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I used to spend ages looking for lightweight MTB shorts so I didn't get too hot. Then I took up running, running* shorts are much breezier.... nice, they even ride up the legs so you get extra vit-d, it's OK because I don't wear knee pads etc.
T-shirts & long sleeve tops from Mountain Warehouse if they've got some I like on discount.
*running shorts from sportpursuit, not convinced they're actually specifically running shorts but whatever, generic gym/sports/running shorts, fine on the bike**.
Polaris clothing is excellent I’m ashamed to say that I’m still using some donated for a Mexico coast to coast over twenty years ago! Their current stuff is very good and particularly resistant to brambles and thorns. Madison is also excellent, discreet logos but top performance particularly the shorts and liners.
I'm not a massive fan of massive branding either. Shimano makes some really nice stuff with litte-to-no logo action going on. Other stuff kicking around in my kit drawers: Alpkit, Howies (they did some ace bibs a while back - not sure now), Endura, Patagonia (one really really nice jacket with a tiny logo I daren't use in the brambly Surrey Hills - therefore a bit of a waste of time as riding kit), random no-name thermals and that's about it. By far the biggest lot is from Endura. I've got really nice longs that must be 25 years old in there that are still going strong, zip pulls aside. And they also repair stuff really well. One other one: Ground Effect.
I've just bought a very nice Rivello MTB jersey from Sports Pursuits. The logo is tiny and it's super comfy.
I've a few Royal racing Ts and although the black ones have "royal" across the back it's not offensive. As a plus it looks and feels like cotton but is a tech T. I'd happily bin t-shirts for more of this type.
Ground Effect? Haven't bought anything from them for years, so don't know what they're like now.
Having just bought some last night, Pearl Izumi have some subtly branded yet brighter colours without being ott.
Same as OP I’m not a fan of big logos,
Usually buy endura, Rab and Berghaus as they fit my portly frame better.
I’ve also had some decent, cheap, subtle logo kit off sportpursuit.com that come with the added bonus of confusing gear snobs who think you’ve found the latest coolest brand 😁
Rivelo have started doing MTB gear. Can't see any logos form the sportpursuit site?
https://www.sportpursuit.com/sales/rivelo-mtb-jul21
If its as good as the road kit, I will be buying at some point.
Rivelo have started doing MTB gear.
Rivelo have realised that Mountain bikers are still willing to part with 40 quid for a square cut sublimated polyester tee shirt that you can buy for literally under a tenner for exactly the same thing from Amazon.
Nukeproof have some more subtly branded kit these days.
I picked up a black, black/grey fade top with a diddy yellow logo by the hip after a trawl on CRC.
Nice top, but the winky lolsters put a little white print patch on the shoulder that says "I own too much black" 😀
Aussie Grit had a go at filling that void a couple of years ago but it seemed to go pear-shaped; some of us were fortunate enough to get in there and pick up some real bargains.
Except they didn't really, the shorts I bought a couple of pairs of were supposed to be £150. Don't get me wrong, they are fantastic, the best shorts I've had, but I wouldn't say that price is classed as affordable. Looked like the main reason they went tits up, start up company wanting Rapha money.
@nobeerinthefridge Yes, the original pricing was niche but when they started selling off stock it was great value.
I suspect that people like Wiggle’s DHB team, Altura, Decathlon, Madison and various others reckon they’re in that area already. What stuff like this generally means is ‘I want stuff like Rapha and 7Mesh, but at a quarter of the price, there’s a huge opportunity there for anyone who wants to bankrupt themselves – or go and open a restaurant instead’.
I was specifically talking about myself / my peer group. I will happily admit I've drank the MTB Kool Aid and want to ride in MTB specific clothing. Roadie crossover brands don't enter consideration when I'm looking for riding gear. I do have a couple of bits of Decathlon, it's ok.
Whilst I believe most MTB clothing is horribly over priced, my point was that I don't think anyone is doing it particularly well, not that I want Rapha for £20.
Another vote for 7Mesh, super subtle, great colour choices and the fit/performance is far beyond anything else I've tried. Even better, they have a repair centre in the UK so if you do wreck a piece. Good luck doing that though, I've had one issue in 5 years across a number of bits of gear in constant use all year round, which they've offered to repair. Good gear, good people to deal and given how long it lasts, I'd say bloody good value in the long run!
I've got 3 Troy Lee Skyline jerseys that are very plain, fit well and seem pretty durable. None cost me more than £25 in the sales.
TLD make some really garish stuff but also some really nice bits.
Gore is my go-to MTB kit for exactly these reasons. It also lasts well unlike my Endura stuff which always seems to fail at the seams.
@militantmandy How do they come up size wise? I find that the sizing of primarily road brands when branching out into MTB, their sizing is not quite right. For me anyway
Nobody’s mentioned Sombrio kit
Probably cos it would cost an arm and a leg to get it imported. There's no UK distributor.
Specialized are surprisingly small of logo on lots of their MTB stuff now and it usually works very well.
Try:
https://terrainclothing.co.uk/
Custom made for less than £50 - bargain really compared to off the peg items.
Have a few jersey from them, well made and simple / discreet looking.
They are planning on other custom fit items like shorts etc. as soon as supply issues are resolved.
I'm a big fan (do you see what I did there) of FLAB - they do very branded and not very branded on a lot of kit.
I have several shorts and bibs and a few jackets - none of which have fallen apart.
https://fatladattheback.com/collections/mens-mtb