Reverence: Gilet
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who own a properly-fitting, lightweight gilet and those who don’t. Those who own one know this is an indispensable piece of kit.
The gilet is typically one of the last items that enters into a Cyclist’s wardrobe, long after arm warmers, knee warmers, and long sleeve jerseys have found their way into the kit bag. It’s just a vest, after all, and can’t possibly serve much purpose beyond Looking Pro, can it? It can, in fact.
A vest is an incredibly versatile unit that serves to stave off all kinds of Fuckness – be it from wind, rain, or cold. Furthermore, the sleeveless design makes it easy don or doff, and packs away nicely; a lightweight gilet can be folded flat (first in half, then in thirds) and slipped between the jersey and bibs, keeping the rear pockets clear and accessible for tools and food.
In short, the gilet is a Four-Season Fuckness Stopper that accompanies me year-round, one which I personally hold in higher regard than the long sleeve jersey:
- In Winter it is an ideal insulation barrier, adding warmth to a long or short sleeve jersey, or bridging the gap between the two during Spring and Fall
- In Spring and Fall, the wind-breaking capabilities make for a great rain barrier in (depending on your climate, Winter as well)
- In Summer, its lightweight nature makes it the ideal garment to stave off the chill of an early morning start or to bring along for warmth on cold mountain descents
@frank
Moi, talking about dopamine over in the Romanticization article :)
@jimmy
THAT. IS. THE. COOLEST. THING. EVER.
Did a ride with G’rilla today, forgot to have him video me while doffing my gilet and folding it to stow…figure a vide of that will help people understand what I’m talking about…
@Clips and Straps
I am actually thinking of adding a pronunciation key to all our kit, as its now classified as Zwarte, Witte, Winter. Its Dutch/Flemish, so should be pronounced “Z-v-art-uh”, “Vit-uh”, and “Vin-ter”.
Not to mention the name of the site:
@frank
So, basically fake German? (I hear that riles up you Duthfolk) I took a solid 4 years of Deutsch in school so I have those pronunciations down fine. My French and Italian cycling word pronunciation is atrocious. There is a kid on my floor from the Democratic Republic of the Congo that I run it past, but they have their own dialect or something, as the French girl I am friends with just facepalms every time I try to pronounce something.
@hungsolo
This is where I live actually:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMwCkZiEQ7A
@scaler911
My folks live in the suburbs also. Its actually called Oro Valley, with sub divisions called Ranch Vistoso or Vistoso Views and other unoriginal names. Vapid would be how I describe it. that song described it perfectly.
@FNG
Gents, I’m just over the hill in Reno. Let me know if you’re ever somewhere between Auburn or this area. S. Lake Tahoe has some fun riding too, even now what with this nice summer weather!
Oh goodness, I can’t stand the suburbs. I hang out quite a bit in one of Pittsurgh’s farther out suburbs, and I can’t stand the mindset of most of the people. So. Many. Yuppies. The kids are worse though, typical entitled jerks.
@BrianG
Will do. I work up in Grass Valley & Auburn sometimes & I like riding in Tahoe. The thin air makes you gasp like you’re climbing Alpe d’Huez!
There are three types of people, those who can count, and those who can’t…
so, the Gilet.. I am not into the pornography of gear, i just don’t need that much stuff, but i have to admit, a vest does come in handy, a great wind breaker, part of the whole layering system. You gotta figure, if it wasn’t useful, it wouldn’t exist, would it? Cyclists wouldn’t overburden themselves needlessly, would they?
@ChrisO
Pedantry? Sweet.
It’s “I’ll get me coat”, rather than “my coat”.
Love The Fast Show.
@scaler911
Watched that for the first time last night on Netflix. The chickens thing hit a little close to home, with our six ladies out back givin’ us good egg lovin’ every day. They are named as follows:
Minnie
Maxie
Clementine
Jig
Polly Prissy Pants
I Can’t Believe Its Not Butter
Three of them are older, and we collectively call those three “The Elders”. Three of them are Buff Orpingtons, and we call them “The Tater tots”.
Question for the Aussies… on our ride today one of our group, a lady from Queensland, was complaining she was hot (half-jokingly, about 3 minutes earlier she was complaining of being cold).
As she was wearing a gilet I said they often make me hot unless I’m on a very easy ride or it’s very cold.
She looked at me and said WTF was I talking about. I pointed to the garment in question and she insisted they call it a windbreaker, and in all her years of cycling she’d never even heard the term.
I can’t remember whether I even knew they existed from my time in Australia, but I would have called a windbreaker something that was hooded but usually made of synthetic, like a shower-proof jacket or kagool.
So have you all been reading this wondering WTF we were on about ?
@frank
Ha!
You’ll like our urban farm then. We have 5, Twitch, Bitty, Harriet, Britches and the obligatory Happy Feet.
All variations of different Bantams.
Bitty and Twitch
Chickens seem pretty badass. I would like to own a few some day.
@mcsqueak
You know it’s the middle of winter and no racing to discuss when a article on Gilets turns to urban farming.
@scaler911
I’d even have my VMH knit them little gilets to wear when it gets too cold for their precious little feathered bodies to handle.
@mcsqueak
We are firmly in Rule #9 territory when natural down outerwear doesn’t suffice.
@ChrisO
Queensland. There’s a clue right there. Did she ask for a cup of chino after the ride?
Gilet is a French word no? We usually bastardise pronunciation here. Hard G and L and T. I learned the term listening to Paul and Phil commentating on Le Tour. Never used the term windbreaker though.
