GORE Wear Men's Waterproof Cycling Jacket, C3 GORE-TEX Active Jacket, 100034

Product Information

It’s all about layering fabrics. When the Gore-Tex membrane is laminated to an inner and or outer material, it becomes a Gore Fabric. If you want something to ride to work in every day and use in the woods at the weekend you’ll have a hard time finding an option that does both as well as the POC Motion. Plus, especially in the lovely Dioptase petrol blue colour, it’s another looker that’s perfectly fine on the office floor. All waterproof garments, except those where the membrane is the outermost surface, receive a DWR finish. Gore-Tex is a trademarked fabric invented in 1969, which is both extremely waterproof and breathable.

For road riding you want something close cut to avoid flapping and the annoying noise and aero drag that comes with it. Remember to leave room for layers though. You’ll want something that’s short at the front with a long tail so it fits well in a more forward-leaning position. This rings true for gravel too, providing you’re also riding in an aggressive position.My major gripe with the dhb Trail was the hood: It’s too small to reasonably go over a helmet without the face box being squashed right against your nose and mouth. It’s fine for short downpours, but for extended ones, you’ll want it under your helmet.

It essentially came about as a happy accident – Bob Gore discovered a new form of polymer made of large molecules that repeat to form long chains. Unfortunately for Claire and I, your dear testers, it means many many miles in pretty miserable conditions. At every wet opportunity, I've been out both on and off road, trying my best to find weaknesses in each of these options to bring you the best possible information. The RRP is effectively the same as the Endura GV500, but both are regularly discounted and while for the same money, I’d recommend the Endura model, if the dhb Trail is reduced and the Endura isn’t when you’re looking to buy, then the performance is similar enough for the dhb to become the better choice.

But what's a waterproof rating!?" we hear you cry. Well, it's basically a number, and the higher the better. The number is calculated on the basis that if you put a 1cm x 1cm square tube over the fabric, how high could you fill the tube with water before it starts to leak through. The treatment does not inhibit breathability because it doesn’t fill the gaps between the fibres. Instead, it bonds the individual fibres to help the garment shed water and prevent saturation. Throughout this unpredictability, the Endure has proved very versatile. Even on a three-hour ride when it rained throughout, I stayed dry. For commuting especially, some level of additional visibility is definitely advantageous, be that a bright colour or reflective details. Off-road away from traffic, this will obviously be less of a concern. Every square inch of the extremely thin Gore-Tex membrane has nine billion pores, with each of these holes 20,000 times smaller than a drop of water.

Assuming you do want a bit of extra room, Rapha has got the balance spot on. We found that there wasn't too much extra material to cause unnecessary flapping in the wind. In our experience the waterproofing has been flawless – as it should be with Gore-Tex’s 2L Paclite Plus fabric being used throughout the construction. For less speed-oriented riding you can go for something a little more casually cut. This is especially important for expedition-type riding where you may need to layer up underneath substantially if the weather turns on you.

Castelli Alpha ROS 2 Jacket

Waterproof fabrics are either multi-layer laminate fabrics or regular woven fabrics that get a DWR treatment designed to keep water out. While both achieve the same goal, they work slightly differently. DWR However, DWR treatments wear off over time, accelerated by abrasions and some detergents. When this happens, the fabric no longer causes water to bead and will become saturated and heavy. Some manufacturers say to throw the garment in the tumble dryer for a few minutes on low to medium heat, others recommend ‘touch ups’ with an iron on the warm setting. Again, refer to the manufacturer’s instructions.

The fabric is gossamer thin to the point of translucency, with a light stretch to it. The fit is most definitely race, though the tail could be dropped further. I usually wear a small jersey, and a small Supreme is on the cusp of being too tight, especially in the forearms, so if you want to account for a mid-layer then I suggest you size up. After considering all the options available the Albion Zoa also came out on top in our recent Cyclingnews Awards.Gore-Tex is the name in waterproofing, but it’s not as binary as Gore-Tex = good, everything else = bad. Though the specs say it's the same waterproof and breathability rating as the Nightvision Storm, it feels more protective. What's more, the lining is significantly more comfortable next to the skin so I was happy enough wearing this with short sleeves underneath, though most of the time I was throwing it on over a jumper. Gore-Tex, Thinsulate, Polartec and eVent are all internal membranes that are sandwiched between two other materials – usually something abrasion-resistant on the outside, with a soft liner on the inside. Even the Castelli Gabba Jersey is made using a Windstopper laminate fabric.