- Riding mountain bikes in wet weather is amazing fun,
but of course you need some decent
waterproof clothing in order to do that.
And like any technical mountain-bike gear
you need to maintain this stuff
to make sure it consistently works
and stays working.
We've hooked up with Gore in order
to give you all that information you need
in maintaining and looking after
your waterproof clothing.
There are a lot of waterproof and breathable garments
available for mountain bikers to use.
Some are more breathable then others,
some are more waterproof then others.
Now usually is we have to sacrifice
trying to work out which one's best,
but when you say waterproof and breathable to me
the name that instantly springs to mind
is Gore-Tex which of course
is so well-known for the fact
it's completely waterproof
and highly, highly breathable.
But what is it that actually
makes this technology work?
Gore jackets and other garments
are made up from multi layers of fabric
and they all revolve around
the all essential Gore-Tex membrane.
Now the Gore-Tex membrane is the key to the system.
Now this stuff is covered in pores,
in fact, there's nine million pores per square inch
and each of those nine million pores
is 20,000 times smaller than a droplet of water.
So because of this construction of course
water and wind cannot pass through
but actual sweating, that heat vapor
can be released from the jacket
so you're not gonna be clammy on the inside
the breathability is like nothing else.
The real key thing to the Gortex membrane
above many other fabrics available on the market
is it's not affected by oils from your skin,
it's not affected by stuff like
insect repellent which can be highly damaging
to other fabrics out there.
Now although the membrane layer itself,
of Gore-Tex fabric, doesn't actually need
anything to keep it waterproof and breathable.
The outer shell layer has in common
with a lot of brands and that's this sort of stuff
that has a DWR coating on it.
So it's that DWR coating, durable water repellency
that effectively keeps the water beading off of you
when you're riding or when you're just outside
in the wind and rain.
Of course this is what we really associate
with a waterproof jacket.
Now again, the membrane will stop
that water coming through,
but when the DWR coating wears off
the fabric of the outer shell of a jacket,
and this applies to all waterproof jackets,
becomes saturated, it starts going
dark in color and becomes very heavy
and sits close to your skin.
Now it might feel that your jackets
are actually leaking at this time, they're not,
it's just the saturation of the wet (mumbles)
makes it feel clammy and cold on the inside
and that's really uncomfortable.
And when you're cold in the middle of winter
it's quite horrible.
So looking after your jacket
can restore that DWR coating
and that water repellency that you really need
to stay warm and dry in winter.
Now just like that DWR coating
is essential to look after on the outside of jackets
there's also a few things on the inside
that you need to pay attention to.
Now most waterproof jackets
will have some kind of seam sealing on them
and of course the fabrics used
are completely waterproof,
but when it sticks together there's tiny stitch holes
so the seam sealing basically seals up
all of those stitch holes so water cannot pass through.
Now in time that stuff can deteriorate
with your sweat and just constant use,
crumpling up and stuffing it in your riding bags,
all that sort of stuff.
So you need to basically maintain your jacket
just like you would any other piece of tech kit.
Other jackets, like Paclite materials,
or other more modern materials, quite often
are welded together and might not have
seam sealants as it's not needed.
This particular jacket is Paclite one
and it does have some seam sealing
but is very different looking.
It's a bit more traditional style
which you can actually fix yourself at home.
The essential key to looking after
your waterproof jacket is to keep 'em clean.
It's really the simplest thing you can do.
When you come in from riding
make sure they're nice and clean a good idea.
Perhaps if you're just wet
is to hang your jacket up and let it drip dry.
It's the best way to make sure
that all that stuff comes off the jacket
and it's gonna have the best chance
of doing its job again afterwards.
If you come in and you're completely muddy
you've got a couple of options available to you.
One that I quite often choose to do
is whilst I'm washing my bike
I'll hose the jacket down at the same time
just to get the worst of it off.
In fact, you can see this jacket here just by my side
I've hosed off the worst of it.
It has got some mud on it, but it's not too bad.
It does mean after a few more rides
then I'm gonna give this proper treatment again.
You have to decide what works best for you
with your particular jacket.
Now this is absolutely key,
you need to what your fabric is,
you need to know what the traits of the fabric
of your jacket is and how you treat it accordingly.
And when it comes to washing Gore-Tex fabrics
you'll be quite pleased with your investment
because there's really nothing
that special you have to do.
And I actually encourage you to wash Gore-Tex fabrics,
and Gore jackets on a regular basis.
What you need to do is wash using
your normal household washing powder at 40 degrees.
