Beginner roadie clothing

rob13

Just looking to buy a road bike about now, but need some advice on clothing kit.

I have a Specialized helmet already from my MTB so without visor that should be fine for now.

I have an altura waterproof jacket and I have a few pairs of short sleeve thermal and full length leg thermals.

I have a pair of thin walking gloves which might do the trick. I also have a couple of Buffs for neck/head if required.

I have an EDZ windproof innershell, and also have Berghaus long and short sleeve T Shirts


I'm also aware I'll need some bib tights of some description. Advice?

I need a pair of shoes. I have seen the DHB's on Wiggle which get rave reviews for £50.

What else do I need?

Pokerface

You'll need better than 'thin walking gloves' for this time of year.


And, you *could* use your MTB shoes if you put the same pedals on the road bike.

peter101cycle

Good padded pair of bib shorts (I use an old pair of Assos - expensive but last) and cycling glasses (stop eyes watering at speed in the cold weather especially).....

rob13

Recommend me some bib tights or at least some features needed for cold weather.

How about motorbike gloves?

mr_poll

Not sure what the best advice is but I have some bib shorts for the warmer weather which have good padding - during colder weather I wear these windproof tights over the top of the shorts (not the greatest quality but do the job) - tend to find unless you spend a small fortune that longs dont have great padding.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... USSZTIG360

I am sure others will have better advice but this works for me and also tends to keep the cost down.

peter101cycle

+1 for wearing tights over Summer bib shorts in the Winter, as this is exactly what I do.

In terms of recommending specific shorts, it is a very personal thing but this would be a good starting point (please note, you can spend less, you can spend more!)

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/assos-fi-uno-s5-bib-cycling-shorts/

Check other Tinternet stores and eBay for better prices.

As well as Assos, I would also recommend Endura as a good brand to look at (recently got a Winter jacket from them, £150 and superb!).

Hope this helps.....

meanredspider

You don't say how often or how far you expect to cycle so it's a bit harder to suggest. The DHB stuff seems pretty good - I have the bib tights and they are good value though, like some others, I've found Assos to be fantastic.

One bit of advice is to try to figure out how serious you're going to be about it. If you're sure you are going to do this a lot, my advice would be to buy the best you can else risk buying twice - then it is expensive. This is especially true for the key bits of kit - shorts and shoes.

Experiences differ too. Apart from Merino stuff, I've found Endura to be total rubbish and will never touch it again. To my mind it's mid-price but poor quality.

freddiegrubb

:oops: Wiggle shoes are good & they will fit spd./ road cleats , go 1 up from your normal sizing Screwfix do a superb CAT yellow industrial safety spectacle for £10 , I gave a pair to my daughter & she said it was as if somebody had turned the light on (it was a gloomy day).If you wait till spring ALDI do good road clothing , if your not a name snob.

ALaPlage

I would echo the comments above about buy the best you can afford as the buy cheap, buy twice is certainly my experience and that is expensive. I have an Endura jetstream jersey which is amazingly good for the cold weather (Autumn/Spring) and with base layer and waterproof jacket is toasty enough for these sub zero days we are experiencing now. At around £50 I believe it is good value. Summer jerseys are all Assos Mille - great quality, feel and fit but costly at £100 each.

In terms of bibshorts I have Assos and Giordana and both makes suit me well. The Assos is slighlty more smooth on but I cannot say anymore comfortable. I bought the Giordana from Ribble at about £60 a pair after their discounts (normally about £80 anywhere else). The Assos cost me £95 from the LBS and that was after a good discount (They were marked up at £110).

I have race shoes which are great for the Summer and in cold/wet weather with Endura overshoes on top they are warm and dry. I bought Diadora through Chain Reaction and love them - they are really comfortable.

I researched and tried all sorts of clothing after my early experiences with Altura and Aldi were disappointing. I wanted to make sure I got clothes that would feel comfortable and last. So far the Assos and Giordana kit has lived up to expectations.

I believe motorcycle gloves may be a bit bulky but certainly would keep you warm in this weather.

I have Gore fingerless leather gloves for summer which have been great and just bought some Gore windstopper for the cold days. So far I have been delighted with these.

