We’ve covered what new bikes and bits we fell in love with in 2001 but (thankfully) we weren’t riding them naked. So here are the pick of the clothes that kept us the right side of hypothermia, chafing and the public decency act;

You can generally expect a few new fabrics to gallop into the shops saddled with a heavy burden of hype. This years contender is Gore Tex Paclite which is a year or so old but started appearing on bike jackets in 2001. Basically an ultralight, single skin very breathable waterproof it’s designed for minium pack size and maximum performance. Karrimor have used it in their proven Vail design to form minimalist rain protection, while Gore have squeezed a few more features into their slightly bulkier Paclite Bike jacket. The bottom line is it’s a great fabric for ‘take along’ protection but it’s very expensive and you’ll still sweat going up hill.

Gore also launched N2S (Next2Skin), an evolved version of the Windstopper fabric used by Mountain Hardware in their Transition shirts. Having spent nearly all of a drizzly summer in the one sample garment we had we’re massively impressed. It’s breathable enough not to get sweat rivers down your rump on even the hottest hardest climbs, but it’ll shrug off strong winds and showers without worry. It’s certainly the best multi condition shirt we’ve ever used by a long stretch and though prices will be high when the first production garments appear next year we reckon it’s well worth it. Our only problem was the fact we wore it so constantly we hardly had chance to wash it. Well, to be honest that was more of a problem for Mrs Scoop and the cats than it was for me.

Cannondale and Pearl Izumi continue to fly the flags of American style and quality, while Continental style fans should check out Castelli (who’s Progetto shorts are still the most comfortable we’ve ever had) or Assos. Don’t expect any of them to come cheap though.

As for the rest of the garment world it more or less reflects what’s going on elsewhere in mountain biking. Well designed performance stuff that would have cost an arm and a leg a few years back now available at decent prices. Altura’s range of kit has particularly impressed us and we’ve rarely been out riding without the Dryline trousers since we got them last autumn. New Zealand web tailors Ground Effect are also turning out gear that works just as well on this side of the world and still manages to be damn cheap even after express postage. Double Happy shorts and Flash Gordon jacket are particular favourites. Parrot’s range of gear continues to provide the same high value, high performance mix with cut and design that shows their cycling experience. The same can be said for Polaris who obviously use their knowledge from ten years of running endurance events to see what works and what doesn’t.

Endura’s MT500 shorts (as used for the broomstick scenes in Harry Potter) and 3/4 length knickers are still stalwarts of our spring summer wardrobe, and our 4 year old pair of 3/4’s still haven’t worn out yet. Their winter tights are excellent too, as are the Windstopper bibs from Gore Bike Wear and Pace’s winter tights (as long as your legs are narrow). Pace’s venerable Winteractive still snug fits and vents it’s way to the top of our winter jacket pile for performance above and beyond the call of duty in anything the climate can throw at it.

If you haven’t got into the wonderful world of really nice socks yet, then make that your 2002 resolution. Thousands of assorted logo’s from DeFeet, more features than a full suspension bike from X-Socks, hot winter / cool summer from Smartwool or super value Coolmax from Endura and stinkbusting X static from Pearl Izumi.

Last piece of advice? Get a Buff, you’ll use it more than you would ever believe.