2014’s Tour de France has finished. The barriers have been cleared off the Champs-Élysées, the lycra-clad, gurning frenchmen are back in their normal clothes, smoking tiny cigarettes and playing pianos probably, and Vincenzo Nibali has ridden off into the sunset, his veins full of nothing at all. Nope. No sir. Clean as a whistle, mate…
Cycling isn’t all about olive-skinned Europeans with bulging thighs and day-glo uniforms though, every now and again it’s quite nice to go out on your bike in the British countryside, get piss wet-through and realise that your cardiovascular system just isn’t what it used to be. For people who like the sound of that, there is Brooks England, who for a century-and-a-half have been making the finest cycling accoutrement, right here in Britain.
Oi Polloi are stocking a range of Brooks’ best gear, and if Oi Polloi know about anything, they know about selling things to keep you dry and comfortable for niche hobbies. There are nylon rain capes, a range of wonderfully understated bags and a selection of bar tape and saddles, so the bigger boys don’t laugh at your bike.
