As I write this, snow is falling outside my window and the UK is braced for the coldest spell of the winter so far. If like me you like to be out on your bike whatever the temperature, then you’re going to need a good pair of winter tights.
This winter I have plumped for the Rapha Classic Winter Tights. I have gone through a few pairs of tights over the last few years in an attempt to keep my legs warm in the cold winter months, but I have found that a lot of them have a poor cut and are baggy in certain critical regions. This is definitely not the case with the Rapha tights, which fit snuggly in all areas, without being restrictive
As far as warmth goes, the Rapha Classic Winter Tights are excellent. I have ridden in them in temperatures well below freezing and have never been cold. However, I have also ridden through rain and snow, which they do not cope quite as well with. Drizzle is fine, but as soon as the rain starts getting heavier they begin to retain water. However, Rapha do produce a pair of tights for ‘Deep Winter’ which promise to be completely waterproof. When you also take into account the fact that they are unpadded, meaning that you have to wear bibshorts underneath, the £170 price tag becomes difficult to justify.
As you’d expect from Rapha there are a few idiosyncrasies that mark the product out. The word ‘wheelsucker’ is subtly sitting on your left buttock (a reference to young Reilhan in Tim Krabbé’s The Rider) so you can tell the guy sitting on your wheel refusing to take his turn exactly what you think of him.
It is this sort of attention to the smallest details that so often marks a Rapha product out from the rest. However, the serious oversights of the lack of chamois and waterproofness makes such a cost difficult to justify.
Pros: Very warm, Good fit
Cons: Not waterproof, Unpadded, Price
Score: 3/5
£170
www.rapha.cc/classic-winter-tights
Student Cyclist 