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

dazz_ni45

I'm in the same boat, I had too much of the same sort of thing so trying to shift a bit and if I get a warmer jacket, then that's me done (until I see another bargain of course!)

daniel_b

RH+ Alpha jacket down from £275 to £69 - lots of Polartechy goodness in there too.

Can't find a single review out there though, Bender The Robot.

http://www.startfitness.co.uk/rh-alpha-mens-cycling-jacket-black-icu0253-957.html

letap73

Daniel B wrote:

RH+ Alpha jacket down from £275 to £69 - lots of Polartechy goodness in there too.

Can't find a single review out there though, Bender The Robot.

http://www.startfitness.co.uk/rh-alpha-mens-cycling-jacket-black-icu0253-957.html

There is lot of stuff around made up some rather fancy materials ( although I do not see polartec as being particularly fancy) - particularly in sports pursuit and the clearance section of evans cycles reduced in the same fashion.

Thick Mike

Daniel B wrote:

RH+ Alpha jacket down from £275 to £69 - lots of Polartechy goodness in there too.

Can't find a single review out there though, Bender The Robot.

http://www.startfitness.co.uk/rh-alpha-mens-cycling-jacket-black-icu0253-957.html

That does look minging though

gabriel959

yep, it doesn't look very nice at all. It might look better in person as it looks all blown up.

letap73

Just saw this in the classfieds:

viewtopic.php?f=40091&t=13076823

I think the real thing would look much better than those pictures.

bendertherobot

Bit of a quandary on the Fiandre. The fit is spot on perfect. Rain tomorrow. May well have to keep it......

luv2ride

bendertherobot wrote:

Bit of a quandary on the Fiandre. The fit is spot on perfect. Rain tomorrow. May well have to keep it......

What size did you go for? I have the original in medium and also find the fit is excellent (on me...). It's only that single zipped rear pocket on mine which means I don't use it as often as I otherwise might. Not an issue on the new one though.

pinno

dazz_ni45 wrote:

Any recommendations on a winter jacket that is warmer that the Castelli Alpha Jacket? I tend to wear the alpha jacket with 1 or 2 baselayers depending on how cold it is, but on a few occasions on longer rides (3-4 hours +) I have gotten pretty cold so wondered what jacket might be warmer or am I better just wearing a thermal jersey under the alpha?

Something that can hold off a few heavy showers would be useful but I'm not expecting the weather proofing of a hardshell.

Would the Sportful R&D Zero be an improvement?

I sold my Alpha Jacket on here and bought an Espresso. It's a better, different animal. Not waterproof as such but okay for light showers/drizzle. If I think it's going to pour, i'll pull out my Funkier and put that on over the top.

bendertherobot

Luv2ride wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

Bit of a quandary on the Fiandre. The fit is spot on perfect. Rain tomorrow. May well have to keep it......

What size did you go for? I have the original in medium and also find the fit is excellent (on me...). It's only that single zipped rear pocket on mine which means I don't use it as often as I otherwise might. Not an issue on the new one though.

XL

gabriel959

Got a pair of Gore Oxygen Thermo 3/4 lengths from Amazon for £69 in Large. Cheapest I have seen them and some of the best bibshorts I've ever had.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... ROKL5A1OLE

It is even cheaper in medium at £45. Absolute bargain.

I have also bagged one of these in Medium and Red for £38

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Mens-Clothin ... th=1&psc=1

daniel_b

gabriel959 wrote:

Got a pair of Gore Oxygen Thermo 3/4 lengths from Amazon for £69 in Large. Cheapest I have seen them and some of the best bibshorts I've ever had.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... ROKL5A1OLE

It is even cheaper in medium at £45. Absolute bargain.

I have also bagged one of these in Medium and Red for £38

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Mens-Clothin ... th=1&psc=1

In your opinion, if I fit in to the following bibshorts:
dhb - small
Castelli - small
Rapha - small
Etxeondo - Medium (But small would probably be better)
Mavic - Small

Do you think these Gores in Medium might cut it?

I tend to go for a size smaller than might be ideal so it's tight enough on the shoulder straps to keep the pad in position.

