Clothing for touring

[ourclarioncall]

Matt

Have you had a lot of experience travelling abroad ?

 My other question is , would you say a people person ? As in, do you feel recharged around people or do you get “peopled out “ ? More of an introvert or extrovert ?

I guess this is another interesting area of discussion

How your personality has an effect on travelling , being in a different culture , dealing with language barrier (if there is one )

Maybe I should start a new topic for that one actually

[in4]

Re Paramo choice:

I use Paramo gear for hillwalking so positive, previous experience with it.

Being perhaps a little too critical of my Quito:
The fabric flops around a little as it has no inherent stiffness, like a goretex jacket. It is wedge shaped however. That mitigates a bit. The cuffs get quite sweaty if like me you prefer them tighter around the wrist; so as to fit in my industrial quality gloves. Piano player y’see!
The Quito will be very warm in the summer but generally very comfortable in UK.
There can be a lot of fabric around the nape of your neck but I guess your own physiology will be a factor regarding relative comfort.

Re merino: Yes, get a long sleeved top with a turtle/roll neck definitely with a 1/4 or 1/3 zip. Keeps you warm around your neck and not too sweaty. The zip is obviously great for ventilation plus you’ll be able to show off your heavy gold neck chain. Result lol

Ultimately don’t agonise or procrastinate too much. You’ll never ride if you do. Unless you are intending to ride remote or extreme, there’s lots of stuff on the high street that is perfectly adequate. Have you got a bike frame size in mind?
Happy to help😃 🚴

[ourclarioncall]

I’d love to be able to play the piano properly, for me it’s the ultimate instrument. My daughter plays and we just got her her first uptight piano , a Kawai. It’s a beauty. I teach guitar for a living and work in a music school , I start back on Monday after being off for months.

Yeah, I definitely want to try some merino out

From memory the last time I measured I think I can fit into 3 frame sizes on the nomad , the 565L, the 590L and the big man 620L . Have spoken to guys who are around 6 foot(has a 565L) and the other is just over 6” 1 (has the 620L) and I’m 6 foot and half an inch , right in the middle of them haha. I guess it’s not just height but limb length too that’s a factor. I’ve got long legs and short torso . I have a hunch the 590L would be a good fit (that’s now a 58L on the nomad mk3)

[ourclarioncall]

I see proviz have some new stuff

https://www.provizsports.com/en-gb/cycling/mens?dir=desc&order=price

I was just revisiting this stuff again. Think folk didn’t like it coz it wasn’t breathable . Maybe the tech is getting a bit better

I quite like the reversible gilet hiviz/reflective.

[ourclarioncall]

What clothing do you all wear for cycling during the day and night

Specifically if your on the roads and for safety visibility

So far I’ve concluded for daytime hiviz would be a good idea , I like yellow, but orange seems to pop well to the eye too.

Also a battery powered day running light

For night , Dynamo light front and back , plus the daytime running light at night time

And a reflective jacket like proviz

So in summary, Dynamo lights front and back + daytime running lights , plus hiviz plus reflective

I also consider getting my hiviz from bright white or yellow ortlieb bags. White seems to pop well against a black bike , black clothing .

[martinf]

So far I’ve concluded for daytime hiviz would be a good idea , I like yellow, but orange seems to pop well to the eye too.

Sam Browne belt in fluorescent yellow woven tissue (for breathability) with strands of silver reflective material for night-time visibility. I wear this nearly all the time. It used to work extremely well to attract attention, because it is similar to the equipment worn by French motorcycle police. But with the explosion in hi-viz jackets, it gets noticed less nowadays.

Most hi-viz stuff isn't very breathable and causes sweat build up when I wear it, so I avoid it when I can. But if doing long distances I generally wear bright coloured cycling clothing, for short errands I just wear ordinary stuff. In both cases I wear the Sam Browne belt over the clothing. For light rain I have a hi-viz Montane jacket, for heavy rain either a bright red cape with reflective patches or a Quito jacket that isn't particularly visible (with this I again use the Sam Browne belt).

Also a battery powered day running light

I generally only use the battery powered rear lamp during the day time in bad visibility (fog, rain).

For night , Dynamo light front and back , plus the daytime running light at night time

I don't have specific daytime lighting, I just leave the dynamo lighting on nearly all the time (I sometimes turn it off on bright sunny days when riding on roads with little traffic). The (bright) headlamp aids visibility and makes it more likely that cars will not pull out in front of me at junctions (car driver reflex - single bright white lamp equals fast motorcycle rather than slow bicycle).

So in summary, Dynamo lights front and back + daytime running lights , plus hiviz plus reflective

I add two strips of red reflective tape on my (big) rear mudflaps. A front reflector of some kind to comply with the regulations here in France (I don't consider it useful, the front lamp deals with visibility from that direction). And Sekuclip wheel reflectors that clip onto the spokes and are visible from quite a wide viewing angle at night, instead of the flat orange spoke reflectors that are IMO completely useless in most real-world situations. Pedal reflectors to comply with the regulations (not completely useless, but often obscured by touring luggage). My recent Ortleib panniers have reflective patches, but not my old home-made panniers or my old Carradice saddlebags.

[PH]

Some years ago I went to a police talk on road visibility, intended for those on an IAM motorcycle course.  The theory they were presenting was that contrast is what gets you noticed and that hi-vis, despite it's name, doesn't always offer the best.   They considered the white hat of the traffic officers as important as the yellow jacket. 

[ourclarioncall]

PH

Yeah, good point about the contrasts.

I was looking through google images at pannier bags and was noticing in the pictures which actual things about the cyclist actually popped out to the eye, and it’s not always what you expect.

