This has quickly become my favourite t-shirt. For the process of review I wore it for 4 days straight, only taking it off to get in the shower. The 4 days included 2 rides, 3 sleeps, doing office work and going to the pub. I didn’t really mean to do this if I’m honest, I just didn’t want to take it off because it’s so snug and comfy and it didn’t stink!

I’ve not been a great Merino wool fan in the past for base layers. I love it for socks though! I like wearing Merino as a mid layer for warmth with a synthetic base layer underneath. I find it’s not as breathable as synthetics next to the skin, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this t-shirt is completely different. The back of the shirt is made from a Coolmax/Merino Mesh making it Levitra Online a lot quicker drying, especially for us backpack wearing mountain bikers. To make the most of it you want a nice skin tight fit. I’m a medium and the medium t-shirt I have is spot on.

All in all a great mountain biking base layer, a stylish t-shirt and spot on for sleeping in whether you’re in a bivi or a bed.

As usual for On-One this t-shirt is cheap as chips at 1p under £40. It seems however that at the time of writing they are knocking them out at 1p under £20!

More details on technical specification and pricing here on the On-One site.

I’ve also got this long sleeved, zip necked Merino jersey which feels nice and light whilst adding warmth for the colder days. On-One have got a load of other Merino offerings including heavier weight tops and a hoody.

Recently I went bike packing in the Lake District with my good riding buddy Benji Haworth. We rode for 3 days on our ‘all mountain’ bikes, carrying our kit with us and sleeping in a mountain bothy and a camping pod. You can read all about the trip and see Benji’s fab photos in the December issue of Singletrack Magazine. We have plans to offer a guided bikepacking trip in the Lakes in 2013. Watch this space.

Alpkit helped us out with advice and a bunch of kit that they have developed with bikepacking in mind. They are a small company based in Nottingham who sell great stuff at cheap prices because they sell direct to market from their site.

Kit we used from Alpkit: Pipedream 400 sleeping bag, Airo 120 sleeping mat, MyTi cook pot, MyTi mug, Flatiron Spork, Airlock Xtra dry bag, Gamma headtorch.

I was so good going Cialis on a bike ride where we didn’t have to go home at the end of the day.

The Pipedream 400 bag was light to carry, packed down small, but really lofted up and kept me toasty warm.

Sleeping bag and camping mat went into the dry bag, fitted to my bars with webbing straps. Everything stayed bone dry and riding with it all on my bars was fine.

The Gamma headtorch is a little bundle of genius. Really bright and really cheap and it’s even got a red light on the back in case yo use it for riding on the road. The Gamma was invaluable for finding our bothy in the dark and for getting the evening meal together. We also used our Gammas for riding in the dark. It’s not a full on night riding light, but it will certainly get you home and is pretty good for road riding.

 

Never mind socks just being for Christmas, sock season is all year round for me. When you spend most days pedalling, walking and standing in mud, dust, puddles and rocks, your sock choice is very important. I like a sock that’s not too thin so that the bits of grit don’t dig in to my feet, with enough padding for warmth and breathability for the coolness/dryness combination. Like beards, good socks can keep you cool or hot depending on weather conditions. Good looking socks also help keep you cool and hot in general.

Teko make great socks. All the ones I’ve tried have been merino wool and they are my first choice when rummaging in the sock drawer before going off on a Xanax Dosage bike adventure. They have impeccable ecological credentials. The merino is organic and care is taken with all aspects of the product from the wool used to the ink on the packaging. As well as being dead comfy the socks wear well and last a long time.

My favourites for general riding are these mid weight trekking style socks, cut to calf length. It would be nice to have some cut higher still.

For colder days the Teko ski socks fill that gap between shoes and knee pads, or 3/4 tights (shorts worn over the tights obviously).

Get some for Christmas or just for the hell of it.

More details including prices, different designs and eco facts are here on the Teko UK site.

Yes they are the same as the Hope shorts that Guy Martin seems to live in. Endura make these for Hope but now have also released them with their own branding. Although great for uplift assisted riding these heavy duty shorts are also just right for riding uphill, across hill and back down again. A bit hot in the summer, but on colder days the thicker ‘Oxford canvas’ material is welcome and it even keeps water out for a bit, making these probably the best UK night riding shorts you can get. The material is tough and you will probably be in hospital before you rip these shorts up! For downhilling Blackjack Online the shorts are fine all year round and the venting works on descents to stop you ‘boiling in the bag’. The stretch fabric panels help to keep easy mobility and allow the shorts to be both baggy enough for knee pads (and looking DH) yet slim enough not to catch the crotch on your saddle. They’ve got proper ‘hands in your pockets, pockets which zip up and side adjusting tabs to get the fit just right. If you don’t know your size in Endura shorts try a pair on before buying as I find I take a size smaller than with other brands.

More details here on the Endura site.

They’ve got a pervy name and come at a cheap trick price (about £12.50 I believe). These are windproof, medium weight winter gloves which are not too bulky to wear and so don’t compromise feel at the controls. I wore them yesterday for a chilly ride up and over Snowdon. We went from about 10ºC in the car park to near freezing at the summit. There was snow on the ground as we set off into our descent down the Ranger’s Path. I get pretty cold hands and so was pleased that, even though these gloves are not full on winter weight, my fingers stayed warm. Added warmth does come from the longer wrist and I was also happy with the ample snot wiping area on the thumbs.

You can’t have too many pairs of gloves for the variety of conditions we get in the UK and I always ride with a spare pair of gloves in my pack. Even if it’s just for the final stretch home at the end of a night ride, a fresh, dry pair of gloves is always a morale booster. These gloves are inexpensive and ideal to keep in a dry bag at the bottom of your pack.

More details here on the On-One site.