shorty striped socks or similar

[mizrachi]

Does anyone have a source for the shorty striped socks that rivbike
used to carry or any recommendations if not? The shorty's were
thick(ish), cozy and soft, and I think wool or a blend of wool. Great
for riding or lounging.

[Thomas Lynn Skean]

Shortly after RBW stopped selling the striped sporty shorty, I called them and asked that very question. They did not know where I might find them in the 80/20 wool/nylon blend RBW had been selling just before they stopped carrying them.

IIRC the socks were made by Northland Woolens. Their web-site indicates they still make and sell a similar sock in 80/15/5 wool/angora/nylon blend.

My experience with RBW socks is that, while a good pure or near-pure wool sock like that (and for this purpose I consider angora to bs "rabbit wool") does not last long enough worn cycling to be worth buying, though I found them *extremely* comfy.

I do wish Northland Woolens made a 20% nylon sock. My final few pairs of those I got from RBW are giving out at the heel. I like the koala/kangaroo socks. But neither the knit nor the sizing is the same as those striped sporty shorties had. And those socks fit me perfectly.

Yours,
Thomas Lynn Skean

[Liesl]

I, too, bemoan the loss of those fuzzy, dreamy Riv 95% wool socks. I
would love it (and buy more pairs) if they were brought back and
everyone who bought them just signed a waiver swearing, "I will not
return them if they wear out, no matter how soon."

In the meantime, I have found some *rockin'* mohair socks. Mohair is
the first hair shaved from a kid angora goat. The socks are pricey,
but the anklets make fantastic fuzzy cycling socks. From the website:
"THERMOHAIR socks have now been worn to both poles, across the
Himalayas, to the top of Mt Everest, Mt McKinley, Mt Logan, and in
2000 Kilimanjaro. Lonnie Dupre of Grand Marais, Minnesota wore them to
circumnavigate Greenland, a trek that lasted from January to June
2000." Seems to me these are just the socks to wear with your
WoolyWarm Buttnup as you're hiking on, that's right, Baffin Island!

But don't go thinking that they're just for cold (even though they are
most excellent in the cold). I'm wearing them here in Minnesota in
August with Teva Hurricanes and this is some serious happy feet
comfort.

For all you placid warriors who are Minnesotans, there's a vendor that
sells them at the State Fair in the building below the Grandstand if
I'm remembering correctly and they're there this year.

http://www.thermohair.com/

yours in a looking-forward-to-the-cooler-fall-rides way,
Liesl

[EricP]

1+ Purchased a couple pair from Thermohair last year. Expensive, but
they don't seem to wear out easily.

A side note - many (but not all) of the socks sold by them are made
from mohair from this place - http://www.austinsmohair.com/
(It's a great place down by Harmony, MN).

Northland Woolens only had a few socks in the Dairy Building at the MN
State Fair. In the past I have purchased from them.

I also would like to see the 95 percent wool socks again. Although I
only got two wearings out of mine before one heel blew out.

Somewhat Riv-related. Have been known to ride my Sam Hillborne to the
Minnesota State fair. Probably will when we go for a second time this
Saturday.

Eric Platt
St. Paul, MN

[Thomas Lynn Skean]

I bought over half-dozen pair of the as-much-wool-as-possible Northland Woolens socks from RBW (the ones they sold before they switched to the 80/20s). It was weird. Some of thsoe lasted over a dozen wearings (sweet, sweet wearings!). Others lasted one. They must've been very subject to the specific fibers being used, or some slight change in the construction. I don't particularly like wearing socks when I'm just lounging around the house. But if that's someone's thang, they'd've been marvelous for that. With my not-so-

 

I think I'm going to give the 75/25 mohair/nylon socks a try. I like socks way too big. I wear 11.5 shoes. So socks intended for 13-14 feet might actually work for me. (The current largest size of the Koala/Kangaroo socks from RBW are okay for me. But they'd be better if they were just a little bigger.)

 

I do wish the Thermohair web-site showed the shipping cost. I really dislike buying anything without knowing the actual cost of acquisition (cost of ownership, cost of usage... those are different). I'll have to give them a call. Sigh.

 

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean