B E N D E R's non sweary review site, roubaixcycling.cc (and general kit discussion)

pinno

letap73 wrote:

gabriel959 wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/gore-bike-wear-exclusive-one-1985-gore-tex-shakedryt-jacket/

Seems like.

Pesky exchange rate as well. $300 becomes £250

Yep, £200 with Platinum discount. Still black and no reflectives though.

I think there is an issue with regards to putting colouration on the material without affecting performance. Obviously, paying such prices now is probably ridiculous, however todays halo product becomes more commonplace tomorrow. For example the Re-gen jacket I picked up today cost £60 - it has a Gore active shell, which is waterproof, lightweight and is very breathable.
The 7 mesh halo product last year was:
http://shop.7meshinc.com/Product/Revela ... ch-Edition

It's still far too much money though. You mean a man made fibre cannot be coloured during production?! Yeah right. At least DB won't be buying it sans vert et sans jaune.

apreading

Quins wrote:

I holed those sorpasso bib tights this morning, 5 miles into 12 mile commute, front wheel went on oil/diesel. FFS! Right knee took it. Glad it did , because I would have face planted, pulled my upper lip back on the road luckily no proper damage. Any suggestions for a repair ( for the tights that is).....

I put a hole in the hip on mine 1 year and 1 day ago when I got knocked off. Tried 'pronty' and proper gore tex iron on repair patches - pronty lasted 1 ride (repeated with same results 3 times!) and gore lasted 3 rides. Just wont stick to the surface. My hole is too big to sew, but yours might be alright. If you dont sew it well then the stitches would probably just rip through the material. The problem is that where they are so stretchy, and on the knees and hip/bum they are under alot of force trying to pull the hole open again, every time you pedal.

daniel_b

Pinno wrote:

letap73 wrote:

gabriel959 wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/gore-bike-wear-exclusive-one-1985-gore-tex-shakedryt-jacket/

Seems like.

Pesky exchange rate as well. $300 becomes £250

Yep, £200 with Platinum discount. Still black and no reflectives though.

I think there is an issue with regards to putting colouration on the material without affecting performance. Obviously, paying such prices now is probably ridiculous, however todays halo product becomes more commonplace tomorrow. For example the Re-gen jacket I picked up today cost £60 - it has a Gore active shell, which is waterproof, lightweight and is very breathable.
The 7 mesh halo product last year was:
http://shop.7meshinc.com/Product/Revela ... ch-Edition

It's still far too much money though. You mean a man made fibre cannot be coloured during production?! Yeah right. At least DB won't be buying it sans vert et sans jaune.

Oui! It was written off as soon as it appeared.

Quins

Is it possible to sew the gore, pronto or any other patches as well as iron ? Such a bummer....if it had been colder I'd have been in the old DHB kit.... Put it down to experience and general life tax.

chippyk

Pinno wrote:

letap73 wrote:

gabriel959 wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/gore-bike-wear-exclusive-one-1985-gore-tex-shakedryt-jacket/

Seems like.

Pesky exchange rate as well. $300 becomes £250

Yep, £200 with Platinum discount. Still black and no reflectives though.

I think there is an issue with regards to putting colouration on the material without affecting performance. Obviously, paying such prices now is probably ridiculous, however todays halo product becomes more commonplace tomorrow. For example the Re-gen jacket I picked up today cost £60 - it has a Gore active shell, which is waterproof, lightweight and is very breathable.
The 7 mesh halo product last year was:
http://shop.7meshinc.com/Product/Revela ... ch-Edition

It's still far too much money though. You mean a man made fibre cannot be coloured during production?! Yeah right. At least DB won't be buying it sans vert et sans jaune.

It's possible, unlikely, that they can't get the right pigment to mix properly with the polymer in the extruder. More likely IMO that the fibre manufacturer uses a lot of one pigment which can be a PITA to get out of an extruder so they adopt the Henry Ford approach to colour choices, charge a lot more for other colours or make the MOQ prohibitive.

pinno

The complete black look of the guys in the ad for example, is just plain unsafe. I am sure that the manufacturers could attach reflective strips where it doesn't compromise the properties of the material.
I realise that raw polymer is black (hell knows I used to collect the stuff from Sharpness docks) but it is a trend and for £200, you expect something that covers all bases.

bendertherobot

I'm doing a what to wear in winter/awards thingy. Might take me a bit.

pinno

...and i'll do the what not to wear/awards thingy.

bendertherobot

I'm Trinny, obvs.

pinno

bendertherobot wrote:

I'm Trinny, obvs.

You can purchase a wide assortment of wigs and lippy and be anything you like mate. I'm not stopping you.

bendertherobot

I'll source an Assos 851 to complete the look.

luv2ride

BTR, a Potenza query for you: reckon its worth getting a Craft windstopper base layer to pair with it to beef up the Potenza's performance in colder weather? Merlin are doing the base for less than 25 quid but I've always avoided the WS version in the past thinking it wouldn't breathe well, but reviews seem to rate them highly.
Oh, and if recommended, what size? I have various non-WS Craft base layers in small, but wondered whether I should go medium given the less stretchy WS front panel?
Cheers!

bendertherobot

Definitely. That would, IMO, turn it into something very versatile. I'd size up. Mine is an XL!

luv2ride

You mean go from small (I have that size in craft active extreme ls, ss and mesh superlight bases) to large?! :shock:...or medium?

Edit: scrub that, think you meant medium. Ta

pinno

Luv2ride wrote:

You mean go from small (I have that size in craft active extreme ls, ss and mesh superlight bases) to large?! :shock:...or medium?

