Are "expensive" clothing worth it ? This is what I bought.

VTech

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/7/clothesb.jpg/

Having purchased my turbo trainer, my trainer bike, my road bike I had almost £5k of kit and still needed clothes, a helmet, gloves and shoes so I set about buying them online.
After finding the right stores, having read magazines and reviews I was just about to click the "order now" when reality hit me and I was about to pay out another £1400 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I decided to google "affordable cycle clothing" and found some great reviews for the MuddyFox MFX range and the best offers for these were at Sports Direct so I drove to my local store and even better, they were all on half price sale on what was already the best prices on them anyway.
So, I purchased the following.

Trouser Bibs
Short Bibs
Trainer T-Shirt
Wind Cheater Jacket
Wind Cheater Waterproof Jacket
Thermal Socks x2 pair
Carbon Helmet

Nike Head Warmer
Dunlop Wind-Protection Gloves

I got all of the above for only £128 which is a HUGE saving on what I was about to spend.
I also purchased a pair of Sidi Ergo Carbon shoes for £289 rather than £389 which was another saving.

ShutUpLegs

What were your previous hobbies and how much did you spend?

Bobbinogs

VTech wrote:

Having purchased my turbo trainer, my trainer bike, my road bike I had almost £5k of kit

I have no doubt some riders could go faster than you with a £500 bike...so you need to define "worth it"

I have some expensive kit and some of it is great, I also have some cheap bits of kit and some of it is great too. Same goes the other way though.

smidsy

The single best bit of kit you can ever buy is decent shorts/tights with a really good pad.

IME the Muddy Fox stuff is false economy as it under performs.

Buy cheap, buy twice, seems to be true in cycling.

skyeflyguy

Well done vtech, not sure how good it is, but a lot o kit for the money!?

VTech

I have a few hobbies, I fly when the wether is good and I like to play snooker when I have the time but due to work I never seem to have as much time as I would like but either way, I have not really done any kind of excersize related hobbies and dont much like many of them but I used to love to cycle as a kid so thought that would be the best route.
Money isnt an issue as such, my question was wether the clothes at 4-5x the price really were worth it.
I work in an industry where people are happy to spend serious amounts of money without question so often ask myself wether certain things are simply worth the money.

Steve236

I've found the sports direct (Muddy Fox) stuff fine to get me going without a huge outlay. I'm now slowly replacing the various items one by one with better gear at a more leisurely pace. Another good thing about doing it this way is you do appreciate the quality of the better stuff and that its worth paying out eventually.

smidsy

Steve236 wrote:

I've found the sports direct (Muddy Fox) stuff fine to get me going without a huge outlay. I'm now slowly replacing the various items one by one with better gear at a more leisurely pace. Another good thing about doing it this way is you do appreciate the quality of the better stuff and that its worth paying out eventually.

So Vtec that is a yes, the expensive stuff is worth it 8)

tlw1

If money isn't an issue, then go for it. I've bought cheap and expensive in the past and its a classic case of you get what you pay for

Markjaspi

I've bought quiet a lot of my winter gear from decathlon, the Btwin stuff seems reasonable for its cost. I haven't really got any summer gear so I'll have to decide what I buy then. My friends and brother in law buy more expensive gear than me, they don't go any quicker or keep any warmer but they are happy and so am I.

I suppose it depends on what your happy to spend and whether you feel it's value for money, and as long as you are happy that's all that matters IMO.

hstiles

From experience, the Muddy Fox and Karrimor gear from Sports Direct represents poor value for money. The material is poor quality and goes out of shape in no time. The material doesn't wick away moisture very well, leaving you feeling clammy and sweaty. The padding in the shorts is particularly nasty.

You don't need to spend loads of money on clothing to get good deals. The Tenn and Funkier stuff you find on amazon is good quality for the money. I have some Tenn bib tights and they're great. dhb stuff from Wiggle is pretty good and reasonably priced. The Heattech range in Uniqlo make good base layers. You can also get good baselayers as Merino wool socks in TKMaxx.

