So as I mentioned in the last post, I'm one of those always warm kind of people, so getting the right balance between layering up and not getting too hot I find a real struggle. There's no way I can wear more than a baselayer and a top even in the pit of winter, the addition of a Gilet and I'll be overheating, so this Monday I had a problem, at 5:30 it was 4c and 20 mins into my ride it dipped to -1c, which even for someone who runs on the warm side is a little on the chilly side. Contrary to this on my way home it was 17c dropping to 8c as the sun began to set, that's a pretty big drop in an 1 1/2 hours ride, but also raises the question what should I wear? I mean I could take a set of riding home clothes in with me, but to be honest I want to carry as little extra weight as possible, and don't see that as an option. So I found myself riding in in my Aqua repel jacket, short sleeved base layer, shorts and leg warmers, bearable on the way in, but I had to completely unzip the jacket and ditch the leg warmers on the way home, so not the perfect balance. With the spring commute budget being signed off, after pay day I decided it was time to try to fid something in between windproof and water repellant but short sleeved which lead me to the Lusso Repel Corsa V2 (Road.cc review). Having had positive experiences with the Aqual Repel Jacket my theory is with decent arm warmers I'll be warm in the mornings and then in the afternoons ditch the sleeves and hope that the breeze on my arms cools my core down a little, as whilst there are breathable panels in the jersey, my experience of the Aqua repel is it isn't overly breathable, but then again it's not a summer jersey. My next purchase was the 2-Zero Thermal Bib shorts, again the same principle as above, wear them with leg warmers and fingers crossed come the evening whip them off and I'll be the perfect temperature, I think I'd prefer it if they weren't thermal but I'll be happy to trade off that with being dry which come next week when the rain is due I expect I'll be appreciating. Which brings me on to my next point, coupled with my Sportful Norain arm and leg warmers I should be pretty much warm and dry with everything having a water repellant finish to them. So anyway has my choice paid off, well yes it has, the Lusso top and shorts coupled with arm and leg warmers meant this evenings ride, which was a steady 8c, other than some initial chill on my arms (maybe need to invest in some better arm warmers) I was comfortable the entire route round, unlike Dave, who had to change when we got to the pub. The other lovely benefit of the evenings ride was that it was tipping down with rain the entire way which meant I could test for water repellance. Finishing the ride I did have slightly damp arms but my base layer, body and legs were all bone dry which meant the pub trip at the end was all the more pleasant, but I'm very happy with the performance in the cold and wet, although, I'll need to try it in hotter conditions but I think if it got a bit too hot a partial unzip would get some airflow into it and keep me cool. I've struggled to find anything cheaper that would fit the bill of providing some waterproofing at a reasonable price, and I think a decent alternative for me could be a water repellant Gilet over a normal jersey. That coupled with some arm warmers pretty much being completely covered, but then when it gets warmer the GIlet can be removed and stuffed in a pocket, I'd not wear a baselayer in that scenario though. I am very conscious though that my efforts to reduce the costs of my commute does seem to come across a bit expensive, but I have to keep reminding myself, most of this stuff is worn for 3 days a week 6 - 9 months of the year so to put that into monetary terms, conservatively, if I only wore it for 1/3 of my commutes (30 days a year for 6 hours a time) thats only £5.60 a commute, less than 3 weeks train or car travel, and that's assuming you don't buy some of the clearance items that are all perfectly good too. (The original Repel Corsa only being £74.99 at the moment as an example) but some more alternatives are listed below
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Mike GaskellI started commuting around May 2017, mainly to save the £45 a week train fare and get ready for the Dunwich Dynamo. Archives
August 2022
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