My Best Bicycle Purchase This Year

Posted by James on December 2nd, 2007 filed in Gear, commuting

Two months back I bought a GORE BIKE Wear WindStopper Jacket. So far this is the best jacket for bicycle commuting I’ve ever used. It’s kept me warm and dry from 50 degrees to 28 degrees. When it goes below 40 I’ll combine it with a wool sweater and it works awesome. Unlike a nylon shell, this material will breath and even let some wind through. This works great for me — rain shells, and even GORE-TEX will cause me to overheat and sweat because they do not breath enough.

One thing I did learn is that if you try to stay warm by using layers of synthetic fibers, you will be cold, miserable and sweat profusely. So, wool and cotton are your friends, and they play well with polyester. But polyester does not like to play with itself. So don’t use this jacket with another piece of high tech wear to stay warm. Instead go low tech with a nice tight knit, thin, wool sweater or jersey. (The craft wool jersey is usually what I use, and it’s awesome too.)