses. Only don`t wear one when on climbs / hot days

Smokin Joe

Cotton caps are multifunctional. As well as keeping the sun and rain off your bonce they are invaluable if you get caught short and have to stop for a sh!t. Soft enough to give a comfy wipe and with a stiff peak to scrape any clinkers away. They clean up like new in the wash too.

NWLondoner

I wear one under my helmet if it's a sunny day or like today if it is raining.

pottssteve

I've just bought a GoreTex one from Gore. Waterproof and windproof. I think I'm going to need it this winter, even if the wife thinks it makes me look simple.... :?

deptfordmarmoset

Smokin Joe wrote:

Cotton caps are multifunctional. As well as keeping the sun and rain off your bonce they are invaluable if you get caught short and have to stop for a sh!t. Soft enough to give a comfy wipe and with a stiff peak to scrape any clinkers away. They clean up like new in the wash too.

Hence, no doubt, the expression ''to cap it all''

bagpusscp

jim453 wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Bunneh wrote:

Wooly hats are awesome in winter. Got a few of them from the charity I work for and some of them are quite expensive ones which cost me around 50p. Charity shops are great places for hats!

Charity shops are great places for everything. I've picked up some real bargains in the past: Christian Dior jacket, Mulberry handbags and knitwear, rare books, antique crockery...

I'm as open minded as the next man, anything you want to share with us Ben?

It made me sile as well.


Back to caps.I have quite a few.The battered the better.
If the cap fits , wear it!!

DaSy

No helmet, just one of the great many cycling caps I have for me when riding. As said above, the older the better, although my Zappi's cap has become a bit of a favourite.

I'm 45 so not quite fitting into the old geezer demographic described earlier, but I am yearning to give up the lycra and always tearing about in training, pouring with sweat. Instead I fancy some nice plus fours, a Fair Isle roll neck, Argyle socks and leather shoes. The Litespeed will get traded in favour of a nice Mercian too.

I passed an old guy a few months ago dressed this way, trundling relentlessly up a pretty tough hill that I was doing repeats on, and for some reason I felt like he was the real cyclist of the two of us, despite the hours of training I do...my day is coming.

Monty Dog

IME bandanas are fine for hot weather, but simply aren't as adaptable as a cap - the peak in particular makes riding the the rain in a bunch more tolerable and a real boon when approaching drivers fail to dip their headlights in the dark.

Le Commentateur

For the well-tanned Euro-cyclist, caps are a useful clue to identifying Brits abroad, especially when worn "Norman Wisdom" style with the peak turned upwards.

Aggieboy

Le Commentateur wrote:

For the well-tanned Euro-cyclist, caps are a useful clue to identifying Brits abroad, especially when worn "Norman Wisdom" style with the peak turned upwards.

Norman in head to toe Rapha.

Le Commentateur

carl_p

I wear one over my helmet. I look like a jockey

Ron Stuart

stratcat wrote:

I quite fancy a cycling cap, I think they look kind of 'old school' cool to me, my wife thinks its a big no-no. I think she's afraid I'll ride without a helmet, but I always wear a helmet, too many years riding motorbikes and mountainbikes makes it feel weird without a lid on.

Anyway what do you think about the humble cycling cap?

As Dave Harmon would say Casquette

mrushton

A top bit of kit when neccessary. My Mavic one was in use this am on a rainy commute.

prawny

I wore my Sean Kelly Academy one this morning, made me look double hard when combined with armwarmers and knee warmers.

Headhuunter

anto164 wrote:

wouldn't be seen dead wearing one.

As said before me, i'd wear a buff if it's chilly.

But if it's not cold and you want a barrier to insects flying into the vents in the helmet, you need a cloth cap.... I'm not wearing a buff when it's 30C+!