Suitable Recumbent Clothing

[PaulCumbria]

Hi All
First post here. I've ridden recumbents for quite a few years - I used a Greenspeed trike as my main transport in inner London for a few years, followed by an HP Velotechnik StreetMachine, on which I did a lot of touring, including extended trips in Sri Lanka and Vietnam. I've had no bike at all for a year or two, but I'm now awaiting delivery in a few weeks of an HP Velotechnik Grasshopper from Kinetics in Glasgow - Rohloff hub gears, SON hub dynamo - I can hardly wait!

To business - in the past I used to wear a mix of cycling-specific clothing (SPD shoes, training tights and cycling tops) and more general outdoor gear (Rohan shorts, Craghopper shirts etc). I dug all my old cycling gear out of the cupboard yesterday, but it's just too tired to be useable, so I'm thinking about what new apparel to go for.

Standard cycling gear is OK, but zips on back pockets (on tops and bottoms) can snag on seats, so they are a no-no, and any back pockets are a complete irrelevance, of course. I live in Kendal, home base of running specialists Pete Bland Sports, and I wondered if anyone had tried wearing running gear on recumbents? Their running tights seem reasonably cheap, and this sort of jacket looks like it might be good. Any thoughts?

I'm also aware that cycling has grown massively in popularity in the last couple of years, so I might be out of touch with current clothing manufacturers. Any recommendations for cycling clothing brands and/or items that are a) good value, b) snug fitting and c) free of rear zips, or otherwise good for recumbent use?

Any suggestions gratefully received!

[[XAP]Bob]

I keep ending up looking at rowing gear.

But general clothing doesn't have rear pockets - it's only cycling specific clothing that is inappropriate

[PaulCumbria]

- it's only cycling specific clothing that is inappropriate.

Ain't that the truth!

[Tigerbiten]

The other place to look is canoeing gear.
For light weight waterproof/windproof gear look at the ChillCheater range.

I've a set of the Aquatherm Pre-Bent shorts, they work great with the streamer fairing because they stop the spray off the front wheels with is where the legs/seat gets wet in the rain.
I'm thinking of getting a couple of the tops for the summer showers when you don't need a full waterproof layer on.

[PaulCumbria]

Hmmm, two great suggestions! Interesting to read here that rowers often have had to use cycling clothing in the past - we're not the only ones struggling to find the right clothing for our pursuits.

[hercule]

Speaking as a keen fell runner, Peter Bland Sports is an excellent shop! Most of my running stuff does double duty for recumbent riding. The biomechanics aren't all that different. All you really need is something suitably flexible for the legs - and whilst I don't like Lycra shorts for running, they are great on the trike and stop insects flying where they shouldn't. Even my bum bag the wrong way round is handy for carrying stuff.

[BlackPanther]

I wear the same gear on the Bacchetta as I did when I used the road bike. Northwave thermal bib and jersey for the Winter, Castelli jersey and leggings for Spring/Autumn, and for the 4 or 5 days of Summer we get, I wear my Scott t-shirt/shorts. None of my tops have zips on the back so no probs there, and even though my bottoms have padding, they're still comfy. The only clothing changes I've made was to take the sun peak off the helmet as the faster speed/laid back position on the 'bent was pushing the helmet back.

[PaulCumbria]

Thanks for that, folks. Sounds like I should thoroughly explore Pete Bland's shop!

[swscotland bentrider]

Watch for Aldi / Lidl running gear. Most of my kit originates there!

[Paul M]

Take a look at viewtopic.php?f=24&t=48800 for a few more ideas. I particularly recommend double bottom rowing shorts http://www.rock-the-boat.co.uk/cat-2-su ... product-80 , otherwise running stuff works pretty well.

[PaulCumbria]

Ah! Great stuff Paul M, thanks for the links!

[Si]

starting to think that humvee shorts are less than suitable for rides of several hours thanks to the belt hoop right in the middle of the back

[[XAP]Bob]

starting to think that humvee shorts are less than suitable for rides of several hours thanks to the belt hoop right in the middle of the back

Yep - anything in the back is a pain in the back...

That's why I get so frustrated with all the cycling kit at lidl/aldi, although even some of their running stuff has silly pockets.

[Stradageek]

Hi All
First post here. I've ridden recumbents for quite a few years - I used a Greenspeed trike as my main transport in inner London for a few years, followed by an HP Velotechnik StreetMachine, on which I did a lot of touring, including extended trips in Sri Lanka and Vietnam. I've had no bike at all for a year or two, but I'm now awaiting delivery in a few weeks of an HP Velotechnik Grasshopper from Kinetics in Glasgow - Rohloff hub gears, SON hub dynamo - I can hardly wait!

To business - in the past I used to wear a mix of cycling-specific clothing (SPD shoes, training tights and cycling tops) and more general outdoor gear (Rohan shorts, Craghopper shirts etc). I dug all my old cycling gear out of the cupboard yesterday, but it's just too tired to be useable, so I'm thinking about what new apparel to go for.

Standard cycling gear is OK, but zips on back pockets (on tops and bottoms) can snag on seats, so they are a no-no, and any back pockets are a complete irrelevance, of course. I live in Kendal, home base of running specialists Pete Bland Sports, and I wondered if anyone had tried wearing running gear on recumbents? Their running tights seem reasonably cheap, and this sort of jacket looks like it might be good. Any thoughts?

I'm also aware that cycling has grown massively in popularity in the last couple of years, so I might be out of touch with current clothing manufacturers. Any recommendations for cycling clothing brands and/or items that are a) good value, b) snug fitting and c) free of rear zips, or otherwise good for recumbent use?

Any suggestions gratefully received!

If you have the money then go here http://www.reversegearinc.com/index.php?main_page=index sadly I haven't the money so can't comment on quality. I tend to seek out cycling gear with minimal back pockets at cycle sales. I have however found a great gilet at Aldis with a front pocket and a merino wool top from the same, both of which were cheap and are greatly prized.

[Warekiwi]

Another US source I have used via ebay was http://www.aerotechdesigns.com/. They do stock some "recumbent friendly" items such as unpadded shorts and jerseys wit the pockets on the front! (Look for wheelchair /recumbent shirts) Delivery was prompt- about 7 days from ordering and prices are MUCH lower than the other company mentioned here.