Sadly I am thinking no.

dazz_ni45

letap73 wrote:

Just saw this in the classfieds:

viewtopic.php?f=40091&t=13076823

I think the real thing would look much better than those pictures.

I sold that jacket and it is slightly different to the one above, but I agree that the photos don't really do them justice although they are quite bulky in real life

gabriel959

Daniel B wrote:

gabriel959 wrote:

Got a pair of Gore Oxygen Thermo 3/4 lengths from Amazon for £69 in Large. Cheapest I have seen them and some of the best bibshorts I've ever had.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... ROKL5A1OLE

It is even cheaper in medium at £45. Absolute bargain.

I have also bagged one of these in Medium and Red for £38

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Mens-Clothin ... th=1&psc=1

In your opinion, if I fit in to the following bibshorts:
dhb - small
Castelli - small
Rapha - small
Etxeondo - Medium (But small would probably be better)
Mavic - Small

Do you think these Gores in Medium might cut it?

I tend to go for a size smaller than might be ideal so it's tight enough on the shoulder straps to keep the pad in position.

Sadly I am thinking no.

I would say no, their sizing is definitely on their larger side. I would say you are an Small in Gore based on the above, may be even an X-Small. They are still a great deal at £75 (the RRP is £150 which is over the top IMO, but they are definitely worth £100 based on other similar cycling clothes). Or you could keep an eye on the cost as Amazon prices fluctuate daily.

bendertherobot

Wore my Tiburu shorts today for the first time. I was vocal, in the past, of hating them because of what they did with lowering the belly so, when I had them a year or so ago, sent them straight back.

Wore them today, I may have a slightly smaller belly now, they still feel a bit weird standing up. But, gosh, on the bike they are superb. And warm.

I'm going to pop back to the store to see if they have the other pair available...............

daniel_b

Thanks Gabriel, not really bought much Gore stuff, save for a 'Small' Phantom, which perhaps is indicitive of the range, as it was, to my mind, anything but small!

I might stick a camelcamelcamel watch alert on them in a small, and see if we get any big drops.

I assume you rate the pad highly?

glynrs2

gabriel959 wrote:

Got a pair of Gore Oxygen Thermo 3/4 lengths from Amazon for £69 in Large. Cheapest I have seen them and some of the best bibshorts I've ever had.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... ROKL5A1OLE

It is even cheaper in medium at £45. Absolute bargain.

I have also bagged one of these in Medium and Red for £38

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Mens-Clothin ... th=1&psc=1

Thanks for the heads up. Luckily I am a medium in Gore so got a set of Gore Oxygen Thermo 3/4 lengths coming for £43.

I already have that jacket which I got for a similar price ex-display from Evans on a Black Friday deal. It is a great jacket so you won't be disappointed.

gabriel959

GlynRS2 wrote:

Thanks for the heads up. Luckily I am a medium in Gore so got a set of Gore Oxygen Thermo 3/4 lengths coming for £43.

I already have that jacket which I got for a similar price ex-display from Evans on a Black Friday deal. It is a great jacket so you won't be disappointed.

Great, happy to help and for the information

Alex99

Alex99 wrote:

Luv2ride wrote:

apreading wrote:

....have bought and not yet ridden a pair of Sportful Fiandre LIGHT Norain Bibshorts which are sooo much more comfortable than the Nanoflex and not so hot. I have always overheated in my nanoflex. They seem to do both a light and warm version. Would get my vote and they aint expensive either.

I agree. Sportful Fiandre lights are great. Very comfy and work well across a range of temps I found. Just can you wear a Castelli Perfetto SS with SPORTFUL shorts? Great combo. I dont mind mixing brands, but others may need to scream "NO"! :shock:

Thanks all. I've got a pair of the Sportful shorts on order. 8)

These shorts in size L feel tight, but I think they'll be good on the bike.

I also ordered a Gabba ss in M and L to try. The M is the one as it is proper race fit as it should be for my 38" chest. From two pieces I now own, I think Castelli sizing is bang on as long as you understand that when they say "race fit, no flapping material", they really mean it.

