Cycling UK Forum

Varusteleka in Finland sell some good wool clothing, and it's pretty reasonably priced. A while ago I bought some of their wool T-shirts (https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/ ... hirt/59737) and a heavy-duty wool hoodie: https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/ ... odie/30651, and I'm perfectly satisfied with both.

They also sell a lot of combat-type stuff if that floats your boat...

I have some light Merino jumpers from Rohan which work very well a a top layer in summer or a mid layer in winter, but I don't wear them on the bike.
I'm wearing one now and the label says Merino extra fine. 100% Merino.

On the bike it is Lycra in the summer, and additional base layers in the winter.
Up till now I've used the "ski clothing" thermals from Lidl/Aldi as the base layer in winter but I've just bought a Merino mix base layer branded Brasher which is a much heavier and denser fabric than the Rohan and this works well worn next to the skin or one layer out over synthetics.
I also wear this for walking and general being outside.

My view is that Lycra is designed for active wear so is the logical fabric to use as a default.
My prejudice is that MAMILs wearing full team kit are giving Lycra a bad name.

I have to put in a word for those of us who cannot stand the touch of wool, not even merino, so have no choice but to go for lycra or similar. I wish it were different, because the idea of something not polymer appeals, but I just cannot wear wool.

Just to be slightly pedantic, most (all?) "lycra" gear is mostly something else. Usually with cycling gear it is something like polyester, nylon or polyamide & only a few percent lycra (elastane), 15% is the highest I spotted from the still readable labels from a small selection of my kit.

Also, it doesn't have to be one or the other. Not that I have any but I note, for instance, that Rapha's merino arm & leg warmers are listed as 97% merino & 3% lycra.

Charity shop wool is good.You'll get a nice Ralph Lauren cashmere jumper for a couple of quid. Great as a vest.

The Charity shop can indeed be a bargain! My friend grabbed a pair of Assos bib shorts from one for a fiver!

mattsccm wrote: ↑24 Nov 2021, 7:26pm Charity shop wool is good.You'll get a nice Ralph Lauren cashmere jumper for a couple of quid. Great as a vest.

top tip that - thanks.

By the by, for woolly folk I can recommend this from wilco.

https://www.wilko.com/wilko-original-li ... lsrc=aw.ds

Slowtwitch wrote: ↑15 Nov 2021, 8:12pm ............Then I tried a Merino wool long sleeve Jersey. I'm almost a convert, they are brilliant!...........

I'm going to try that.
You've interested me.

Another merino cultist here - thanks to everyone for the links. I am currently wearing EDZ, Mrs H swears by Ullfrotté/Woolpower.

I swear my my Helly Hansen wool under layers. They're not cheap, but I've still got two going strong which I bought near twelve years ago. Not bad value for money

hufty wrote: ↑27 Nov 2021, 12:25pm Another merino cultist here - thanks to everyone for the links. I am currently wearing EDZ, Mrs H swears by Ullfrotté/Woolpower.

A good thread if only to discover brands I didn’t know about.
I’ve often looked at EDZ as they are not far away as indeed Findra is close to me too. Never heard of Woolpower and looking at them their U.K. stockist, Outwear, is 9 mls from me! I’ll need to knock on their door and see if they’ve seconds.
I note their lite has 20% polyamide which I find , on a similar garment I have, to be not as warm and a little harsher.
I should say though that I rarely sweat and my main function of wearing merino is to feel warm even on summer days.

Wool is warmer when wet than synthetics. (Millions of sheep wintering on the hillsides can't be wrong : -P

It doesn't dry as quickly though, so in *certain* situations, good synthetics can be better. It *is* good at wicking, so is generally a good base layer. Wicking rate is different to drying rate.

If you are getting drenched with sweat in wool, you have dressed too warm!

(I generally fiddle with zips-n-things quite a lot on a long ride to keep my temperature balanced. Whilst others can zip themselves into a yellow waterproof top and ride like that all day long (rain or shine). )

I've had success with a synthetic string-vest-like vase layer in the summer (from some boutique brand, I forget which ... )

audaxjk wrote: ↑16 Nov 2021, 9:16am Icebreaker make nice quality merino clothes. I found them to be more comfy & less itchy than the budget merino from places like Lidl, Decathlon etc. For me it was worth paying a bit extra.

I wear merino year-round as base layers, mid layers as well as cycle jerseys. I've tried most of the major brands at some point, as well as budget brands (Decathlon, Lidl, etc).

I have to report that the ones that wear our fastest by some margin have been Icebreaker. 2 mid layers and one jacket, all ridiculously expensive, wore out at the cuffs within months and developed holes all over shortly after. No other brand has fared so bladly and some are still going strong years later.

Icebreaker have clearly got something wrong in their manufacturing which is pretty unforgivable at the prices they charge.