greenlawnracing wrote:
Care to share a link? I went to buy a Black Friday Craft, and got irritated with the $75 price point.
Yes, I should just drop the coin given that the vast majority of us have come to terms with this sport being expensive. However if you've found a nice $20 alternative....I'm in! For midweight and lightweight, these
LAPASA work great. You can pick either lightweight or midweight (different price) in the color selections, pay attention to the labeling before you buy. (Heavyweight is a different link)
I returned the Assos I bought, ended up getting Lapasa mid and heavyweight. The heavweight is almost sweatpants-thickness and blocks like 80% of wind (my estimate) on its own without any windproofing since it's so thick. I think light and midweight are best for cycling, but if you know you'll be in colder dark canyons that can drop to freezing on an easier effort, it works great even just with a minimal jersey on top.
No doubt, craftsmanship and materials are superior on Assos, but at least for baselayer, no performance gain in my opinion.
The $$$ jackets are nicer, in particular fit more body-snug compared to cheap jackets on Amazon, but no joke, I found a $35 jersey with front windproofing on Amazon that works so well at 37-50F that I returned everything else pricey as well.
It's actually pretty amazing at how functional the cheap stuff is compared to the $$$ stuff. Like 98% of the function for 1/5th the price. As well, if you train hard at some point, like very hard intervals or hard climbing, you'll overcome the breathability of all the fancy Windstopper etc membranes - I think these membranes are a lot more useful for folks who try to keep a steady lower effort and intentionally not pour sweat off. Zippable layers def work better than all the membranes - you can zip down to your thin baselayer if hot on a hard climb, even if you've got 3 on.