..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
a necessary shift
carlton reid's excellent book 'roads were not built for cars', explains at length how the roadways constructed in the latter part of the nineteenth century and into the early 20th century, were derived from routes originally created for horse traffic, but expanded and modified to benefit the nascent bicycle industry and those who took advantage of the improved mobility offered by the bicycle. only subsequently were those roads comandeered by the motor vehicle, ultimately squeezing out the bicycle. the financial and political clout engendered on behalf of the motor industry led eventually to laws being passed that marginalised the bicycle, leading to cyclists being, in effect, the second class citizens they've become today.
every now and again, i am reminded of that situation, frequently as the velo club heads inexorably towards foreland, passing kilchoman distillery en-route. the visitor centre of the latter is closed on saturdays, but open on sundays, when we invariably have cause to visit the majority of passing places between the distillery and the main road. last sunday, a well-dressed woman in a range-rover, not only failed to pull in to two passing places as she headed towards the distillery, but neither did she slow down or move off her line when confronted with our raggle-taggle peloton heading in the opposite direction.
i don't doubt that situations such as mentioned above, happen with increasing frequency on the mainland, but it would tend to suggest that drivers such as the woman in the range-rover, classed cyclists such as ourselves, as less important than herself, inconveniently getting in the way of her mission to reach kilchoman distillery for a dram and cake.
the pantomime that is the conservative party in westminster has been a double-edged sword. on one hand, it has provided the press with their daily fodder and us with fits of ironic laughter, a state of affairs that seems set only to continue this coming week, as they try to nominate a new leader to follow the last numpty. i am in the habit of posting irrelevant nonsensities on twitter such as my recent 'only 169 sleeps till paris-roubaix' to which one wag responded, 'so, about three prime ministers then?'
but while this particular pantomime continues at length, it's hard to know whether the real business of parliament is being soberly dealt with. otherwise, who would bet against important legislation being delayed or lost altogether? because the so-called cost of living crisis, blamed on the ukraine situation, brexit, or both, shows little sign of dissipating anytime soon. and to cope with the crisis, when we obviously can't depend on government (north or south of the border, given that the snp seem intent on holding yet another independence referendum under the most inopportune of circumstances), many individuals will surely be left to make their own choices and decisions.
given that the cost of car purchase has apparently risen by 3.5% in recent months, there are serious delays on new models due to microprocessor shortages, and the cost of fuelling said vehicles has also risen considerably, there are difficult choices to be made transport wise. if i might refer back to carlton reid's book, it's doubtful if the motor car would have achieved its current ascendancy had the infrastructure not been improved or provided by governments across the world. yet when today's cycling lobby continually requests improved or new infrastructure to enable cycling and walking to fulfil their full potential, there seem to be more platitudes available than funding.
but if the cost of living crisis continues into the future, a lack of prudent government investment might potentially bring the country to a halt, not because of congestion, but quite the opposite. if rising prices bring more commuters to adopt the bicycle, or walking, to get to and from work, the lack of suitable infrastructure could conceivably make this all but an impossibility. yet the potential solution has been staring governments in the face for decades. you have to seriously wonder why there appears to be little difficulty with funding being available for motorway widening or lengthening, yet little in the way of comparably proportional money for cycling.
while bmxers and mountain bikers have the opportunity to create their own trails or jumps, it is outwith the reach of every day cyclists to forge their own bona-fide pathways through suburban and city streets. that's the preserve of national government and local councils. i can only imagine that it is reticence and ignorance that has prevented government from providing the facilities that have long been demanded and the lack of which may now prove to be a serious stumbling block in the uk's future.
image: cyclingindustry news
monday 24 october 2022
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................endura - an apology
in my recent review of endura's pro-sl waterproof jacket, i mentioned that it was bereft of a hang-loop at the collar to allow the jacket to be hung on a peg at home, or in the café. i was mistaken; there is just such a feature on the jacket, but it is placed on the outside of the collar at the back, a positioning i completely and embarrassingly overlooked. my apologies to endura.