And recently during the day a cyclist was near us while we were about to turn at a junction and it hit me how he wasn’t really that noticeable and this was during the day. He did have a hiviz hat but it looked kind of dull and I didn’t really notice it until he was passing . I think if he was wearing a yellow or orange hiviz top he would have got my attention , and I think a day time light would have got my attention even more. And the combo of both would have been even better . I wasn’t driving the car just sitting in the passenger seat. But it makes you think how easy it is for cyclists to get hit. Maybe it’s due to ignorance of not really being aware of how your seem to others. I know I have been guilty in the past but have really been enlightened over the last couple years.

But I guess that a lot of drivers are now wired to anticipate the possibility of cyclists dressed in dark colours with no lights flying out onto the road in front of them  , so maybe it gives those who attempt to be as visible as possible an even greater of safety. Hmm 🤔

[JohnR]

But I guess that a lot of drivers are now wired to anticipate the possibility of cyclists dressed in dark colours with no lights flying out onto the road in front of them, so maybe it gives those who attempt to be as visible as possible an even greater of safety. Hmm 🤔

I wouldn't assume that all drivers are deliberately looking out for cyclists particularly if they are distracted by various electronic gizmos (including those built in to many modern vehicles). A cyclist dressed in black in a shadow on a bright day can be difficult to see. As a driver, I notice that black and tarmac grey (the most popular colour) cars are more difficult to see than vehicles with bright-coloured paint. DRLs make it easier to see such vehicles when approaching but don't help if if you are approaching from behind. Furthermore, such vehicles seem to be the last to put their lights on when dusk approaches.

Another item in my wardrobe is last year's version of this https://www.amazon.co.uk/WOSAWE-Breathable-Reflective-Sleeveless-Night£¨Green/dp/B07CXVKPN8. I like the full-length zip on the front so it can provide some protection from the cold, if needed but the bits of black mixed in with the yellow may help the contrast issue.

[Rouleur834]

There is a company in Scotland, https://findraclothing.com, worth looking at. Having tried a couple of their smaller items to compare with other manufacturers I find them very good. I have a neck warmer and socks. Both are excellent quality. The socks are far better than any I have paid a fortune for from Rapha. Will be trying base layers in the near future. Also, it's good to support a small and ethical company. Win-Win! It's surprising what you can find by accident  . I found them through a small company, https://www.outdoorprovisions.co.uk, that supply good nutrition. Binned all my, so called, scientific stuff and gone natural.

Saddles and shorts: surprised nobody has mentioned chamois cream. Some people love it, some hate it. Most have a medicated ingredient that helps to keep the man bits comfortable and healthy. I had a lot of problems in the past but good shorts, such as Santini, with cream and a good saddle helped a lot. I have a love-hate relationship with my B17 and I now use an SQ Labs Ergowave. It's odd to start with but very comfortable.

[ourclarioncall]

Socks : whose tried....

Sealskinz or Merino wool

[ourclarioncall]

On my way to work today on the bus I spent the journey looking for which colours stood out to my eye and would be most noticeable.

The main things that stood out first were white. White cars and vans. Especially in the direct sunlight. Then I noticed white more , goal posts, sign posts, road markings. Yellow was another one.

Also on some signs on a roundabout they were a mix of yellow blue and white, that really popped out to the eye, but also the sort of reflective material definitely added to this.

I did see a few guys in hiviz and it certainly works.

As JohnR mentioned dark clothing and black /silver cars were not very noticeable and get worse the darker it gets

My feeling is that white is a very good strong choice .it’s punchy to the eye during the day and even when it starts getting dark it still staff out.  My feeling is that I may go with white ortlieb bags , which will contrast with a black bike and black clothing. I may go for a white hiviz vest to to throw on top of my jacket. I’m feeling confident the zebra look will be a strong contender for good visibility . Also I might go for the cliché yellow hiviz to work with the black and the white.

From the back I like the idea of looking wide by having two side panniers and then the rack pack on top . A nice big wide blob of black and white off the panniers with red light or lights in between.

I’m considering just having both front and back Dynamo lights on constantly during day and night , unless there is reasons not to.

[ourclarioncall]

JohnR

The link you posted didn’t work for me. Tried it twice.

You make a good point about technology. I don’t actually drive a car but am about to pass my test soon when I learn to drive. So I’m a Walker. And I’m often amazed at how many drivers I see with the head down looking at their phones.

Sorry, my statement was a bit broad brush. Probably in cities like london where bike commuters are more part of daily life, drivers would be a bit more wired to anticipate them aswell as the typical gang of teens on mountains bikes dressed in blank with no lights flying out in front of them . But yeah, certainly in my hometown I don’t think anyone is paying any special attention for cyclists

[ourclarioncall]

Rouleur864

Just had a look, they have some nice stuff. I definitely want to try a Merino base layer and Merino socks

[JohnR]

JohnR

The link you posted didn’t work for me. Tried it twice.

You make a good point about technology. I don’t actually drive a car but am about to pass my test soon when I learn to drive. So I’m a Walker. And I’m often amazed at how many drivers I see with the head down looking at their phones.

I've fixed the link. The auto-linker was confused by the £" within the link so I've done it manually.

I've got a selection of merino socks with different thircknesses for use according to the temperature. Most are cycling specific (which tend to be tight) but for really cold weather I use https://www.mountainwarehouse.com/walking/footwear/walking-socks/merino-explorer-sock-p12512.aspx/ which are long enough to keep the lower legs warm. However, like other merino clothing the key benefit is the natural odour management so less need for washing. However, if they get wet then, like other wools, they take time to dry.