I did also try the DHB Aeron no-rain ss. This was a nice top, but the Gabba was a slightly better fit on me. If I hadn't tried the Gabba, I would have been happy with the DHB. Nice kit. I might get the ls version at some point. The fabric is clearly quite different to the Gabba but the overall cut is very similar.

mrb123

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/reviews/ ... ing-jacket

Looks pretty impressive. Looks like they've got the fit pretty much spot on.

Garry H

MrB123 wrote:

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/reviews/jackets/sealskinz-waterproof-cycling-jacket

Looks pretty impressive. Looks like they've got the fit pretty much spot on.

Ooh, that does look good

bendertherobot

It does, doesn't it.

Garry H

bendertherobot wrote:

It does, doesn't it.

Get one! 15pc discount voucher on sealskinz website

bendertherobot

New gilet, a cut down Falkenzahn in effect. Assos seem to be moving into some more 'budget' areas this year, this being £70 cheaper than the Falkenzahn. I'm trying to get a Q&A with Phil Duff.

Garry H

bendertherobot wrote:

New gilet, a cut down Falkenzahn in effect. Assos seem to be moving into some more 'budget' areas this year, this being £70 cheaper than the Falkenzahn. I'm trying to get a Q&A with Phil Duff.

Second thing on my list of things buy, a gilet! Good work BTR, as always.

bendertherobot

It's not cheap and, of course, F1 branding. I'm no F1 fan but I can live with it as I do like the colour etc.

For gilets though, this is still a luxury one and I'd recommend, given how cheap they are, that everyone gets this one as well

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-aeron-light ... lam-gilet/

apreading

I was pondering which clothing choice yesterday and comparing my Fawesome to the Perfetto Light SS. And I realise now why the Perfetto isnt quite 'perfetto' for me...

I had high hopes of it being what I wanted for some time - a Fawesome with short sleeves. But it isnt. The back is much thicker material than the Fawesome. The front may be the same or simlar but the reason it was a bit hot on the times I wore it last year are probably because the back is too thick for me.

This is why it doesnt quite deliver and why the Fawesome is still my #1 top. Went Fawesome with a HH 1/2 zip freeze yesterday and was just about perfect in the end.

Not sure how much use the Perfetto Light will actually get - if it were cold enough to wear that, I would probably wear the Alpha as you can unzip the outer on the front, making it much more versatile.

drwae

apreading wrote:

I was pondering which clothing choice yesterday and comparing my Fawesome to the Perfetto Light SS. And I realise now why the Perfetto isnt quite 'perfetto' for me...

I had high hopes of it being what I wanted for some time - a Fawesome with short sleeves. But it isnt. The back is much thicker material than the Fawesome. The front may be the same or simlar but the reason it was a bit hot on the times I wore it last year are probably because the back is too thick for me.

This is why it doesnt quite deliver and why the Fawesome is still my #1 top. Went Fawesome with a HH 1/2 zip freeze yesterday and was just about perfect in the end.

Not sure how much use the Perfetto Light will actually get - if it were cold enough to wear that, I would probably wear the Alpha as you can unzip the outer on the front, making it much more versatile.

The Alpha does have its limits though re the unzipping. I just back from a ride 5 mins ago and got very hot sweaty and overheating with my Alpha unzipped about half way (can't unzip more as it's not aero :shock: ) . It was only 5C outside but To be fair that was a solo ride at a fast pace when I'm on a club ride in the same temperature I have the Alpha zipped up all the way and freeze my arse off

apreading

I unzip mine all the way quite happily. Thats one of the advantages of having the inner part integrated - the outer doesnt flap around nearly as much as it would do otherwise. Often open it up on the uphill bits where aero wouldnt be an issue. I am not very aero anyway though - so its not so much of a loss for me!

bendertherobot

I'm a big fan of gilets. In fact, I've survived a lot of this winter with base layer, LS thermal jersey and gilet. It all meshes together so well.

And that's an area in which dhb nailed the Aeron jersey and gilet. They work well together. Ditto Assos and the Intermediate/Tiburu and Falkenzahn/now team vest.