monday 24 october 2022
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................arabian italiana
there was a time, some of you will recall, when the only choice of quality componentry, pre-mountain bike, was campagnolo. shimano's dura-ace didn't surface until 1973, yet now all but owns the world of top level, professional cycling. there are a myriad of reasons for this set of circumstances, the veracity of which will vary, depending on to whom you pose the question. but it is interesting in a sort of superficial manner, that the apparent hierarchy of cycle componentry seems to depend on how many teams are sponsored by each of the big three. i daresay that could be cited as the perfect example of the value of sponsorship.
in truth, there is often little to distinguish between each, other than the means by which they actuate gearchanging. perhaps the best recommendation would be from a world tour bike mechanic, whose career has encompassed servicing all three marques. that said, choice of groupset is yet another area of modern life where fanaticism is likely to intervene. i should, therefore, declare an interest at this point, being possibly on the fringes of fanaticism, though i like to think i also exercise a degree of pragmatism, while i'm being dogmatic.
though my cycling career actually began on suntour (remember them?), i do have a particular preference for campagnolo, having ridden the superbly named croce d'aune, chorus, potenza and currently campagnolo record. and in the process of reviewing bicycles, i've managed super-record mechanical and super-record eps. of course, in balance, i've also come across dura-ace, ultegra and 105 from shimano, the former two in both mechanical and di2, while i've had the opportunity to ride (mechanical only), sram rival, force and red.
so my preference for vicenza's products is based on a reasonable amount of experience.
and much as i hate to admit it, i'm one of those pedants who experiences a shortness of breath when a pinarello, bianchi or colnago is presented bereft of campagnolo, and sporting one of the other two; even though i would grudgingly admit there's nothing intrinsically wrong with so doing. personally, i have owned four colnagos: an original c40 (which i still have), a superissimo, a c40hp and a master x-light with a carbon rear triangle (which i also still possess), all of which have featured campagnolo groupsets, and my ritchey logic currently runs on campagnolo record mechanical; jewellery that was preceded by chorus.
there's an outside possibility that tom ritchey expresses the same sense of dismay when he sees one of his bicycles dressed with campagnolo rather than his apparent japanese favourite.
regent street in london sports a ferrari store, an assos store and the apple store and doubtless other flagship stores for other luxury brands of which i am unaware, but i would tend to hope that ferrari and its motoring peers began their flagship series in italy. to do otherwise surely creates the same sense of disquiet as fitting dura-ace to a colnago. but it seems that the latter, who frequently seem oblivious to the sense of despair when they do feature dura-ace on their latest models, might be in danger of changing the cover of ernesto's passport. since may 2020, the iconic italian bicycle brand has been owned by abu dhabi based, chimera investments, who seem now to have exerted their influence by opening the very first colnago flagship store in (where else?) abu dhabi.
i am blissfully unaware of just what sort of market there is for top level carbon bicycles in abu dhabi, but given the reputed wealth of the nation of which it is the capital city, i would imagine the opportunity to sell one or two is pretty good. and to be honest, to describe the new premises as simply a flagship store could be seen as a bit of an understatement, given that it covers 10,000 square feet over two floors and features "...unique furniture, works of art, highly technological installations and, obviously, the bikes of the current Colnago collection, as well as some historical models." however, they may have slightly over-egged the pudding by describing the associated colnago café as the world's first. a café?
perhaps a landmark too far.
that said, you can hardly imagine raleigh doing the same thing in heerenveen, home of their owners, accell.
sunday 23 october 2022
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................is a bell necessary on a bike? (part two)
in keeping with thewashingmachinepost's current streak of topicality, folowing yesterday's monologue concerning bianchi's hyperbike, i find myself once again confused at certain directions within the industry, though i will happily admit that such a state of affairs is hardly a new one. but this time, rather than italiana, it's specialized that have me a tad confuddled with the release of their diverge str.
