Ventile Cycling Jackets

[Road Fiddler]

This post is duplicated on both Bikerader and CycleChat

I wear Ventile a lot when outdoors and although being cotton is a wonderful material for cold dry environments. Ventile is advertised as being waterproof which is not strictly true although if you keep it proofed with nikwax or smaller it is quite waterproof.

The main advantages of ventile is its windproof properties, breathability and bombproof ruggedness.

I know there are a couple of companies that make ventile cycling products and many of the ventile clothing companies are unusual in that they are very accustomed to customizing a product to your needs for an extra few quid. I am thinking of getting a ventile jacket with customized pit zips and possibly a net lining.

My question is do any of you use a ventile cycling top and is so what do you think of it and how does it perform.

I know it will only be of real use during the colder months.

 

[Rohloff]

Ventile is advertised as being waterproof which is not strictly true although if you keep it proofed with nikwax or smaller it is quite waterproof.

To be fair to the manufacturers of Ventile, they only claim it to be weatherproof, not waterproof. They recommend using a double layer of fabric for maximum impermeability. See www.ventile.co.uk/

Surely something like Nikwax is going to seriously compromise the breatheability of the ventile?

I have bought a length of ventile material to make a copy of my favourite old cycling jacket, but I haven't worked up the courage to cut it up yet. I'm wondering how the seams are made on a professionally manufactured jacket. Are they taped at all, or do the swelling fibres of damp ventile seal the stitching?

 

[Road Fiddler]

Nikwax has no effect on the breathability of ventile. The best Ventile Jackets have three layers of ventile.

Use a fine cotton tread and you should be ok. Country Innovation seam seal there products and back the ventile with a breathable waterproof membrane on a fleece like liner. They are way to hot to wear other than in a hide on a cold winters day.