Edit: scrub that, think you meant medium. Ta

BTR has to put an indemnity in everything he may or may not recommend.

mrb123

Luv2ride wrote:

You mean go from small (I have that size in craft active extreme ls, ss and mesh superlight bases) to large?! :shock:...or medium?

Edit: scrub that, think you meant medium. Ta

I've just got one of these following Bender's review. I went for the short sleeved one.

After some debate I went with the Craft size guide and got a medium rather than sizing up to a large. I'm 39 chest, 32 waist, tall and lanky build.

I think I got the right size. The fit is snug but these things are meant to be. While the front panel is not massively stretchy, the rest of it it really is. There's also loads of length in the body.

I can see that someone with a more muscular build might need to size up but probably no need for others.

bendertherobot

Pinno wrote:

Luv2ride wrote:

You mean go from small (I have that size in craft active extreme ls, ss and mesh superlight bases) to large?! :shock:...or medium?

Edit: scrub that, think you meant medium. Ta

BTR has to put an indemnity in everything he may or may not recommend.

Why is that an indemnity?

bendertherobot

MrB123 wrote:

Luv2ride wrote:

You mean go from small (I have that size in craft active extreme ls, ss and mesh superlight bases) to large?! :shock:...or medium?

Edit: scrub that, think you meant medium. Ta

I've just got one of these following Bender's review. I went for the short sleeved one.

After some debate I went with the Craft size guide and got a medium rather than sizing up to a large. I'm 39 chest, 32 waist, tall and lanky build.

I think I got the right size. The fit is snug but these things are meant to be. While the front panel is not massively stretchy, the rest of it it really is. There's also loads of length in the body.

I can see that someone with a more muscular build might need to size up but probably no need for others.

.. Yep. As per the review. My xl is from years ago and in the review I said I'd prob be a large. One size up from the medium in the rest of them.

pinno

bendertherobot wrote:

Pinno wrote:

Luv2ride wrote:

You mean go from small (I have that size in craft active extreme ls, ss and mesh superlight bases) to large?! :shock:...or medium?

Edit: scrub that, think you meant medium. Ta

BTR has to put an indemnity in everything he may or may not recommend.

Why is that an indemnity?

The implication was that if Luv2ride had bought the wrong size, it would have been your fault.

bendertherobot

Pinno wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

Pinno wrote:

Luv2ride wrote:

You mean go from small (I have that size in craft active extreme ls, ss and mesh superlight bases) to large?! :shock:...or medium?

Edit: scrub that, think you meant medium. Ta

BTR has to put an indemnity in everything he may or may not recommend.

Why is that an indemnity?

The implication was that if Luv2ride had bought the wrong size, it would have been your fault.

You've lost me. He said should he go medium rather than small. I agreed he should size up.

"this is one of Craft’s ‘smaller sized’ base layers or racier if you like. I take a medium in most things but, perhaps it’s just that it’s an older model, an XL in this. Much of that is because while base layers are stretchy the Gore windstopper front panel isn’t as stretchy as the rest of it. I could probably get away with a large though but for now I’ll stick with what I have."

pinno

It's been a long week. Besides. your line of work is better suited to working stuff out innit?

bendertherobot

It has. Mine today has mostly been tearing my hair (of which there is little) out while marking.......

pinno

bendertherobot wrote:

It has. Mine today has mostly been tearing my hair (of which there is little) out while marking.......

That makes two of us then. What's the chances of a new line of reviews:

Bender's review site, roubaixcycling.cc (and general kit discussion for slap heads) ?

roubaixmb

I expect he meant caveat

bendertherobot

That's fair.

Pinno does raise a very fair point though. Cycling kit IS personal. And I generally do caveat it. I do that because it is personal but, arguably, your sub conscious does encourage you to want an 'out' in the event that someone disagrees with your findings. I generally get to choose what I review, 80% is paid for by me now, so there's little subconcious bias there. But it's an interesting area.

pinno

RoubaixMB wrote:

I expect he meant caveat

Now the ambiguity is off the scale. It's probably crystal clear but my brain hurts. 8 hours of plaster boarding and any sense or reason has long departed. If I see another f^&%%$g drywall screw...

bendertherobot

Pinno wrote:

RoubaixMB wrote:

I expect he meant caveat

Now the ambiguity is off the scale. It's probably crystal clear but my brain hurts. 8 hours of plaster boarding and any sense or reason has long departed. If I see another f^&%%$g drywall screw...

If I see another person fail to properly plead the remedy of rescission..........

pinno

I won't sign wot's I don't understand I tell you.

luv2ride

bendertherobot wrote:

That's fair.

Pinno does raise a very fair point though. Cycling kit IS personal. And I generally do caveat it. I do that because it is personal but, arguably, your sub conscious does encourage you to want an 'out' in the event that someone disagrees with your findings. I generally get to choose what I review, 80% is paid for by me now, so there's little subconcious bias there. But it's an interesting area.

I'd definitely agree. Given recent posts (on the Potenza and also Alpha jersey) you clearly operate in a different temp to me, but that doesn't nullify the reviews or comments. They remain a useful resource to consider before splashing cash. The benefit (for me, and hopefully others) of this particular thread are the additional contributions of other users/owners of the reviewed kit. Provides some balance, and sometimes alternative views. As for the Craft WS base, I left it too late as Merlin are out if the medium in black, so may try the small given someone said on here it's tight but might still work given the inherent stretch everywhere but the front. Don't want white

Alex99

Thinking about getting some dodgy weather bib shorts. Nanoflex are on the list of potentials, but what about the DHB Rain Defense kit? I think it's Windtex membrane rather than water repellent Roubaix type fabric. Has anyone used these and care to comment?