Ground Effect Witches Britches

[snapdragen]

Anyone familiar with these http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/product_detail.php?style=WIT&category=WOM#

I like the idea of the fleece knees.

snap "froze her buns today" dragen

[DeniseGoldberg]

I love the name of these knickers!

I haven't tried them myself, and right now I don't feel the need to because I am very happy with my Pearl Izumi Thermafleece knee warmers. Have you tried knee warmers?

--- Denise

[kiwi girl]

I have a pair and I really do like the fleece knees. Mine are a couple of years old though and they since have upgraded the type of chamois pad that they are putting in them. It is now the same pad that is in a couple of pairs of shorts (jitterbugs) that I have bought from them. I find it quite comfortable - one review of the shorts I read said 'the seamless chamois has different levels of padding but overall is the thinnest on test. Not necessarily a bad thing - it conforms well to the body and doesn't bunch up'
I am a big fan of Ground Effects gear, I buy almost all of my cycle clothing from them and between me and my BF we proably have 75% of the stuff in the catalogue.

[kiwi girl]

by the way lots of their stuff has cool names - I particularly like 'she shell' for their womens specific raincoat. Their baggy womens shorts with a chamois inner are called 'tom thumbs' because the guys version is called 'double happys' and at least here in NZ double happys and tom thumbs were both banger fireworks (you can't buy them anymore). They make a under layer of merino wool that is called 'submerino', their under helmet hat is called a 'baked beanie' etc etc

[snapdragen]

Thanks kiwigirl! I was hoping one of the NZ members would answer. I've been looking at Ground Effect stuff for years, time to order something!

[crazycanuck]

Hey snapdragen

I'm a groundeffect fan as well....It's all i have in my cycling wardrobe...I love my ricochet's & tom thumbs...

I'm not too fond of the gloves though...but can't find the right gloves i want...so i may just stick with them...

ahhhh..ground effect...

c

[snapdragen]

Good to know cc - I ordered the Witches Britches last week.

[RoadRaven]

I LOVE getting the Ground Effect catalogues... they are soooooo funny (does a quick check of desk to see if I can find one and type an example... nope... darn!)

They are worth a read as they really put some thought and fun into writing descriptions for each item, and the names they give things are fun too...

However, I cannot really tell you much about their products, as even their sales are quite expensive (and I live here - in NZ!!!)

Their Witche's Britches I can vouch for via a friend, as she has some.

[snapdragen]

They have a nifty converter on line - so I could see the price difference between NZ and US dollars. Prices are comparable to what we pay in the US - I think the britches came out around $68 US.

[kiwi girl]

you can read all the cool descriptions that roadraven has mentioned if you click on the individual products on their on-line catelogue

http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/products.php?category=WOM

One example on the starfish - the long sleeve summer weight jersey is...

"Long sleeves protect your forearms from both the sun and the cold (how does it know?)".

[snapdragen]

This has always intrigued me about Ground Effect:

"Sewn in emergency tube repair patch, because you can never be too well prepared ."

There is really a patch sewn in? Do you rip a hole in the clothes if you need to use it?

[kiwi girl]

This has always intrigued me about Ground Effect:

"Sewn in emergency tube repair patch, because you can never be too well prepared ."

There is really a patch sewn in? Do you rip a hole in the clothes if you need to use it?

yeah there really is a patch sewn in. It is wrapped in a thin plastic film so you can tear or cut the plastic without tearing the clothes. My problem with it is I am far more likely to run out of glue, or have my glue dry out than to run out of patches

[tattiefritter]

Can also recommend the Witches Britches, I purchased a pair a couple of months ago and loved them. The fleecy knees are good and the lycra itself just feels fantastic to wear. Its a bit cold here for witches britches at the moment but I am riding regularly in my Ice Queen windproof fleece (so snuggly) and a pair of Daddy Long legs for commuting as I loved the lycra that much, they keep the wind of my shins and knees really well. I've always found Ground Effect service excellent the prices are very good and most stuff has arrived with me in the UK from NZ within 4 days of ordering (something some UK companies can't manage) and I've (touch wood) not been stung for VAT/Import duty yet (thanks Royal Mail!).

In fact I think I'll go on their site for a peruse now....

[Cari]

Is there anyone from the U.S. who has ordered from Ground Effect? I'd like to know how much you paid for shipping and how long your stuff took to arrive.

I'm really digging that long-sleeved summer jersey, but am wondering if the shipping charges would make it a bit too expensive for me.

Thanks,

~Carissa

[tattiefritter]

Cari, if you add an item to your cart, Ground Effect will tell you what the shipping cost is likely to be. It will be in NZD but you can work it out as they will give you the value of the order plus shipping in USD and you can deduct the value of the item(s) from the total.

They also have a cost table here

http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/freight.htm

They say 1 - 2 weeks for delivery to rest of world but it has always arrived within days to the UK

[psychavoc]

I ordered a Ground Effect sleeveless riding top (Tank girl), and it's pretty good. That sewn in patch thing is a bit out of shape after going through the wash a few times, but I'm sure it'll be fine in an emergency! I've also got a few Ground Effect sports bras (the Presto) which are really nice because they've got a mesh back so don't feel so sweaty or icky!

Another really cool kiwi company that make some nice women's stuff is Krank Dirtwear. www.krankdirtwear.com will probably work, otherwise it's www.krankdirtwear.co.nz. They deliver overseas aswell, but I especially like attention to detail and the cool packaging that Krank Dirtwear uses! :) They're a relatively new company, but their quick and friendly service is awesome!