When Rapha started out in 2004, it created a new fashionable sensibility in cycling clothing.
Prior to that, I remember the choices being a swathe of trade jerseys advertising anything from lotteries to floor tiles, often in garish colours – and of course your local bike shop didn’t have full kits. So, it’d be a mismatched assortment of soon-to-be bargain-bin Lycra and polyester travesties.
When Rapha came along, I was overjoyed. Suddenly, I could use kit that looked good. Why wouldn’t you want to look your best when doing your favourite thing?
We've never had it better
In the intervening years, we’ve seen historic brands making better-looking kit. Castelli, one of the oldest cycle clothing brands, used to produce a lot of fluro, big logos and garish multi-colour designs. It has since adopted subtle colourways, soft-touch fabrics and multiple cuts that range from second-skin pro-fit to relaxed endurance and gravel stylings.
Similarly, Santini, whose history is in solid functional technical wear, but with some questionable design choices, has in recent years looked south west from its Bergamo HQ and taken stock of Milanese fashion culture.
The current Santini offerings bring subtle colour coding, considered cuts and a fresh colour palette. They now embody understated technical excellence.
We also have a swathe of new upstarts bringing style and technical capability together superbly. From MAAP's bold fashion-driven designs through to the subtle Scandinavian design of Pas Normal, we’ve never been served better by cycle clothing brands.
However, we’re seeing the best bib shorts exceeding £300, simple jerseys commanding prices in the hundreds and waterproof jackets priced at more than £400, with cycling shoes stretching over £500. That means a premium outfit, just for an autumn ride, could set you back more than £2,000 – or the price of a good winter training bike.
How much is too much?
We shouldn’t feel compelled to max out our credit cards just for brand reputation, when there are plenty of alternatives that I see as just as cool and technically capable for a whole lot less money.
With high-end clothing brands as diverse as Assos, Q36.5, Pas Normal, MAAP, Rapha, Attaquer, Nimbl and Bont, it’s easy to get drawn into style-obsessed high-end bike kit.
That’s all well and good if you can afford it, but if those hyper-brands are out of your reach, there are more affordable options out there.
Attainable alternatives
Here’s a rundown of those premium offerings and my affordable recommendations from years of testing cycling kit.
Bib shorts
Assos prioritises technical performance above all else, and in my view, it has always made the best bib shorts around. The Mille GTO shorts are an endurance classic, but they come with a £305 price tag.
Castelli’s Unlimited 2 Cargo bib shorts, at £160, are slightly more than half the price of Assos’ endurance option.
The Unlimited shorts are designed for both road and gravel, so come with a great pad to reduce the shocks and bumps of off-road surfaces. That makes them a great option on long road rides and those cargo pockets are great for used energy gel wrappers.
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Cycling jerseys
MAAP’s Pro Air 3.0 Jersey, in collaboration with Mental Athletic, is priced at £170. The bold graphics cover a lightweight jersey with open-mesh zones to aid cooling when working hard. It's a technically great top with a bold design.
Meanwhile Lusso’s £85 Perform jersey comes in block colours or some bold graphic options. It’s made from a lightweight fabric with mesh inserts and the same second-skin fit as MAAP’s option for half the price.
Gilets
I love a cycling gilet – they're the ideal pocket-stowable garment for cold starts or when the weather changes mid-ride. My £155 Pas Normal Mechanism gilet is a favourite. However, £155 is a lot of money for a simple sleeveless shell.
The Madison Roam windproof packable PrimaLoft gilet costs £39.99 and is a far more affordable option. I own this sleeveless marvel, and its windproof front and lightweight PrimaLoft quilted panels make it a great autumn and winter ride essential.
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Cycling jackets
The Q36.5 Dottore Termico jacket costs £470 for the thermal option or £390 for the lightweight version, which has impressed me hugely over the last couple of years. It’s a brilliant rain jacket. The fabric repels water, it's hardwearing and the fit is perfect for on the bike. However, the price is another tough one to swallow.
Altura’s Icon Pocket Rocket, at £125, is a great emergency option that packs small yet keeps you dry. The stretch fabric panels keep the fit flap-free, too.
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If you’re looking for a thermal jacket, Santini’s Windbloc Thermo is my go-to option. At £200, it’s still less than half the price of Q36.5’s thermal Termico.
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Road shoes
Nimbl’s ultra-light Italian-made shoes, as worn by Jonas Vingegaard, retail for £549, while stylish collab editions are priced even higher. Light weight and stiffness are paramount, with a single size-43 shoe claimed to weigh only 192g. The price, though, is anything but light on your pocket.
In the summer, I used O2C’s Vector RC1 shoes for lots of miles.
O2C’s founder was formerly at high-end shoe brand Bont, and his new line of shoes impress with great shapes, low weight and ample stiffness.
The Vector RC1 is priced at only £174.95, less than half the price of Nimbl’s Ultimate Exceed Pros, and at 230g in the same size they weigh only 76g more (the weight of a chicken’s egg) for the pair.
Gravel shoes
Bont’s Vaypor G gravel shoes combine the brand's signature super-stiff and lightweight bathtub sole with chunky grip and formable heat-mould tech. They are the ultimate gravel race shoes, but the £399.95 price tag is a bit rich for my liking.
A more affordable option comes from Udog, the Italian shoe brand started by ex-Fizik head Alberto Fonte, which offers some seriously stylish shoes at solid prices.
The Forza gravel shoe features a tough woven upper, stiff carbon sole and chunky natural rubber sole. They’re my go-to gravel shoes and, at £175, less than half as costly as Bont’s option.
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Warmers, socks and gloves
When it comes to accessories such as arm and leg warmers, socks and even gloves, I’ll save my cash, too.
MAAP arm warmers are £50 for a couple of sleeves of polyester/elastane, whereas Madison’s thermal arm warmers are £19.99.
Solid winter gloves such as Endura’s Deluge can be had for less than £50, while Assos’ Ultraz winter gloves are priced at £85. Assos socks are £25, while Madison’s plush Merino 4-season socks are £9.99.
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Budget-friendly and good-looking
The likes of Madison, Altura, Lusso and Udog have likely learnt a lot from Rapha, MAAP and other premium brands when it comes to bringing style to their products.
While Rapha and MAAP might be more on the pulse with the latest trends and collaborations, these more budget-friendly brands do a great job of making good-looking kit for a good price.
As much as I admire the high-end options (and really want their kit), a quick reality check and look at my bank balance makes me grateful for the more affordable quality options we have. We can now leave those bargain bin choices far behind.