Now you have to make sure at all costs
you do not use a fabric softener.
Now this goes with all technical waterproof jackets.
This stuff wreaks havoc
with the breathability of jackets
and to a degree the waterproofness as well.
Now whilst Gore jackets don't need
to be tumbled dry to reactivate anything
drying a jacket is always good
it does help with that DWR coating
and many other jacket manufacturers
recommend warm tumble dry to reactivate
the DWR coating.
Now some particular waterproof jackets
you're definitely gonna need
to use dedicated proofers and re-treaters
to reactivate everything.
Now you don't need to do this with Gore.
Again, you don't need a tech wash,
just your regular household washing powder will be fun
whereas other jackets that recommend you
to not use household products.
So again, that's fine with Gore,
but not with all brands.
Now Gore will tell you to not use
a wash-in reproofer because this can actually
create havoc with those nine million pores.
So that's a bit of an issue with Gore
so don't do washing-reproofing treatment.
Now this particular spray is by Nikwax
and this is recommended for use on Gore fabrics
so you know it's safe to use
on your Gore-Tex jackets,
but also on eVent and Simtex fabrics.
Now something often overlooked with us mountain bikers
is the zips of a jacket.
Now if you're a road rider this is far less
of a concern because you clean your jackets
and it's fine.
But riding off-road you're gonna get sand, grit,
and mud all gettin' in the way of the zips.
Now some zips are a lot finer than others,
some of course are a lot chunkier,
and less affected by this.
Now you need to make sure the zipper mechanism
is fully clean, and if possible
you want to lubricate it as well.
Now it doesn't mean
dripping some chain oil on your jacket,
can't really do that, it's not gonna have
the right effect.
It does depend on the type of zip you have.
If you have a metal zip
the graphite that you get in pencils
is quite good actually for lubrication.
It's often used by locksmiths to actually lubricate
the inside of locks.
Now if you insist on using a pencil
it's not the easiest way of doing it.
Make it easier for yourself
with a carpenter's pencil
'cause the lead in them is quite a lot bigger.
But you can get dedicated graphite in tubs,
powdered graphite and it's much better
and it's really the right thing
for using on a metal zip.
However, for actually lubricating a regular zip
I've found ChapSticks work really well.
You can use wax of course to do this
and there's a dedicated zip lubricant available
if you just have a look online
it's easy to find and it works really well.
Can't recommend doing this enough
because I've had this happen to me
on several old jackets.
This is a very fine zip and it actually
got clogged up with mud and one particular ride
I just went to zip up
and actually ended up tearing the fabric
on the inside of the jacket.
Really pay attention to your zips
and your jackets gonna last you a long time.
Now given the nature of mountain biking
you're gonna tear a jacket here and there
and you're also gonna wear through fabric.
So you're gonna have to do
a bit of maintenance and stuff at home.
Now this is a pair of old Gortex shorts
I've had for, I don't know,
for probably six years now
and as you can see there a little bit worse for wear.
Just around here you can see it's bit damaged
to the stitching where the seam sealing's coming away.
So you can actually replace the seam sealing
from the inside at home by getting yourself
a roll of this stuff.
It basically irons on and repairs
any seam sealing that's peeling away.
It's really good stuff to have especially
if you've invested in a high-quality jacket.
But you can also get
dedicated Gore-Tex fabric patches
and you can get general fabric patches,
like tent-repair patches that do a really good job
of basically patching up these sections
that are particularly bad
because I have no intention of getting rid of these.
They still do their job on a daily basis
when riding to work so I'm gonna use 'em
until they literally fall apart.
Now a lot of waterproof jacket manufacturers,
and actually technical clothing manufacturers,
offer repair services as part of their warranty
or an extended warranty program.
If you're spending a lot of money
on a waterproof jacket it's definitely worth
checking that because that will be
part of your original cost.
If you're out riding for a weekend,
you're on a trip, keep some Gorilla Tape with you
because you could do trail-side repairs
on your jacket as this stuff sticks to most things,
of course, when it's dry, but it's waterproof
and of course is gonna patch up
a hole on the jacket perhaps if you've torn it
on some barbwire, or a sharp tree,
or if you fall down off your bike
and torn a gaping hole in it,
this stuff's amazing.
But you can't beat the dedicated Gore patches
or tent-repair patches and of course
that seam-sealing stuff.
This stuff is brilliant.
So there you go.
That's everything you need to know
about lookin' after and maintaining
your waterproof and breathable jackets.
Click down here if you wanna see
everything about night riding.
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