Castelli Nanoflex+ £40

These are surface-treated for water repellency as well as being fleecy.

The front of the Nanoflex+ warmer is made from the same hard-wearing Nanoflex fabric of old. At the rear there are two flatlocked seams at the sides of the knee joint rather than behind it — our one complaint about the old Nanoflex. The rear of the warmer is made from Nanoflex Light fabric. This is far stretchier than the standard Nanoflex.

The Nanoflex+ works really well. There’s still plenty of warmth and rain protection and they’re long too, so you can pull them far up your thigh for a second layer of insulation to your hard-working quads or downwards for extra lower leg coverage too.

There’s no gripper at the bottom of the warmers, but at the top is a silicone band both on the outside and inside to grip the insides of your shorts as well as your legs.

Castelli has preserved the great qualities of the Nanoflex+’s predecessor while addressing their one weakness — the badly placed seam.

colour: black sizes: Xs, s,M, L, XL, XXL www.saddleback.co.uk