Fed up buying winter jackets

keef66

I gave a merino baselayer a try. Found it very warm, even when wet, and it never smelled bad. But it didn't seem to wick very well. My cheap M&S synthetic thermals stay virtually bone dry unless I really get the layering wrong and wear too much

chippyk

I run hot, in summer I wear a casquette under my helmet to keep sweat out of my eyes.

To wear my thick winter jacket it needs to be cold and probably wet, tomorrow I think it's forecast to be sleet and 0-2 degrees. If it were dry it would be LS base layer and Rapha winter jersey, a bit warmer and I'd swap the Winter jersey for a Rapha Brevet jersey, probably with a gilet.

I don't always get on with the Gabba, keeps the rain out but I sweat like Julian Assange on a flight to the US in it. Having said that I went up Bwlch y Groes on both sides wearing it in drizzle in late Autumn, unzipped and helmet off going up, gilet on and done up descending and it was perfect. Still need to put my phone in a bag to keep it sweat free though

mamil314

Gabba only has windproof material on the chest, so in low temperatures arm warmers make sense on the long sleeve version. Don't be put off by spider, he will attack Gabba on every mentioning, but it's a decent garment. It is true that the phone gets sweaty in the pocket due to double material in the area but in general i am very comfortable in it. You just have to use it in a appropriate temperature range, there is no one-does-it-all thing. Currently, at around 5C, it's too cold for Gabba without fancy layering. My autumns/winters/spring have been comfortably covered by SS Gabba and Espresso jacket for a few years now.

apreading

mamil314 wrote:

Gabba only has windproof material on the chest, so in low temperatures arm warmers make sense on the long sleeve version. Don't be put off by spider, he will attack Gabba on every mentioning, but it's a decent garment. It is true that the phone gets sweaty in the pocket due to double material in the area but in general i am very comfortable in it. You just have to use it in a appropriate temperature range, there is no one-does-it-all thing. Currently, at around 5C, it's too cold for Gabba without fancy layering. My autumns/winters/spring have been comfortably covered by SS Gabba and Espresso jacket for a few years now.

Gabba is the same material all over, except for a small nanoflex insert under the arms - at least mine is.

And dont assume that your experience is the same for everyone. 5C is about right for the Gabba for me with the thinnest of underlayers. And I will still sweat a little at that termp. Any warmer and I would be sweating buckets, just like spider. Actually, even at 5C, I have come to prefer the Alpha Jersey with a thicker base layer.

jgsi

Sometimes it's nice to reflect on how nice to have such 1st world problems.
I can always consider how lucky I am to have a castelli gabba to mortirolo to Gore active .. etc etc
back in the day when my older brother would drag me up Snowdon in winter with anything woolly as ace class itch factor base and an oilskin cycling cape as an outer....

keef66

+1 ^ All my teenage cycling, and there was a lot of it, was in jeans / jumper / school shoes or early trainers. And if it rained I had a huge great cape so I resembled a 3 man tent on the move. Happy days!

meanredspider

mamil314 wrote:

Gabba only has windproof material on the chest, so in low temperatures arm warmers make sense on the long sleeve version. Don't be put off by spider, he will attack Gabba on every mentioning, but it's a decent garment. It is true that the phone gets sweaty in the pocket due to double material in the area but in general i am very comfortable in it. You just have to use it in a appropriate temperature range, there is no one-does-it-all thing. Currently, at around 5C, it's too cold for Gabba without fancy layering. My autumns/winters/spring have been comfortably covered by SS Gabba and Espresso jacket for a few years now.

Made me smile to say I "attack" Gabba and then agree with what I said about it ChippyK is also "attacking" it

I have 3 versions of the Gabba which I wear from time-to-time - but I find there's a very narrow set of conditions where it's the best jacket for the job - and it is sweatier than most jackets in my experience.

hsiaolc

To claim a jacket is not good because you sweat is just plain bonkers.

Even if you don't wear a jacket you will sweat and have it stained on whatever layer you have that's next to your skin. What Gabba does it it keeps you warm and insulated at the same time and it breathes as you work hard. How I know because at no time I feel clamy. If I do feel a bit hot because the surrounding temp is hotter than I just unzip. There are also ventilation on both sides too if you so wish to use it and just have to unzip.

I can't think anything better for cold & chlli days. 5C to 12C I will wear the Gabba. 5C below I will wear the Alpha. Perfect. 12C-16C I will wear Rapha long sleeve sportwool jersey with Gillet if needed.

apreading

hsiaolc wrote:

What Gabba does it it keeps you warm and insulated at the same time and it breathes as you work hard. How I know because at no time I feel clamy. If I do feel a bit hot because the surrounding temp is hotter than I just unzip. There are also ventilation on both sides too if you so wish to use it and just have to unzip.

I can't think anything better for cold & chlli days. 5C to 12C I will wear the Gabba. 5C below I will wear the Alpha. Perfect. 12C-16C I will wear Rapha long sleeve sportwool jersey with Gillet if needed.

Again - everyone is different. What Gabba does for many of us is to keep us TOO warm, which means we sweat even more and it cant cope with that level of moisture transfer so the sweat builds up inside. I feel clammy most of the time I wear my Gabba unless it is 5/6C or lower. Short Sleeve and Transformer versions dont have the vent zips you describe but other jackets I have they never seem to be very effective anyway. And if you unzip, the air around your body gets cold and any moisure condenses on the inside of the jacket. A bit clammy is not a huge problem if you are out on a proper bike ride but not very good when commuting with no showers at the other end...