Finally, most online retailers have a steady stream of close out items and end of season sales in your LBS are a good source of quality clothing - especially if you aren't fussed about 'last season's' range. Even Evans has some cracking deals - I just picked up a half price BMC gilet.

ballysmate

Markjaspi wrote:

I've bought quiet a lot of my winter gear from decathlon, the Btwin stuff seems reasonable for its cost. I haven't really got any summer gear so I'll have to decide what I buy then. My friends and brother in law buy more expensive gear than me, they don't go any quicker or keep any warmer but they are happy and so am I.

I suppose it depends on what your happy to spend and whether you feel it's value for money, and as long as you are happy that's all that matters IMO.

Talking a lot of sense.

Gabbo

matthew h wrote:

If money isn't an issue, then go for it. I've bought cheap and expensive in the past and its a classic case of you get what you pay for

This!

I have the same mindset when it comes to buying any kind of equipment. You get as much out as you are willing to put in and if anything, I find that an expensive piece of item will serve you better in the long run and thus save you from forking out for any kind of replacement gear.

mwf28

Gez! 5k on stuff and still more? I thought i had cycling ocd!
Vtech I would sure like to know where and what that 5k went on ?

VTech

Felt AR4 2013
Garmin 800 edge + extras
TacX Trainer + accessories
Trainer Bike
Mavic Carbon Peddles
Sidi Carbon Shoes

Its actually a fair bit over £5k really, hence my point about costings, I find it surprisingly easy to get to a point where you surpass the cost of a decent road car when cycling.

gerroffandmilkit

Don't see anything wrong in kitting yourself out with budget gear when you start out.

Buy the cheaper stuff and replace it with better stuff as and when your cheaper stuff wears out or whenever you can afford to buy better known cycling clothing.
There seems to be an amount of cycling snobbery amongst some cycling circles. It's the same with other sports too, eg golf to name but one. More expensive gear doesn't make you ride any faster. You may feel smart riding in matching and expensive gear but it doesn't affect your performance over wearing much cheaper equipment.

Just my two pennorth!

VTech

gerroffandmilkit wrote:

Don't see anything wrong in kitting yourself out with budget gear when you start out.

Buy the cheaper stuff and replace it with better stuff as and when your cheaper stuff wears out or whenever you can afford to buy better known cycling clothing.
There seems to be an amount of cycling snobbery amongst some cycling circles. It's the same with other sports too, eg golf to name but one. More expensive gear doesn't make you ride any faster. You may feel smart riding in matching and expensive gear but it doesn't affect your performance over wearing much cheaper equipment.

Just my two pennorth!

That was what I was trying to get at, as I said earlier, spending isnt the issue but wastage is. I wear Next Jeans as they fit well and last, I can't see the point spending £90 on Levis unless im in the USA and get them for $40 !

FatTed

I think the expensive gear is "worth" it, but it takes some time to work out which is best for you, How a particular brand fits you, perhaps your shape may change with all this exercise.
I have Assos bibs and Rapha tops
I also have groundeffect, Endura, Gore, Castelli, Shutt VR,and Campagnolo
But I wear Assos and Rapha, I know I am a show Pony
Assos and Rapha have a free repair service.
It does not make me any faster.

overlord2

I dont go for high end stuff unless its heavily discounted same for all my gear. I try to look past the bike and what people are wearing. I have to agree that there is a lot of snobbery out there and it tends to come from those that have been in the sport a while and should know better.

Overtook a guy on a yorkshire climb in full pro stuff in summer on my winter bike, said hello, and the look he gave you would have thought I'd told him i'd slept with his wife.

rolf_f

For cheap stuff it's hard to beat Aldi - at least for the top half. I've got expensive stuff and the expensive stuff is nicer to hold in your hand but I'm never really aware of the difference once I'm on the bike!

Good shorts are good though!

markwb79

smidsy wrote:

Steve236 wrote:

I've found the sports direct (Muddy Fox) stuff fine to get me going without a huge outlay. I'm now slowly replacing the various items one by one with better gear at a more leisurely pace. Another good thing about doing it this way is you do appreciate the quality of the better stuff and that its worth paying out eventually.

