It turns out I'm less fat than I thought I was, fitting into the large rather than the extra large. It was about 6 or 7 degrees today (light wind, sunshine, no rain) so I went out for a test ride on the Brompton after I'd made my purchases.
(video and pictures after the jump)
This was a cold weather test ride, so the kit was as follows:
- Helmet over the cap.
- Madison thermal longs
- Helly Hanson Dry long sleeved baselayer
- Stealth Lite longs
- Stealth jacket (no jersey)
- Neoprene overshoes
- Deluge gloves
That's a lot of thick material on the core and lower body. Despite the low temperature I felt warm at a slow cruising pace going out to Beeston Lock (into the wind). On the way back I sped up a bit on the flat and went my usual pace up the hill through the park; towards the end I was uncomfortably hot, especially under the thick wooly hat which got very sweaty. As long as it stays warm when wet, I'll be alright in a downpour.
For this temperature in future I'll go with a lighter hat or ear warmer and replace either the thermal longs with regular shorts (though I am worried about the knees getting cold) or omit the waterproof longs if it's likely to remain dry.
No rain today, so was unable to test the water proofing of the longs. I did test them out briefly using the shower at home:
Also, decided to replace the seatpost mounted rear light on my Brompton with a rail mounted Cat Eye Volt 50. This was because it's both a better light and because I keep hitting and bending the clip for the Brompton's rear triangle with the bulky seatpost mounted light. Admittedly, this is because I have a freakish custom seatpost setup with a Thudbuster. Pictures:
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