Buy the best you can afford and above all just enjoy your cycling. One thing I would add is that the difference on warm days with good proper cycling kit is that it controls your body temp better and keeps you drier. A Karrimor jersey I had from sport and soccer would get soaked with sweat and retain all the moisyure a
making it clammy and uncomfortable. The Assos Mille on the other hand stays dry wicking away the sweat and even after a heavy session in the summer sun retains its comfort level and is relatively dry.

hope that helps.

giant_man

if you're on a budget, go cheap and still pick up half decent kit. I do prefer to spend more on Assos personally, but not all of us have the budget for this kind of cycling wear. You could get away with it by buying brands like DHB etc. And remember your layering. This time of year it is so easy to be cold by not layering properly.

A decent base layer is critical. Prendas and others do some good ones and the price isn't bad.

http://www.prendas.co.uk/details.asp?ty ... 22&ID=2142

Bib shorts we've discussed but also a skull cap for your head works wonders. These can cost from anything to around 30 quid for top quality like Assos, but Polaris, Ground Effect and others produce good kit. Also some helmets come with liners to wear in the winter weather, again these are very good, purely for the fact that it keeps out the cold that usually comes into the (sometimes numerous) vents of a helmet.

A jersey of some kind, preferably long sleeved is good as is an outer shell, again the choice is bewildering, NOTHING is both waterproof and breathable, but some manufacturers are getting there. Again, cost is so varied, look around this time of year for online sales etc.

Gloves - the most effective are good quality outers and sometimes either a thin glove liner or actual second pair of glove inside.

Shoes\socks - the most effective method I have found over the many years of cycling are winter boots, such as the link below, a size larger than you normally have with decent socks such as Woolie Boolies, this creates a 'warm air space' to generate heat. This is important, nothing worse than having cold feet.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/defeet-woolie-b ... ing-socks/

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Diadora-Chili-Ext ... 04fdda8e03

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop ... XTREME.htm

You can use overshoes or overshoes for extra warmth and keeping the wet out and of course this protects your shoes/boots in the orrible weather.

Finally, don't get fooled by claims by manufacturers such as Sealskinz who claim all their kit is waterproof which it isn't. Continued use of their kit confirms this. And as echoed already you can certainly go too cheap, Aldi etc. Their gloves aren't too bad but other stuff like their bib tights and outers are not very good fit wise or for quality. You buy cheap you are going to buy twice.

Hope this has helped.

ALaPlage

ref FreddieGrub - like anything you can end up paying for a "name" but my experience is there is a real difference in riding comfort from the Assos gear I have now invested in. I have tried Karrimor/Aldi/Altura and there is a signifcant difference. Whether you believe the price difference is justified is always a personal thing and circumstances sometimes force your choice. I did not choose my kit on "snob" value but searching out something that I believed was comfortable and hopefully long lasting.

So far I am happy with my choice and beleive despite the higher price it is great value for the difference I have experienced.

rob13

Thanks for the replies so far guys.

What I'm looking at is stuff which will be good enough to be comfortable and get me on the road without breaking the bank. At this time, I dont want to be shelling out on Assos stuff to find that 6 months down the line, I havent used the bike much and the gear is just sitting there.

I have enough stuff to keep me warm on top, but I'm looking at stuff to keep my legs warm enough. I'm looking at Polaris or DHB shorts (probably bib shorts) but the leggings which I look at to wear over them all seem to have liners in them? Are there any reasonably priced leggings which will do the job?

meanredspider

You could just add leg-warmers though most (including DHB I believe) come with a pad-free version
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-pace-roubai ... -pad-2011/
for example

rolf_f

giant mancp wrote:

And as echoed already you can certainly go too cheap, Aldi etc. Their gloves aren't too bad but other stuff like their bib tights and outers are not very good fit wise or for quality. You buy cheap you are going to buy twice.

This isn't really true. Even the bib shorts, which seemed really wierdly sized to me, have their advocates. But the jerseys and softshell jackets are superb and insanely cheap. I have been using a couple of Aldi softshells, some jerseys and a waterproof jacket all year (better than Lidl ones due to ropey zips on Lidl - you get YKKs on Aldi kit) . Aside from fabric bobbling, they are in much the same state as new. And I've ridden 10,000 miles this year.

