Life In The Saddle

Chapeau Cycling wins my personal award as the Best UK-Based Cycle Clothing Brand of 2020 . Their products continue to impress me with their exceptional quality, function, and design innovation. Yet, as a brand, Chapeau are still not that well-known in the world of cycling apparel. Hopefully, this review feature will introduce you to their latest winter range, and prompt you to also doff your top hat and shout " Chapeau! "... Review – Chapeau Cycling Club Thermal Bib Shorts Thermal bib shorts are a highly versatile and under-rated piece of cycling apparel. In the transition seasons of spring and autumn you are often too warm in bib tights, but a little too chilly in summer bib shorts. Thermal bib shorts use fleece-lined fabrics, a higher cut bib, and a longer leg length to deliver that extra bit of warmth and comfort. The Chapeau Club Thermal Bib Shorts are a fine example of 'early season bib shorts'; with features that make them unique and superior to ...

Fluoro kit is very much still in fashion, and it is a great way to add a bit of hi-vis safety to your team kit or normal riding apparel in the low-light conditions of autumn and winter. The HiVis kit from Primal Europe is up there with the best, and I've been testing out their arm warmers and X1 jersey for the last month or so; on everything from the daily commute to my 300 mile  Falmouth-London ride . Primal Hi-Vis Arm Warmers These have been used almost non-stop so far this autumn/winter. Team Wiggle kit is largely black in colour, and as a result I tend to be a little concerned about visibility to oncoming and pursuing traffic. Using these arm warmers certainly adds some colour! The warmers themselves are very well designed and made. I have a size medium, and the length is perfect; slightly longer than many warmers, so you avoid the uncomfortable exposed gap at the top or bottom of the tube.  They are nice and narrow too, so they hug your arms throughou...

Autumn is a season of change, some days it is close to zero Celsius in the early morning, but then by mid-day it can be in the mid-twenties. Weather like that calls for flexibility in your kit choice, and warmers are a superb accessory to accomplish this. In the spring I reviewed a wide variety of kit from Solo.cc ; the Solo Cycle Clothing Review  received a great audience, and I was thoroughly impressed by the products that it featured. The Solo kit proved to be well thought out, made to the highest quality and it performed admirably during testing. To extend the review of the Solo range I am here reviewing the Roubaix Arm Warmers and the Roubaix Knee Warmers; both products that are perfect for the cooler weather. In a later post I will also be reviewing the rather fantastic Roubaix 3/4 length bib shorts. Solo Super Roubaix Arm Warmers You could be excused for thinking that all arm warmers are equal; just Lycra tubes that keep your arms a bit more comfortable in cool...

Once again I am a cycle commuter, and most of my mid-week miles on the bike are done in the early morning or in the evening. Those morning commutes, even in August, can be a bit on the chilly side. With temperatures hovering around 10 degrees Celsius, I feel far more comfortable covering my knees up and protecting vital joints from the chill.    The Max Repel Knee Warmers from Lusso have been my choice for the last week, and I’ve been impressed by their quality and performance. Lusso is a British brand, making high quality, high value cycle clothing. The Max Repel Knee Warmers are designed to provide good insulation and protection in wet conditions. This is done through the use of a high density lycra material that helps to “repel” the water that is sprayed onto it. The warmers grip well, using small gel dots on an elastic gripper on both the upper and lower ends. They are true to size, and they have a neat seam on the back of the knee, which allows for an a...

Phew CC  are an interesting new UK brand producing some cool and distinctive products. A few weeks ago I reviewed their Early Winter Gloves  and was thoroughly impressed by the quality and value of the long finger springtime gloves. With the weather warming up a bit I've also been putting a pair of their classy arm warmers to the test, and they've been performing well. These arm warmers have been designed to overcome many of the faults that people often find with warmers... They are longer to overcome the problem of 'the uncomfortable gap', they are closer fitting than most arm warmers so don't slip down, and they look pretty cool too with their classy detailing. The warmers are slightly thinner than other warmers I have tested, however, this is no bad thing; the super-Roubaix lycra's soft lining and close fitting cut mean they seem to keep you just as warm. The thinner cut also means that they are more flexible and less bulky when you want to take them ...

Torm Cycling is a small Kent based company that produces some very high quality garments using SmartWool technology. Their products adopt a classic look and style, much like (dare I say it) Rapha; yet Torm Cycling has retained the much needed focus on making their products affordable, as well as comfortable and high-performing. As a result their range stands out as a great value, British-made offering, with some stunning pieces of apparel for all seasons. With Spring upon us, a good base layer and a set of arm-warmers are two vital pieces of kit to add to your arsenal. They will provide you with comfort, warmth and adaptability to the changing seasons and temperatures. Over the last month I have been testing out the B1 Base Layer and Arm Warmers from Torm Cycling, and have been incredibly pleased with the products. The B1 Base Layer The B1 Base Layer uses Torm's signature SmartWool technology; a 60:40 mix of merino wool and polyester. The material is designed to offer warmth...

First of all I should say that I wasn't overly pleased with these when they arrived...but I've subsequently changed my mind, so I thought I would share my thoughts on these winter warmers. Sugoi is a relatively new brand to the UK cycling market - a Canadian brand, who have come into the limelight in Europe through their sponsorship of Peter Sagan's Cannondale Liquigas Team. They seem to have a bit more work to do on their marketing though. Firstly, there is a distinct lack of reviews for this product out on the web, it took me a good bit of browsing of American bloggers' sites before I was convinced they would be a good choice. Secondly, the product photography is rather misleading; the picture to the right essentially shows the product incorrectly worn (in my opinion), as the branded stretchy panel is in fact designed to be worn on the back of the leg (as shown in the photo below). Aside from their marketing...Sugoi seem to produce some quality kit. I've gi...

Arm warmers, Leg warmers and Knee warmers are useful pieces of kit. You can convert your nice pair of bib-shorts into long-legs for the winter, or your favourite jersey can be used on colder days as well. In my cycling wardrobe I already have some Altura Leg Warmers and some dhb Arm Warmers, both of which are serving me well. However, for Christmas last year there was a new addition; this very reasonably priced set of dhb Pace Roubaix Knee Warmers from Wiggle . Having worn them for the first time on yesterday's Sunday ride, I have to say they are a great bit of kit and extremely well made. The first thing that you notice before putting them on is their contoured fit; unlike my arm or leg warmers, which are simple 'tubes' of fabric with one stitch-line, these have contoured stitching to fit the knee joint. It makes a massive difference, both to comfort and flexibility. I had no problem with irritating material build-up behind the knee, or of the embarrassing ...