PEZ Review: Wet weather riding gear
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By Richard Pestes, PezCyclingNews.com Gabba WS Longsleeve Jersey – size: medium $170.00
Fit
Design & Construction
The only part of the main jersey body not made from the WindStopper are two breathable venting panels at the back of the arms, which are made from Castelli’s also impressive Nanoflex fabric (the stuff that stretches, breathes, AND keeps water out with serious gusto). This is another of Castelli’s wunder-fabrics that feels like light fleece on the inside, stretches and bends through a wide range of body flex, and really does repel water – check out my video demo here: One thing to note that seams are NOT taped or glued, but some smart pattern making has reduced unneeded seams, which lets the fabric do it’s job so glues and stitches don’t have to. But let’s get back to the Gabba – like everything I’ve seen from Castelli, it’s got some nice details…
The zipper is full length by YKK, with a nice big grabber that works with even big gloves on, and the nice high collar – a detail I always appreciate on Castelli gear – is lined with a light soft fleece inside. The three pockets are nice and deep, with lots of room for longer gloves, caps, skullies, bars, etc.
Castelli likes to add these small zippered vents to some of their jackets, which is a cool idea, but in reality I’ve not been able to tell how well they actually vent. I suspect I’d notice more of a difference with fewer base layers where the vented air might more directly contact my skin – but I’d also like to see these vents made a few cms longer to increase their functionality.
On The Road
I prefer to be on the warm side on my rides, so I’d layered up with the Iride Base t-shirt, covered by a Castelli breathable lightly fleeced longsleeve jersey, with the Gabba longsleeve on top. Down below I wore the Polare bibtights, and the Diluvio16 neoprene shoe covers on my feet. I was on a mission to test the gear, and as it was late season, the climb to 400m was unexpected – luckily the legs still had lots of summer miles memory, and the climb was done at a reasonable pace.
On the way up, as the temps dropped with every few meters gained, I was keen to locate a cold spot anywhere on my person, signaling rain water sneaking through the jacket – but I never did. The overall results were impressive – my core stayed warm the whole ride in spite of the lightweight of the jersey (mine weighed 351 grams). Even on the descent which was a sustained blast of cold wet air, taken after we’d stopped to shoot some photos and the rain came began to fall in earnest, the Gabba did a great job of repelling the wet, and retaining my body warmth.
I’m told the pros love this one – and that Castelli’s received requests from a long list of non-sponsored pro riders asking for one of their own. I’m not surprised – it is a nice item, and I’ll say a must have for anyone living in wetter climates. I wouldn’t really call it a “winter” piece, but that really depends on where you live and how you like to bundle yourself against the December-February chills. Polare Bibtights – Update
But the real kicker is how well the fabric repels rain. It’s not billed as waterproof, but you can see how well the water beads up in the photo above. I took this pic on the same ride as the Gabba Long Sleeve jersey above, after we’d been in the wet for about 45 minutes. Just before I snapped the pic, the rain really started to come down, so we turned around for a cold 2-3km descent to get us off the climb – the windchill was not a problem at all with these tights. The rain kept up all the way home, and after 90 minutes in the stuff, I only felt a small amount of water seeping in around one knee area – which is subject to the most rigorous stretching during the pedal stroke. Trasparente Due Wind Jersey FZ – USq$149.99
Fit
Construction This ‘Warmer’ fabric is also used on the sleeves below the elbows and on the upper sleeve backs.
Performance The sleak fit helps performance too – for one the garment never gets in the way, but I firmly believe that looking fast makes you fast.
Iride Base T Short sleeve – $US79.99
The kicker here is the ‘Seamless” part – it’s a raglan cut t-shirt with seams for the sleeves, but none on the body sides. Yup – the body is basically one giant tube of material, that’s been woven to fit various sized bodies. The ribbed weave on the sides is designed to allow for a tad more airflow to aid on heat transfer.
My tester was a dual small/ medium size – which usually means a perfect fit. This one did fit well – but was very snug on me, and was short enough that I’d likely choose a longer cut base for colder days – but that’s me. And while this one felt quite snug when I first pulled on, it was not an issue, as I soon forgot I was wearing it at all – a testament to its comfort. DiLuvio Shoecover 16 – $US64.99 These are an evolution of Castelli’s DiLuvio shoecover that I tested last year, being modified with a taller ankle, zippered back, and a bit more rugged finish at the cleat and heel openings. The “16” in the name here denotes the taller cuff length, designed to offer a bit more coverage. They’re basically two pieces of 3mm neoprene glued and sewn together down the center with a flatlock stitch.
Last year I tested a pair of the regular height DiLuvio booties and quite happily rode ‘em through the Winter and Spring. I even took ‘em to the Cobbled Classics as my staple foot cover, and they kept me happy in the constantly cold 10C degree days we had. Into January now, and the wettest winter I can remember, and I’m liking these taller version booties a lot. For one – they keep my ankles warmer –which in turn keeps the rest of me warmer, so I enjoy my rides more. If you haven’t tried a neoprene booty – you could do a lot worse than to start with these. The inherent stretch of the material peels on snugly over the shoes, and stays snug for a cool aero look (versus those cheap and ill-fitting mukluk-style wrap jobs so many ‘commuters’ seem to choose). While they’re not waterproof, (they will soak through after enough exposure to rain) they do block the wind and hold in the warmth – even when wet. Why else do you think scuba suits are made of the stuff? But they do work great at blocking light rain and other moisture, and the stuff is light and durable.
The heel area has been beefed up with a chunk of nylon fabric sewn on to anchor the zipper (also new) which has a very nice sealed closure to block out water, and also features a thinner piece of neoprene that runs full length up the zipper’s inside to further repel water. This inner flap also extends out of the top and folds over to act as a cover that anchors the YYK zipper from rattling – although I doubt its self-locking mechanism would allow for any movement anyway.
The graphics are reflective and actually stick to the neoprene quite well – my year old testers have shown no signs of the graphics cracking or peeling. In fact the only wear on my older pair shows in the tips of the toes, wear they pulled tight against my shoes and likely rubbed against a few things along the way.
Estremo Glove – US$89.99
These are maybe the warmest cycling glove I’ve ever worn – and are very well suited to keeping hands warm on cold, dry days. While they’re not a waterproof glove, but do a decent job of repelling wet from road spray to light rain, thanks to the Windstopper X-Fast fabric (obviously a favorite of Castellis), which works just as well at keeping out the cold on gloves as it does on their jackets, jerseys, and bibtights.
The inside is lined with deep pile fleece running full length through the fingers. These were so warm that I did experience some sweatiness inside, which meant the fleece finger lining stuck to a couple of my fingers on the way out – which then made pulling ‘em back on a tad more work. This is to be expected though with super warm gloves, and is a small price to pay for anyone who ranges from those of us who like warm hands, to those of us who hate cold hands.
The larger bulk of a glove made for extreme temps does make them slightly less flexible than a thinner glove, but this only really shows itself when pulling them on or off – which requires a slightly more amount of effort than what you might be used to. Naturally this much insulation will restrict movement a bit – but in use they proved just fine when reaching for brakes, shifting gears, or riding in any position on the bars.
The cuffs nice and long, and fit snugly underneath jacket sleeves, and feature a wide velcro closure. |
