Cycling has never been a fashion friendly endeavour - it often leaves you covered in sweat, with helmet hair and wearing questionably tight clothes.
You can’t just pop on your favourite chinos and a button-down shirt or a nice sun dress if you’re going to be working up a sweat on your commute to work. So you have to opt for traditional cycling garb, right?
If you’re not particularly excited by the idea of those over-the-top cycling jerseys and Lycra shorts, have no fear. There are a few companies out there revolutionising fashion staples to make them bike friendly and help you stand out from the hordes of Bradley Wiggins lookalikes on the road.
Betabrand’s Bike To Work range
Riding your bike in jeans can be a recipe for disaster. All the puddles will leave them soaking, your sweat will make them smelly and it wears out the crotch like nobody’s business.
That’s where Betabrand comes in - they specialise in multipurpose clothing, and their Bike To Work range has some highly fashionable jeans and trousers specifically formulated for cycling so you can turn up looking fresh.
They come with a reinforced crotch, a water resistant coating for those pesky puddles, and reflective patches sewn into the inseams so you can be seen on the road.
They come in grey, black and indigo jeans and multiple different chinos.
Women can also benefit from Betabrand’s cycling pumps, which have reflective material built in. They also have detachable straps so you can cinch your trousers, meaning they won’t get caught in your bike chain.
Levi’s Commuter range
This will delight any fashion focused rider - Levi’s has an entire range of clothing devoted to cycling for men and women, which combining their traditional flawless style with durability and practicality.
On the surface, the jeans and trousers in the Levi’s Commuter range look like any other pair of 511’s, but they’ve been turbocharged to suit a cyclist’s needs.
They’ve got special straps for storing a D-lock, reflective detailing on the inseams, and water resistant stretchy fabric so they don’t hold you back. They also sport a high rise back so you won’t have a builder’s bum while you’re commuting.
The T-shirts on offer are all made with CoolMax™ All Season fabric, which means you won’t end up too sweaty, and the jackets are decked out with extra stretchy denim, secure pockets and dirt repellent finishes.
Vulpine
Vulpine specialises in stylish cycling gear. Sure, they’ve got some standard jerseys and Lycra shorts too, but the real gems come in the form of jeans, shirts, jackets, socks, skirts, T-shirts - pretty much your entire regular wardrobe.
A lot of their stuff wouldn’t be out of place in the coolest areas of Brooklyn or at a cafe in Shoreditch.
Their jeans have “diamond” crotches for extra protection from tears and wearing, reflective turn-ups to make sure you’re seen when you want to be, and super stretchy fabric for comfort.
Vulpine’s jackets look great and are designed to feel great too. We’re talking subtle reflective patches, specially crafted shoulders for extra movement, and showerproof fabric for those unexpected downpours.
They even have socks built for pedalling.
DZR
If your bike requires you to clip into the pedals, chances are you’ve known the discomfort of trying to walk in your cycling shoes. That’s a problem of the past thanks to DZR.
They have a super cool range of casual trainers in a variety of different styles, and they’re totally comfortable to walk in despite being compatible with your clips.
In addition to that marvel of modern clothing technology, they’re also robust, feature reflective badges on the back, and straps or catches to make sure your laces don’t get caught in your chain.
Outlier
Outlier wants to make sure your commute is comfortable, while also letting you turn up to the office looking like you just walked off a fashion shoot.
With a simplistic but dapper range of shirts, T-shirts and trousers, you’ll feel totally free while riding around town and the odour-resistant, breathable fabric will help to avoid those dreaded sweat patches.
Creux
Creux’s clothing is built for cycling and no detail has been overlooked in making sure it works.
The trousers and shorts boast features like extra material in high stress areas, easy access pockets, quick dry fabric and in built D lock holders. The T-shirts are made with a special fabric that won’t absorb a lot of sweat, so you don’t feel saturated.
Shredly
Shredly’s range of bright, lively shorts and wonderfully minimal tops were built for women who like to ride, surf, climb and live life on the edge.
Their shorts have specially cut waistbands to ensure total coverage, thigh vents for a bit of extra air when you need it, and adjustable waist straps for optimum comfort. The tops, meanwhile, feature invisible pockets and are made with moisture wicking, fast drying, breathable fabric.
Ligne 8
Ligne 8 has a stunning range of men’s and women’s cycling clothing that will make your transition from road to office totally seamless.
Their smart workshirts are specially designed to enable maximum movement, their skirts, dresses and stylish jumpsuits are abrasion, crease and water resistant, and their jeans boast reinforced crotches with anti-chafing technology, reflective seams and purpose-built fabric.
On top of all this remarkable practicality, everything looks totally stunning.
Rapha
Last but not least, Rapha’s main focus is the usual cycling fodder like jerseys and bib shorts, but they’ve also got an incredibly fashionable range aimed at those of us who want to look our best when we’re riding around town.
After all, you don’t want to be turning up to the pub looking like you’re prepped for the Tour De France.