Might as well be a virgin looking for advice

[greencat]

Goretex Army/Navy/RAF surplus - the last two have the advantage of not usually being in camo patterns - but plain blues/blacks.

Also look for secondhand stuff on eBay/vinted - sometimes goes for peanuts.

Don't pay too much for your first bike. You might not like it. The stretched out racier positions of our youth are not always so kind to older bodies.

 

[Scott-S]

Wow, I never expected this.. thanks very much for both your time and advice folks..
It's kind of funny because my other hobby is air rifle target shooting and my own first bit of advice to anybody is don't over think it and to go with flow to let the finer details become apparent in time...
Clearly I never followed my own advice and massively overthought the whole thing here.
Lots of food for thought and many things to look into for kit especially with what I might already own.

This is why I prefer to use dedicated forums for help, you guys truly are the salt of the earth!

Many thanks again and my very best regards
Scott

 

[FluffyChicken]

Remember you may be local to someone here who may just want a ride too.
Or to talk about crap.

They may also have found out that clothes have a tendancy to shrink over the years.... Which I put down to the rain followed by sun, snow sleat, hail and dried off in a headwind back home.. not the cafe stops of course.

 

[Totoro]

Goretex /Navy/RAF surplus - the last two have the advantage of not usually being in camo patterns - but plain blues/blacks.

These are what I use, not into camo.
As I said though, I've not used them to ride in just for hiking. They are not the best IMO but they come in almost every size so you can get a perfect fit once you know what size you need. Would probably need cycle clips, twisters or even just elastic bands on the bottom though as they can be very wide by design so you can easily put them on or remove them over boots (on the overtrousers anyway). I'd try them maybe if I had to ride all day in the rain or camp but if I'm home in an hour or two then I'd rather just keep my torso dry but to each their own and all that.

 

[jimo746]

Decathlon do some decent riding gear, I have a pair of their All-Mountain trousers. Used to be a "shorts all the time" guy, but even in winter the trousers do a decent job of keeping the chill & the worst of the wet off me. Not lycra tight, but not too baggy either
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/sports/mountain-biking/mtb-tights-and-trousers

 

[konacarl]

Waterproof shoes, Preferably goretex are a must. I can live with cold legs as long as my feet aren’t wet and cold and my top half is warm.
I still have an aldi special jersey from about 14 years ago that works fine.
I picked up a second hand gore windstopper on ebay 10 years ago and its still my go to jacket.

 

[jimo746]

^^^ or waterproof (long) socks. For really wet days I use some that Santa delivered last year, can't remember the brand, but as good as the Sealskinz ones I used to have.

 

[FluffyChicken]

Dexshell socks?

I found these to be nicer than my Selaskins I had at the time, even better it's what Aldi or maybe Lidl sold for cheap (may have been branded with their name).

If you go winter ones, you'll need more room in your shoes.

 

[DrDaveTampa]

Main thing that strikes me about apparel is, I guess they don't make real chamois cycling shorts any more. You won't hear me exclaiming "cham-WOW!" these days, no sir. The only good news is, ever since I got up off my wallet and bought a brooks (after 60 years, finally got around to it) I don't need no stinkin chamois

I'll spend money on base layers (best I've ever ridden, by far, is LD Comfort motorcycling shorts) but as for everything else, I dunno man. I quit caring a long time ago. BDU shorts and a period correct tshirt for me (ie Cure or REM). Like Billy Pilgrim, I've come unstuck in time.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Like Billy Pilgrim, I've come unstuck in time.

Great work. One of the best war novels ever