Riding Pants For 40-ish Weather?

(Pete Cresswell) said:

I suspect I've been drinking too much coffee.....again...

But this has been bugging me for several days now so here goes...

When I ride in 40-50 degree weather, I wear my regular riding shorts
underneath a pair of cargo pants and tuck the cuffs into my socks.

The cargo pants work pretty well. I've tried long lycra tights, but
always went back to the cargo pants because of the durability and
utility. I like the cargo pockets for temporary glove or headrag
storage; I like the material because it doesn't catch on brush or
tear on thorns; and I like being able to go into a store or fast food
place without having people wonder what just walked in.

But I see some room for improvement.

To wit:

1) Some means of cinching below the knee and above the belly of the
calf to give a knicker effect - i.e. free rotation of the knee
without the lower leg pulling at the upper leg.

2) A material that looks and wears normally on the outside, but will
take rain without soaking through.

3) Lower leg cut sufficiently long and flared to go over hiking boots
or riding shoes enough so that abovementioned rain will run down over
the shoes and not into them.

4) A couple of velcro tabs or something down around the ankle to wrap
the pants leg a little snugger so it doesn't flap or catch in the
chainwheel.

Anybody seen anything like this...or is it just me?

you design it, I'll sew it. I've been heavily investigating some of the
beefier EPIC fabrics just for this purpose. In fact, I sent some fabric to a
rider in Colorado and told him to attempt to destroy it for me.

penny

"(Pete Cresswell)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I suspect I've been drinking too much coffee.....again...

But this has been bugging me for several days now so here goes...

When I ride in 40-50 degree weather, I wear my regular riding shorts

underneath

Quoted message said:

a pair of cargo pants and tuck the cuffs into my socks.

I don't worry about long pants until it's below 30. And since the only long
pants I have that could possibly be used for cycling are Levis I just don't
bother. Thankfully I live in SoCal and there's usually somewhere over 30
any given winter day.

If/when I move somewhere cooler I'll try long tights under baggies, or maybe
BMX or moto pants.

Greg

Pete Cresswell says:

Quoted message said:

I suspect I've been drinking too much coffee.....again...

Probably so - you are not alone, though...

Quoted message said:

1) Some means of cinching below the knee and above the belly of the calf to
give
a knicker effect - i.e. free rotation of the knee without the lower leg
pulling
at the upper leg.

Good old-fashioned knee britches. Great for skiing, bking, etc. I never
actually used them for biking, since this would have been in the 60's, and
jeans were still the best for that, but they were great in the snow. Haven't
seen a pair for years (thank heavens)

Steve showing his age yet again.

Quoted message said:

you design it, I'll sew it. I've been heavily investigating some of the
beefier EPIC fabrics just for this purpose. In fact, I sent some fabric
to a
rider in Colorado and told him to attempt to destroy it for me.

penny

So if JD wears them out by humping some jagged rock for 6 hrs str8, does
it still count?

--
Slacker

Stephen Baker said:

Steve showing his age yet again.

Yeah, SB -- he said 40-ish, not 50-ish!

:-P

Bill "still got ~8 mos to go" S.

Slacker said:

Quoted message said:

you design it, I'll sew it. I've been heavily investigating some of
the beefier EPIC fabrics just for this purpose. In fact, I sent some
fabric to a
rider in Colorado and told him to attempt to destroy it for me.

penny

So if JD wears them out by humping some jagged rock for 6 hrs str8,
does it still count?

that would be a good test... I actually asked the guy to drive his car over
the fabric a few times, and to drag it through the mud. ( my potential
client is in Boulder not the west side so there)

;-)

Cargo pants with lots of zippered pockets. If it gets
colder slide on a pair of sweat pants under the cargo pants. I ride even
in sub 0 temps. Thats where it be come next month but thats when the
sun don't shine nite time.

I MTB 2004

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 00:31:35 GMT, "(Pete Cresswell)" <[email hidden]>
blathered:

Quoted message said:

I suspect I've been drinking too much coffee.....again...

But this has been bugging me for several days now so here goes...

When I ride in 40-50 degree weather, I wear my regular riding shorts underneath
a pair of cargo pants and tuck the cuffs into my socks.

The cargo pants work pretty well. I've tried long lycra tights, but always went
back to the cargo pants because of the durability and utility.

Powerstretch tights were working well today.
http://www.btinternet.com/~peteajones/temp/pete-highraise.jpg

North Face make good ones - not biking specific, good as you need.

Pete Jones

Pete Jones said:

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 00:31:35 GMT, "(Pete Cresswell)" <[email hidden]>
blathered:

Quoted message said:

I suspect I've been drinking too much coffee.....again...

But this has been bugging me for several days now so here goes...

When I ride in 40-50 degree weather, I wear my regular riding shorts
underneath a pair of cargo pants and tuck the cuffs into my socks.

The cargo pants work pretty well. I've tried long lycra tights, but
always went back to the cargo pants because of the durability and
utility.

Powerstretch tights were working well today.
http://www.btinternet.com/~peteajones/temp/pete-highraise.jpg

North Face make good ones - not biking specific, good as you need.

Pete Jones

two questions: cold air coming through, and snagging?

"Pete Jones" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Powerstretch tights were working well today.
http://www.btinternet.com/~peteajones/temp/pete-highraise.jpg

North Face make good ones - not biking specific, good as you need.

One of my favorite pieces of winter riding apparel is my REI Powerstretch
tights.

