Cycling kit...

Crispyapp

I've been looking recently and although I've noticed before, it seems to be more apparent that the majority of cycling kit is total crap. Apart from the likes of Rapha and Assos kit which is quality but expensive it got me thinking what do you all wear on the bike, do you wear pro team kits or are people just not that bothered what they wear. Most roadies are pretty vain tbh which got me thinking it can't just be me that's thinking this. I remember the kit from say 10 or 15 yrs ago being way nicer that what it is today. It seems to be going down hill and the choice is being taken away from us.....

CYCLESPORT1

Club kit :idea:

chrisaonabike

Muddy Fox. Just a couple of stray threads that need reattaching after three months. And still all sensation good in the gentleman's department.

Raffles

Bloke on saturday club run was wearing a long sleeve Campagnolo / Molteni jersey and I pulled up alongside and told him it was probably one of the finest jerseys id ever seen. He bought it for a pittance in the 80s , the jersey is in pristine condition and id just love to own one like it................jealous ?...................you better believe it buddy.

Crispyapp

Raffles wrote:

Bloke on saturday club run was wearing a long sleeve Campagnolo / Molteni jersey and I pulled up alongside and told him it was probably one of the finest jerseys id ever seen. He bought it for a pittance in the 80s , the jersey is in pristine condition and id just love to own one like it................jealous ?...................you better believe it buddy.

Your not wrong there, they are very nice jerseys. If you want 1 of those then check here... http://www.prendas.co.uk/details.asp?ID=3253 I love the retro jerseys and I've very seriously considering a wool jersey myself. I have to say I'm a massive fan of this retro campag bianchi jersey http://www.prendas.co.uk/details.asp?ID=3170

Wacky Racer

I've tried a lot of different "mid price" brands, but inevitably have stuck with what fits me best. I find Santini and Castelli give me the best of both worlds in terms of look, fit, quality and cost.

Personally I detest pro kit, but I see plenty on the road. I like understated designs that are visible, functional and comfortable.

Got to agree with someone above, Campy make some very nice looking kit, quite retro. I'm never sure about sizing with Campy but want to try some of their stuff out.

Camus

Have to disagree with your stance on choice, I think there are so many brands and types of cycle specific clothing out there that it can get a little overwhelming. I mean you can get anything from a retro styled jersey to one stitched together with the latest greatest technical materials.

I will say that cycling kit seems to be proportionately a lot more expensive than that for other sports, the gap between low and high end apparel much wider too, I don't know if it requires more R&D or uses more expensive materials, just something I've noticed.

Crispyapp

Camus wrote:

Have to disagree with your stance on choice, I think there are so many brands and types of cycle specific clothing out there that it can get a little overwhelming. I mean you can get anything from a retro styled jersey to one stitched together with the latest greatest technical materials.

I will say that cycling kit seems to be proportionately a lot more expensive than that for other sports, the gap between low and high end apparel much wider too, I don't know if it requires more R&D or uses more expensive materials, just something I've noticed.

Your right, there is tons of choice out there maybe I got that bit wrong. Ill admit. What I mean is choice of decent kit. I've tried most brands over the yrs and like you say maybe the R&D just isn't there. Altura I think make some great looking kit, very reasonably priced and they have even tried to make kit with a similar look to Rapha, bravo. The fit is awful. There is always something not quite right, it's too long in the body, or the arms are too long (short sleeve) or its baggy in areas where it should be tight etc etc. I'd consider myself average build, I'm not fat, I'm not skinny but I dread buying cycling kit.

Mikey41

I'm still really finding out what works for me. So far I have:

Lidl Bib longs - OK for a tenner, but get less comfy after an hour, best for short commuting. Nice and warm though.
Lidl jerseys - Not bad at all, very long in the body though.
Lidl arm and leg warmers - These are great!
Lidl softshell jacket - Very warm, can't use it until it gets close to freezing. Only thing wrong with it is it has a hood (FFS) which gets in the way.
Altura shorts - The really cheap ones. Much nicer pad than Lidl but I still could do better.
Endura humvee shorts - Nice. The liner short has a great pad.

So, since I am on a fairly tight budget, I feel that Endura seems to fit me better. I'll try some of their higher range shorts and see how I get on with them.

potters1863

Crispyapp wrote:

I've been looking recently and although I've noticed before, it seems to be more apparent that the majority of cycling kit is total crap. Apart from the likes of Rapha and Assos kit which is quality but expensive it got me thinking what do you all wear on the bike, do you wear pro team kits or are people just not that bothered what they wear. Most roadies are pretty vain tbh which got me thinking it can't just be me that's thinking this. I remember the kit from say 10 or 15 yrs ago being way nicer that what it is today. It seems to be going down hill and the choice is being taken away from us.....

Giordana is well made,comfy and reasonable cost. Assos good but a bit on the costly side.

Crispyapp

potters1863 wrote:

Crispyapp wrote:

I've been looking recently and although I've noticed before, it seems to be more apparent that the majority of cycling kit is total crap. Apart from the likes of Rapha and Assos kit which is quality but expensive it got me thinking what do you all wear on the bike, do you wear pro team kits or are people just not that bothered what they wear. Most roadies are pretty vain tbh which got me thinking it can't just be me that's thinking this. I remember the kit from say 10 or 15 yrs ago being way nicer that what it is today. It seems to be going down hill and the choice is being taken away from us.....

Giordana is well made,comfy and reasonable cost. Assos good but a bit on the costly side.

I had a pair of the tenax shorts a few yrs back but didn't rate them, when it comes to shorts I stick with assos these days. There great quality at all levels. Someone above posted about endura, I forgot to mention this brand. I have to say I haven't much experience with there kit, I have a shell rain PAC lite which I think is brilliant. I'm deffo going to invest in a jersey this summer from endura, the quality seems very good and the price is also v good.

Camus

Said this in another thread somewhere but Giordana are great, the quality is excellent as their goods are designed and made in their factory in Italy (not that you don't get good quality when items are made further afield, just pre-empting any brand based backlash on that one, due to what's been going on around here lately!) and at a decent price point even if it's not necessarily cheap.

I've never tried Assos bibs though so can't compare. I will need some in summer so have to do some research.

I also think Craft's gear offers good value for what you get in terms of quality and fit, not the cheapest either but won't blow holes in your wallet / the piggy bank.