TimothyH

Yep, wool is where it's at.

This isn't your grandfather's wool jersey from the 1940's. Current merino blends rival any man made technical textile.

Totally digging my new Isadore Signature jersey and I'm going to buy one of their Thermerino long sleeve jerseys as soon as the color I want is back in stock.

An Ashmei midlayer was just delivered today. This thing is so nice that I wore it all afternoon as I sat at my computer.

I'm not going to stop wearing man made technical fabrics but am glad that I've finally tried a few wool cycling garments. They are going to make outstanding additions to my winter cycling wardrobe.

Just felt like saying all that.


-Tim-

Lazyass

I have a bunch of 70's-80's wool jerseys I got off ebay for cheap. Always looking out for more.

This one was $25 and brand new condition. It looks twice as long in the picture, I'm 5'10" haha

jgwilliams

Me too if they give me that great 6-pack look.

JohnDThompson 

I still use my Protogs merino wool jerseys, shorts, and tights I bought back in the late 70s.

GrainBrain

Looks like Ashmei has some bundle pricing on the mid layer+ outer.

Still, oh my that's expensive and I didn't even convert from pounds to dollars

Tim do your seasons temps kind of match up to the UKs in winter? I feel like maybe I should be looking to what the Nordic countries wear

​​​​​​

big chainring 

I get wool sweaters from TJ Max and Marshalls. They probably are stocking them now for the holidays. Great for layering and smart looking too. Really cant get into the cycling specific stuff anymore. Too tight, too fitted. And more often than not, basic black. Give me a bulky wool cable knit sweater...in a nice oatmeal color. And a stocking cap...its cold out, screw the helmet.

I miss the days of wearing a couple layers topped off with a flannel shirt, newspaper under the flannel. Blue jeans with the leg bottom cinched with an old toestrap.

DrIsotope

I might hate winter too, if we had such a thing. A visual representation of why I don't own anything wool for cycling other than socks:

Marcus_Ti

[ Must resist the urge to poke fun at Georgia "winter". ]

Nice threads, mi amigo.

wolfchild

I love the comfort of wearing merino wool, it doesn't smell as bad as synthetics and doesn't have to be washed as often. My only issue with wool is durability, I've worn out 4 pairs of merino wool base layer shirts in the last couple of years, they just tear and fall apart after few years of daily use. I switched over to synthetics because they are a lot more durable and last longer.

TimothyH

Knowing that the daffodils will be up in late February helps us endure the long, dark six weeks of winter.



The Ashmei jersey was ordered through Sigma Sports. They have better prices and got the piece from England to suburban Atlanta in two days.

We will typically be in the low 40's during the day and the 20's at night. There always seems to be one or two cold snaps where temps will remain below freezing for three days and everyone's pipes break. The coldest day in Atlanta last year was 17°F but I've seen it as low as 9°F.

Very few here ride in winter though there are a couple of us.


-Tim-

jefnvk

I've been slowly converting my regular winter apparel to wool. I really need to get some wool cycling apparel to match!

fietsbob

The carpet moth larvae are waiting..

Marcus_Ti

Up here the Wooly Bear caterpillars are in abundance, noted by farmers as a sign of a nasty winter coming:

https://www.almanac.com/content/wool...her-prediction

berner

The trick to enduring winter is to make friends with it by getting out and playing in it, such as snowshoeing or skiing. I don't ski these days, (afraid to break some important part of me) but I did look forward then to the approach of winter. Part of it also is right attitude and clothes so I'm a fan of merino wool as well.

phughes

How do you wash and dry them? I have found them to be very long wearing. Synthetics do last a long time though. I can't imaging wearing out four shirts in two years. I wore one fitted bike sweater daily for five years, and it is still like new. I don't wear it as often now. I will as soon as it fits again...cough.... Okay, it fits, but it is a little more snug than I like. At the moment, it is almost seven years old now. I stopped wearing it daily a couple of years ago, now it is just occasionally.

wipekitty

I, too, jumped on the wool bandwagon a few years back. Actual wool jerseys seem to be a bit expensive (and somewhat difficult to find in tiny sizes), so I've taken to wearing a tight long sleeve wool baselayer under a short sleeved jersey.

Depending on intensity, this works out fairly well for "warmer" cool weather - say, 35-60F - sometimes with a wind jacket as well.

My favorite baselayer was the Ibex Woolies 1, which is nice and thin. Unfortunately, Ibex went out of business.

wolfchild

I washed mine once every 2- 3 weeks after wearing them almost daily, I used them not only for cycling but also for other athletic activities and even for casual purposes. I would put them in the washing machine with everything else, and let them dry at room temperature. Yes I went through 4 pairs in 10 years, maybe my sweat is too toxic and corrosive. Too expensive to replace so I changed to synthetics.

I-Like-To-Bike

B-b-but no stylin' or brand name dropping points are awarded for such practical and thrifty attire.

phughes

Four in ten years sounds better though. You said a couple of years in your first post, which I take to mean, two years.

Thankfully there are some great synthetics out there these days.

Bikedud

I have a couple of wool jerseys that I Love, Castelli and Louis Garneau, but I have been looking at these.
Wool Jersey

Does anyone have any experience with Oregon Cyclewear?

pdlamb

I was surprised to see the Isadore jerseys were only 44% wool. It looks like Ashmei also has blended wool, although they don't tell you on the web page how much of the fabric is wool

TimothyH

Sigma Sports shows the content for Ashmei products on their website.

https://www.sigmasports.com

The addition of polyester, elastane and sometimes even carbon is what makes modern wool blends easier to care for, more durable and sometimes less bulky than 100% Merino.

This is the lable inside the Ashme Midlayer/Winter jersey.




-Tim-

MUSurvey19

I am a huge fan of wool jerseys. I need a new one for the upcoming season.

shelbyfv

Well, Tim could have pointed you in the right direction, he knew his apparel!

autonomy

Haha, newspaper, no thanks! I'll stick with modern fabrics. 2 layers can keep me warm and windproof down to 20F. Jeans are no good for cycling unless you're going to the farmer's market in the shoulder season <1 mile away.