Thanks for tuning in
today we're going to be reviewing the
Ale Klimatik
cycling kit collection.
As the saying goes when the going gets
tough the tough get going.
Applied to cycling that means you need to
ride even when the temperature or rain
starts to drop.
Ale's Klimatik collection is designed to
keep you warm and comfortable even in
winter or
wet conditions. In this review we're
going to be looking at three items in
that
collection. First we have the K-Idro WR
Short Sleeve Jersey here on the top left.
Then we have the
K-Idro WR Klima 8H
Shammy Bibshort.
Then we have one of my favorites,
the Guscio
Iridescent Reflective Jacket here on the
top right.
Now packaging wise really simple just
plastic bags and I'm going ahead and
apologize
up front for mispronouncing things as
Ale is an italian brand.
So let's go ahead and start taking these
out of the packaging and we'll go over
the specs.
Let's start with the jersey,
retail price on this is $179.99
and it is recommended for 50 to 59 degrees
fahrenheit.
It's a warmer short sleeve with a little
bit thicker
construction and has an inner liner inner
lined collar which adds some support to
it
as well as structure. You have reflective
rear elements that's something always
really good about Ale.
You can see there's always these
little reflective dots and a lot of
their gear
so a lot safer at night. You have three
rear pockets,
bonded technology at some of these
attachment points between the different
panels.
It's a water repellent fabric here
on the
rear from the pockets downward to keep
your butt dry especially on the
wet days. Now if we go to the
the iridescent jacket which is probably
one of the most exciting
parts of the kit. Retail price on this
is $254.99.
Now this has a reflective design so it
actually depends on which angle you look
at it.
I'm not quite sure how it shows up on
camera but
it has little
little reflective beads built into the
actual exterior surface.
Now this is recommended for 50 to 64
degrees
fahrenheit. I'll go ahead take out the paper.
It's a waterproof zipper but this is not a
waterproof design, it's a water
repellent construction.
As you can see very cool looking. It has
breathable side panels
to keep you comfortable and elastic
waist
to keep it in place and around you
securely.
Now let's look at the bib shorts
retail price on this is $149.99
it's recommended for 42 to 59 degrees so
colder weather
which is part of the theme of the
Klimatik collection.
You can see it has a thicker inner
liner.
It has their 8H chamois and
Ale's chamois collections s a little
bit confusing but they're all really
well constructed with variable density
of foam. You have reflective elements
here again
which is nice to see especially on black
items.
You have reflective logo on both sides
and you also have these nice grippy hems
that keep it in place
and prevent your leg warmers from
dropping down. tThey also have the Ale
logo
on the grippy portion which is a nice
little easter egg.
[Music]
So now let's look at the fit and finish
of each item individually.
We'll start with the K-Idro WR jersey
and even though a short sleeve jersey
which seems a little bit odd especially for a
cold or wet weather collection
it's a great way to keep your core warm.
You can always layer up with base
layer
or a jacket on top. This is definitely a
thicker
construction so you can easily see it
has a nice inner liner that's nice and
soft and gives you warmth. What we have
here today is the plum
color variation so it's a solid color
you have the Ale logo and their
characteristic fluorescent color which
really pops. You have Ale on the
side and then again Ale on the rear.
It's available in some other colors as
well,
everything from uh fluorescent blue
black and even orange so you can really
mix and match.
It's nice to see the solid variation,
no graphics are
really easy to match with your bike and
other gear.
Now if we start with the front of this
you have a full zipper
and you can see it actually has this
really nice protective cuff behind it
and this prevents water or wind
intrusion.
It extends all the way down and the nice
thing about this is you have the premium
features that match the premium price.
It has something called a zipper
garage and this is a little
tab here and the zipper hides underneath
it on the top you have the same thing a
little chin
guard so this will actually prevent the
zipper from rubbing against your chin
when you're riding.
You have a tall inner lined collar so
you can see it's fairly tall.
It has nice structure to it so it won't
flop over with a little inner fabric
so again really soft as well this is
definitely
thicker jersey you don't want to wear on
a hot summer day but for colder weather
this is great to layer up.
It has this really nice light blue
liner on the inside
it's nice and soft. The main fabric on
all of these is polyester
and as you can see it's actually made in
italy which kind of justifies the higher
price as well.
Mow if we go to the sides you can see
you have a raglan style attachment for
the
arms so this gives you better mobility
as you don't have the seam right here.
