Friday, June 24, 2011

WINTER KIT

It is always suprising to me every winter when I go out riding and see everyone under dressed!
Or they seem to have every piece of cycle clothing they own on and look bulky and ugly.

To me it's like people don't wanna admit it's winter or believe that they don't need to wear extra clothing as they believe they'll warm up later.

I just think that it's such a simple solution! WEAR WINTER KIT! And by winter kit I mean  bib tights a Winter jacket , winter gloves and booties plus a good quality under shirt.

Here are my examples of what will keep you warm,dry and comfortable.

1, The most important piece to this puzzle is a good quality undershirt, I personally think Craft make the best ones.(you might even be as happy as these guys)

2, Bib Tights, forget wearing leg warmers with your shorts, grab a pair of tights and be happy with the amount of comfort you get from just wearing one piece on your weekend money makers. You can't go past Castelli,Santini or Vermarc for tights that you'll get a long tome out of.

3, The winter jacket!! No more wearing 3 or 4 pieces of upper clothing, just chuck on a jacket and off you go. You should aim to get one with some type of windstopper material on the front with a fleece inside and a high collar to protect you from the elements.
The good thing about most winter jackets is that they're mostly water proof so there's no need to carry a rain jacket.


4, Get yourself a pair of gloves and some booties,make sure your gloves have windstopper material to stop that stingy winter morning pain  and I personally think a good pair of neoprene booties rule the cosmos and stop nearly anything getting to your toes!
Most of the above mentioned companies have good ones and plenty to choose from.

5, chuck in some type of skull cap,ear warmers or wear a cap to stop that initial head freeze when you leave at some ungodly hour in the morning.


In the end it's smart to dress warm in winter and you will enjoy riding in less bulk. I mainly used Castelli as my example as I do believe they are of best quality and last the longest as do Santini and Vermarc.
I think the most important thing when buying winter kit is to go for quality and I think the Italians do winter kit the best and you can be enjoying the same kit 5 years down the track.
And in the end you will be looking the most PRO at the coffee shop and will be ordering your second coffee when everyone else is shivering and wanting to go home and get under the doona!

Happy Winter riding.

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