the emergence of the gravel bike has been punctuated on several occasions, by mention of the word suspension. there have been one or two front suspension forks announced or prototyped, but by and large, the genre has been left at the mercy of the (mostly) rigid frameset. specialized's previous diverge model has sported the future shock that originally emerged on their road-going roubaix road bike, and i have ridden an earlier example of this in past years.
islay has several roads that we bring out only for special occasions, one of which was riding with the future shock to evaluate its efficacy. i'd be fibbing if i said i could recall whether it made much difference or not, but what i do remember was a great deal of irritating rattling. as a confirmed roadie, i'd imagine that's hardly suprising; i have spent many a fruitless hour attempting to locate the source of even the tiniest rattle on my road bike, so a persistent rattle was always going to be a problem.
however, for the ardent offroader, whether gravellous or mtb, i would imagine rattling is built into the experience; one more is hardly likely to make much difference. but i was under the apparent misapprehension, that gravelling, predominantly on rigid gravel bikes, was part of the deal, so to speak. riders such as wout van aert and mathieu van der poel gained their enviable bike handling skills at the behest of several seasons of cyclocross, a sport that covers frequently rough and muddy terrain, yet has remained mercifully free of suspension throughout its career (though specialized riders may possibly have benefited from the future shock). i had (perhaps mistakenly) thought that part of the attraction of gravel riding, was the ability to test your mettle against the road less travelled, with the fervent hope that you were the one who came out on top.
and if i might reiterate, the recently held gravel world championship was won by gianni meersch, riding a modified canyon road bike (as was third placed, mathieu van der poel) despite the marque featuring a bona-fide gravel bike in the range. it seems a tad unnecessary (but i'll do so anyway) for me to mention that canyon's road bikes do not feature suspension.
however, i'd be the first to admit that i (and by implication, you) am not either van aert or van der poel. my bike handling skills are only marginally better than a butcher's delivery boy, so is it possible that, in this case, specialized have my best interests at heart, rather than those of the professionals? certainly, their idea of suspending the rider, rather than the bike, is a departure from the front and rear suspensions seen on mountain bikes.
and the 20mm front and 30mm rear travel are hardly likely to substantially alter the impression that you're riding a rigid bike. i'd imagine they're more likely to take the sting out of the experience, rather than have you bobbing up and down. however, the avowed intent of the technology is to "...smooth out rough road...", which i thought was part of the attraction in the first place. it seems a bit like measuring 1.3km on a flat road, before likening it to climbing ben nevis without the bumps or gradient. surely the challenge contained within the latter, is actually climbing ben nevis, warts and all?
perhaps, like many who ride e-bikes, diverge str riders will clear a section of gravel before admitting to their non-specialized riding compatriots, that they cheated, by using suspension. since i doubt that there will be many who commute to work or school over untrammeled gravel tracks, the inspiration for gravel riding, like cyclocross, is enjoying the offroad while honing those puny bike-handling skills.
i appreciate that i might be well wide of the mark with this; if i don't want to gravel ride with suspension, i can simply acquire a non-suspended bicycle on which to explore the undergrowth. and it's more than possible that specialized understand the mores of gravel riding far better than do i; perhaps they have been inundated by potential customers asking for suspension on their diverge range and are simply acceding to demand.
but at the risk of repeating myself just once too often, remember when we just used to go for a bike ride?
saturday 22 october 2022
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................is a bell necessary on a bike? (part one)
i apologise in advance for what is sure to be classed as a misleading headline, but in fairness, it's perhaps no more bizarre than the content of todays' monologue.