Simple cuffs with that inner liner
extending all the way through for warmth
then you have a different fabric on the
back. So you have this black
section and then the waterproofing
starts from the bottom.
It has water repellency from the pockets
downward where you normally get back
spray from the tires.
These are all really aggressive fit
too so you all want to be careful and
may want to size up.
These are definitely designed for
skinnier Italian cyclists especially if
you're an american
and more comfortable with american size
you usually want to go up a size.
You have three pockets in the back so
nice and large no zippered pocket
just these three here and with the nice
high contrast liner
of that inner blue that really makes it
stand out.
Again the reflective element
something I really like to see here.
These days it seems like a lot of
kits are all black and
pretty dangerous to ride with at night
without reflective parts.
The tail on this is super long too so
you can see how long that is compared to
the front so it's a drop tail design
that means it won't bunch around your
stomach when you're in an aero position.
With the extra extension here and
actually protect your
rear side especially when the roads
are wet which you get a lot of
debris thrown at you. Now let's look at
the bib short fit and finish.
This is perhaps one of the most critical
parts of any cycling kit as
as it's the main contact point between
you on the bike.
Now personally i really like bib shorts
over normal bibs as you can see it has
built-in suspenders
and no waistline so it doesn't ride down
and there's no discomfort here
so definitely something i would highly
recommend. Now
fitting with the cold wet weather theme
this is a water repellent design with
this
thicker liner on the inside so it gives
it nice warmth a little more bulky
but definitely something you'd
appreciate on a colder day.
On the front you have the two
suspenders
and you have this nice accent color
which is the Klimatik theme this light
blue.
They're nice and wide and flat and they
also have the nice easter egg of Ale
logos
as the gripper part so they hold it in place
and also look pretty cool.
The back is this nice mesh panel so
almost see-through and wide
so it keeps it comfortable as well as
breathable which is always nice to have.
You don't want to be sweating through
your bib
short especially on long climbs. The
other cool
sort of easter egg here is the fact that
you get a little pocket. Now pockets are
becoming more popular with bib shorts
especially with gravel riding
and with this you get a little pocket
near the back. It's about
as big as a credit card for id so
something you could
shove in here you don't need quick
access to but something nice to have
so definitely a cool little easter egg
there.
Now as with any bib shorts you want them
to fit really well and almost provide a
compression type fit
and with this that means you have a
multi-panel design.
So you can see the leg and thigh portion
are separate
the front and rear are individual pieces
that really contour around you
and then you have the wide hem and again
with the hem on the legs
you have the Ale logo here with a
little grippy material so really holds
it in place
or keeps your leg warmers in place. You
also have the Ale branding on here
with this reflective
iridescent finish even though all black
is cool i highly recommend reflective
gear like this
just to keep you safe at night. Otherwise
pretty simple branding
with Klimatik here written on the side and
simple Ale logos in their fluorescent
color.
Now one of the most important parts of
any bib shorts is the chamois
this is the 8h variation. Ale offers a
couple variations and honestly i'm not
quite sure what the difference is as
they all look quite similar
but it's a really nice design you can
see it's a almost dimpled finish
in a multi-density foam. You can see
here a nice memory foam on the
center portions and then really thin
here.
You have these wide ring wings on the
side that prevent any chafing
as well as this extended front portion
you also have a pressure relief channel
down the middle.
It does a great job of hiding that
center seam so really comfortable
especially if you're riding a longer
ride as you don't want discomfort
on your chamois.
The connection point is also really nice
the stitching is this little zig zag
pattern really holds it in place well.
One thing to point out though is like
any running shoe
as soon as you start feeling discomfort
after a lot of mileage
you definitely want to replace your bib
shorts while things like a jersey or
jacket will last
a lot longer as they take less abuse. Now
here we have perhaps the most polarizing
part of the collection this is the
iridescent reflective jacket.
Now what's interesting interesting about
this it's not waterproof but it's water
resistant and fully windproof
with a waterproof zipper. It is something you
wear on a drizzly day but not a full
rain day.
With the iridescent design you can see
the color really shifts depending on the
light
so it's either green or purple depending
on the light hits it
with these nice reflective Ale
logos on the front and back so something
that looks really cool. This is great
for layering up with on colder
weather days
or nighttime riding. It's very thin so
it provides the wind proofness
without too much bulk. It is something you
can almost actually pack or just roll
up
and put behind you or saddlebag.
