Life In The Saddle

For those that have not heard of the Café du Cycliste brand, you have been missing out. Established in the beautiful city of Nice on the French Côte d'Azur, this brand produces some of the finest quality and most stylish riding kit on the market today. As part of their new Audax range, the Café du Cycliste brand has released the Ingrid long sleeve jersey—a winter cycling jersey designed for those long-distance adventures. With special fabric, clever pocketing, and a unique hooded design—it offers something quite different for the endurance rider. The first thing that strikes you with the Ingrid jersey is the fabric. Unlike the windproof softshell fabrics found on most winter cycling jerseys and jackets, the Ingird instead uses a brushed micro-fibre fabric—most akin to a micro-fleece that you might in a hiking shop. This fabric is impressive; it provides superb insulation, but also offers exceptional moisture management—allowing perspiration to be wicked away and letting it eva...

The Marine Lollipop jersey from Café du Cycliste comes from the French brand's 'Colour Collection'. With a great fit, and some beautiful detailing, it is a real modern classic. Café du Cycliste were one of the first brands that I reviewed here on Life In The Saddle. Back in 2013, I featured the Cafe du Cycliste  Yolande jersey . Since those early days, both for the blog and for the Nice-based clothing brand, things have developed and evolved dramatically. The Marine Lollipop jersey epitomises the growth of the Café du Cycliste brand; it uses many classic design features, but also brings in new and exciting features and fabrics. Compression fit The Marine Lollipop jersey is sold as a 'Race-Cut' garment; with a low collar, and a compression fit. The fabric itself is a medium-weight, high-stretch material; this facilitates the close fitting cut, without making it uncomfortable. According to the size guide, I should be a Small (96cm chest), but after trying...

Rain resistant cycling shorts are becoming more widely available, due to the development of better fabrics and material coatings. Weatherproof protection, like that provided in the Cafe du Cycliste Jeanne Bib Shorts, helps to make those damp, windy and cold days that bit more manageable. Not many people really enjoy wet weather cycling, but there are things that can be done to make it more comfortable. Indeed, with the right kit, it's quite possible that you'll learn to embrace the challenge of riding in inclement conditions. Here's how French brand Café du Cycliste has developed their Jeanne Waterproof Bib Shorts, to help you 'dare the elements'... Fabric and seat-pad The Jeanne Waterproof Bib Shorts use a water repellent DWR fabric, with a Thermo-Roubaix fleece lining. The combination provides a protective, stretchy, but highly breathable piece of race-wear; which will help aid comfort in challenging riding conditions. The chamois used in the bib sho...

Café du Cycliste is a French brand based in the Côte d'Azur; their performance range comprises an extremely high quality selection of cycling apparel with a unique and classic style. The Yolande is the long sleeve jersey in the performance range; made of merino Tecnowool, it is designed to keep you in comfort through the autumn, winter and spring months of riding. Attention to detail in design The thing that strikes you about the Cafe du Cycliste Yolande is the attention to detail; this has to be one of the most carefully thought-out pieces of clothing around. Let's start at the top... The collar has a classy button-up tab, for added warmth; it also has reflective detailing on the back of the neck, and even a headphone clip for those that ride with music. The shoulders of the jersey have quilted padding; for extra protection and durability. The full-length front zipper has a suede baffle, for keeping out the chill. This latter feature is complemented by the clas...