Stylish cycling kit

I've been washing caps in the machine for years and not had issues with other brands! Could just be bad luck but will be handwashing from now on to be safe.

Same, only ever had 1 cap get the old bent peak, and I've been machine washing caps for years. For me, life is to short to be hand washing caps, or anything else for that matter. I vowed years ago to never again buy anything that's hand wash only or needs to be dry cleaned.

wash? caps?

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I went through the caps thing with a couple of clubs who insisted on idiotproof washable caps.

The only brand that I could find was Champion Sys. IMHO they’r aren’t a patch on Apis ... but it’s subjective. They’re kinda shapeless, soft polyester rather than cotton. They are light, good in hot weather or hard training and dry really quick. They’re ok in the rain ... a bit floppy. The brim still distorts over time with washing machine heat but doesn’t crack.

The company also had real trouble (they completely failed) working to Pantone colours. The price was pretty good and the minimum order is a fraction of what Apis require.

Mine get pretty ripe pretty quickly...

If Assos made dish cloths. eBay bargain £70. Hurry now.

Fuck load of retro caps and Albion caps, like the Albion hats as a little more socially acceptable and seem larger for my mega swede.
All fail at some point. Washing, folding, pocketing, kids...

Do we know who makes the Attaquer socks? I've found them to be the best cycling socks I've bought to date but would like the option of less branding.

I don’t but can thoroughly endorse both pongo and fingers crossed design for subtle options

I really like atout.cc for socks with no branding, great quality

pongo seem a bit big, until first wash IMHO

Fair, mine we’re fine but I haven’t bought any in years tbh. Picked up 5 pairs around 4 years ago, still going strong

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Looking for a rain jacket that can serve me well.

I really like the looks of the Albion ones. My level of branding. Need something that withstands prolonged rain. Many hours...

All suggestions welcome.

In honesty my Rapha lightweight shadow jacket has been great in torrential rain (although everything else was pissing wet through so the benefits were dubious). In some colours it's pretty quiet in terms of branding. I've also got a 7-mesh jacket which is good.

Shakedry is the best performing jacket I've used, both in terms of keeping water out and letting moisture and heat escape.

Not cheap but really like Sportful Stelvio jacket...v thin so not great for keeping you warm but kept the water out and breathable

https://www.sportful.com/ca/men/collections/protection/p/110175920P-428

Thanks, will look at those :-)

I was previously recommended an endura mtr jacket on here. I’ve had one for a couple of years now and still totally bomb proof in torrential rain.

which colour? is the orange quite...bright?

I contemplated that jacket before but didnt pull the trigger on it. Prefer Forest Green but mindful it'll probably mean im more likely to be hearing smidsy at some point compared to the orange one.

I’ve got the MTR jacket for commuting, love the cut* and colour (forest green, natch) but I’ve not found it to be actually totally waterproof.

*good for commuting / wearing briefly off the bike, the front isn’t too high so no belly button exposure.

Sportful

On a general note I reckon Sportful is superb value for money. If you've narrowed your options down to A, B and Sportful, and they come out quite equal, then just take the Sportful one.

Just goes to show, I looked at the £330 for that sportful jacket and thought there's no way I can justify spending that much dollar on a jacket.

Yeah I’ve got the orange mtr. I think it’s a good combination of visible but not too garish. I also mainly wear mine for commuting and agree about the cut, I would describe it as a bit more relaxed than pure race fit and I occasionally slip it on over my my regular clothes if I need to, but equally it’s not so baggy on me that it flaps around on training rides. @dbr may ride in more punishing conditions or have a higher benchmark of quality than me but from my perspective the waterproofness is way beyond my previous jackets, I’ve been very happy with it.

I am sure someone on here will know the full story, but to my understanding Sportful is a sort of in-store brand from an Italian conglomerate of factories that make kit for Assos and Castelli. Their NoRain fabric is rumoured to be gabba fabric but re-branded and then sold for roughly 2/3 of the price.
I've not had the chance to compare, as I never owned gabba, but I own some bits of Sportful NoRain kit and have no complaints.

I didn't know they make kit in that price category.
Hmm... if so I would perhaps steer towards Rapha actually. I own the hooded rain II (or whatever it's called) and I find it pretty amazing in terms of fit and comfort.