though i read the press release with a certain degree of cynicism, i subsequently discovered that, for once, i wasn't the only one. i am, of course, talking about italian cycle purveyor, bianchi's announcement of the first (their words, not mine) 'aero hyperbike', the awkward to pronounce oltre rc, featuring two air intakes on the head tube. many of us will be aware that irrespective how naff your invention, adding the word technology, at least in the eyes of the marketing department, will justify mentioning it at all. thus bianchi have named these vents to be a part of their air deflector technology.
apparently this, along with other frame and component augmentations, comes under the heading of aerovolution.
according to the press release, these vents (deflectors) are designed to channel the 'airflow and create a low-pressure zone at the rear of the tube.' this apparently complements the aero cockpit, directing low-pressure air vortices towards the legs of the moving athlete...' i think it worth noting their use of the word athlete in place of rider, either positioning this hyperbike firmly in the competitive realm, or convincing those who harbour lustful thoughts of acquisition that they stand above the humdrum of the proletariat.
as one used to the adjectival excesses of the whisky industry (who no longer release whiskies, but expressions, and tastings are sipped from flights, rather than glasses), bianchi's press release errs heavily on the florid side. as a pertinent example, 'With Oltre we started from scratch to create an unprecedented aero bike.', or perhaps, 'a revolution in terms of design and engineering with an aim to actively dominate and exploit airflow through engineering a perfectly integrated bike-athlete and frame-component system.'
yes, it really is that bad.
however, there's little doubt that the purpose of marketing departments is to sell bicycles, and it is also the concomitant purpose of cycle manufacturers to continually offer something new and ostensibly better than that of their competitors or their last year's offering. as ar as that's concerned, it would maybe seem a tad iniquitous to single out bianchi amongst many others. however, it's not actually the faux technology with which i find a problem, but the very fact that they find it necessary in the first place.
the saying 'water always finds its own level, is eminently applicable to the road cycle market. it's not so long since ribble cycles introduced their 'fastest road bike ever'in the aerodynamic shape of the ultra sl r, and now we have the oltre rc. if we willingly accept that sport, in its empirical sense, is simply entertainment, does the continual need to improve the aerodynamics of the humble bicycle actually make cycle racing any more entertaining? i'd venture that it doesn't; the entertainment surely emanates from the efforts of those riding?
and while i've no doubt that race speeds have continually increased year on year, they have done so uniformly. if bianchi's oltre rc has, actually, re-written the book on aero bicycles, it will be mere seconds before competing brands achieve the same. let's face it, if pinarello can afford to 3d print at least two world hour bicycles for filippo ganna, at a price of £68,500 each, developing something to equal or exceed the oltre, is well within their capabilities, logistically and financially. currently, bianchi does not appear in the world tour peloton, so unless they alter that situation for next season, it's unlikely their claims will be put to the test, leaving everyone else at least one year to create their own hyperbikes.
but, though sponsoring a world tour team involves supplying one heck of a lot of bicycles, that sort of venture can only be financed if you and i accede to the marketing ploys and actually buy one. or even two. and to be perfectly honest, there are very few of us mere mortals who could take advantage of the professed technological advances featured on the bianchi hyperbike. nor, i would contend, are there many who can or want to afford its eye-watering price tag.
so while such aero developments are aimed at the best of the best, in reality, they're produced for our benefit, whether we actually want such projected benefits or not; or, indeed, whether we're capable of taking advantage. for starters, bianchi claim a saving of 17.1 watts at 50kph over the bike's predecessor; how many of us know what that actually means and how many can ride at 50kph to find out? a saving of 45 seconds over a distance of 40km is a tad more quantifiable, but in the real world of sunday rides and wednesday night chaingangs, what would be the point, particularly if you have to spend north of £11,000 to achieve it?
and do those figures apply no matter the level of fitness possessed by the 'athlete'? i seriously doubt it. such figures surely compare with the motor car adverts that claim 56 miles to the gallon, usually achieved on an empty test track while driven by a professional driver observing specific targets. driving in traffic will bring a world of difference.
