Rule #22 is perhaps the most complicated Rule amongst the (currently) 85. Part of the complexity springs from the fact that we are all very attached to this small cotton cap. Off the bike, it was once a badge used to recognize one of our own; now it has been taken over by the hipster crowd which subsequently ruined it for those of us who wore this hallowed garment with pride. Our response has been to refrain from wearing this garment off the bike and resort to other badges – such as Rule #33 compliance – to identify our own. That said, some of us, in the spirit of Rage Against the Machine, refuse to lay down arms and are fighting to take the power back and callously wear our caps regardless. (Guilty.)
Further complexity is due to its provisioning one to wear a cap during any activity directly related to cycling; maintaining your machine, while kitting up, placed jauntily askew while consuming a post-ride recovery beverage at your favorite watering hole. We’ve deliberately refrained from laying out a clear definition as to what constitutes a cycling-related activity, but the verbose description should give you a feel of the spirit within which to govern this Rule.
What The Rules don’t touch on at all is what type of cap is acceptable and precisely how it may be worn. This small, simple garment is at least as complex as a pair of bib shorts or a jersey, and just as with those items, there is a Pro way to wear them, and a noob way to wear them. Especially in light of a recent rash of non-compliant caps coming onto the market, I thought it as good a time as any to outline the definition of a proper cap and how to wear it.
The material. A proper cycling cap is made of cotton, and is as cheaply made as possible. They used to cost a few dollars. That’s like a nickel in dollOZ. Now they are upwards of $15 or $20. A small strip of elastic should be somewhat carelessly sewn together at the back. A good cap should have almost no quality-control in its making, leading to each cap having its own size or positioning of panels. Each cap has its unique character and should be carefully chosen based on it. There has been a recent slew of new caps (made by both Pearl Izumi and some by our beloved Castelli) that have a sweatband sewn into the cap. This is strictly forbidden.
The visor. This is the most important part. Visors should be short. This is because the purpose of a cap is to be worn while riding, and when the head is tipped down as you move to the V-Locus, you need to be able to see up the road to where the guns will detonate without tilting your head up in order to see past the visor. As with the above, a new wave of caps (again by Pearl Izumi and Castelli) have been made with a too-long visor. These visors are also strictly forbidden in general and for wearing under the helmet in particular.
The Three-Point System always applies. Especially when worn without a helmet in pre or post-ride activities. No exceptions here; forward or backward, just always, always, always follow this system.
Worn under the helmet, the helmet and cap must form a cohesive unit. Start with the cap, and slide it down over the back of the head to the nape of the neck. Then pull the visor down towards the eyes until the bottom edge of the visor is just above the eyebrows. Smooth out the wrinkles in the cap, as those will feel weird under the helmet. Next, the helmet goes on with the front of the helmet pushed down snug towards the visor of the cap. If part of the visor disappears under the helmet, you’ve gone too far, and if any part of the front of the cap shows, you haven’t gone far enough.
Visors can be flipped up, especially when worn backwards. Worn forward, it is better to keep the visor down, especially under a helmet. If for some reason it must be flipped up, keep the bottom line of the cap low to the eyebrows. If it is being flipped up under a helmet, it helps an awful lot if you’re also in the midst of riding to a win in a Monument, your name starts with Phillipe and ends with Gilbert, or both.
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.
This post has inspired me to start wearing my cap again, even off the bike. I have never liked the hipster-association, but now, with a few well demarcated tan lines, I think I'll start wearing it again in the spirit of taking back the night. Nice write-up Fronk, and great guidelines!
I am in serious need of new caps. These are some of the most functional items I use. Unlike a helmet that I hope to actually never need or use (but always wear) the hat under it not only wicks the copous amount of sweat I produce as a byproduct of all the V I lay down, but also acts as a sunscreen. Modern helmets actually have a lot of vents and are notoriously light, but I have to admit I am beginning to have egg-timer like attributes. The hat provides a nice block from the glowing orb of pre-cancerous radiation. That is when it is seen in Seattle on both days of summer.
Frank, can we get v-caps in The Gear?
A fuckin sweat band? Is that why we don't have a cap yet? I used to wear a cap all the time sans helmet in Italy. Always backwards and flipped up. Now not so much but I do have a few laying around. I need to wear them more often.
These are some of the most functional items I use.
Wisdom. Up until last week when I renewed my lease with contacts, I've been an exclusively glasses-wearing geek due to my legally blind myopia. The cycling cap ended up being my favorite piece of kit I owned for 2.5 reasons that work together:
Problem 1): I'm wearing glasses, therefore not sunglasses (I've never gotten prescription sunglasses as a pair of sunglasses lasts me around 3 weeks until I inadvertently destroy them in some fashion or another), therefore the blazing orb annoys my baby blues.
Solution: Cycling cap slung low. Glorious shade para mis ojos.
Problem 2(a): Sweat running down my face.
Solution: Cycling cap sweet sweat absorption.
Problem 2(b): Relating to 1 and 2(a), sweat drips on my glasses forming a miniature Dead Sea (See) on my lenses. Disgusting and optically debilitating. Solution 2(a) applies here as well.