@frank
For reference, you’re the Emperor back there. It’s like you just told me Padme is dead, but instead my V-Kit will arrive one week later – pretty much the same thing, really.
@harminator
Beat me to it. Queenslanders like things big, so she’d likely ask for a mug of chino.
@ChrisO
Queensland is a pretty conservative (read – redneck) state, so it may be likely that the French terms that are the default for much of the cycling world are not used as much there (“Bidon? Talk Australian mate! It’s a bottle!”). Note that I’m not calling her a redneck, just looking for a reason her cycling community don’t use the term.
It’s weird she hasn’t heard the term, though. I learned my cycling terminology from Phil and Paul and from reading up a storm, magazines then the web and gilet is used so widely it’s almost as if it’s the correct word.
@Blah
And you beat me to the Redneck / rooinek comment. QLD = bogan central.
Sometimes a gilet is referred to as a windstopper vest. And yes bidon is not really that common, bottle seems to suffice.
And a question for Chris O, are you not an Australian asking the Australians re the term gilet?
@anotherdowunder Yes I am but I have lived elsewhere since 1993, and wasn’t into cycling when I was there (as opposed to riding a bike) so I was just wondering what term the roadies there might use.
I thought it might be a Queensland thing (her very fat cat is called Flo) but yes you’d think you’d just pick it up from watching races or reading, websites etc. And she’s done a bit of racing and competitive riding too.
Funny, I can just imagine her saying “Bidon…. it’s a bottle”. When I see her next week I’ll tell her you all said she was a bogan redneck banana-bender for not saying gilet.
@scaler911
Wet Jig this week.
@frank
Nice!
First road ride with my wife today, a 75 km jaunt up the Hudson. The V-gilet doesn’t really make up for the outstanding style demerits (socks, bib knicks, 3-point system, etc)
However, I post the photo mainly to answer the question: where do children of average height come from?
@xyxax
Your left shifter looks way higher than the right. Does that bug you? It bugs me if mine are even a cm off kilter.
@G’rilla
It sure looks that way in the photo. I just measured and it is about 1.5 cm higher. Thanks fot the catch.
@G’rilla
It’s all relative: judging by that photo a centimetre to Xyxax is the equivalent of a millimetre to most folk.
@xyxax
Jesus, are you a giant or is she about four feet tall or are both statements correct?!?!?
@Buck Rogers
She’s 5’3″ and can kick my ass (though she has to loosen up her hamstrings before doing so).
@xyxax
What size frame is that? (Yours) The headtube looks massive.
@frank
and @scaler911
Since the subject of chickens has already been brought up…. a link to our set up is here if you fancy a look…http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=393509
@DerHoggz
The frame is listed as a 66 cm by Gunnar, though top tube is 61cm and seat tube is 63. HT is a statuesque 25 cm. In the winter, we use it to store grain.
I’m guessing the 66cm is from BB to the top of the HT, that is a compact frame, right?
@xyxax
What a day 60Ëš! did you get up to the Runcible Spoon?
@DerHoggz
Exactly. Their frame sizing correlates to stack (664 mm in this case).
@Rob
Simply glorious. What a “winter” so far. We didn’t make it to the Spoon this time, but it will be a destination as we increase distance. See you there?
@xyxax
In the spring – I will repeat the Spoon ride I did with the peeps from L.I.
Right now I am up in Northern Dutchess/Columbia county.
While I hate to ruin a perfectly good conversation about chickens and such, the topic at hand has prompted a question from me…
If one were to purchase a gilet and rain is not a primary concern, should the gilet have a mesh back or not? Are the mesh-backed garments too cool for a winter day of 5-15C, or is a non-mesh back simply too hot and stuffy?
@BrianG
Personally, if I was going to use it for 5-15C I’d get one without a mesh back. But I’ve got both. I use the mesh back one (albeit rarely) for cool late spring mornings or shove it in my pocket if I’m planning on a long decent after a big climb, say McKenzie Pass Oregon.
If you can only fund one, get the one without mesh. IMHO.
Just wanna stay on topic……..
@motor city
Dude!
I can’t let my chicka’s see that. They would revolt and demand either a upgrade or transportation to your place! Well done!
Don’t know how this thread got onto chickens, but be forewarned, if you get those chickens anywhere near me, I’m-a gonna eat ’em!
@xyxax
Ah, you look fantastic!
@scaler911
@G’rilla, @xyxax
I’ve always used a straight-edge that I hold under the flat bit of the bars and align it to the bottom of the brake lever. In issue 25 of Rouleur, however, they have the guy rebuilding Roger’s bike lining them up by setting the bars on the workbench with the brakes attached and lining them up that way. That, of course, is the way I will do it henceforth.
@motor city
Are you norm? We think we actually saw your coop back when we were studying up on ours! Small world!
@BrianG, @scaler911
Agreed – mesh back is totally fine – no worries. I have both. I don’t notice much difference, though, so I would get one that fits well and I’ve found the fit on the mesh-back ones to be a bit looser than the others.
@The Oracle
My VMH refuses to call them “chickens” when we commonly prepare chicken for din-din. She refers to them only as “yickens”.
Go figure.
@frank
Nipple lube!
@frank
And I feel maaahhhvelous.
Thanks for the alignment tip. I’ll put it to good use.
@frank
@scaler911
Mates- Thanks for the tip on the mesh back question.
This just arrived courtesy of the good folks at Bikes to Rwanda. Will go nicely with jersey and bibs come spring (once it’s warm enough to put them all together again).
