Campag4life

Passage of summer is upon us sadly and looking forward to fall riding which many times means gloves and bib tights.
Am looking for a good cycling jacket with some basic guidelines....light weight, likely fine fleece interior and/or wind blocking...form fitting to not flutter in the wind...size Large jerseys fit me best.

I wear a lot of Pearl Izumi clothes...and enjoy their bib tights which are relatively light weight...some like of rubberized material which do a good job of blocking wind retaining body heat. Do they sell a good jacket that is similar material to their bib tights?

Any suggestions for a good long sleeve cycling jacket based upon the above?
Thanks

Homebrew01

Check some of the past threads in the winter forum.

Campag4life

Thanks...didn't even know there was a winter forum.

rumrunn6

my 2 cents: I prefer to stay away from thermal insulation in the outer layer. This way I can modify layers depending on temperatures. Some examples:

• long sleeve cycling jersey and nothing underneath
• same long sleeve jersey with added base layers ranging from tank top to fleece shirt
• when more wind protection & thermal protection is needed I switch to my cycling jacket/windbreaker and layer accodingly
• during winter and darkness and bad weather, out comes the cycling rain jacket which also is just a shell leaving the layering to me

for legs I like my novara headwind pants

Looigi

Pretty much agree. If you're riding energetically, it's a delicate balance between keeping reasonably warm and getting soaked with sweat. And what starts out a bit too warm might get too cold after getting wet with sweat on longer rides. My current go-to winter jacket is a Gore Phantom II which is close fitting and has no insulation. The main important feature is that the entire back is very porous knit fabric without any wind blocking. This is important because it lets sweat out and by opening the zipper a bit in the front, it allows control of air flowing through the jacket. I use this jacket at 50F and below with various layering of a long sleeve jersey, thermal long sleeve jersey, or both jerseys around 30F. For 50 and up, it's a vest and arm warmers, or perhaps a long sleeve jersey. The vest has a mesh back for ventilation.

The jerseys should have good wicking properties, and most all decent jerseys do. I'll add that the best/warmest thermal jersey I have is merino wool.

rumrunn6

Looigi - that jacket sounds good - gonna research it. how would you say they fit? meaning what size are you normally and what size did you buy and how does it fit?

not sure about the black patch on the back. I've seen this on some riders and it strikes me as similar to wearing a black backpack over a hi-vis shirt - kinda defeats the hi-vis thing, you know?

Seattle Forrest

By far the best cycling jacket I've worn is Arc'teryx's Accelero. It's fantastic.

You don't want that. Get something that blocks most of the wind, and, on cold days, wear another layer under it. Otherwise you'll overheat on days that are a little blustery but only moderately cold.

Cookiemonsta

I dont like the traditional jackets. All they do is make me sweat and uncomfortable while only helping some against wind and little against rain. Instead, I wear something that is basically a hybrid between a jacket and a long sleeved jersey and couple them with several different base layers. It does not provide great protection from the weather, but neither did the light jackets i have tried. This is the more comfortable one I have

https://www.gorebikewear.nl/remote/Sa...1298156824525A

Gets me through all the wheather conditions we have around here, except heavy rain. For me, heavy rain means rollers.

Campag4life

I appreciate the education on this guys. Please keep the suggetions coming on under layers and suggestioned outer layer for cold riding.
PI sells a shell of a jacket called a barrier. Do you suggest against this because it traps moisture? It would block the wind...one of the biggest contributors to loss of thermal mass. Trying to figure out my best strategy moving into the cold riding season.
Thanks again.

Seattle Forrest

It's really pretty easy and the hikers have figured this out a long time ago. Standing on the summit of a knoll is just as windy as bombing down a hill, and in both cases you're likely to have worked up a sweat on the way up.