Now in the front you have a full zipper
and you can see when i open up the
zipper this is waterproof zipper
and the difference there is that you can
actually see it has a coating on here
so it won't let in water through the
actual zipper portion.
You also have that protective cuff
behind it which makes it windproof so
any wind that'll come through here will
hit that flap keep you nice and dry.
You can see the inner liner is just
black
you have a high elastic collar which is
nice and soft again
and you have this extra fabric here
which is really soft and gives it some
structure so
holds its form pretty well
otherwise pretty simple. Now on the sides
you have this multi-panel design
and one big reason this is not a
waterproof design is that fact that you
have this big mesh here
so this is almost transparent really
elastic
and soft it's really breathable so keep
you dry.
It won't keep you dry but it'll keep you
cool and it extends all the way up
so you can see all the way up the sleeve
you have the little panel
all the way down. This actually helps
with the form fit design too so really
contours around you with this elastic
actually stretching around your body.
It has a set in sleeve design not a raglan
and the seams are all really nice and
tidy something you expect for the higher
price point.
If we jump to the back of this
surprisingly there are no pockets so
something you want to layer on top of a
jersey with pockets
and again iridescent fully on the back
with just the mesh panels on the side.
You have this nice grippy hem so you
can see this little strip that holds it
in place
and as with a lot of cycling gear this
is a drop tail design so you can see the
front
is a lot higher than the back this
prevents bunching especially when in the
aero position
and also protects your backside.
[Music]
Now let's get the Klimatik kit on the road.
Here i'm at my favorite spot on a colder
day with the
jacket, bib shorts and jersey on. Even
though it's not a very sunny day in this
video you can still see that the
iridescent jacket
has a very cool visual effect. It's
actually multi-colored depending on
which angle you look at it and depend on
the light.
As you can see here it's green it's
purple and shades in between.
It attracts a lot of attention on the
road so if you want something more
subtle i don't recommend this but
if you want something with a little bit
of style and nighttime reflectivity it's
a great option.
We also really like the minimal branding
that's also reflective
as this makes it a great shell to layer
over on colder days.
Now on warmer days you can wear just the
jersey and bib shorts. They're double
layered so it's nice warmth to it
it's bulkier than traditional summer
jerseys but really comfortable.
My only complaint here is you can see
the back side is a little bit longer
than the front
so it makes it a little bit awkward on
the sides it kind of sags
but again you have really nice attention
to detail with the water repellent rear
the reflective logo the minimal branding.
Combined with the bib shorts it really
looks really cool especially with that
teal inside color it comes through with
the bib shorts and it's exposed with the jersey
[Music]
Now let's go over the Ale Klimatik
cycling kit scorecard.
We're going to grade on three different
categories: the design
sizing and the warmth. Starting with the
bib shorts we'd give the design an
A. They're very well made and comfortable
with the wide suspenders,
the little secret pocket on the rear and
the mesh panels.
Sizing we give an A- as with a lot
of Ale products these are form-fitting
and fit tighter than some
brands so we definitely recommend sizing
up or looking at the sizing chart very
carefully.
Warmth would give it an A, it has a
second teal inner layer that actually
peeks through when you're wearing it and
gives you nice soft
fabric on the inside that also insulates
you from the colder weather.
The short sleeve jersey we'd give an A
as well it's well priced and well
designed.
It has a multi-panel design that's also
form-fitting
and with the multiple pockets and
iridescent logo that looks great
on any bike. Size we'd only given A- as
well
because again all they just run a little
bit smaller.
Warmth is also an A it has a teal inner
layer that provides nice insulation from
the wind
and cold weather. The iridescent jacket
is probably our
favorite in the Klimatik collection.
They're really expensive so they're not
that practical but we give the design an
A+,
it just looks really cool you get the
nighttime reflectivity
and daytime reflectivity. It definitely
stands out and it's a great way to layer
up
because it's a jacket it takes less
abuse than bib shorts or jerseys so
something can definitely last a long
time.
Sizing of course the A- just
because a little bit tighter.
The jacket is a little bit larger to
allow some layering but it's definitely
form-fitting.
Warmth is a B, the iridescent jacket
is fairly thin
it's not quite packable. It's more
windproof and water repellent than
a real winter jersey so you definitely
want to layer up with thicker base
layers
or switch to a winter jacket for really
cold weather.
Thanks for watching this review, don't
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This is The Sweet Cyclist reminding you
to enjoy the ride!
[Music]