Categories: Accessories and GearReverence

Reverence: Gilet

A properly-fitting gilet is an indispensable piece of kit

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

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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kambei says:

Jan 5 2012 at 9:51 am

@frank

Thor wears one? Now, where's my Credit Card?

Love Thor!
ChrisO says:

Jan 5 2012 at 10:01 am

This will only bring a wry smile to my few fellow hard-core pedants... but I've just noticed that the opening sentence to this article echoes Fowler's famous pronouncement on split infinitives, first written in 1926.

"The English-speaking world may be divided into (1) those who neither know nor care what a split infinitive is; (2) those who do not know, but care very much; (3) those who know and condemn; (4) those who know and approve; and (5) those who know and distinguish. . . . Those who neither know nor care are the vast majority, and are happy folk, to be envied by the minority classes."

Which I found ironically amusing in the light of the writer's previous grammatical record.

Fowler is like Merckx to us pedants, although to be fair he was actually quite scathing about those who attempted to follow rules for the sake of nothing more than showing that they had superior knowledge.

I'll get my coat...
Clips and Straps says:

Jan 5 2012 at 10:23 am

I totally agree the Gilet is the most indispensible bit of kit after your basic riding jersey, shorts, shoes, gloves etc.
Here in Britain, where you often get all 4 seasons in one day, i seldom go out without either wearing or carrying it. It weighs nothing, rolls up super small and does not cost much unless you buy designer gear.
As we are cyclists please remember how to pronounce it, a la Sean Kelly commentaries, or at least the understandable ones. "ggeee lay". No hard Gs and certainly not "Gill let"; you can only pronounce it this way if riding a horse in the Home Counties (swanky up market horsey culture paid for by Daddy !).
frank says:

Jan 5 2012 at 10:32 am

@The Oracle

@frank
Nothing personal. As you know, mixing it up with Minnesotans is a favorite Wisconsin past-time (and vice versa). I'll never miss a chance to poke fun, but rest assured, in case you missed my tone, I was only jesting.
I think, looking back on my posts, you will see that I actually agree that balaclavas look bad. Alas, as much as the Rules dictate otherwise, sometimes in pursuit of The V, there will come a time where you must don something that does not look absolutely fabulous, whether due to cost, weather, etc. I strive to meet the goals of casual deliberateness and looking fabulous with every ride, but I will give up those goals in a heartbeat if they stand in the way of pursuit of the passion. I've known too many dumb nordic skiers, mountain bikers, cross country skiers, and other winter sports enthusiasts who have dealt with varying degrees of frostbite, because the appropriate headgear or footwear didn't look good. I choose, like Hinault in the pic above, to sometimes don the ridiculous garment in order to allow me to appropriately focus on the task at hand-laying down some serious V. (I would note that, despite looking odd, Hinault is obviously dishing out the pain to the rest of the peloton in that picture-coincidence or no?)
As to my second post, nope, not shopped at all (I don't have that kind of skill). I found it here.

I'll tell you one thing: I hate the Wisconsin Highway Patrol! Cheeky bastards.

Your nordic skiing comment made me chuckle. We did in deed wear balaclavas when necessary, but I always wore mine with my ski hat over it - in three-point system compliance - to make sure I looked as fantastic as possible. I also never wore it - not once - in a race; too restrictive. I did, on the other hand, wear moleskin on my face when it was below zero on Race Day.

I also chuckled because my ears are permanently hardened from my Nordic days, specifically because of what you describe. I would wear earmuffs (also nice, thin ones that fit cleanly under my hat) only at 20F or below, and that would do well until I needed my neck covered at around 5F or less, at which point the abomination would find its way into my skiing kit. To this day, I really don't need my ears covered ever in the climate I live in now.

Just a question: what's the difference between a Nordic skier and Cross-Country skier? Same thing, no?
The Oracle says:

Jan 5 2012 at 11:25 am

@frank

@The Oracle

Just a question: what's the difference between a Nordic skier and Cross-Country skier? Same thing, no?

I was thinking "Alpine" and typed "Nordic." Derp.

One final note, even when I wear the balaclava,I ensure that I am always in strict three-point system compliance as well. Of course, the stems of my cycling-specific glasses are always on the outside as well.
Nate says:

Jan 5 2012 at 11:40 am

@frank
I'm just speaking from my experience of living in Chicago for 5 years, where on average there were 2 weeks of nice weather a year. I know better than to infer from Chicago weather what the weather might have been in WI or MN.
jimmy says:

Jan 5 2012 at 11:48 am

Akin to the post on RdV's shin-guards, my early experience with a 'gilet' was chamois that covered the chest and shoulder blades as the standard early spring chest protection. Over a base layer, under a jersey it was a little work to get on smooth and came off with the weight of chain mail if wet. Great protection though. Given the helmets of the time, it was easy enough to take off...once. There was no putting it back on in an echelon like one can with a current zip up model. photo is modeled outside a jersey to give better perspective. I had to dig through a few suitcases to find it last night, maybe I'll use it for car washing next summer.
FNG says:

Jan 5 2012 at 11:57 am

@hungsolo
Hungsolo- I'm a new Velominatus & I live in Fair Oaks (just a short jaunt down hwy 50 from ElDo) I ride out in Folsom as much as I can to get some hills. I'm looking for some like-minded, rule abiding, riding friends around here. How 'bout a ride one of these weekends?

F-ucking N-ew G-uy
gaswepass says:

Jan 5 2012 at 12:25 pm

@Nate
Having lived all acrost the Midwest, then settling in the pacific nw, once u live somewhere where you drive to winter, there is no real difference. My local sears doesn't carry snow blowers!
Nate says:

Jan 5 2012 at 12:30 pm

@gaswepass
More or less the same background as you -- Midwest to NorCal. Oddly, my local hardware store carries several kinds of serious snow shovels. My almost 5 year old wondered why.