I wear a thin wool tee shirt by itself in the summer, long or short sleeves depending on the temp, wind, and sun. When it's only moderately cold I wear a wind-breaker over a thin (~150 g/m^2) wool base layer. Each layer blocks a bit of wind, but not too much. Letting some breeze through is like air conditioning, it keeps you from overheating. When it's very cold, like 40 F and below, I use a cashmere sweater from the thrift store as insulation, it goes between the base layer and the jacket. When it gets very cold or threatens sustained rain, I ditch the windbreaker for a goretex shell. Wool is warm when wet, doesn't get clammy, and moves the sweat outward, away from your skin, plus it doesn't do body odor.

dalava

Mavic Cyclone jacket is by far the most versatile jacket I've ever owned. It has enough wind blocking property that I can wear it in conditions between 30-60 degrees, with the appropriate baselayer. The last time I checked, JensonUSA has them on discount. Highly recommended.

tuxbailey

Gore Bike Wear. I use their Phantom jacket. Wind proof, removable sleeves. By adding various base layers (wool, nylon, etc) I can even use it in the winter.

https://www.gorebikewear.nl/remote/Sa...1298156824573R

OldManRiley

I wear UA coldgear under a windproof shell and basic cycling tights (or coldgear tights under my shorts) down to 20 degrees F or so. The only thing that changes for me much is accessories (gloves, shoe covers, bandana over face, etc). For anything colder than 20-ish I might wear a Marmot softshell jacket which is very form fitting and not over-insulated. I find that serious climbing and hiking apparel is usually cut for athletic people and appropriately insulated for pretty serious exertion, while saving me some money by not saying "cycling" on it. Let's be honest with ourselves . . . the only difference between a good cycling jersey (for example) and performance apparel for other sports is that our shirts have back pockets sewn to them and we are willing to pay $20-40 more for that little luxury.

BarracksSi

Not sure if my Showers Pass rain jacket uses the same principle, but the coldest I've ever been on a bike was after I hung around the shop post-ride and then rode home. All the perspiration from the long ride had been collected by the jacket and stored in the rest of my clothing. When I left the shop (I think the weather was around 40F, but I'm not sure; definitely no warmer), it took about three minutes before I was afraid that I'd shiver myself right off of the bike.

I had worn it thinking that it would make a great wind barrier. It kinda does, but it had zero breathability and zero insulation. Maybe a cheap cashmere sweater would have soaked up enough moisture, but goddamn, that was FREEZING. I got a Louis Garneau jacket before my next cold ride. Windproof front, breathable back, worked so much better.

Seattle Forrest

This is one way I test my own advice:



You would have sweat less wearing cashmere, because it loses its insulation temporarily when it gets warm and humid, which is what happens as you begin to sweat. But that isn't instant, it takes a few minutes.

JTGraphics

What kind of temps we talking here?

njkayaker

This. If it's dry (or nearly so), something that blocks the wind from the front but breathes in the back will work (with appropriate layering) even for fairly cold temperatures.

Carbon Unit

Both my wife and I have light wind breakers that have removable sleeves and they reverse and fit inside a zippered pocket with a waist band so you can carry it with you if if gets too hot.

Her jacket is made by Canari but I am sure Pearl Izumi makes them as well as performance bike.

rbrsddn

I use a PI Gavia jacket, and layer under it as needed. I ride down to 10-15 F on the Mtn bike.

hhnngg1

Assuming we're not talking freezing conditions, I've found they key piece for me is a light-medium weight longsleeve compression type top under the jersey. I use a mock turtleneck from Target that works extremely well down to 40F.

I thought jackets were the solution and bought a very good Gore Windstopper, but honestly, even with all the holes cinched maximally tight, there's enough wind movement on a downhill that if you're just wearing a loose jersey under, it's cold as heck due to the wind chill. The compression top seriously blocks most of the wind chill - I'm actually comfortable on downhills if I'm wearing jacket+longsleeve top, but still ok with the longsleeve top as a base layer alone. It's definitely the more important of the two for me.

pallen

I have a pretty good light jacket, but I don't remember the brand. I'll have to dig it out of storage - I haven't seen it in a long time.

Its 103 today, supposed to be 104 tomorrow...

rm -rf

Jacket:
I like this Pearl Izumi PRO Barrier Lite jacket for it's extremely small size when rolled up. It only takes up half a jersey pocket when rolled up.

