Castelli Blog

Test winner in the category of wind and rain protection gloves (German RoadBike magazine).

The Chiro Windstopper X-Fast outer softshell make this glove warm in windy and cold conditions, and is water resistant as well. The Magic Velcro wrist closure does its job perfectly keeping the heat in and cold out.  A soft micro-fibre nose wipe makes wiping dirt or spray a pleasure, and the thin material gives good shifter control.

The synthetic sueded No-Slip palm gives just enough pad without being bulky, and with amzing grip and lightness that makes this glove perfect for early spring races or long endurance rides. Recommended temperature range 5-12C°, weight 73 g (pair).

The Castelli Chiro Windstopper glove is available in black, white and red, size S-XXL. Take me to product page: Click here >>

When meeting up with the Cervélo TestTeam in November, we gave one pair of the Fulmine bibtights with nano-technology treatment to two riders that every year are facing a lot of kilometers in wet and chilly winter conditions.

Roger Hammond who live’s in the heart of Belgium is doing most of his winter training in the area of Brussels and in the UK. Carlos Sastre lives about 1000m above sea-level in the mountains north of Madrid in Spain. He was looking for something to keep him warm but more important dry during his specific winter preparation. The conclusion was the same from both riders:

“This new water-repellent fabric not only bounce off the water drops, it insulates and wicks the moisture away quickly so I don’t get that cold, clammy feeling any longer.”

Exclusively engineered by Castelli, the Nanoflex water repellent fabric is one of those fabrics that seems miraculous. On a dry day its as warm and breathable as our normal Thermoflex fleece fabric, but when it rains the water just runs off thanks to the 5 phase nanotechnology treatment. We’ve used an innovative construction that minimizes seams to keep you as dry as possible. While its not 100% waterproof, its the best solution we’ve ever tried for staying comfortable in any condition.

For more information, click here >>

New for September 2010, Water-resistant warmers and bibtights, COOL!

After a relatively mild autumn, colder temperatures and frequent snowfall have come to the Italian Dolomites. The wide variation in weather — from a cold morning breeze with -5°C (23°F) up to 10-14°C (50s°F) around noon — has forced me to swap out my summer wardrobe with winter gear.

What takes up most space are the cycling tights, base layers and accessories. Gone, are the thermal long-sleeve jerseys and the wind membrane jackets. My fluorescent yellow Insolito Radiation jacket has basically replaced two or three separate pieces of my old winter wardrobe.

The Insolito Radiation jacket has basically replaced two or three separate pieces of my old winter wardrobe.

I basically got through the entire winter and spring months wearing only one jacket last year. The total insulation against wind and cold is fantastic.
I wore this jacket on several cold rides, including 3 hours through a 2°C degree (35°F) windstorm that included drifting rain. I was wearing nothing under it except for the lightweight Base Long Castelli base-layer. I almost couldn’t believe how comfortable it was, and how well it kept the wind out. Read the rest of this entry »

Remarkably warm when used properly, grippy and fully wind- and waterproof, but non-breathable.

Castelli eschew the insulation-plus-shell construction of conventional winter cycling gloves fpr their Diluvio gloves, instead using a full neoprene shell similar to those used in wetsuits.

Stitches are solely external, interior seams are welded, nylon linings inside and out provide some abrasion resistance for cycling use, and the palm and finger area is covered in tiny rubber dots for grip.

Despite the minimal 3mm-thick material, the Diluvios are amazingly warm even in just-below-freezing temperatures – but only if you wear them properly. In diving, wetsuits are only warm because the body can maintain a heated layer of moisture right next to the skin and it’s no different here.

When we donned the Diluvios right before heading out on a cold day, no moisture built up and our hands stayed dry but they invariably froze. But if we put them on while our hands were still warm, they stayed that way and quickly thawed out again if we briefly had to pull the gloves off mid-ride for whatever reason.

The thin material and skintight fit makes for pretty decent bar feel – so much so that we even managed to type part of this review while wearing them!

The key to the Diluvios’ impressive warmth is also the source for our biggest complaint, though. Even Castelli readily admit that the neoprene is wholly unbreathable, so while your hands stay warm, they get clammy in a hurry. This also makes them very slow to dry after washing, since machine drying is a definite no-no.

Unfortunately, buyers shouldn’t consider the Diluvio to be a lifetime prospect. The keen white scorpion logos have already started to crack on our test gloves after just a few weeks of use, some of the rubber dots on the palm have already come off, and there’s no snot wipe.

Like all neoprene, the tiny bubbles infused into the rubber that lend the material its convenient properties will also eventually outgas after a couple of years.

Okay, so the Diluvios won’t last forever and your hands get pretty sweaty in them – but they’re great on race day and man, are they toasty.

More information on Bikeradar.com, click here >>
Castelli product page, click here >>