Gravel bike clothing

https://royalracing.com/collections/sale/products/core-shorts

I got a pair of these a while ago and see they’re still on sale. Have worked very well so far, good pockets front and back, including a zipped one, don’t impede riding at all or flap about.

I think i’d probably die of a heat stroke with a checkered shirt

Most of them seem a bit warm. I’m not good in the heat but the best thing I have for hot weather is a Shimano Transit LS shirt – light coloured, thin material, vented, collar to cover my neck, airflow up the sleeves feels cooler than bare arms. It’s checked too : ) but not very aero. It was great in Alps and Provence this summer, 35 degrees early afternoon. Pretty much the point where I have a siesta rather than ride. Shame it’s not made anymore.

What I look like if I went to the shop is irrelevant. If my primary aim was going to shop, going to pub I would wear normal clothes and just ride a town bike.

it always makes me chuckle when this comes up. shorts described as “not looking out of place at the watering hole,” for example. i’d be much more concerned about my general sweatiness and the state of my hair after being under a styrofoam hat for a couple of hours than my shorts or shoes looking odd.

that said 7mesh make some not baggy baggies. the farside and very well patterned t-shirts for just this situation.

I think i’d probably die of a heat stroke with a checkered shirt

I’ve a couple of ‘outdoor’ shirts that are really light and wicking, one even has some mesh under arms. One is a CMP, one a Regatta.

I have some morevelo overland fitted baggies that are stretchy and nice. Tend to wear them over a liner short for short rides or over Rapha cargo bibs, the brevet version for longer rides. The brevet bibs are great, if no pub stop or hot I’ll forego the baggies. Tend to use a rapha tech t-shirt on the top in summer as they are semi fitted and cool. The rapha stuff does work well and is good quality. Tend to buy it in the sales often out of season, not too painful then.

Any reason you can’t just wear mtb kit?!

Exactly my first thought. I still wear most of my off-road kit despite not having ridden for years, and were I to actually buy a gravel bike, I’d just wear the same stuff.

I think you’d struggle to beat Lycra in the hotter climes the issue is whether you can get away with it.

I think i’d probably die of a heat stroke with a checkered shirt and shorts over bibs at the moment.

Nobody’s going to wear that in really hot weather, though, be sensible! I’ve got two Sombrio biking shirts that I used to wear to work when it was really hot, one’s sleeveless with a mesh back, the other has short sleeves with a mesh back, and they’re wonderfully comfortable in hot weather. I wish I’d bought a couple more, they don’t seem to make them anymore.
I hate anything close-fitting when it’s hot, I need to have air circulation under whatever top I’m wearing. I’m not racing, I’m not in a hurry, and I really don’t care about some convention that seems to hold that riding a drop-bar bike means you have wear full TdF kit, like some beer-bellied saddo wearing the latest Man U or Arsenal kit.

These are my favourite shorts at the moment if I fancy covering the lycra.

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Assos/Trail-T3-Cargo-Short/WN74?id=1523071

Don’t slide down. Stretchy and fairly tight fitting. Don’t feel much different to wearing just bibs. Pockets big enough to hold a phone in a waterproof bag, but mainly have cargo bibs underneath and stow bits in them.

I wear the same kit on road, MTB or gravel tbh. It’s mostly roadie kit. If I was riding to a pub I might put some cycling shorts under normal shorts. If I stop at a pub on a ride I just where normal riding stuff.

One of my favourite things about taking up gravel riding is that I’ve not had to buy a single new item of clothing.

I just wear my older MTB shorts that were a bit too short for kneepads and the same tops I do for MTB.

Modern MTB trousers are nice for gravel as well, in the cooler months.

I thought the ‘spirit of gravel’ was that no-one cared what you wore, including you? If you’re going to obsess about what to wear, you’re diluting the spirit and running the risk of not truly experiencing gravel.

More prosaically, I’ve always interpreted gravel clothing choices as rolling origin stories. The folk you see tottering around in full-on roadie kit tend to be converted roadies, who’ve jumped on the hype wagon and/or have developed a reasonable fear of modern traffic. The ones in full baggies and enduro-style long-sleeve tops have escaped from a trail centre driven by an inability to navigate actual off road mountain bike trails. And then there’s the paunchy, beardy ones in check shirts who are the same oddballs who’ve jumped on every alt biking trend early and left before they became mainstream: singlespeeds, fixies, fat bikes, 29ers, bikepacking etc… You know who you are, erm, for now.

Anyway, personally I wake up, figure out which sub-group I’m feeling it for on the day, and dress accordingly :-)

Ha, very good BadlyWiredDog, I think you’re spot on with your origins idea. Probably informs where the bike ridden falls on the speed to gnar scale too.

