American behemoth, Specialized, is one of the biggest bike brands in the market, but their clothing line is perhaps not so well known.
With the weather finally matching the season, we pulled on a couple of items from their spring-summer range.
The RBX Pro Jersey represents the second-from-top of the Morgan Hill mob’s jersey range, while the RBX Pro Bib-Short shares top billing in their range of summer legwear.
Let’s take a closer look at both before we head out on the road.
RBX Pro Jersey
The RBX Pro Jersey represents a “close but not tight” fit and perhaps occupies a similar space in the Spesh stable as the Roubaix bike – one with comfort included in the equation.
Specialized have deployed three fabrics here and all are extremely stretchable. The body of the jersey, fashioned from an 80 per cent polyester, 20 per cent spandex mix, has the greatest stretch, a balance that shifts to 95 per cent in favour of the polyester in the mesh underarm panels. The fabric is Italian-made VaporRize fabric is treated with ‘Deflect UV30’, intended to offer protection from the sun’s rays.
There’s a full-length zip, and four rear pockets: three in the normal configuration and a fourth zipped pocket ‘on top’ of the centre pocket. The centre pocket is lined and has a hole through which a headphone cable can be routed (the collar has a corresponding loop on its inside). There’s some nice reflective detailing on the outer edge of each of the outside pockets, and a strip above the zip on the centre.
The hem is elasticated at the front, and has a silicone band at the rear. The sleeve is also a game of two halves: the front is an impressively deep, laser cut lycra, while the rear is polyester mesh.
The RBX Pro jersey is available in five sizes from S to XXL, in black and white, or black, white and red, and costs £90.
RBX Pro Bib-Short
The matching RBX Pro bib-short is made from the same VaporRize fabric, with Schoeller’s coldblack technology and Specialized’s Deflect UV50 deployed to thwart the sun.
Like the jersey, the RBX Pro bib-short is billed as offering comfort and endurance. This translates to a looser fit than some of the race-inclined kit we’ve tested (Rapha’s Pro Team bib-short, for example).
The braces, made from polyester mesh, are reassuringly broad at 5cm, but the yoke at the back is narrower than most we’ve seen. This may offer a better fit between the shoulder blades, but we’ll find out in time.
The most obvious feature are the deep hem grippers are lined internally with a series of short, silicone rectangles.
Inside, Specialized have specified their Body Geometry RBX Pro Chamois, a hefty but simple design whose padding feels of uniform thickness from seat to perennial area.
The RBX Pro Bib-Short is available in five sizes from S to XXL, and costs £130.
We’ll be testing the RBX Pro Bib-Short and RBX Pro Jersey in the weeks ahead. Check back soon for a full review.
Website: Specialized
