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 ...

Back in 2013, I reviewed the Intrepid Apparel Freedom Gilet , and it fast became one of my favourite pieces of kit. I took to wearing it both on and off the bike; for everything from mountain bike missions, to commutes and casual trips to the shops. It provided a welcome layer of protection from the wind and cold. Earlier this year, Intrepid Apparel - a UK based rider-owned company, released their new Pioneer Gilet. They sent one over for me to test, and I was keen to see how it compared to the previous soft-shell vest. The most apparent change is the new colour-way: gone are the red detailing with white zips; in their place are sky blue zips and more subtle black detailing. The result, is a top that gains even more versatility, as it blends in better with casual wear, and looks great both on the street and the trails. The cut of the new Pioneer Gilet also seems to be better. It's a little bit closer fitting, and it retains its cycling specific fit; with a low cut rear hem...

How do you make a set of overshoes more interesting? They're neoprene booties that keep your toes snug and your shoes clean, right? How about adding some lights! This is a cool new product from SealSkinz. SealSkinz first real venture into the overshoes market appears to be a good one; they've taken a traditionally fairly ordinary product, and added something new and useful. A simple battery-powered 4 lumen light, in the heel of the SealSkinz Halo booties, means they do something I've never seen in overshoes before... they act as a safety device. It's not an overly radical idea, but it's an idea that makes a lot of sense. If you've ever ridden behind someone at night, who has reflective detailing on their shoes, you'll know even the smallest reflection shows up very well because of the speed at which your feet rotate at. Adding a powered light to your heel, could do wonders for your rear visibility. Aside from the flashing light, SealSkinz seem to hav...

Winter riding is when good kit really plays a part; not just in ensuring your comfort, but also making sure you have the continued ability to get out and explore on your bike. Cold extremities, whether it be numb fingers or frost bitten toes, are a potential game-stopper. Luckily though, with the advances in kit technology in the last few years, there are solutions to keep you riding for hours and hours, even in sub-zero temperatures. My chosen kit for my feet and hands comes from Danish brand GripGrab ; this kit is quite easily the best protection for your extremities that I’ve found. In this blog, I consider some of my go-to accessories, which get used time and time again in the cold months of winter. GripGrab Hammerhead Overshoes Easily my favourite overshoes on the market, and I think I've got most of the Isle of Wight team loving them now too; the GripGrab Hammerhead  is a superb combination of waterproofing, windproofing and thermal insulation. They're made of...

A few weeks back, I wrote a post on Wet Weather Riding Accessories , which featured the SealSkinz Mid-Length Waterproof Socks and the SealSkinz Waterproof Cycling Cap. Both products are invaluable when the heavens open on a long arduous ride. With the mercury falling in the last couple of weeks though, I've also been thinking about winter riding accessories, and the SealSkinz Extra Cold Winter Cycle Gloves are one product that has come into frequent use. Like many, I struggle with cold extremities in the winter; when you're spinning along on gentle base mile rides or short commutes, it is hard to get sufficient blood flow to your hands and feet to keep them comfortable. To deal with this, the SealSkinz Extra Cold Winter Gloves are designed to provide maximum insulation for your hands; keeping your digits warm and flexible, even when the ground is hard and frozen. The gloves have a thick double layer construction, with an inner liner made of fleecy Primaloft fabric and a ...

Last week I reviewed the new adidas Supernova Winter Bib Tights and Supernova Winter Jersey (Link) ; this week I'm looking at two of their other cold weather specials - the Warm Wind Walter Turtleneck base layer and Cocona neck tube. adidas Warm Wind Walter Turtleneck Base layers play a vital part in keeping you comfortable in the winter months, wicking away uncomfortable perspiration and leaving you warm and dry. With fabric development, we're seeing new designs that have the ability to keep you warmer by also providing a wind-shielding layer. The new Cocona fabric from adidas does exactly that, and it's what makes the Warm Wind Walter Turtleneck a technical and particularly effective base layer option in cold conditions. The 'Warm Wind' element of this garment's design relates to the Cocona fabric panel that is used on the front of the torso. This fabric, combined with the high cut mock turtleneck, means that your core benefits from an additional wi...

The benefits of compression clothing are now widely recognised, and the science behind it well proven. Compression aids the flow of blood between your muscles and your heart, increasing performance during exercise and significantly aiding recovery post-exercise. CEP Compression is one of the leaders in compression clothing, and a brand that I've always been keen to try out - this is compression clothing at its best. The first thing to note, before even considering the design of the clothing itself, is sizing and fit. CEP use a very detailed size chart that works on the muscles that the clothing is going to be compressing. So for example, rather than socks being sized on your foot size, these are sized on your calf muscle circumference. This approach means that this kit really does compress your muscles as much as it is meant to, and tall cyclists with skinny calves and long feet can reap the benefits. The second thing worth noting, is how well this kit is presented. I don...

Wet weather has hit the UK in abundance in the last few weeks, and I've had more damp rides than dry ones. The old mantra of " there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad kit choices " rings truer than ever in damp, dark and cold conditions, so here are a few accessories that are definitely the " good kit choice " and should make things more bearable when the heavens open. GripGrab Neoprene Gloves I've been using neoprene gloves for years, but up until this year it has always been for sailing... Neoprene provides fantastic protection from the wet and cold, and even if the water does infiltrate into the gloves, they remain warm (something you don't get with polyester gloves).  During the 2013 Festive 500 I did in fact end up drafting in a pair of my Magic Marine neoprene gloves to use in the torrential downpours; they worked well, but I was very pleased to hear that GripGrab were bringing out a cycle specific pair earlier this ye...

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...

Club Ride Apparel is an American brand from Sun Valley, Idaho. Its ethos is that it wants to provide apparel for everything from an epic ride on the road or trail, to the short trip down to the pub or market. Everyone can be part of the club and enjoy riding their bike. The Club Ride range is divided into three sub-ranges: there is the Sun Valley range, which utilises technical fabrics and high performance designs to keep you in comfort on all day trail riding sessions. Second, there is the Open Road collection, which utilises similar technologies for road riding. Third, there is the Sub5 range, which is a more relaxed take on cycle apparel, made for short rides of less than five miles when you can still benefit from technical fabrics and cuts, but want to be able to wear the clothing in everyday life as well. The Worx Trouser and Switch Jersey both come from the Sub5 set: designed to look smart, but also function very well as pieces of cycling apparel. I've been testing them...