of course, i accept that these are the ramblings of a luddite with a steel-framed bike and proper 32 spoke, three-cross wheels, which you are obviously free to ignore. but i'm right, you're wrong.
remenber when we just used to go for a bike ride?
image: bianchi
friday 21 october 2022
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................standards, dear boy, standards
if you've been involved with bicycles for any appreciable length of time, you will probably have already come across the often alarming lack of standardisation that exists within the velocipedinal universe. from the groupset manufacturers maintaining their own internal level of incompatibility, often to their own detriment (campag chorus chainrings don't fit record chainsets), to possibly dangerous mismatching of components such as stems and handlebars. unlike the sporting aspect of cycling which is governed by the uci, there is no overarching body that has the power to ensure transgressions are kept to a minimum; even within a single company, there would appear to be departments blissfully unaware of each others endeavours.
can you imagine apple computer working is such a manner?
in the bygone days of freewheels (ask your grandad), all rear hubs intended to accept the forerunner of the cassette, from any source, sported the same threaded portion onto which such items could be fitted. that, you might have thought, would have offered compatibility across the board, and to a certain extent, you would have been right. but few, if any of the manufacturers of freewheels seem to have attempted to reach any agreement on the means of removing these clusters of sprockets when found to be necessary. somewhere within the depths of thewashingmachinepost bike shed, is a random collection of more than ten different freewheel removers, none of which are compatible with any of the others.
why?
and when the bicycle entered the era of indexing as far as gears are concerned, though i can accept that, as first past the post, shimano had no standard to which it might be necessary to adhere, campagnolo surely had the option of featuring freehubs that would have offered compatibility, even if licensed from japan, but engineered to their own level. that way, there would only be one pattern to which all cassettes ought to adhere, and also one index standard, easing the number of items stocked by the average bike store, and simplifying the process for customers such as you and i. the campagnolo die-hards would undoubtedly maintain their faith in vicenza, but others could have mixed and matched to their heart's desire.
however, though i don't find it hard to understand why the latter is not the case (i might be daft, but i'm not stupid), there is one aspect of contemporary bicycles that has me quite confuddled: the replaceable gear hanger.
i was recently left with two bicycles belonging to young teenage girls, the daughters of friends of mrs washingmachinepost and i, both of which had suffered identical accidents, namely, the wrenching apart of the replaceable gear hangers. these are customarily fitted to frames of aluminium and carbon, lest such frames be rendered irreparable by the snapping of integrated gear hangers in an accident. there's no real need for such on steel frames, a material that allows for bending back into shape without snapping in half.
problem number one was that the broken hangers were of a different pattern to each other, and problem number two was that searching for a match, even with the pieces of the damaged items alongside, took a great deal longer than i'd anticipated. this principally at the behest of there being at over 900 variations of hangers on gearmechhanger.com. the additional downside is the lack of identification on any. unable to find both options on the one site, i'd also to check out the over 200 available on derailleurhangerstore.co.uk.
surely there must be a frame manufacturer's club or association to which it is compulsory for all those making bicycle frames to join, and at their annual meetings, they could come to an agreement as to just one, or possibly two distinct designs that could be implemeted across the board? after all, imagine the carnage if every digital camera and smartphone imposed their own image standard, instead of adhering to the ruminations of the joint photographic experts group (jpeg). a single standard for a single standard makes perfect sense, even if we've also ended up with png, webp and heif along the way. however, i don't need a different version of photoshop to open each.
to quote big bang theory's, sheldon lee cooper, "get it together man."
thursday 20 october 2022
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................identity crisis
though it might seem like it promises to turn occasionally into a nightmare situation, i count myself fortunate to work in an office where i'm the only male. for anyone who might find themselves in a similar situation, even if the tables are turned from the above mentioned scenario, i think it's pertinent that you take the time to figure out your own position in the office firmament. how amenable are your co-workers with a sense of humour that might differ from that of their's, and when the inevitable collective dissing of their partners begins, simply keep your head down and become engrossed in your work.
