Cycling UK Forum

tim-b wrote: ↑7 Sep 2023, 7:46am

Your favourite head covering (helmets excluded please)

Hair. These days it's just a question of which one

There have been many interesting responses and I thank all of you who have either read or supported the thread. The above had me laughing, brightened my day.

mjr wrote: ↑6 Sep 2023, 5:34pm Patrol cap in summer. Like a baseball cap but a broader flatter peak. Designed to stay on when running in the wind, rather than fly off when you run to catch a high ball. Enough thickness to protect against casual taps.

Beanie (Canadian toque) in winter.

Patrol caps, which are also known as field caps, have worked better than baseball caps for me; it was a long time before I understood that the two are not the same and to see the useful difference … and sometimes I inadvertently use one name for both types . Field caps - sometimes also called cadet caps - are improved when they have a couple of vent holes in each side.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrol_cap

I’ve a few baseball caps to wear ‘till they’re broke - used one this morning - they have some merits but because I find the patrol type cap to be generally superior I’d not rush to buy another baseball cap again.

Beanie. Like a bobble hat but without the bobble.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beanie_(seamed_cap)

Various Rapha caps in summer with a sealskinz one in light rain. I also like the Tilley hat if it is sheeting down.

In the winter I wear a woolly Belgian cap. I've had it so long I can't remember who made it.

Vorpal wrote: ↑6 Sep 2023, 4:13pm I like baseball style caps. They keep rain off my glasses and sun out of my eyes.

Likewise.

Ian

I just wear a sweatband in the summer. I sweat profusely, especially when it’s hot, and the band stops the sweat from running down into my eyes. I have a race cap in my pocket to wear at the cafe stop, and I sometimes wear this whilst riding too, if it’s really sunny.

In winter, I have a Lycra beanie-style hat, which keeps me warm and also soaks up the sweat. I have a spare one in my pocket to wear after the cafe stop, as the first one will be soaked.

Paulatic wrote: ↑6 Sep 2023, 4:08pm Merino beanie when it’s cold.
Buff when it’s chilly
Never felt the need for sun protection living in Scotland

I take it you weren't out a couple of Fridays back then... bucket hat (dipped in passing burns for cooling) and Factor 50 sun cream on exposed flesh!

Pete.

My hairstyle is a "Patrick Stewart"...

Most often a casquette/cycle cap. Walz (https://www.walzcaps.com/) are my favourites for comfort and function though UK availablity is on and off (they ship from the US with no problems but of course postage is dearer and takes longer).
I have a "technical" (like a synthetic wicking base layer) I use when it's warm, a merino wool one with ear flaps for when it's cool and a thicker wool one with ear flaps for when it's cold.
Unlike a baseball cap they'll easily slip in to most pockets and the peaks are designed for cycling. Snap up if you're head-down or leave them for more upright, they catch the wind much less than a baseball cap peak but still keep rain and run out of your eyes.

If it's seriously sunny or rainy I use a Tilley T1 cotton duck bucket hat. The ear and neck protection make it better in the sun than a cap and the fabric is (like Carradice Super C panniers) remarkably good at keeping rain out. The brim is also even better than a casquette peak at keeping sun and rain out of eyes.

Properly cold I'll use a Lowe Alpine Mountain Cap (https://www.madaboutmountains.co.uk/low ... rjEALw_wcB) which is waterproof and fleece lined with ear cover, goes nicely over a Buff in "balaclava mode". There's quite a few similar things from different brands but I find the wired peak on the Lowe preferable to the ones where the stiffening is more like a baseball cap.

Utterly disgusting cold with sleet I have a Rohan "Outpost" hat which is no longer made. It's like the Lowe cap but with a wide brim. Looks particularly daft, but teamed up with a Buffalo Special 6 smock you'll be toasty in just about any winter weather you can still ride a bike in.

Pete.

pjclinch wrote: ↑17 Sep 2023, 9:06am [

I take it you weren't out a couple of Fridays back then... bucket hat (dipped in passing burns for cooling) and Factor 50 sun cream on exposed flesh!

Pete.

Aachh yer on the East Pete. Ye dinnae ken whit clood is oer there.

Hair.

Paulatic wrote: ↑17 Sep 2023, 9:38am

pjclinch wrote: ↑17 Sep 2023, 9:06am
I take it you weren't out a couple of Fridays back then... bucket hat (dipped in passing burns for cooling) and Factor 50 sun cream on exposed flesh!

Pete.

Aachh yer on the East Pete. Ye dinnae ken whit clood is oer there.

A pal was quite heavily involved in the recent Worlds and was relating how at a planning meeting someone from the UCI was seeking assurance that it wouldn't be as ark-friendly as the Yorkshire event of a few years back.

It did of course turn out pretty good, but what do you say to someone who wants predictable dry weather in Glasgow and Fort Bill?

Pete.

I suppose my favourite hat is the elderly Nike baseball cap I wore on my very first 200k Audax. I filched it from my daughter and wore it under my [inappropriate-for-some headgear removed]. She didn't want it back afterwards, can't think why.

I have over 10 cycling caps, some work better than others, some are in better condition than others but all are from this century. I think.

Two recent purchases for contrasting weather were a waterproof hiking cap from Decathlon and a thin, synthetic (claims to be 100% recycled nylon – "saving the world, one destruction at a time") bucket hat bought in the short heatwave a couple of weekends back. The latter, however, is no good for cycling, as I proved the first time I tried to wear it on the bike. I didn't actually lose it but...

Most of the year I wear one of these, either with or without the neck flap. I find a substantial peak helps keep the rain off the spectacles too. Photo from a Whatsapp conversation and just for fun

In the cold weather, I have three hats that I go to. One is a fleece peaked cap with a short panel that covers the neck and the ears, one is a Peter Storm Thinsulate beanie - knitted on the outside and a fine fleece on the inside. For milder cold days, I take a CTC woollen beanie.