Rather than compile endless editions of bikes, I’ve been thinking that every now and again I’ll focus on a specific category of gear and find great examples for your viewing pleasure.  This week, I’ve taken a look at cycling clothing and some of my favourites.  Here we go…

Jerseys, Jerseys and more Jerseys

I love nice cycling jerseys.  In fact, when I look in my cupboard at home, there’s an approximately equal amount of shelf/drawer space allocated to cycling clothes as there is to normal clothes.  Here are a bunch of my favourite jerseys - I own a couple of these, the rest are on the shopping list.

I love retro jerseys and a few of my favourite retro examples are:

If you’re looking for a good source of retro cycling gear, Prenda’s is a pretty good online shop.  Sugoi also have this very nice woolen retro jersey - I’ve seen one of these in the flesh and it looks much better than the photo.  The jersey tends to hug the body much better than a standary poly jersey.  Even better, this is made with Aussie wool and is named the “Wallaroo”:

My son absolutely adores the colour yellow.  Anything that is yellow is good in his book; he keeps telling me that when he’s 16 he’s going to get a yellow car and drive really fast (he’s only 4, so there’s a few years yet).  His eyes lit up as he watched me compile this when he saw the Lion of Flanders jersey:

I love the design of this jersey - simple, elegant, bold and powerful.

Novelty Jerseys?

Generally I avoid novelty jerseys like I avoided novelty ties when I was younger (remember all the people walking around with Mickey Mouse on their ties??).  However, these are a few that I think are sufficiently cool to warrant a bending of the rules.

I really like this jersey.  In fact, there was a “full of bones” take off of this jersey made some years back by Aussie company Cannibal, but I can’t find a pic of that jersey anywhere.  Wish I’d bought one at the time:

Who doesn’t remember reading the Cat in the Hat when they were a kid.  I’ll bend my rules on novelty jerseys for a little Dr Seuss:

Here’s one for the girls that I thought was sorta cute:

Finally, perhaps one of the coolest jerseys because it’s steeped in history, the Cicli Olympia jersey.  Apparently, the background to this jersey is that “in 1923, Cicli Olympia commisioned Achille Luciano Mauzan to illustrate the exhuberance and sheer joy one may experience riding one of their bicycle products”.  Very cool:

A little humour

I have a strong sense of humour, and the guys at Eleven Gear make two great jerseys.  The first is great to wear on a super serious bunch ride - the Poseur:

And the second is ideal for wearing out at the track:

I’ve actually just ordered a bunch of these in and will be selling this from this website in coming weeks - keep your eyes out!

Classy Retro

You’ve probably noticed by now that I like retro stuff.  Solo in New Zealand is producing some really nice designs - retro style with modern fabrics and very good quality: 

 

Ahh, Rapha

I don’t think I can get through this without mentioning Rapha.  Their gear truly is gorgeous and one day I’ll take out that second mortgage on the house and buy a pile of their clothing.  Here are their club jerseys:

Quality is apparent in the finishing details:

Rapha not only make nice jerseys, but a bunch of other nice cycling gear.  A few favourites are their caps and their musette bag:

Castelli - Another Favourite

A brand that I’ve owned gear from over the years and have loved is Castelli.  There’s something about their designs that I really like and their higher end gear is luxurious to wear. 

Bibshorts:

The famouse Castelli logo - I really like the design of this jersey:

Capoforma

You’ll see lots of good cyclists wearing this gear.  It’s not cheap, and some of it is (in my opinion) not a whole lot better than standard cycling gear, but there are a few standouts.  I like their Diavolo jersey for it’s design:

Their Roubaix glove is gorgeous:

And the very cool Felpe trainer would be equally as welcome both on and off the bike:

White - so hot right now?

A friend from Transitions has immortalised the phrase above.  I must admit to having a bit of a thing for white cycling gear.  If I was out buying today, this is what I’d pick up - the Bianchi Milano in white:

Failing that, regardless of what you think about the team, the guys at Rock Racing really know how to design gear.  If I was going white, I’d go for the Austin Crit design:

Sugoi

My bike clubs team strip is made by Sugoi in Canada.  I like the cut of some of the gear and they get honourable mention for the following.  The RS bibshorts:

A very nice set of gloves - the C9:

 And whilst these look ridiculous and lairy in the photo, when paired with the right jersey look great (Primal Wear also do a version of these):

Courier Cool

I love bike messenger pants.  Whilst many will just ride whatever 3/4 length shorts, if you’re after a purpose built pair check it Bike Portland, or my personal faves - Chrome messenger pants:

And the Last Word

Whilst the debate will always rage about who makes the best gear, and is Assos really worth the money, I think they have to have the last word for one simple reason.  Not only do they make really lovely gear, but hands down the win the competition for the absolute best photography of cycling gear… Enjoy:

 
Full gallery below:

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