What I would say is that the jerseys are rather long - so I can't use them for non-commuting purposes as the pockets are too low on my back. However, the quality really shouldn't be questioned - they are excellent.

And, to be honest, even if you did think it was a case of 'buy cheap, buy twice' you are still going to be way ahead on a product that costs a tenth of the price of some of the opposition.

Most of my other kit comes from ShuttVR - a UK company sourcing most of its fabric and all the stitching in the UK. Really a nice company to deal with: http://www.shuttvr.com/
I've been using their unpadded Roubaix tights all winter and they are excellent.

meanredspider

Rolf F wrote:

giant mancp wrote:

And, to be honest, even if you did think it was a case of 'buy cheap, buy twice' you are still going to be way ahead on a product that costs a tenth of the price of some of the opposition.

"Buy cheap - buy twice" really means that you buy cheap then you end up buying the more expensive ("higher quality") product after all anyway - therefore spending more than you would have had you bought better first time around. ir a false economy.

I can't comment on Aldi or Lidl. Used Assos gear (especially lightly used stuff) commands good prices on eBay so there's little risk of losing money (versus buying cheap and not being able to sell it on). The initial outlay is another problem though.

rolf_f

meanredspider wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

giant mancp wrote:

And, to be honest, even if you did think it was a case of 'buy cheap, buy twice' you are still going to be way ahead on a product that costs a tenth of the price of some of the opposition.

"Buy cheap - buy twice" really means that you buy cheap then you end up buying the more expensive ("higher quality") product after all anyway - therefore spending more than you would have had you bought better first time around. ir a false economy.

Possibly so; didn't think of it that way - but I buy expensive(ish) - eg Shutt which people compare well with Assos etc, and cheaply; ie the aforementioned Aldi and both are good. I'd struggle to see why anyone would (assuming the fit worked for them) buy Aldi and then think they needed Assos as the quality wasn't up to it. There really isn't anything wrong with the Aldi stuff at all. For commuting it is a no brainer. For weekend riding, something posher is nice but the gains are really no different to selecting Record over Athena.

As for resale - a jersey costs less than a tenner from Aldi. I'd pay rather less than £10 less for a second hand Assos jersey than a new one.

Omar Little

Assos is good quality kit (amongst the best) but it is expensive too and a huge outlay for someone just starting out and as result likely needing to buy more than just 1 pair of shorts, but almost an entire cycling wardrobe. Buy a few bits and bobs from Assos and you will be looking at a huge bill whereas you can get decent quality and good value gear from the likes of dhb or shuttvr. It might not quite be Assos quality but it is not cheap crap either.

There are other alternatives too - Decathlon have some decent value gear, some of their cheaper stuff is almost Aldi cheap too.

meanredspider

Rolf F wrote:

Possibly so; didn't think of it that way - but I buy expensive(ish) - eg Shutt which people compare well with Assos etc, and cheaply; ie the aforementioned Aldi and both are good. I'd struggle to see why anyone would (assuming the fit worked for them) buy Aldi and then think they needed Assos as the quality wasn't up to it. There really isn't anything wrong with the Aldi stuff at all. For commuting it is a no brainer..

Shutt's very good (near Assos just without the range) as is DHB (more basic). I can't really compare my DHB Merstons with my Assos winter bibs though.

As for commuting, I do up to 10 hours a week, in all weathers - why I'd spend less for that than riding at the weekend, I'm not sure. But, yes, if it was a 3-mile run into town, I'd spend less.

Anyhow - I'm recommending the OP buy the "good enough" stuff for his needs too. Just don't cut corners.

rolf_f

meanredspider wrote:

As for commuting, I do up to 10 hours a week, in all weathers - why I'd spend less for that than riding at the weekend, I'm not sure. But, yes, if it was a 3-mile run into town, I'd spend less.

Anyhow - I'm recommending the OP buy the "good enough" stuff for his needs too. Just don't cut corners.

Depends on how you look at it. Given that the quality of the Aldi stuff matches the expensive stuff (in terms of durability and function), the only difference is price. I can get a weeks change of jerseys for less than the price of one piece of posh kit and I don't mind so much if that stuff gets bobbled or ingrained grime it (my fluoro jacket hasn't been the same since last winters oily slush got sprayed onto it on a daily basis.....). You certainly don't cut corners with the Aldi tops.

