Gravel cycling is a blend of Road and MTB cycling. The bike represents a road bike more than an MTB with drop bars, no suspension and similar frame geometry. Gravel bikes however are built to cope with the demands of riding fast on the trail without compromising speed on the roads.
Bottom line, you can ride road or trails at speed, allowing you to choose how or where you ride depending on your mood.
The look of a gravel rider varies. Racers look more like typical “roadies” with aero lycra jerseys and bibs, while adventure riders, focused less on speed and more on distance or self-support adventures, riding a more relaxed look. This isn’t as relaxed and baggy as mountain bikers and represents a blend of Roadie and a Mountain biker.
When we started to think about our bib shorts, we knew we wanted to create something specifically for gravel cyclists and accommodate the needs of the gravel rider in terms of adding protection from the elements, mud, spray and add storage for those adventure rides.
Storage was simple and we placed 2 pockets on the back of the bibs to handle phones, tools and nutrition. This was the obvious place as the pockets get covered with the jersey, keeping the contacts clean and safe and any bulky items don’t hinder the racer who is looking for a more aero short.
We wanted to create a short that compressed the thigh muscle to aid performance yet wanted a slightly more relaxed look without compromising aerodynamics. The solution was a double layer construction, using the finest Italian compression lycra to form the basis of the short and build a second layer using an ultralight recycled microfibre woven fabric that gives us the look we wanted but also provides an extra layer of protection from the elements.
This double layer is unique and provides the perfect blend of typical “Roadie” bib short with a more relaxed vibe that provides so much protection from the mud, dust and rain.
The chamois was a simple decision and we decided to select the best gravel specific chamois from Elastic Interface, the gurus of bib short chamois pads.
The shoulder straps use a soft touch, wide elastic made from one of the best elastic manufacturers in Italy. The wide straps help provide comfort on the shoulders as the load is spread across the width of the wider elastic.
Sausage legs have been eliminated by using the highest grade lycra fabric that grips the thigh without riding up. We laser cut the leg hems and apply a small silicone grip on the inside of the hem to help maintain the shorts in the correct position. This unique construction means we don’t need to use the typical tight band of grippy elastic that creates the “Sausage leg” and if too tight, slows the flow of blood.
Our over short also has a laser cut hem for a super clean look and prevents the hem gripping the lycra bib.
Seams have been engineered to reduce chaffing with a large inner leg gusset providing a seam free construction. The outer layer short stops at the gusset, preventing the over short from getting caught in the saddle mid decent or jump.
Reflective detailing and branding finish the shorts to add a level of visibility in low light when riding on the road.
The result is a gravel bib short like no other, providing additional storage, protection from mud, dust and rain, compresses the thigh muscle and uses components to optimise comfort for those long days in the saddle.
