12 Jersey and Bib Combos for Long, Hot Rides

Make sure you kit up right so you’re comfortable out on the road

Make sure you kit up right so you’re comfortable out on the road

The Sportful Giara jersey ($150, mvc46.eu) is stylish without being showy. The heathered polyester fabric at the shoulders, upper chest and back is soft and comfortable. The Giara line’s signature reflective strips at the chest and left arm pop and add an element of safety. The Sportful Giara bib shorts ($150) complement the jersey nicely. The mesh back and straps sit well against your skin. The Giara set is great for long rides. You’ll also look a bit classier at the café than some of the others in your group. Call it a café-style kom. The Castelli Entrata 2 jersey ($110, mvc46.eu) has long mesh cuffs that offer top ventilation and grip. The mesh on the sides of the jersey also lets air in and facilitates the garment’s fit. It will feel right when you’re in the drops or up on the tops. While the ride may start cooking, you won’t. Though the Castelli Evoluzione 2 bib shorts ($120) are geared toward new roadies, the chamois, the Kiss Air seat pad, is top-notch. The shorts are made mostly from Prodry Soft, a fabric with two layers. The outer layer is nylon and the inner one is polyester. The combination is durable and gets sweat away from your skin. The only elements that lack refinement are the cuffs: there’s a thick overlap where panels meet. Still, the bibs are comfortable and weigh in at a respectable 177 g. Get riding cowboy. The Bicycle Line Dallas short sleeve jersey

($130, arg-sports.com) has a retro look with its colours and raglan sleeves that extend all the way to the collar. At the end of each sleeve, there is a 45-mm-long gripper cuff to keep things in place. The garment offers a Ultraviolet Protection Factor (upf) of more than 50, which means it blocks roughly 98 per cent of the UV radiation hitting the fabric. It’s light, too, perfect for hot, sunny days. The three cargo pockets offer a nice amount of stretch when you are stuffing them with gels and bars. For the bib shorts, head to the capital of Texas. The Bicycle Line Austin bib shorts ($180) have a fine mesh back to let sweat through. The Vuelta+ chamois has an interesting design. It’s made up of six multi-level gel pads that have three distinct shapes for fore, mid and aft pads. The gripper cuffs that hold the legs in place resemble the cuffs on the jersey. The Mavic Cosmic Graphic jersey ($120, mavic.com) has a snug, pro fit. A silicone elastic gripper around the waist makes sure the jersey stays in place. Mesh under the arms gets air to your skin. Speaking of skin, the Skin Wick ST fabric that makes up most of the jersey does just what its name indicates: draws sweat away from your body. On the matching Mavic Cosmic bib shorts ($140) that Skin Wick ST fabric with its abrasion resistance also makes the garment durable. The shorts have airy straps and back to keep you cool. The bibs use an Ergo 3d Endurance Insert for comfort, support and moisture management. The chamois is made of two perforated foams with different densities and thicknesses covered with a soft lining.

The top-of-the-line jersey by Vancouver-based Jakroo is the Nova ($179, jakroo.ca). It’s light and hugs your body like you and your bike hug corners in a race. A solid gripper at the waist keeps the jersey from shifting. The collar is quite soft and comfortable. Also at the top end are the Jakroo Solar Pro bib shorts ($215). Their solid straps stretch well along their length but not their width to improve their fit. The mesh back panel offers a lot of stretch to the side and a bit vertically. Long 65-mm gripper cuffs keep the shorts’ legs in place as your legs spin the pedals. New to cycling? Start here. MEC’S Bolt jersey ($59, mec.ca) has a light, airy, relaxed cut. The zipper comes halfway down the front to allow for more ventilation. The jersey’s polyester fabric is made from a high percentage of recycled material. Its back pockets will hold your essentials securely, but are loose enough to let you grab a gel easily with one hand while the other holds the handlebars steady. The MEC Bolt bibs ($119) are snug but not aggressively so with comfy mesh straps. The magic of bib shorts, of course, is in the straps. Without them, you’d simply have shorts with a waistline that many find uncomfortable. If you haven’t tried bibs yet, now’s the time. With the Bolt, even experienced riders will like the straightahead approach of the garment’s construction.

