New product spotlight: Showers Pass

As the rainy part of fall officially bestows itself upon Kansas City, it is nice to have rain gear in your arsenal.  Having gear that can shed the elements is a must come winter and serves as a great barrier between rain, sleet, wind, and snow if you are that hardcore.  Even if you aren't, as we highlighted in our article about dressing for cold weather rides, it isn't hard to be set up for comfort in all temperatures.

Elite Cycling has recently added Showers Pass to it's list of technical cycling and running apparel.  We searched for a company that could provide the best in protection from the elements while still maintaining all the attributes that we as cyclists, triathletes, and runners require.  In business in the Pacific Northwest since 1997, Showers Pass has become an industry leader for technical cycling gear and has grown from a small business to a national favorite among cycling enthusiasts.  Their attention to detail, high quality, sharp looks, and use of Elite fabric made bringing them in a no-brainer.

Showers Pass has a thorough line of jackets, pants, and accessories for every type of cyclist from the daily commuter, to the cyclocross junkie, to the roadie or triathlete who is putting in miles year round.  There are two pieces I have been particularly impressed with.  The Elite Pro jacket is a waterproof, windproof and breathable shell.  It is insanely light at 240g, is fully seam-taped (...that means no water/wind leaking through the seams!), is extremely breathable (no more soaking in your sweat on those long slow endurance rides), has an offset euro style seam sealed zipper, and comes with a cycling specific cut, including adjustable cuffs that allow the rider to control air flow through the jacket.  Showers Pass also offers the Elite 2.0 which serves as a bit more relaxed cut.

The other piece I am really excited about is the Softshell Trainer.  I have always liked the idea of having an insulated cycling specific jacket  for the days that the weather drops to colder temperatures but am always turned off by the seemingly endless number of offerings that are either not water/windproof or are too stiff and lose the flexibility of a jersey or wind/water shell.  Showers Pass provided the answer to my gripes with the Softshell Trainer.  Available in black or yellow, it has all the convenience of a long sleeve jersey (tapered sleeves, rear zippered cycling jersey pockets, and sleek look) with the added waterproofing and thus wind resistance by nature of the waterproof fabric.  This piece has the versatility to be the perfect piece for fall/winter training rides (just add a windstopper baselayer from Craft on those really windy days.  Crossbikereview gave the piece a pretty stellar review and went as far as to post a video:

   

Stop in and check out our line of Showers Pass apparel.