The temps are starting to drop around here and I would like to ask the folks that are kind enough to drop by for recommendations for wool riding wear. What have y'all found useful? Is it worth the money? What brands have been good to you? What should I look for? Where's a good place to buy it (either here in the Twin Cities or on the Web)?
If you're gonna ride every day, you gotta ride every day. I figure that being warm is a pretty good start...
9 comments:
wool, wool, wool. Target is a great source for cheap merino wool sweaters. Railriders.com has amazing lined winter pants that look like khakis. Not cheap but tough -- I have worn them below 0 outside and stayed warm
Yup, wool is the way to go (I wear it year 'round since it's cooler when there's a breeze and it NEVER stinks!). I have several Icebreaker items from Sierra Trading Post for the skin layer. Icebreaker rates the warmth/thickness and I have some of each for my winter commutes, skiing and, well actually, just plain clothes..
I also have some outerwear from Ibex. I have used GoreBikeWear in the past but have been switching over to the Ibex outerwear.
Last is that I found some very cheap merino wool sweaters at CostCo last year, $20 cheap that I used for a mid-layer.
Old man wool trousers and wool sweaters from 2nd-hand shops. Filson long johns. Smart Wool socks. That's my wardrobe during the cold months.
smartwool socks are awesome for any weather... www.sierratradingpost.com has really good prices on woolies...
ibex is expensive but they have sales sometimes. smartwool good too! i tend to buy expensive baselayers (undies) and then go 2ndhand/used for sweaters, pendleton shirts, pants, jackets, etc. ebay can sometimes be a good source for wool knickers.
I'd like to venture into wool myself, but I spent many years investing in synthetics. Once they start to go, they will be replaced with wool. Synthetics have gotten me through many a sub-zero commute with no complaints. Doesn't make sense for me to give up on it now. However, I do wear my Smartwool hiking socks for three of the four seasons.
This is the next place I'm headed for wool wear.
http://www.joneswares.com/
I love the smartwool undergarments also. wear them all winter under and over stuff, but the soft outer garments ball up quick.
I guess it's repetitive, but I get lots of use out of a smartwool thin wool top (longsleeve). I wear it pretty much all winter in one varying stage of layerdom or another.
I have a bright red woolrich coat that is awesome for winter biking. it looks like it has regular open cuffs, but a few inches in there is elastic to keep cold and snow out.
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