i have almost twenty years experience of this situation, so take it from one who knows.
aside from my expertise with photoshop and indesign, my main claim to individuality within the office society, is that of cyclist, occasionally with a few references to my predilection for drumming thrown in for good measure. how that identification as a cyclist pans out in day to day living, can usually be gleaned from the manner to which i'm referred. this usually seriously exaggerates my abilities, but it often seems a tad pedantic to offer any form of protestation, glossing over it all with a grin that can be interpreted in several different ways.
of course, reference to yours truly is usually by way of comparison; if one or other of my office colleagues has passed one or more cyclists en-route to work, their standing within the velocipedinal hierarchy can be learned by whether they are 'a professional like you', or 'not a professional like you'. as classifications go, i totally agree just how wide of the mark such a reference actually is. it should be pointed out, however, that most of their cyclist references refer to how reticent those pedallists were to get out of the way, or the fact that they were spread across the road, riding four abreast.
as i have said on previous occasions, i have become a spokesman for my people.
but these often one-side discussions surely call into question the personification of anyone referred to as a 'cyclist'. given that i am rarely paid to ride my bicycle, the use of the adjective professional is obviously a misnomer. however, in the manner of a zen koan such as 'where does my lap go when i stand up?', am i only a cyclist when in the vicinity of a bicycle, or can i still be referred to as such when walking down main street clad in a rapha goose-down jacket? would it be wholly inappropriate to use the 'cyclist' word, for instance, when i'm sat behind my drumset? or can i actually be called a drummer while participating in the sunday ride?
while all of the above may seem a deep venture into the trivial and pointless, it is anything but. according to research, it seems that if people we'd identify as motorists, classify the collective us as cyclists, it simply objectifies us, effectively turning us into mobile obstacles, rather than human beings using an alternative (and less polluting) means of transport. i like to believe that i and my cyclist friends benefit from living in a small community, one where almost literally, everyone knows everyone else.
the latter state of affairs doesn't make any of us any less of a series of moving obstacles, but it almost always means that the motorists with whom we'd prefer not to physically interact, know who we are. were are people that they may have spoken to only a matter of hours or days previously. that particular model breaks down, however, during tourist season, when quite plainly, for those visiting the isle, we once again become obstacles.
this is, in essence, the nub of a new advertising campaign by raleigh (of all people) who have launched an inclusive and innovative campaign aiming to highlight that anyone can ride a bike and 'be a cyclist'. to do this, they feature several 'real-life' people '...with different occupations, ages, ethnic backgrounds and styles...', intent on poking holes in the clichés as to just what a cyclist looks like.
i confess i'm somewhat unsure as to quite how this will help sell more raleigh bicycles, but having watched ardbeg distillery create dragster tractors, orange county choppers and latterly a graphic novel to sell whisky, it seems that the more oblique strategy carries greater weight than the more direct approach. after all, who amongst us understands any of those tv adverts for oddly named perfumes? but if the campaign succeeds in altering the prejudices of those who regard us as faceless nonentities who get in the way of their seemingly more important progress, then more power to their elbow.
wednesday 19 october 2022
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................rapha pro team training bibtights
this review presented me with a few conundrums, not the least of which was the fact that i'm really not sure that any of my time on the bike could be (mis) construed as training. i did once agree with rapha founder, simon mottram, that neither of us would indulge in what a pro rider might consider to be 'training', though i have a sneaking suspicion he didn't quite stick to his part of the bargain. sadly, i have more than stuck to my part of the agreement, to which any of my fellow riders would be happy to attest.
secondly, though rapha's pro team range purports to be of a standard that would see it employed by professional riders (a stance with which i'm more than happy to concur), i harbour doubts as to whether the professionals actually have a portion of their wardrobes set aside for specific training garmentage. though i've never paid close attention, imagery featured in what's left of britain's race-oriented media, seems remarkably similar to their team-issue kit, of which i've no doubt they possess a considerable amount. so my question would be whether the existence of pro-level training kit is something any would consider a necessity?