So Vtec that is a yes, the expensive stuff is worth it 8)

I am sort of the other way. When I started I bought some value and some premium things. After cycling for a 6-12 months my body shape had changed quite a bit and I needed to buy some new things, went for the premium things as i prefer the fit/quality (IMO). I did regret buying them the first time round as I didnt get too much use out of them.

My advice, buy cheap for 6 months, find out what you like and dont like. Then buy the 'better' things!

crispybug2

If you look around your LBS, you might find, as I did, that there's plenty of 'Livestrong' branded clothing going quite cheap for some reason. I picked up three pairs of bib shorts for £30 each and looking at the quality of them I'll get years of wear out of them.

Otherwise I personally like Decathlon/Btwin stuff, good value and good quality and when they have them Lidl/Aldi stuff is outstanding value!

Anonymous

'Quality' clothing is worth it. How much you pay for it has a big effect on whether it is expensive, and expense is subjective anyway.

p1tse

What trainer bike have you, is it just for the turbo or winter use?

To be honest clothes wise like anything else you get what you pay for. I would love to buy some assos and rapha stuff, but on a budget and new into the game.

I'm also on the principle buy cheap buy twice.
So I've got dhb bib tights to try and a couple of as new second hand gore bike wear tops alon with some mountain active tops for now.

If you could have afforded it you were probably better off going to lbs and getting some endura, altura stuff

p1tse

Also worth checking out assos outlet store again if you can afford it

philwint

Isn't it just the same quality cost curve as for anything? My quick sketch of which is:



And we all make our individual choices. If you can afford the premium brands, and don't mind paying for the name and tiny marginal improvements over the quality stuff, then go for it.

At the other end "cheap and nasty" is, in my opinion rarely worth buying as it will wear out/break/you will get sick of it so quick you will end up buying better very soon.

JackPozzi

Good graph, spot on!

bernithebiker

I buy good stuff (Castelli, Gore, etc) when it's heavily discounted. You just have to shop around a bit.

Heartening to see that dodgy spelling is clearly no impediment to riches.

mwf28

"Overtook a guy on a yorkshire climb in full pro stuff in summer on my winter bike, said hello, and the look he gave you would have thought I'd told him i'd slept with his wife. "
This sums it all up ,Had to chuckle !

I love quality cycling clothing and would love tobe able to buy it new ,,But there are certain elite lables /brands i stay away from ,even second hand prices are expensive,I have brought most of my stuff from e-bay..cycle-shop sales.
I have got some very good jerseys ,bid tights from e-bay..
You certainly need a level of kit as a beginner,The more you cycle the more obvious and apparent it becomes as to whant kit you need to invest in ,,then decide how much .
I really want a CASTELLI GABBA but i just cannot force myself to purchase one ! yet?

mwf28

"Overtook a guy on a yorkshire climb in full pro stuff in summer on my winter bike, said hello, and the look he gave you would have thought I'd told him i'd slept with his wife. "


This sums it all up ,Had to chuckle !

I love quality cycling clothing and would love to be able to buy it new ,,But there are certain elite lables /brands i stay away from ,even second hand prices are expensive,I have brought most of my stuff from e-bay..cycle-shop sales.
I have got some very good jerseys ,bid tights from e-bay..
You certainly need a level of kit as a beginner,The more you cycle the more obvious and apparent it becomes as to whant kit you need to invest in ,,then decide how much .
I really want a CASTELLI GABBA but i just cannot force myself to purchase one ! yet?

ademort

For me the only expensive kit is shorts for the longer distance. I have several pairs all of which are comfy upto say 100Kms but only one pair Assos that i would gladly wear all day. As for the rest i dont buy expensive shirts, bought 5 from the lidl for less than €50. Also other shirts at reasonable prices. All my other kit is just middle of the road.At the end of the day it,s upto each individual what they spend.Financially i,m sound but just feel that buying very expensive gear is just a waste of money.
Ademort