RAPHA PERFORMANCE TRAILWEAR £285

Any roadie worth his electrolytes knows the name Rapha – the brand is synonymous with the best cycling kit: high quality and a high price to match, says our sister title Cycling Weekly. Rapha’s appeal is much more than that, though, it’s blurred the line between clothing and lifestyle, functioning as a cycling club to around 17,000 members worldwide.

Its shops are clubhouses to those loyal followers – the first opened in Soho and is part retail experience, part coffee shop. Few brands have achieved this kind of crossover; wear a piece of Rapha and – for good or bad – it says something about the kind of rider you are.

Mountain biking is next, at least that’s what Rapha hopes. It won’t be easy, though, we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to great kit, with the likes of Gore, Endura, Troy Lee and many more putting out stylish and technical clothing. Besides, we don’t traditionally need to belong to clubs to make us feel at home on the trails.

Still, the new collection could help pull it off: the Trail 3/4 Sleeve Jersey (£75) and Trail Short (£110) look great and the fit is spot-on for mountain biking (no thigh gaps from too-short shorts, no crop tops from that crouched roadie position), while the Trail

Liner Bib Short (£100) has storage pockets at the rear and is made from recycled materials and yarns. Rapha is famous on the road for its comfortable chamois and now it promises to bring that off-road too.

All the clothing comes in men’s and women’s versions, and with a neat colourmatched and iron-on repair kit, and the range extends to short-sleeve jerseys, eyewear, a custom Smith-rapha helmet, socks, hip pack, a women’s tank, jackets and a cap.

Is this the best kit we’ve ever fingered? It’s too early to say. What we can say is it’s great news that a brand as innovative and influential as Rapha is now involved in mountain biking, bringing across its expertise... and maybe some roadies with it.