Add

Review: Rivendell Wool Semi-Tights

I’ve been using a set of Rivendell Wool Semi-Tights for cold weather rides for a couple months now and I feel I’ve had them long enough to write up a review.  As I transition from purely recreational/commuting riding into randonneuring and serious training rides, I started to acquire real cycling clothes.

The one part I was lacking was something for my legs on cold days.  Normally I would just wear jeans, but that can get uncomfortable after a certain distance and doesn’t do such a good job of keeping out the cold.  I finally made the decision to buy some tights to wear over my newly acquired cycling shorts.  I looked all over to find a good set but could not decide on what to get.  After looking at all the lycra/spandex options out there, I decided to check out wool.

Wool has a reputation of insulating even when wet and being great at wicking away moisture from your skin.  Rivendell had a set of what they call semi-tights, which are not as skin tight as a normal set, but still very snug.  When they are on they don’t look much different than any other set of tights so they don’t look out of place in comparison to other clothing.

My first ride was a late December ride I made at 5:00am.  It was 20F outside and I was skeptical I would stay warm.  The ride started out a bit uncomfortable, but a couple miles in I felt fine.  These did a great job of keeping out the cold.  A couple hours later I was very impressed.

I’ve also worn them under my work pants several times on really cold commutes.  They performed very well for that.  The only issue I had was when worn under jeans, they picked up a lot of lint that no roller could remove.  I spent a lot of time picking bits of fuzz off with my hand one-by-one.  I suppose that’s just the nature of wool though.

Most recently I wore them on the entirety of the Mardi Gras 200k brevet.  The temperature ranged from the low 30’s into the mid 50’s.  They kept my legs nice and warm in the cold as expected.  Mid-day they got very warm but because of how well it wicked away sweat, it was never uncomfortable.

The only bad thing I can say about them is that they do tend to ride up a little in the cuffs which leave your ankles exposed if your socks are not long enough.   This happened on the brevet but never became an issue for me. Perhaps in colder weather this would be something to consider.

At $55 these tights are very reasonably priced.  While I can’t compare with synthetic versions, I can say that I’m impressed with how well these have performed.  I recommend these if you need something to keep the cold away from your lower half.