the late eurosport commentator, david duffield, in the course of relating the finer points of the previous evening's dining, would occasionally offer words of wisdom concerning the practicalities of cycling. duffield's career had included more than just a few outings on racing trikes, a discipline in which i believe it true to say, he had at one time or other, held several records. it's an aspect of cycle sport that has all but disappeared from view, but, having occasionally ridden an adult three-wheeler in the past, not one that's as simple as it seems. riding on three wheels entails pretty much the same effort as does two, and you'll not be at all surprised to learn that climate and the ambient temperature are of every bit as much concern to the tricyclist as they are to the bicyclist.
though the mighty dave-t is wont to emit loud guffaws each and everytime i raise the subject, mr duffield would frequently pepper his early season commentaries with advice to prevent the onset of 'easter knees'. oddly enough this appears to be a condition not solely constrained by the months of march and april, but more of a generic term relating to cold knees in general.
though i'd dearly love to be a cyclist with a strict, seasonal regime, that is sadly very far from the case. were that to be true, in much the same way that we have just moved the clocks back by one hour, there would be specific dates in the (non-existent) diary, instructing when i should tidy away the bibshorts and make bibtights the order of the day. the flies in the ointment would appear to be the introduction of bibthreequarters - neither tights nor shorts - kneewarmers and thermal bibshorts. let's face it, who is organised enough to factor those into their transitional periods, whether at easter or come hallowe'en.
ask anyone round these here parts and they will readily attest to my scant predilection for any form of organisation. thus, any possibility of easter knee prevention is likely to be somewhat ad hoc, no matter the forlorn hope that i be seen as one of cycling's hard-men. therefore, i have no shame in informing you thusly (as sheldon cooper would say), that i have already moved well past bibshorts and the bibtight drawer is being given laldy, to put it in the glaswegian vernacular.
the latest addition to that bibtight drawer is a rather smart and effective pair of thermal bibtights from rapha's classic range. insofar as it's possible to completely re-design a pair of bibtights, rapha have made a particularly good job of so doing. the most obvious part of this re-design is having moved the seams away from the front of those easter knees; one join behind the knee means each of the lycra panels are now a bit bigger, offering a noticeably better fit. on the back of each calf section is a substantial pair of panels to enhance visibility: left is reflective, right is bright white.
in keeping with what appears to be the modern way, the ankles are a very close fit with no zips to ease the donning of socks after the fact. and before you've covered the bibtights with a jersey or jacket, there's time to luxuriate in an extended, thermo-roubaixed back section, fending off any potentially cold draughts (or galeforce winds, depending on your place of residence).
however, if you're in the market for bibtights with a pad, it's probably the latter that will be of major concern and it's at this point i may have to report a certain dereliction of duty. any review ought to be inflected with an endless series of observations relating to the item under inspection. but over the course of several, reasonably long rides, i can only infer that rapha's classic pad has to be amongst the very best of the very best.
because i never noticed it.
several years past, i was sent a helmet for review, the chin strap of which irritated the heck out of me, no matter how i strived to set my mind on other matters. based on such evidence, i can only assume that, were the classic pad to have been found wanting during my cold and often damp perambulations, i'm sure i'd have been made more than subliminally aware of any seated discomfort. and i wasn't. ever.
so, assuming you have the same desire to prevent 'easter knees' and you're thinking of adding an annexe to the bibtight drawer, you could do considerably worse than acquire a pair of rapha classics for winter.
rapha's classic winter bibtights are available only in black, in sizes ranging from xs to xxl at a retail price of £200. | rapha classic winter bibtights
monday 29 october 2018
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