We have hit the point in the season where the days are lovely and the evenings and mornings are cool. What’s a cyclist to do when the combination of cooling (or warming) during the ride and wind (autumn = wind most of the time in this area) can make for difficulty in getting the right amount of cover/insulation for your riding comfort? Types of outerwear for this time of year: (1) Convertibles—this is a newer type of jacket with zip off sleeves that allows the rider to convert it to a vest—they are great for this time of the year. (2) Thermal jackets—cool/cold all the time? Break out the warm jacket. (3) Wind barriers—like a very thin jacket with essentially zero thermal protection/warming but does a great job lessening wind chill. (4) Long sleeve jerseys—a lighter weight alternative to the jacket that is heavier than the wind barrier. This is the solution I use most often in this climate. (5) Layering summer clothes—can work well, but can also cause build up of perspiration, which in turn leads to wet skin and the related discomforts. Types of base layers: basic tees (sweat soaking is the problem here); high wicking cycling specific tees (solve the sweat soak problem but offer comparatively little added warmth); Wind barrier cycling specific base layers (a good choice, in my opinion); and warmer socks and full fingered gloves (these just make sense as the weather cools—if you don’t have good merino wool socks and some light weight full finger gloves, get some). Materials: Plastic—often found in wind barriers and rain capes that double as wind barriers. The problem here is trapped sweat. These materials do not breathe and can become oppressively hot on even cool days and frequently lead to wet skin which causes late ride chills and other discomforts and can result in infections and rashes. These materials are cheap, but the virtues of plastic clothing end at price. Fleece—turns up in call kinds of thermal items and does add warmth while allowing some wicking of moisture from skin. Does not stop wind (it is easily wind permeable, in fact). Some of it is cheap but the better feeling, less plastic feeling materials can get expensive. Wind Stop—Gore proprietary material. Basically Gore Tex without the water barrier membrane. Wind impermeable, breaths very well. So good that lots of other manufacturers buy fabric from Gore to incorporate into their clothes. There are competitors to this product on the market like Pearl’s WxB, but my personal experience suggests that they do not work as well as Gore’s fabric and are rarely any cheaper. Gore Tex—has all the benefits of Wind Stop, but is also waterproof. This material is the gold standard in weather protection and, like wind stop, it is used by many manufacturers in addition to Gore’s own Bikewear products. Gore Tex is very expensive. If you regularly ride in adverse conditions (or want a bike jacket that can be used off the bike as a foul weather cover up instead of a rain coat), the expense is worth it. Competitors materials do not work anywhere near as well as Gore Tex. Merino Wool—Nature’s sport fabric. Breaths well, warm in winter, cool in summer and easy to care for (washable with sport washes—don’t ever put it in the dryer!), this material is great but, like the other top materials discussed above, it is expensive. Differing garments may have multiple materials, so you should look at and touch these types of clothes to understand how they function and whether they will work for you. Fit the garments with an eye toward layering later in the year when it is really cold and make sure that anything wind or waterproof provides enough length to go over gloves and catch spray off back tires. Properly clothed, this time of year is the best time to ride, in my opinion. Get some good weather protection and get out on your bike until at least the point where the snow is flying—you’ll be delighted by how much stronger you will be at the start of next season if you keep riding outdoors as long as you can. Also, note that many clothes purchased for this transitional weather period can be utilized as layers in a winter riding ensemble that will keep you warm and increase the use (and related value) that you get from the clothes you buy for fall and early spring.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 19:28:00 +0000
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