The POC Fondo Gradient classic jersey ($150, pocsports. com) has an angle. Well, a grade specifically, which is 19.8 per cent, the maximum gradient on the Kapelmuur in Belgium. The climb was reinstated this year in the Tour of Flanders. The jersey’s ode to the Muur continues on the back above the right pocket where it reads “989 m, 0 hairpin bends, 92 m vertical climb.” As this jersey has “fondo” in its name, it seems the best time to wear this piece is during the Tour of Flanders sportive. If you’re more keen on the Alp d’huez (12 per cent) or the Passo dello Stelvio (7.4 per cent), the blue or pink versions, respectively, are for you. The contours of the POC Contour bib shorts ($280) may be in the chamois. It’s seamless, but has silicone inserts that dampen vibrations and improve airflow. The Giordana Moda “Sweet Escape” Tenax Pro jersey ($210, unoimports.com) has a more relaxed fit than the company’s FR-C Pro, but the Tenax is by no means floppy. The sleeves feature a soft, almost slippery fabric with tiny perforations. There’s a gripper at the back waist to keep the jersey in position. Two reflective tabs at the waist and one covering the small zipper pocket at the back will reflect light to make you a bit more visible on the road. On the front and side panels, the Giordana FR-C women’s bib short ($295) uses the company’s most compressive Lycra, known as hc50. “HC” refers to “high compression” while “50” denotes the number of threads per square centimetre. The inner leg and seat panels use a more durable fabric to resist abrasion. The waist is well-designed and maximizes comfort. Inside, the Women’s Cirro Omniform chamois has aloe vera engineered into its material, which will fight bacteria growth.

While the colours of the Garneau Course 2 women’s jersey

($200. garneau.com) do pop, it’s the technical features that are most notable. On the sleeves, the Vector Skin fabric is embossed, which improves aerodynamics. The back pockets are not sewn directly into the back panel as they are with most jerseys. Instead, the pockets “float” to keep tension off your back. The middle of the back panel and the pockets have reflective elements for your safety. The Garneau Course Race 2 women’s bib shorts ($300) have suspenders with a clasp at the front to make for speedier nature breaks. The shorts are made from the Lgneer fabric. It’s used to make three compression zones. At the quads, there’s more compression to help those muscles. At the hips, there’s less compression to facilitate the movement that comes with pedalling. The logos offer a disco-ball like reflectivity. In the Pearl Izumi lineup, Elite designates the second-tier clothes beneath Pro. Still, the Pearl Izumi Elite Pursuit LTD women’s jersey ($160, pearlizumi.com) gives you top-end features. There’s the Elite Transfer Dry fabric that moves moisture off of your skin and brings it to the surface of the jersey. The breeze, whether on a descent or from a nasty headwind, then takes care of the sweat. The sleeves use a high-stretch material for fit and comfort. For your safety, Pearl Izumi’s Bioviz reflective elements are at work in lowlight conditions. While the Pearl Izumi Elite Pursuit bib shorts ($200) are technically bibs, their drop-tail construction means they’re almost as easy to manage as shorts. The straps are only attached to the shorts at the front, which makes for easier bathroom breaks. The Elite Transfer In-r-cool fabric powered by Coldblack does a good job of keeping you cool. while protecting you from most of the sun’s harmful rays.

They’ll see you coming, which is a good thing. The Bontrager Meraj Halo women’s cycling jersey ($230, bontrager.com) not only pops with its fluorescent colour, dubbed “visibility yellow,” but the company’s Pixel reflective technology, which is mostly on the jersey’s back, picks up the light from cars very well. The 25-mm-wide gripper cuffs keep the jersey sleeves in place. A similar style of gripper is at work at the waist, too. Added to the three standard pockets at the back is a sweat-proof, zipper pocket for a phone. The legs on the Bontrager Meraj Women’s bib short ($230) won’t ride up thanks to the 40-mm-wide gripper cuffs. You can snug up the thin straps when you need to dial in your fit, but you can also slip them off quickly when it’s time for a break. The short is made of multiple panels to optimize comfort and compression. Also for comfort, the Arca inform Biodynamic chamois from Italy uses dual-density foam. You’ll only have to get out of the saddle when it’s time to sprint. Biemme’s jersey is aptly named Sharp ($129, logicasport. com). It looks great and performs well on the road. It has super light and airy side, sleeve and back panels. Instead of three pockets at the back, the jersey has two large pockets that you get into through a pocket at each side. The straightahead Biemme Identity women’s bib shorts ($129) have a pro fit. Its soft mesh straps lie nicely on your shoulders. Flat-lock stitching, which goes unnoticed against your skin, joins the various panels. The bibs have a short inseam, about 13 cm. Depending on your rotation of cycling kits, you could be showing off your knife-edge tan lines when you rock these bibs.