Not sure yet on the Aldi shoes I got - but the Lidl MTB ones I got last year still look ok after a few thousand miles of last winter.

I'm pretty similar to you commute wise - up to about 18 hours commuting a week and, again, in all weathers (and Yorkshire has all weathers - often on the same day!). The Aldi stuff has been spot on but for weekends I hate to dress down for the posh bike!

meanredspider

Rolf F wrote:

Depends on how you look at it. Given that the quality of the Aldi stuff matches the expensive stuff (in terms of durability and function), the only difference is price.

I'm pretty similar to you commute wise - up to about 18 hours commuting a week and, again, in all weathers (and Yorkshire has all weathers - often on the same day!). The Aldi stuff has been spot on but for weekends I hate to dress down for the posh bike!

I can't comment on Aldi stuff as I've only ever looked at it and never tried it on. I do, however, somehow doubt that it's up to the quality of the good stuff (Assos et al) simply because the attention to detail in the Assos stuff (the "function" part) is so high and because, if it was, it would have put all the mid-priced brands out of business. I wash and dry my stuff daily (or nightly to be precise) so my capital outlay is similar

Yep - I'd imagine the weathers we cycle through are pretty similar (and the elevation changes judging by your chart) - though I'm sure I can claim to have crappy weather for longer in the winter

rolf_f

meanredspider wrote:

I can't comment on Aldi stuff as I've only ever looked at it and never tried it on. I do, however, somehow doubt that it's up to the quality of the good stuff (Assos et al) simply because the attention to detail in the Assos stuff (the "function" part) is so high and because, if it was, it would have put all the mid-priced brands out of business. I wash and dry my stuff daily (or nightly to be precise) so my capital outlay is similar

Yep - I'd imagine the weathers we cycle through are pretty similar (and the elevation changes judging by your chart) - though I'm sure I can claim to have crappy weather for longer in the winter

Ahhh, of course, I remember your enviable route now! My route is normally hillier now than the sig one - I ought to update it for more impressiveness! I submit to your claims for the crappier weather! Besides, Leeds isn't so bad - doesn't really rain that much for a start.

You'd be surprised at the attention to detail on the Aldi stuff - they clearly look at the opposition and copy. For example, my old softshell has plain sleeve ends - the new ones now have thumb holes (though the sleeves are a tad short for my long limbs to use them) and a little clippy lanyard thing one one of the rear pockets. And I forgot to mention - one reason why I do wear stuff like Shutt at weekends is specifically to support these companies. I think it is lucky for the mid price brands that the Aldi stuff has shuch limited availability.

P.S I don't think your capital outlay is similar. Ignoring the washing issue (I try to wash clothes once a week as I live alone but it does save money) - you are washing one jersey five times a week and wearing it five times a week. Both the wearing and the washing are wearing the garment out five times faster than the five items worn once!

garrynolan

All good advice above... if you go down the SPD route for shoes you could use your MTB ones as long as they're not boots (too chunky and really not good aesthetically on a road bike). I have Shimano M086 MTB shoes with Shimano M540 clipless MTB pedals. The shoes are very comfortable, look like road shoes and you can actually walk in them without waddling like a duck . The pedals (though cheap) have been very reliable and I can't fault them. Also... the colour is really cool! Hope this helps and good luck.

meanredspider

Rolf F wrote:

Ahhh, of course, I remember your enviable route now! !

I think I peak at 620ft on my normal route but drop to sea level part way there.

Rolf F wrote:

Both the wearing and the washing are wearing the garment out five times faster than the five items worn once!

Yeah - but I don't think I can imagine actually wearing the stuff out. Fortunately (or not) I have 4 other people in my home so we can fill a washing machine.

cal_stewart

DHB is a good starting point which offers good value. The £29.99 stutt vr bibs get great reviews. I've used running tights under bibs before in cold weather and you can buy leg warmers. You can sometimes get a good deal on pedal plus shoes deals.

bendertherobot

I have one of the very nice Aldi thermal jackets from last September. It does have good attention to detail.

And it's quite well put together.