On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 20:48:59 -0500, "Keith T. Lukaszek"
<[email hidden]> blathered:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Powerstretch tights were working well today.
http://www.btinternet.com/~peteajones/temp/pete-highraise.jpg

One of my favorite pieces of winter riding apparel is my Powerstretch
tights.

Me too - just as well, seeing as I'll be living here in 3 weeks
time...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?world=2670

Woohoo!
You want mountains....?
http://www.summitpost.org/show/mountain_link.pl/mountain_id/2807

Pete Jones

Quoted message said:

Woohoo!
You want mountains....?
http://www.summitpost.org/show/mountain_link.pl/mountain_id/2807

Pete Jones

Some incredible pictures on that website. Thanks for the link.

Have fun in Urumqi!
--
Slacker

"Pete Jones" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 20:48:59 -0500, "Keith T. Lukaszek"
<[email hidden]> blathered:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Powerstretch tights were working well today.
http://www.btinternet.com/~peteajones/temp/pete-highraise.jpg

One of my favorite pieces of winter riding apparel is my Powerstretch
tights.

Me too - just as well, seeing as I'll be living here in 3 weeks
time...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?world=2670

Woohoo!
You want mountains....?
http://www.summitpost.org/show/mountain_link.pl/mountain_id/2807

We don't have any mountains nearby but it's been getting pretty cold around
here too...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?world=6198

In case anyone is interested, I'd like to mention that my PowerStretch pants
are REI brand from the American store of the same name.

Keith L. (The KL in KLydesdale)

Per small change:

Quoted message said:

you design it, I'll sew it. I've been heavily investigating some of the
beefier EPIC fabrics just for this purpose.

I'm still mulling this over.....

Right now, I'm thinking some sort of gaiter-like things that would function like
a combination of knee socks and spats..... and using pants as if they were
knickers.

Functions desired:

1) Some warmth around the ankles.

2) Keeping the pants cuff out of the chainring

3) Prevention of rain pooling in the shoes/boots

4) Knicker-like freedom of knee motion

5) Removability - so if somebody needs to go into a restaurant or something and
they're wearing regular pants, they can shed the gaiters and look more-or-less
normal.

Reasoning:

1) Custom pants look complicated/expensive to make - and the first few tries are
probably doomed. Gaiters, OTOH, look a lot less labor-intensive; there are
fewer design options; and they'd probably be cheap enough to try a "Release
1.1", or even 2, 3, 4...)

2) Pants wear out.

3) It's nice to have a couple pair for each purpose so if they get really
trashed one doesn't have to do a load of laundry before riding again.

4) Different pants for different weather (clear weather, soaking rain, cold vs
really cold....)

5) Various kinds of pants are widely available at reasonable cost. They're
almost a commodity - and leg length isn't such a cridical issue considering
they're going to be used with gaiters.

I see a pair of really-long gaiters made out of something that's durable enough
at the bottom and chain-ring area but as light as practical on the rest.

Form-fitting, but not too tight.

They'd function kind of like knee socks - being cinched just below the knee and
riding on the belly of the calf muscle.

Mostly, the pants would be tucked in to them and bloused enough at the top to
give the freedom of motion that knickers give.

If it starts *really* raining, I'd just the pants out of the gaiters and let
them ride on the outside - letting the gaiters prevent runoff from filling up
the shoes.

Maybe I'll rough out a set of these things, try them on a few rides...and if
they seem to work send them to you for replication in whatever appropriate
materials you have access to. What do you think?
--
PeteCresswell

(Pete Cresswell) said:

5) Removability - so if somebody needs to go into a restaurant or something and
they're wearing regular pants, they can shed the gaiters and look more-or-less
normal.

Remember who your audience is... ;-)

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

(Pete Cresswell) said:

If it starts *really* raining, I'd just the pants out of the gaiters and let
them ride on the outside - letting the gaiters prevent runoff from filling up
the shoes.

Maybe I'll rough out a set of these things, try them on a few rides...and if
they seem to work send them to you for replication in whatever appropriate
materials you have access to. What do you think?

I don't do it often, but if I had to ride in the low-40s or below more
than I do, I'd probably just get a pair of cycling tights.

I'm not sure any drawbacks, except you look a little odd mingling with
the rest of society. doesn't seem too bad to me, but I'm not sure if
they function any better or worse than anything else in the rain.

bri

--

* enjoying the karma *
remove LKJSDFJSD from address to email

(Pete Cresswell) said:

Per small change:

Quoted message said:

you design it, I'll sew it. I've been heavily investigating some of
the beefier EPIC fabrics just for this purpose.

combination of knee socks and spats.....

making a real fashion statement eh?

if you are serious about having me do it, contact me via my site

--
Specialty Outdoors
Modification & Repair of Outdoor Gear & Clothing
Factory Authorized by The North Face
www.specialtyoutdoors.com/about/whatis.asp

small change said:

making a real fashion statement eh?

if you are serious about having me do it, contact me via my site

--
Specialty Outdoors
Modification & Repair of Outdoor Gear & Clothing
Factory Authorized by The North Face
www.specialtyoutdoors.com/about/whatis.asp

that's pretty cool...why have I never noticed that sig line before?

interesting stuff
bri

--

* enjoying the karma *
remove LKJSDFJSD from address to email

bri719 said:

small change said:

making a real fashion statement eh?

if you are serious about having me do it, contact me via my site

--
Specialty Outdoors
Modification & Repair of Outdoor Gear & Clothing
Factory Authorized by The North Face
www.specialtyoutdoors.com/about/whatis.asp

that's pretty cool...why have I never noticed that sig line before?

interesting stuff
bri

'cuz I don't post the sig very often.

p.