[Closed] Road Bike Clobber

Have you checked out Decathlon?

You'd look a bit odd in Rapha on an entry-level road bike 😂

Haha a rig out more expensive than the bike!!! I suppose so!

Stuff that has lasted well for me:

dhb shorts / bibs / tops
Northwave tops
Endura shorts / commuting waterproof troos / gloves, normal & waterproofs
Berghaus / Gore / Montane waterproof coats
specialized tops / shoes

mrsm has a few bits of Giordana clobber that have done many miles

Rapha, worth it? Willy waving.

Lusso, support a UK firm that manufactures good kit in the UK at a good price. You'll find a few on here rate it.

I’ve got all sorts of roadie gear. Beware sizing!

Anything that says “pro” is for skinny racing snakes. My normal clothes are M/L, but in Rapha/Castelli etc I buy XXL. I’m more rugby player than skinny Italian hill climber!

PX stuff is reasonable - the proLine bibs have a decent pad. Top end decathlon is decent too.

My Go To top is a rapha club jersey bought in the sales. I certainly wouldn’t pay full whack.

Definitely consider a gilet and arm warmers. A gilet is great when you start to keep the cold morning wind off, and very easily stuffed in a pocket when it warms up. Likewise arm warmers.

Planet X Podium SL helmet. Light, fits me better than Kask Mojito. Only downside is at the minute it’s £30 on their site rather than £20.

Also cycling gloves, Decathlon tops.

Shorts - IMO don’t scrimp. £50+ will get you comfort. Oh and chamois cream

Wiggles dhb stuff has been good for me. Branded stuff can still be a bit of a fashion faux pas. They do colourful stuff at various price points and fits.

Other brands I often go to are Lusso. Often on Merlin or you can buy direct I think.

Galibier.cc stuff always looks good too. Value for money, good range of things designed for the British climate. Not as common.

Torm.cc for classic looking jerseys.

I have a mix of Endura, Castelli, Morvelo and Rapha. If you shop around you'll find last year's stuff on sale. I'll usually by the best shorts I can then less fussy about tops as shorts make a big difference but as long as the top fits it's fine

Dhb works for me, as does decathlons higher end (still cheap stuff).

Decathlon first choice for real quality, cheap. Don't buy their cheapest though, that seems to be not much better than (sob, they were great once)Karrimor from Sports direct. Craft stuff is great and often on offer at PX and others, I think as they don't really market to UK and we get ends of lines at discounts. DHB a no brainer if you can't get to a shop to try on.

dhb shorts for me - work well
Rapha jersey and gilet - very nice - clearly you're paying some badge tax but not that much and happy ish to do so
Morvelo top as well is nice
Have also bought some £10 jerseys off Wish from China - and to be fair they are pretty damn excellent - sizing is a bit of a gamble though

And yeah in general you need to go up a size or so - unless you're an athletic build them jerseys dont hide anything 🙂

I like Madison.
Go up one size though.
Freewheel tend to knock their stuff out cheap.

I've bought DHB stuff - it's great value. Not as comfortable but it lasts several years in my experience.

I've also bought Endura stuff - again; good value and lasts well. I particularly like their Bib Shorts, especially for longer rides.

I'd second the comments on sizing - roadie sizing tends toward the smaller and skinnier end of the spectrum!

Polaris also worth a look in for decent, well made, well priced kit.

I wear a £10 P-X lid that's as comfy as the previous Kask Mojito. P-X bibs too have lasted ages and been comfortable.

A lot of the Planet X stuff I've tried is no better than what you'll find in Lidl in my experience.

Decathlon for bibs if you want cheap and functional. I usually check to see what's on sale for jerseys as they're ££ and there's not a lot of difference in the mid-range stuff.

Generally speaking, and you'll know this already, summer riding is easy. Shorts, jersey, packable jacket or gilet, done. In winter you can be forgiven for spending more money on kit than on your bike, that's when it becomes the most important component of your riding, in my opinion.

