Gore C5 Cancellara Edition Summer Cycling Kit
It’s that time of year again when I start testing summer cycling kits. I love a good kit and when the weather starts to turn it’s always one of my favorite things to test out. This year a curve ball came our way. I can ride as much as I want, as long as I stay inside. This was the context that I had the opportunity to try out the new Gore C5 Cancellara edition gear.
Many of us are stuck riding inside but it’s still worth suiting up in a nice kit.
In the beginning I put it in my closet and hoped for better times. As time dragged on and no end came into sight I decided to try it out on the trainer. This marked a change in my life that I recommend to all the cyclists stuck inside right now. Pull out your best gear. What are you saving it for? Riding inside in full kit is something I’ve never done in the past but right now it helps keep me sane. It feels great to put on a well made kit before getting on the bike. Even if that bike isn’t actually going anywhere.
The Gore C5 Cancellara Edition stands out in the best way possible.
The Gore C5 Cancellara kit is an aesthetic change to the standard C5 kit. I’ll get into the technical details in a moment but one of the standout features is definitely the design. At the moment I’m riding alone and the styling of the kit isn’t a top priority. Even if no one else is seeing it right now though, it’s a great looking kit. We won’t be riding alone forever.
When it comes to features the first thing I noticed was the bib shorts. In front they come up high. I’ve always been a fan of this style. No matter how thin you are if you’ve got a waist band squeezing you at the waist line it’s not a good look. A high front keeps everyone looking a bit better and that’s the effect achieved here. The other stand out feature of the bibs is the very short chamois. It’s definitely oriented towards an aggressive seating position. There’s plenty of room in the front for leaning forward and it ends without much rear extension.
The chamois in the Gore C5 bib shorts work well with an aggressive riding position.
In front of the chamois is one of the more curious features I’ve ever seen on a summer bib short. The product description calls it the “Gore Windstopper Cup” and it’s a fleece area like what you’d find on a pair of spring/fall lined bibs. It’s something I’ve never felt the need to have in a summer bib short but I also haven’t noticed it as a negative on the Gore C5.
When it comes to the jersey I’d like to see the wider waist gripper found on the C7 jersey design. That said the C5 includes the important details. I always appreciate a zippered pocket on a jersey and the Gore C5 Cancellara Edition jersey includes one. In this case it’s on the outside of the center jersey pocket. It’s not a large pocket but should hold keys and identification and employs a beefy zipper unlikely to fail.
Features such as a zippered pocket are the kind of details that set the best kits apart.
The sleeve length falls into the goldilocks zone where it’s long enough to feel modern but not so long as to feel ridiculous. At the end of the sleeves Gore has gone the route of a traditional doubled hem. A doubled over edge on a jersey sleeve is somewhat unusual for a modern jersey. A raw edge is far more prevalent and the traditional hem is a nice counterpoint these days.
I also had a chance to take a look at some gloves from Gore. I never ride with summer gloves but the Cancellara collection includes a pair of Gore C7 gloves. The Gore C7 Cancellara collection gloves are do not include anything extra. There’s no padding, no hook and loop closure system, nothing other than basic palm protection and loops between finger to aid in removal. If I was ever going to ride with summer gloves this would be my preferred style and I’ve taken to using them on the trainer. They do an excellent job of keeping sweet from interfering with grip no matter the intensity. They also make it easy to wipe sweat from the brow. I won’t be wearing them outside but I do think I’ll continue to use them for trainer rides.
The Gore C7 summer gloves are an excellent companion for both indoor and outdoor rides.
The other pair of gloves I was able to check out are the Gore C5 Gore-Tex Infinium Gloves. I don’t wear summer gloves but I do wear a lot of different cool weather focused long finger gloves. The gloves I end up wearing more than any others are those focused on moderate weather in the spring and fall. The Gore C5 gloves are some of the best I’ve used and they include touch screen functionality. Why every glove on the market isn’t designed to work with touchscreens is beyond me but it’s nice to see here. The box end construction of the finger tips makes for better dexterity and I was able to text without too much difficulty. There’s touchscreen panels on both the thumb and first finger so two finger pinch to zoom also works well.
The Gore C5 Gore-Tex Infinium Gloves are smart to include provisions for a touchscreen.
The Gore C5 Gore-Tex Infinium gloves represent my favorite style of cool weather gloves. Again, there”s no padding in the palm. Bar feel is excellent already and further enhanced with the addition of silicone rings at the base of the pinky, ring, and middle fingers. The fit is close to the hand and the ring and loop enclosure won’t snag expensive kit. I expect I’ll be using these gloves for a long time to come.
The Gore C5 kit isn’t the top shelf of what Gore offers. I’d call it more of a workhorse. Some of the features, such as a wide horizontal gripper on the legs of the bibs or the folded hem on the sleeves of the jersey, don’t show up much on higher end kits. Despite that Gore has nailed the fit and the Cancellara special edition is an eye catching design. What you end up with is a kit that looks good and fits great for an excellent price. Inside or outside this kit is worth checking out.
Purchase the Gore Mens C5 Cancellara Jersey
Purchase the Gore Mens C5 Cancellara Bib Shorts
Purchase the Gore C5 Gloves Gore-TEX INFINIUM
Purchase the Gore C7 Cancellara Short Pro Gloves
Last summer I reviewed the Assos summer kit and the Castelli summer kit.
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