Cycling jacket nostalgia

What did cyclists wear in the days before lightweight and breathable rain capes (or waterproof jackets as non-cyclists call them)? A common sight was the venerable Bertram Dudley Greenspot jacket, made in Yorkshire from Gaberdine or Poplin.

Happily, as modern cyclists discover the joys of tweed and cotton fabrics (when they're not blasting around the roads on lightweight racers wearing Lycra) there has been a revival of the vintage cycling jacket. Hilltrek has been selling a Ventile version for a while (called the Greenspot to honour the original) and Brooks sold an upmarket, Timothy Everest Ventile design, called the Criterion cycling jacket. Here they are.

Hilltrek Greenspot Ventile cycling jacket

Brooks Criterion jacket

An original Greenspot (photo eBay)

British weatherproof fabrics 1 - Ventile

I've mentioned British Millerain (a waxed cotton fabric) and Ventile (a closely woven water resistant cotton) before. No doubt as a result of our love of outdoor sports, whatever the weather, many of these waterproof fabrics are British-made. To many consumers, cotton has advantages of breathability and quietness over artificial waterproof fabrics.

Ventile was designed in the UK before the Second World War, when the search was on for a waterproof material made from cotton. It was used for hoses and firebuckets and then developed for Royal Air Force survival suits (for which it is still used). Here are examples of how Ventile is now used for outdoor clothing.

Ventile Private White VC mac

Nigel Cabourn Mallory jacket with Ventile patches

S.E.H Kelly Ventile mac detail

Dark green Ventile rainproof mac from S.E.H. Kelly

Nigel Cabourn Ventile Everest parka

Nigel Cabourn Ventile Everest parka detail 

Orvis Ventile shirt

Nike Ventile anorak

Nike Ventile anorak (detail)

Westwinds Airdale Ventile jacket

Joe Caseley-Heyford at John Lewis Ventile mac

Brooks Bicycles + John Boultbee, Ventile Blackwell cycling jacket

Hilltrek Ventile cycling jacket