Winter Bicycle Jackets and Gloves
One of the reasons we’d don’t publish gear shootouts on our blog is kit made within the past few years is all so good – really. Find the jacket that fits, a style you like, appealing brand, budget, and your epic ride and/or commute to work is covered. We’ve gone from on-fire hot Gore to their much more all-condition ActiveShell. A once clammy eVent jacket that fit like a garbage bag is now tailored like the Elite Pro from ShowerPass and being used by a Tour team (free cover story in Issue 18).
I made the Vine above last night having some fun, asking our follows if it was cuff over or under? Also to bring up a function of the jacket gear makers can iterate and offer as a unique feature. The interaction of the cuff and glove seems little studied or designed. Depending on the jacket, glove, and cuff I’m either over or under; wind chill, wicking, and temperature changes also affect cuff over or under decisions. I may even change it mid-ride too.
I asked Steve Gluckman from Novara (their also great Veritas jacket is reviewed here) about this topic and he said
Waiting for Assos to develop glove-base-layer-outer-shell system and charge $1,500.00. Cause when you’re out in the elements things like a gap or wrinkle can bug the shit outta yah.
For sure and what you’re seeing in the video, is the new Gore Windstopper, soft shell gloves have a Primaloft liner in them with a pull and a pull on the glove. A bit clunky to get on, but worked very well in the 25-32 degrees temps I’ve ridden in so far because of the warm fleece and the wicking liner. However, that wicking resulted in damp wrists and when we turned into the wind, chilled wrists. So mid ride I’m switching to cuff under, because that wicked moisture from my apparently sweaty palms is pooling on my wrists.
As Steve said, you know exactly and instantly where there are gaps in the microclimate your body and gear are making; especially, when moisture pools and the wind hits it…
So, let’s see a company like Gore, ShowersPass, and others work on the glove/jacket cuff integration. It’s an area in outdoor gear left undeveloped and under designed.
Commenting on a poll we took, Dave Bartel said
Well, I layer a lot, but the outer shell for me almost 100% of the time I need gloves is my largely windproof (some venting) thin Castelli shell. Great elastic in the cuffs, so jacket almost always over gloves for me, unless I’m using full-on mitts. Gotta be about -15C for me to break those out.
Castelli hasn’t developed a system either for their excellent Gaba. Until then, it’s glove over OR under. On our ride together last weekend, Steve is wearing a Novara Headwind with cuff over and riding their new Novara Strada 50D.
Steve with his Headwind Jacket and Novara bike