Why gravel clothing, why not road bike or MTB gear?
A gravel bike is (depending on its equipment) a cool mix of road bike, MTB, and everyday bicycle. So why not just wear the corresponding styles? You could head out in casual mountain bike clothes or sporty road gear! But neither is quite right for bikepacking and gravel tours.
The biggest mistake would be to go on a longer tour in everyday clothing because that can be incredibly uncomfortable on a bike, and with each mile ridden, it becomes more of a torment. The reason is simple: "Normal" clothing is made for a person standing upright. But on a gravel bike, you're not standing or walking upright – you're sitting and pedaling.
- Cycling shorts adapt to the sitting position. This means there's enough space at the rear and around the knees for bent legs. So the shorts don't pinch or constrict.
- Another important point is the seams; especially in the seat area, they would chafe mercilessly. That's why cycling shorts have no seams in this area, or the seams are particularly flat and soft so they don't rub.
- Also, tops for cyclists need a special cut. After all, you need to reach the handlebars, so you need a lot of room at the shoulders and long sleeves. Gravel bike jackets, jerseys, and shirts take this into account.
Gravel bike clothing simply takes the best features of other cycling clothes and combines them optimally to provide perfect function for long, relaxed tours. It's durable and robust like mountain biking gear, and also offers similarly many pockets, accesses, and ventilation openings. Gravel clothing is also highly functional in terms of cut and fabrics, making it just as suitable for hours of pedaling as a road bike kit. Its appearance is closest to sporty casual wear without chafing seams, fabrics that constrict, or sleeves that are too short, of course. Overall, it's made for comfortable to demanding bike trips, so " bikepacking clothing certainly a fitting term for our gravel bike clothing. But of course, you can also head out in MTB clothing if you want to keep your outfit a bit more casual.