I can't rock the caps as stylishly as our 60s, 70s and 80s forefathers, but I rock them nonetheless.
Short of the pro team caps (made by MOA, Santini and Nalini), the only brand I can think of that makes a cap without a sweatband is Giordana. Even Assos isn't Rule 22.1 compliant in that the rear panel of their cap is a synthetic mesh. What is a Volominatus to do?
I love cycling caps and always wear one so long as the weather is projected to remain cooler than 75degF throughout the course of a planned ride (thereby breaking Rule 21?). If not, I still keep one tucked in the pocket of my jersey to put on immediately following a ride or at a prolonged stop. As far has helmets and caps go, I've found both the Lazer Genesis and Helium to be extremely well suited to enable Rule 22.4 compliance (though they suck in the vent/sunglass compatibility department)
Indeed. I love wearing my cap while cycling, and I'm looking forward to when the temperature dips again and I can start to wear it without overheating my poor noggin. Infact I'll be cycling at the coast next weekend, where it should be in the mid 60's... perfect cap weather.
As for a sweat band build into the cap, isn't that a little redundant? The cap itself seems to wick sweat plenty well. Every time I wear mine on a ride I have to wash the salt off afterwards.
If you know someone who is handy at sewing, they could make you one customized to your liking, sans sweatband.
@mcsqueak
I'm sure the V Cap will be perfect when its available...Plus, I tend to look like I was hit in the forehead with a shovel when donning a three-panel cap.
Short visors are to be preferred, but longer visors do have their place"”primarily during Rule 9 riding for those myopic souls who require Rx lens at all times.
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This post has inspired me to start wearing my cap again, even off the bike. I have never liked the hipster-association, but now, with a few well demarcated tan lines, I think I'll start wearing it again in the spirit of taking back the night. Nice write-up Fronk, and great guidelines!
I am in serious need of new caps. These are some of the most functional items I use. Unlike a helmet that I hope to actually never need or use (but always wear) the hat under it not only wicks the copous amount of sweat I produce as a byproduct of all the V I lay down, but also acts as a sunscreen. Modern helmets actually have a lot of vents and are notoriously light, but I have to admit I am beginning to have egg-timer like attributes. The hat provides a nice block from the glowing orb of pre-cancerous radiation. That is when it is seen in Seattle on both days of summer.
Frank, can we get v-caps in The Gear?
A fuckin sweat band? Is that why we don't have a cap yet? I used to wear a cap all the time sans helmet in Italy. Always backwards and flipped up. Now not so much but I do have a few laying around. I need to wear them more often.
Let's make the cycling cap ours again.
@eightzero
Wisdom. Up until last week when I renewed my lease with contacts, I've been an exclusively glasses-wearing geek due to my legally blind myopia. The cycling cap ended up being my favorite piece of kit I owned for 2.5 reasons that work together:
Problem 1): I'm wearing glasses, therefore not sunglasses (I've never gotten prescription sunglasses as a pair of sunglasses lasts me around 3 weeks until I inadvertently destroy them in some fashion or another), therefore the blazing orb annoys my baby blues.
Solution: Cycling cap slung low. Glorious shade para mis ojos.
Problem 2(a): Sweat running down my face.
Solution: Cycling cap sweet sweat absorption.
Problem 2(b): Relating to 1 and 2(a), sweat drips on my glasses forming a miniature Dead Sea (See) on my lenses. Disgusting and optically debilitating. Solution 2(a) applies here as well.
I can't rock the caps as stylishly as our 60s, 70s and 80s forefathers, but I rock them nonetheless.
Short of the pro team caps (made by MOA, Santini and Nalini), the only brand I can think of that makes a cap without a sweatband is Giordana. Even Assos isn't Rule 22.1 compliant in that the rear panel of their cap is a synthetic mesh. What is a Volominatus to do?
I love cycling caps and always wear one so long as the weather is projected to remain cooler than 75degF throughout the course of a planned ride (thereby breaking Rule 21?). If not, I still keep one tucked in the pocket of my jersey to put on immediately following a ride or at a prolonged stop. As far has helmets and caps go, I've found both the Lazer Genesis and Helium to be extremely well suited to enable Rule 22.4 compliance (though they suck in the vent/sunglass compatibility department)
@RedRanger
Indeed. I love wearing my cap while cycling, and I'm looking forward to when the temperature dips again and I can start to wear it without overheating my poor noggin. Infact I'll be cycling at the coast next weekend, where it should be in the mid 60's... perfect cap weather.
As for a sweat band build into the cap, isn't that a little redundant? The cap itself seems to wick sweat plenty well. Every time I wear mine on a ride I have to wash the salt off afterwards.
@VeloVita
If you know someone who is handy at sewing, they could make you one customized to your liking, sans sweatband.
@mcsqueak
I'm sure the V Cap will be perfect when its available...Plus, I tend to look like I was hit in the forehead with a shovel when donning a three-panel cap.
Short visors are to be preferred, but longer visors do have their place"”primarily during Rule 9 riding for those myopic souls who require Rx lens at all times.