That said, the white stripe on each arm is in an entirely different place on each arm when put on. On closer inspection the sewing of each arm (i.e. the rotation) begins in a slightly differnet place.

It works really well. But it's not DHB quality control standard.

Philby

I have quite a bit of Gore clothing - its great quality, is easily / widely available, and is sensibly priced. Their Windstopper gear is excellent for our cold and windy climate.

Aldi clothing may be great but you need to live near one and also it is only on sale for relatively short periods of the year.

The jury's out on Assos in my mind - I accept they make a great product, but at nearly twice the price of other brands such as Gore is it twice as good?

Just bought some Shutt stuff so looking forward to seeing how that performs.

meanredspider

Philby wrote:

The jury's out on Assos in my mind - I accept they make a great product, but at nearly twice the price of other brands such as Gore is it twice as good?

Of course it isn't twice as "good" (whatever that actually means). It does seem to last very well (twice as long? probably not) and they do have the repair service (I don't know if Gore do and I very much doubt Aldi do) though we hope not to make use of that.. Like so many things, the 80:20 rule applies - you'll get 80% of the benefit from 20% of the cost but 80% isn't always enough (a choice of a smoke alarm that worked 80% of the time or 100% for instance - or cycling shorts that chaffed only 1 ride in 5)

I have a Gore Phantom II and an Assos AirJack 851 - I'm thinking of selling the Phantom because I always pick up the 851. The Gore is great it's just not quite as comfortable and doesn't fit quite as well. It's better off the bike (Assos stuff really is cut to fit you ON the bike) so I might keep it for hill-walking and watching the kids play football. The Gore however is "good enough".

orbeaorca

Buy the best that you can afford.
Prendas own branded base layers and socks, the Santini shorts from Prendas are a good bet and then theres the DHB range from Wiggle.
Look around in sales especially for gear from previous years and discontinued lines, there are bargains out there to be had.
Personally I wouldnt go anywhere near anything from Aldi , thats my choice and a previous comment posted stating that in terms of functionality and durability Aldi gear is on the same level with Rapha/Assos is complete horse poo.

rolf_f

orbeaorca wrote:

Personally I wouldnt go anywhere near anything from Aldi , thats my choice and a previous comment posted stating that in terms of functionality and durability Aldi gear is on the same level with Rapha/Assos is complete horse poo.

Oh go on then, tell me why! My Aldi softshells keep me warm and seem pretty indestructable - effectively they do everything I want from a softshell so I can't really see what there is to improve on in that respect. I wouldn't pretend that they have the same cachet or style (though that is obviously down to personal taste) but how would you say that the functionality and durability is better (particularly as you imply you have no actual knowledge of the product)? Clever touches make a nice product but they don't necessarily alter the functionality that much.

I think people tend to fool themselves somewhat over what gains they make by buying the posh stuff. My Look, in terms of the aforementioned functionality and durability is, if I am honest with myself, not really that much better than my Ribble which cost a third of the price. However, it does make me feel better when riding it - it has something that the Ribble does not and the smug factor is certainly worth something. However, I'd be daft if I pretended that it made much difference in quantifiable terms.

LittleB0b

ALaPlage wrote:

I would echo the comments above about buy the best you can afford as the buy cheap, buy twice

It depend what you are doing though. If you are doing lots of short rides it can be better to have 2 pairs of OK longs - than 1 pair of really good ones.

With road conditions like this, and to not be a total minger, you're only gonna get 1 ride out of them. Unless you are ruthless with your laundry only having 1 pair is a total pain in the arse - they are always in the wash.

so yeah - buy cheap - buy twice as many - and only have to do washing half as much.

meanredspider

Rolf F wrote:

I think people tend to fool themselves somewhat over what gains they make by buying the posh stuff..

I think the opposite is often equally true though - people kid themselves that the cheap version is as good as the expensive version. In my experience, it rarely is for any product. Overpriced rubbish is quickly found out - people never feel more cheated that when they've bought something expensive only for it not to be good. The same isn't true when you've bought cheap because you can always tell yourself "it was only x quid"

You need to be able to tell the difference too. I could give my kids a Draper spanner or a Snap-On spanner and, for them, it would perform the function just as well. I know that 10 years later, the Snap-On will still be doing the job well even in a professional environment.