5-12C is Alpha Jersey territory for me - its perfect for that. The very bottom of that range is just about Gabba territory, for me thats around 0-6C or maybe 7C tops - no way double digits...

I would absolutely melt at 12C in a Gabba. That would also be too hot for me in an Alpha Jersey - I would be in a summer jersey with a Fawesome Gilet at that temp, or even without the gilet at all if its a warmish jersey.

meanredspider

Yup - I find the Gabba clammier (if there is such a word) than any other non-hardshell. I also don't have a jacket where my phone is soaked in the back pocket (which others have found too)- which, in itself, I find unique to the Gabba. I have various Assos, Rapha and Castelli jackets none of which are like the Gabba for what I perceive to be poor breathability. Of course, we are all different. I also don't find the Gabba especially warm - which is why I find only a small window to wear it in.

As I've said very often, in balance, is that it is incredibly light for such a jacket. If I were a weight-weeny, this would be best choice.

ugo.santalucia

meanredspider wrote:

Yup - I find the Gabba clammier (if there is such a word) than any other non-hardshell. I also don't have a jacket where my phone is soaked in the back pocket (which others have found too)- which, in itself, I find unique to the Gabba. I have various Assos, Rapha and Castelli jackets none of which are like the Gabba for what I perceive to be poor breathability. Of course, we are all different. I also don't find the Gabba especially warm - which is why I find only a small window to wear it in.

As I've said very often, in balance, is that it is incredibly light for such a jacket. If I were a weight-weeny, this would be best choice.

4-5 degrees for short rides up to 2 hours max, 7-8 for long ones... any lower and I get cold with the Gabba... as I said in another thread it isn't anything special... it's a good fit race jacked... but I am no racer

The Alpha jacket is a different pair of hands, but I wouldn't want to climb in it

pblakeney

Everybody is different. What is required is a benchmark.
E.g. I am happy in my Gabba from 0-13degC with the right layers. Others have different views, clearly.
What do you currently use that is too hot, or too cold in what temperatures? Advice can be given from that base.

MisterMuncher

I run hot, always have done. Generally the first man on the club run in short sleeves and shorts. I've had good results with the Stolen Goat/Bioracer thermal jersey, galibier tourmalet jacket and a short sleeve Endura baabaa MTB top as a base layer, down to -6 or so. Living in a tiny bay with it's own micro-climate has encouraged layering, because 10 miles from home, the weather changes utterly.

That being said, if the choice is more clothes or working harder, I'll take the latter.

ugo.santalucia

MisterMuncher wrote:

That being said, if the choice is more clothes or working harder, I'll take the latter.

That is very noble, but the OP's problem is that if he works harder uphill, he gets colder downhill... unless you suggest to work harder even downhill :roll:

hsiaolc

apreading wrote:

hsiaolc wrote:

What Gabba does it it keeps you warm and insulated at the same time and it breathes as you work hard. How I know because at no time I feel clamy. If I do feel a bit hot because the surrounding temp is hotter than I just unzip. There are also ventilation on both sides too if you so wish to use it and just have to unzip.

I can't think anything better for cold & chlli days. 5C to 12C I will wear the Gabba. 5C below I will wear the Alpha. Perfect. 12C-16C I will wear Rapha long sleeve sportwool jersey with Gillet if needed.

Again - everyone is different. What Gabba does for many of us is to keep us TOO warm, which means we sweat even more and it cant cope with that level of moisture transfer so the sweat builds up inside. I feel clammy most of the time I wear my Gabba unless it is 5/6C or lower. Short Sleeve and Transformer versions dont have the vent zips you describe but other jackets I have they never seem to be very effective anyway. And if you unzip, the air around your body gets cold and any moisure condenses on the inside of the jacket. A bit clammy is not a huge problem if you are out on a proper bike ride but not very good when commuting with no showers at the other end...

5-12C is Alpha Jersey territory for me - its perfect for that. The very bottom of that range is just about Gabba territory, for me thats around 0-6C or maybe 7C tops - no way double digits...

I would absolutely melt at 12C in a Gabba. That would also be too hot for me in an Alpha Jersey - I would be in a summer jersey with a Fawesome Gilet at that temp, or even without the gilet at all if its a warmish jersey.

I am not sure we are talking about the same alpha? I am referring to the Alpha Jacket and not the jersey?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/castelli-alpha- ... 60771278uk

thomasmorris

I'm most comfortable not in a jacket. Just a jersey and gilet and as many base layers as I need. It allows the air to circulate and I can easily adjust to conditions. However, as soon as it rains or there's lots of spray the water from the outside chills me off.

I started carrying a rain cape, but I find they're only good for long descents (of which there aren't many worth bothering for in the southern UK). If I wear my cape whilst still going at a decent pace i get very sweaty, which is a problem when that sweat chills.

So my go to for winter riding for the last few years has been the parentini mossa original. It's water proof and breathable, but not quite as breathable as base layers and a jersey. It's very good on long z2/3 rides, but above gets a little sweaty. I tend to have one thermal down to 5 degree, then two below that. If it's a hilly ride, or bunch ride I tend to add another base layer a bit earlier to keep me warm on descents and waiting around; the trade off being I need to unzip on the climbs quite often.

My only gripe with my mossa is the fit isn't as good as i'd like, and it has no zipped pockets (i think my version was more race, than a winter training jacket).