+1 for galibier and morvelo and chamois cream.
Have a look at Prendas - they specialise in team replica kit from past decades so Raleigh Banana anyone? If you're on a budget their full price stuff can be a little spendy but they have an 'offers' section.
As for a helmet, I wouldn't buy without trying on.
You didn't mention pedals or shoes; are you using mtb type?
Variable sizing was mentioned above; yep, definitely a consideration.

Decathlon is also very good for all the little knic knacs you can need also eg Arm warmers, leg warmers, gillet etc that cost a fortune from big brands so dont get bought as they arent used much but are very useful when needed.

Pedal wise, i'm still sticking with flats with big pins and a pair 5:10 trainers!! 🙂

Assos is the definitive shorts brand. Much of their gear is top dollar, but the basic Mille shorts are £70 on Wiggle and superlative. I bought two pairs in 2006, one I still wear, the other wore thin at the arse crack but are still functionally fine so they go under my baggies. Bought some more recently and they have changed completely and arguably even better. Given that £50 is mid range I reckon the extra twenty is a no brainer. Just remember that XLG isn't extra large, it's extra large grande and is bigger than XL!

Defintely more than 2x better than Decathlon shorts and are likely to last more than 2x as long.

Pedal wise, i’m still sticking with flats with big pins and a pair 5:10 trainers!!

Road shoes are *much* better.

Agreed - you deffo deffo want proper shoes - i.e. cleated ones - you dont need the the road triangle big plates ones - mtb are fine - I've used Time ATACS since the 90's - large float etc

Decathlon is as good a place to start as any. Not tried Polaris for road kit

Always liked dhb, Endura and Altura.

I used to be a brand ambassador for Fat Lad at the Back. Good quality Italian made kit in a range of sizes from normal to what they call "spare tyre", and accurate sizing. Often have slimmer stuff on sale

you dont need the the road triangle big plates ones – mtb are fine

I'd say that road shoes are better still, but yes MTB are nearly as good as much better than flats on road.

another vote here for decathlon and planet x, not used any other brands for shorts

Altura do the job for me. Decent price if you look around and seem to last very well - their shorts have gotten me around the Dirty Reiver, a bit of cyclocross and numerous centuries on/off road over the last year.

I looked to replace my 10 year old Assos bib shorts this week HOW MUCH!!!
Like for like they are twice the price they used to be, which wasn’t cheap

Can anyone recommend any decent bib shorts?

Polaris is my go-to place for all bike gear.
Rapha - we went into their Spitalfields shop over Christmas, bought a top for £45, reduced from £90.
I wouldnt ever pay £90 for a jersey, (actually, £45 is a bit much!), but this is pretty good, I wore it for the first time on Sunday, it's lush. Really soft, and well designed, 3 pockets and a little side zipped pocket for a key etc. £90 is bit much, but it is well worth the £45 I paid.

You’d look a bit odd in Rapha on an entry-level road bike

You're wearing the clothes - not the bike. One choice doesn't dictate the other choices you're allowed to make.

Road shoes are *much* better.

They maybe better if thats what you want. If you want to wear flats then what you want is flats. Road shoes are great if you don't really get off the bike for any real purpose between leaving your house and getting home again.

@molgrips - tbh I've never tried the full on road shoes - do you get any float with them, I guess not - that's been a constant worry for me over the years, but you must get great power transfer

I looked to replace my 10 year old Assos bib shorts this week HOW MUCH!!!
Like for like they are twice the price they used to be, which wasn’t cheap

How much is how much? £115 full price for the Mille, often discounted on Wiggle but not currently as stock is currently at coronavirus level by the look of it. I paid over a ton in 2006 IIRC.

Most of my winter road stuff is from Planet-X and I've found that pretty good, especially given the prices.