Coming from the MTB origin, I was passed the other week by what could only be described as a Gravel Chaingang. They definitely weren’t doing the cause any good by flying past families and others on a shared path with nary a bell ring or thank you to other users who had to scatter away from their approach. 🙄

I saw my first checked shirt wearing cyclist on The Ridgeway yesterday.  He was sporting a beard, obviously.  Probably had a Aeropress in his saddle bag too.

For me its a pair of bib shorts, a pair of shorts over the top (stolen goat or rapha) and a road jersey on top.

Like above I like to shove stuff in the back pockets.

Rapha (in the sale) are my prefered jerseys especially the Brevet which has bigger rear pockets and other front and side small pockets.

Personally I wonder if lycra shorts are a culture / fashion thing as much as a comfort necessity – part of that Pro roadie look to the extent that riding a road bike in close-fitting baggies seems odd to many other riders.

50% this and 50% people can’t except that others are different. I am happy doing over 100km without a pad or lycra, even in cut off jeans. I have worn lycra in the past for 200km+ rides but just because that is a big day for me so went with the wisdom that I would need it. I Might of been fine without.

the older MTR endura range shorts are good as are the GV500 range, a slimmer fit and 4 way stretch,

the singletrack lite shorts in a ‘short’ fit would also work, i wear the ‘regular’ version (knee length to cover kneepads) so they feel slightly too long on longer gravel bike rides

rapha, rab do high end pricing ranges too.

I saw my first checked shirt wearing cyclist on The Ridgeway yesterday.  He was sporting a beard, obviously.  Probably had a Aeropress in his saddle bag too.

I sometimes wear a checked shirt – and have a beard (currently bushier than the pic). No Aeropress though ;-)

And I’ll be riding a 180mm travel ebike….

IMG_20230513_145030~2 by davetheblade[/url], on Flickr

Personally I wonder if lycra shorts are a culture / fashion thing as much as a comfort necessity

When I was a reasonably frequent roadie, I used to see a guy in the next town over who was head to toe in Cervelo Test Team kit, socks, shorts, jersey, gloves, helmet; everything. The fact that he was at least 20 stones only slightly distracted from the overall look.

I think you’d struggle to beat Lycra in the hotter climes the issue is whether you can get away with it.

Again personally in hotter climates I dislike lycra even more I think it’s better in the cold. It’s a long sleeve cotton shirt for me in hot times, cool flexible, UV protection. I am obviously more on the touring end of bike riding when not riding downhill so I am not bothered by being slightly less areo etc.

I used to see a guy in the next town over who was head to toe in Cervelo Test Team kit, socks, shorts, jersey, gloves, helmet; everything. The fact that he was at least 20 stones only slightly distracted from the overall look.

Good for him. Roadie lycra fashion (for what’s really a weekend leisure/fitness ride for most – fair enough if you’re racing) can make cycling seem like it’s about fitting in by fitting into the clothing and that ‘look’, not everyone is into that.

I sometimes wear a checked shirt – and have a beard (currently bushier than the pic). No Aeropress though 😉

Yeah,but you do love like being looked at. 😉 🤣 😂

Yeah,but you do love like being looked at. 😉 🤣 😂

Not especially – there’s nothing particulary pleasant to look at 😂

I just like pictures to accompany posts – see bike/products etc ;-)

Big fan of merino tops, for me i tend to ride with cargo bib shorts, I really liked the Morvelo Overland ones before they went pop, thin pad, decent sized pockets in rear and then a merino t-shirt on top.

For lightweight baggies, which are thinner, shorter and less baggy than regular MTB baggies, I use either:

Endura GV500 shorts, or
DHB Trail shorts

Ideal for gravel-type riding.

And then there’s the paunchy, beardy ones in check shirts who are the same oddballs who’ve jumped on every alt biking trend early and left before they became mainstream: singlespeeds, fixies, fat bikes, 29ers, bikepacking etc… You know who you are, erm, for now.

One of the few riders I’ve seen wearing a checked shirt locally rides a Surly. Seems correct. One of the others I regularly see is a colleague who we jokingly describe as a hipster, because he is, down to the manicured beard and passion for vinyl and coffee.

Today, for a 30km social* ride, I wore the STW club ride chequered shirt, and light baggies over bibs. Most others were in road/CX club kit.

*how can you have a ‘social’ ride that goes past 3 pubs and an ice cream shop, without stopping??

You need to burn some calories before stopping for refreshments. 20 miles doesn’t even earn you a canape! :D