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Dashing Tweeds reflective Leg warmers

8
£40.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Cosy, practical, quirky, reflective and just a little mad. Excellent gift material
Weight: 
81g
Contact: 
www.velorution.biz

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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If you are too young to remember the original TV series ‘Fame’ and too old to have seen its big screen return, you may well just laugh out loud at the thought of cycling legwarmers. Truth be told, you might chuckle even if you DID pay homage to Olivia Newton John. For these Knee Warmers from Dashing Tweeds are not technical knee warmers, made from clever moisture wicking, quick drying thermal fabrics. These are proper, disco diva legwarmers and I don't doubt there's a gap in the market for them.

Made primarily from wool, they are designed to bridge the gap between tights and shoes, whether those tights are technical thermal cycling ones, or 50 denier smart work ones. Available in either plain grey or striped, they look casually stylish in a quirky vintage way, and they actually do a great job of keeping your ankles warm and work well as a trouser retainer and protector too.

The secret weapon that stops these legwarmers merely being an overpriced excursion into retro-land is that, as they’re made by Dashing Tweeds, they incorporate clever reflective yarns in the wool mix. These yarns looks just like the grey wool in daylight, but put them under car headlights and they reflect beautifully. They’re not quite as reflective as say Scotchlite, but as a safety ‘extra’ on cold dark evenings, they are certainly far better than nothing.

I was skeptical on first receiving these – partly because I am old enough to remember wearing legwarmers the first time around, but I’ve popped them on quite a few times now, partly for their cosiness, partly for their reflectivity, and in truth, partly because they’re just a little bit bonkers.

Verdict

Cosy, practical, quirky, reflective and just a little mad. Excellent gift material.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Dashing Tweeds Leg warmers

Size tested: Grey, blue, green stripes

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Aimed at the style conscious cyclist looking for added reflectivity for safety without compromising looks.

Nice niche. Surprisingly it works.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
5/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

Did you enjoy using the product? A lot.

Would you consider buying the product? Definitely. I might buy some for friends too.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes. But I'd prefer to keep them to myself.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 37  Height: 1.65m  Weight: 67kg

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, general fitness riding, mtb,

Lara has been riding bikes for longer than she'd care to admit, and writing about them nearly as long. Since 2009 she has been working as part of the road.cc review team whilst championing women's cycling on the side, most notably via two years as editor of the, sadly now defunct, UK's first and only women's cycling mag, erm, Women's Cycling. 

Believing fervently that cycling will save the world, she wishes that more people would just ride a bike and be pleasant to each other. 

She will ride anything with two wheels, occasionally likes to go fast, definitely likes to go far and is always up for a bit of exploring somewhere new and exciting. 

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5 comments

Avatar
GavinT | 14 years ago
0 likes

Sadly, now that I'm starting christmas shopping, these don't seem to be available. :o(

Avatar
Lara Dunn | 14 years ago
0 likes

Actually it doesn't rub on the chain at all  3 And the fellahs in 'Fame' wore legwarmers too!

Avatar
antonio | 14 years ago
0 likes

The one worn on the right leg will keep the chain nice and clean as it drops down to the ankle.

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dave atkinson | 14 years ago
0 likes

you do what you feel is right, BD  1

Avatar
BigDummy | 14 years ago
0 likes

These are immense. As a style matter, presumably this is a bridge too far for the gentleman cyclist, who would be better advised to stick to socks, no?

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