I do have Rapha and Castelli stuff although pretty much all of it bought in sales. Rapha do bundle deals from time to time and those can be good value as their stuff is good.

With bib shorts & longs in particular there can be quite a difference in comfort, so it is worth paying a bit more for those.

You’d look a bit odd in Rapha on an entry-level road bike

Could be worse. Could be wearing Rapha while going slow on a bike that's a bit more expensive than entry level!

I got my Rapha stuff when I was doing a couple of club rides per week and I was a good bit quicker at that point, and riding enough to make the more expensive kit worthwhile.

Yes you get float with road shoes. With most of the brands its through cleat choice. Shimano offer three options. Not sure on the others as I've not used them.

FWIW I think road shoes are better but I use mtb shoes on my winter bike and CX bike and they are fine. Done some fairly long rides (>200km). Some of the more race orientated XC shoes are pretty similar to the road options anyway.

at the end of the day "wear what makes you happy" whether it be cheapo Chinese or a fully paid up member of the Rapha club - if you're smiling that all that counts

tbh I’ve never tried the full on road shoes – do you get any float with them, I guess not

Of course you do, people's knees still work the same way on road and off. Cleats come in different float amounts for your requirements.

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-spd-sl-cleats-2/

"The Red option offers a fixed foot position with no float, yellow allows 6° of float and blue allows 2 degrees of float"

I agree that road shoes might be trouble if you are say commuting and you need to walk in and out of an office (because it wears out your cleats really quickly) but still they are much better for the actual cycling part. So choose based on budget and inclination as mcck says.

Rapha core jerseys, not overly expensive,
Galibier jerseys, shorts, mitts, gloves and very good for cold weather kit
Assos shorts are the most comfortable I own. Wiggle dhb shorts are fine though.
Shimano and Gaerne for shoes.

Veet for smooth roadie legs

I got my Rapha stuff when I was doing a couple of club rides per week and I was a good bit quicker at that point, and riding enough to make the more expensive kit worthwhile.

Strange - the kit you wear has nothing to do with how fast you're going, does it? It has everything to do with how much money you can spend and how comfortable you are in your existing clothes. Why would expensive kit only be worth it if you're a faster rider?

ta @molgrips - I'd always assumed for some reason road cleats had zero float to increase power transfer - ta for that

I'm getting the impression Rapha shorts require a certain position or saddle choice.

If I'm on a saddle without a cut-out, or my pelvis is rotated too far forward (either because I'm on the drops or just because of my stiff lower back) then the seam that Rapha have ingeniously placed right up the middle of the pad starts to rub. If I'm not putting any pressure down there then yes, they're very comfy.

Wouldn't be my go-to first pair of shorts though.

@kilo - never had the bottle to do the shaved leg thing but always wanted to - one for a different thread though I guess 🙂

I really rate the dhb aeron range, punch well above the price tag. However, I bought some of the cheapest dhb bibs for use on the turbo and had to bin them - uncomfortable and retained too much heat.

Strange – the kit you wear has nothing to do with how fast you’re going, does it? It has everything to do with how much money you can spend and how comfortable you are in your existing clothes. Why would expensive kit only be worth it if you’re a faster rider?

Partly it's trying not to look to much of the "all the gear, no idea" - although that is my normal look when cycling.

It's more about the quality kit being more of a worthwhile investment if you're riding more frequently and for longer distances though. A pair of cheap bib shorts that are ok for a 90 minute ride might well not be comfortable on a 5 hour ride, and they might also not last as well if you're maybe riding 10+ hours a week. The being faster thing was more of a side-effect of doing that much riding.

Lusso shorts are great. I've had Assos shorts but my lusso ones are just as comfy and much cheaper.
Any jersey is fine as long as it fits; prendas ciclismo have some nice retro tops.
My current mitts are from Aldi.

I've had nice Rapha tops in sales or off eBay. It's lovely feel and fit, but I can't justify the price.

Galibier seems nice, and not too expensive.