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review

Shutt VR Ltd Edition Tweed Cap

9
£39.50

VERDICT:

9
10
A very fetching hat indeed and good on or off the bike
Weight: 
40g
Contact: 
www.shuttvr.com

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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The good old-fashioned cycling cap has seen a bit of a comeback over recent years, becoming the trendy headwear of choice for those choosing to eschew helmets, looking for something to wear under their helmet, or just for hanging about in off the bike. A little way of saying 'I'm a cyclist, you know' in everyday life.

Shutt VR's take on the casquette is one that will please many and dismay few. What's not to like about a lightweight tweed cycle specific cap, made in the UK, using 100% Scottish wool tweed and with a very limited run so you'll not be seeing them everywhere? At just 40g, it's a lightweight hat, with plenty of breathability in the wool tweed fabric, and the Cupro anti-static lining is also nicely breathable, but gives a measure of wind resistance too. It's a three panel, one-size-fits-all design, with an elasticated section at the back for comfort and a good fit (it doesn't blow off in the wind). It really does fit most head shapes and sizes, male or female. It's light and tucks away happily in a jersey pocket so is ideal for touring or cafe rides when helmet hair just isn't the look you want.

It fits well under a helmet, offering a bit of warmth and wind protection, but really, it's way too nice to be hidden away and deserves to be worn on its own, where you can see it, whether you're riding or not. There are only 23 of the pink tweed variant, so get 'em while you can, but rest assured other tweeds and limited edition fabrics will be on the way if you miss this one.

Verdict

A very fetching hat indeed and good on or off the bike.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Shutt VR Ltd Edition Tweed Cap

Size tested: One size

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 style conscious cyclists.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

100% Scottish Wool Tweed

One size

Elasticated rear

Cupro anti-static lining

Washable at 30 degrees

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
10/10

Fantastic fabric, well made and extra points for being made in the UK.

Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10

It does a great job of looking good but also keeps your head just the right amount of warm.

Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10

As long as you don't shrink it in the wash or attack it with velcro this should last years.

Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
9/10

Light and pocketable.

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
10/10

Extremely comfortable either on its own or under a helmet.

Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

It ain't cheap but it's a seriously limited edition, it's made in the UK from 100% Scottish wool tweed and it'll last you for years so it's a sound investment.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Very well.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Everything.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Definitely. And also as a gift.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

It's a casquette, it's made in the UK from 100% Scottish wool tweed. Enough said.

Overall rating: 9/10

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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7 comments

Avatar
BigDummy | 12 years ago
0 likes

According to my calculations, this Pink Tweed Cap is so cool that you only have to wear it for 38 minutes before being brain-damaged in the inevitable accident to make it worthwhile.

A Rapha cap isn't quite as cool, so you've got towear that helmetless for nearly 2 hours to make it worth the persistent vegetative state.

Avatar
Yennings | 12 years ago
0 likes

Ah, the familiar sound of a can of worms opening...

I'm with russyparkin, for what it's worth. Riding without a lid, especially in city traffic, is one of the best examples of Darwinian selection you'll ever see. If they're not retarded before, good chance they will be afterwards.

It's not about the high speed crashes, where a lid won't help either way. It's about the low speed crashes, the ones that feel fine at first.

Ultimately, your brain bounces off the inside of your skull either way. There is no doubt that the rate at which it does so can be mitigated to a certain extent by putting a fat slice of expanded polystyrene between said head and the hard stuff. No research needed, simple physics. A pillow, effectively.

Each to their own, I say. Cycling is all about personal freedom. But in my experience, the helmet refuseniks are often the same people who think their chain-smoking habit is doing them no harm either.

Avatar
russyparkin | 12 years ago
0 likes

your choice my friend, helmets dont look right on fixies and its hard to get Dre Beats headphones under a helmet i suppose  1

Avatar
cat1commuter | 12 years ago
0 likes

Hmm, I think I'll wait for a non-pink one.

And I'll continue to choose not wear a helmet @russyparkin thank you very much.

Avatar
russyparkin | 12 years ago
0 likes

this whole no helmet revolution is retarded. i can say that with my giro thats in 3 pieces on the side by my bike as a permanent reminder to take my helmet. there should be a compulsory helmet law and people like rapha should not be allowed to have photos of people riding without helmets. just encourages hipsters to have a death wish.

but on the flipside it looks quite cool for under the helmet or indeed the cake stop.

but come on kids, dont be dingbats. wear a helmet shattered brain looks shit even if its in a rapha cap

Avatar
LuckyJim replied to russyparkin | 12 years ago
0 likes
russyparkin wrote:

this whole no helmet revolution is retarded... ...there should be a compulsory helmet law... ...wear a helmet shattered brain looks shit even if its in a rapha cap

Good call Champ: it's not as if there is any doubt about the efficacy of helmets, is there?

Avatar
Pisiform | 12 years ago
0 likes

Fetching.....Really??

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