the above concerns could easily be classified as leaning heavily towards the supercilious; they are surely of peripheral concern to all but the most dogmatic or pedantic amongst the world's peloton. but my final gripe, if i might class these as such, is quite what rapha think is of real benefit to the intrepid, training cyclist.
i am well-acquainted with rapha's international status, where they have positioned themselves to be all things to all nations. the evidence for that is annually described in the festive 500 photos emanating from the antipodes and southern california, as we plough through galeforce driven torrential rain in close to sub-zero temperatures. in which case, is it possible that a disconnect has entered the fray? for instance, i'd imagine that, as australia heads towards high-summer, there is scarce need for bibtights for any style of riding. the same goes for velocipedinal residents of los angeles and san francisco.
in order to make myself a tad clearer, while the pro team training bibtights feature a remarkably comfortable pad, they are not lined in any way, shape or form. and as the uk, particularly the hebrides, views winter on a not so distant horizon, to be perfectly blunt, it can be pretty darned cold out there. do you see where i'm going with this?
during my first ride clad in a navy-coloured pair of pro team training tights, train as i might (and i did try very, very hard), it was all i could do to maintain an equitable temperature in my lower limbs. according to the garmin, the temperature for much of the day was a smidgeon above seven degrees celcius; add in the substantial windchill and i doubt the mercury would have broken five degrees. believe me, even with an input of strenuous effort, a roubaix lining to the tights would have been most welcome, if not actually compulsory.
i need hardly point out that we are barely past the mid-point of october, with many a long, dark, cold, wet, wind-strewn few months ahead, where temperatures are unlikely to display a notable increase. should i, or any other rapha clad cyclist, wish to hone our impressive power and physiques, some sort of insulation would have been a nice luxury to have. yet, only a day later, the temperature improved by a few degrees, rendering the bibtights slightly more apposite, and probably everything i've said above, effectively moot.
i'd be more than happy to invite rapha's designers to experience the winter months in the hebrides, if only to realise the extent of their inadvertent folly, but meantime, i may have a suggestion. in order to cover all bases (pun intended), perhaps two strains of training bibtights would provide a choice depending on your postcode. a lined pair for southern wimps and the scots, unlined for everyone else. we may be the flandrians of the west, but we like to be toasty while we're inhabiting that space.
admittedly, rapha's website does mention that the bibtights are intended for cool to mild conditions. sadly, neither adjective seems applicable up here until past easter next year.
however, i must perform a bit of a u-turn (something that seems to be quite trendy these days), for despite my climate crisis, these are actually very, very good. offering a very close, yet shiny fit, the lower-limbs of the honed physique mentioned earlier, will be shown to their best advantage as you train for next year's classics season.
the bib straps eschew the mesh constitution shown by the pro-team winter tights, pared to the minimum in white elastic, attached like a pair of braces, to the front waistband. at the rear there's a contoured seamless panel offering shelter from the cold for the lower back. the pair reviewed were size small (i'm 5'10") and at ride's end, were as comfortable as when first worn, with no chafing or discomfort across the shoulders. the chamois-pad is apparently sized to complement the size chosen, quites impeccably so, since, over 150km, i was scarcely aware of its existence. the fabric is created from 100% recycled materials, mainly nylon, constituted to provide compression across the legs.
i appreciate that my weather and temperature gripes pertain to my own experience, and will not be of major concern to all purchasers, but in this day and age, it seems a tad optimistic to offer a one-size-fits-all approach to training regimes that need to encompass an entire world of meteorology and cyclists.
just saying.
rapha's pro-team training tights are available in navy, black and burgundy, in sizes ranging from xs to xxl. retail price is £180 | rapha pro-team training bibtights
tuesday 18 october 2022
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................