RIDING WEAR
We were looking for riding wear that would serve us well in all the possible seasons of the year. Even though we are chasing summer, it does not mean that we will always be riding in a warm summer breeze. Chasing can get rough sometimes :)
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Linas hates high temperatures, therefore he demands his riding wear to perform extremely well in hot weathers. That's why he loves the advanced ventilation system on his Clover riding costume. On the other hand, he gets cold quite easy, so the three layered Cover riding clothes is a good solution for him when the temperatures get lower than 10 degrees centigrade...
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The very good features of this riding wear are:
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1. It looks really good!
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2. If feels really good too! It's soft and comfortable to the level where we are not rushing to get out of it even after stopping somewhere for the evening. Sometimes we keep it on until going to sleep and it feels great.
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3. The removable waterproof membrane allows us to carelessly wash these jackets and pants in a washing machine. We don't care too much about the fact that they may look filthy from outside, but we really want to have them clean on the inside, since riding at extremely high temperatures makes you sweat no matter how good the ventilation system is. You could ride naked and still sweat... So being able to throw Clover riding wear into the washing machine for a gentle cycle and soon have it clean and fresh again is priceless for us!
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4. Enormous amounts of ventilation openings help us feel good even at very high temperatures. We have 7 ventilation areas on the jacket (two big ones and two small ones on the chest, two on the sleeves and a very big one over the whole back) and 4 ventilation areas on the pants (two big ones in the front above the knees and two smaller ones below the knees to bring fresh breeze into the boots!)
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Asta has noticed that most of riding wear producers put in all the advanced technology they have into riding clothes for men and when it comes to making similar riding wear for women, the best they offer is usually only two-thirds of the features of their models for men (or you can get a similar level of features, but very limited selection of colors...). Usually female riding clothes have less protection and less ventilation... The best option we found in terms of the quality, features and price range was again - Clover. They make jackets with three separate layers and great ventilation possibilities which are also available on their trousers, without compromising the safety features too.
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We both wear Clover GTS-3 WP riding jackets from Bikeshop and Clover GT-PRO riding pants.
The annoying features of this riding wear are:
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1. It looks so good, everyone keeps asking what it is and we get to explain it over and over again :)
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2. It works perfectly when the weather doesn't change. But if a sunny sky suddenly turns into black clouds with pouring rain, it is extremely uncomfortable to insert the waterproof membrane into the pants on the side of the road... Same goes if the day starts as very cold and wet and then changes unexpectedly into a very hot and humid.
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3. The ventilation areas are not the most comfortable to open or close one-handed while riding. It is easier to stop for a moment and do it with both hands.
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To sum up, Clover GTS-3 WP riding jacket together with GT-PRO riding pants make a perfect choice for riding in extremely hot weathers because of the very well designed ventilation system. Also they are great for people like us, who almost "live" in their riding wear and like to have a simple solution for keeping it fresh and clean by being able to machine-wash it regularly. The very soft and lightweight fabrics make it very comfortable to wear it on and off the bikes which is crucial for a long distance travel for us. Jumping on one leg while taking the pants off by the side of the road in case of an unexpected rain is a small sacrifice that we have to make in exchange for all the other great features that we get with this set of efficient and stylish riding wear.
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After having it on for almost 300 days on the road, in the blazing sun, extreme temperatures from below freezing to over 40 degrees centigrade, in the pouring rain and through the "walls" of dust and dirt, we can surely confirm that this riding wear is durable and really lasts! After over 50 000 kilometers of riding, the only wear it shows are fading colors on the jackets, which is definitely something we can live with :)