Good:
It's so small and light, I'll bring it if there's even a slight chance of rain, or if the temperatures could get below the upper 50s during the ride.

The fabric is very thin--it's translucent--but it's strong and windproof -- probably too windproof.

I wear this with various base layers all the way to my lower ride limit of 30F.

No pockets--for good or bad. My previous jacket had useless pockets, very difficult to use when riding.

Not so good:

It doesn't quite fit me, so it's noisy when it flaps in the wind.

It's very windproof. That's great in 40F temperatures or long downhills, but I can get pretty damp if I'm working hard in warmer weather. But it's easy to take off the jacket and jam it into a jersey pocket to cool off.

It's somewhat water repellant, but can soak through in any heavy rain. But with my wicking base layers, I'm still warm.

Any chain grease is hard to clean off. I didn't want to try anything too harsh, since I wanted to keep the water repellant finish.





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Emergency wind "vest"
A sheet of newspaper tucked under my jersey covering the front of my chest makes a huge difference if the temperature drops. I got the idea from the professional racers in mountain stages that tuck in a sheet before the downhill run.

I have some plain box packing paper, similar to newspaper, but no printing. That's less messy.

Sometimes, if a ride starts out cold in the morning, a sheet of paper for the first 20 minutes is all I need.

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REI Base Layers
I got one of these heavy weight Polartec Power Dry base layers, and liked it so much, I got the lightweight crew version, too.

The heavy weight one has a tall zip neck to keep cold air out. Both of them have a very smooth exterior finish, so it's very easy to pull another layer or jersey over them.

They are very warm and wick sweat very well. They are stretchy and comfortable. The thin crew version is great to wear at home under a shirt in the winter.

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Temperature ranges

You'll have to figure this out for yourself. I go on cool weather group rides where one rider is in short sleeves, and another has a jacket and two layers.

I adapt to cold as the winter progresses. So I would probably wear layers designed for 5-10 degrees warmer temperatures in March, compared to November.

Often, rides change temperatures from start to finish, and can have long downhills or big climbs, so I'll adjust as needed.

My fingers get cold, so I have various wind blocking gloves or ski glove shells with liners. I'll often have heavy gloves and fairly lightweight layers.

65F: shorts and short sleeves
60F: shorts and long sleeve jersey
55F: usually shorts with unlined tights over them (I don't like leg warmers), Long sleeve jersey with long sleeve base layer.
50F: jacket with long sleeve jersey and probably a short sleeve base layer (or maybe just a long sleeve jersey with 2 base layers and no jacket), shorts with tights
45F: jacket with jersey and thin base layer, shorts with tights or windblocking tights
40F: jacket, jersey and various base layers, windblocking tights. A neck gaiter--a tube of fleece--is very good for blocking cold air around my neck.

momo15

I get an awful lot of temp range out of a thicker PI long sleeve jersey, simple baselayer, and a vest. Switching to vests was one of the greatest discoveries that I have made on the bike. They are light, easy to stow, and if they have a vented back, they breathe from the back while keeping your chest warm. Don't worry about the arms too much, a warm core keeps them feeling warmer.

Campag4life

Can't thank you guys enough for the great advice. Really appreciate it. Please keep 'em coming if there is more.
Thanks again. rm-rf. Your review is outstanding and thanks for all the great detail.

Based upon what you have written and the product description of the PI barrier jacket... I believe it best for change in temp riding...a great addition to a jersey pocket due to size and weight for expected or unexpected temp changes.

PI's website has all kind of options it appears and perhaps a nice usable piece as momo stated would be their long sleeve thermal jersey seen below...and for more extreme cold...an additional base layer and/or vest.

Believe I would wear a long sleeve thermal jersey a lot...essentially a very thin thermal jacket...say for temps in the 60's and breaking into high 50's...again with spirited riding for warmth, form fitting is important without wind flapping noted with the barrier jacket which I believe is essentially a poly shell.

A lot of different options here for sure and thanks again.

Aeolis

Under armor, under armor, under armor. Comes its different levels of cold protection. Won't bunch up on you so you can wear it under or over cycling shorts.