Despite women making up 49.7% of the global population, finding good-quality women’s cycling clothing that has the right blend of function, fit, style and price is not an easy task. If you also want your cycling clothing to have admirable environmental and ethical credentials too, then your choice is even smaller. Fortunately, one brand, GRVL, are staking their claim to ticking all these boxes. Claire Frecknall has been putting a set of GRVL’s latest women’s clothing to the test and reports back with her findings.
Gravel riding and racing have exploded in popularity over the past few years and with that growth has come a wave of gravel-specific components, shoes and kit. Much of it promises to make riders faster, more comfortable and more aerodynamic, and now the small UK-based brand GRVL has joined the party. It's the brand's first foray into women's-specific kit and it has clearly put some thought into it, both in terms of functionality and environmental impact.
I've been testing the new GRVL Core Jersey in Clay (£125) and the Cargo Bib Shorts (£179), although the range also includes the ADVNTR and NYCHTHEMERON jerseys, which cost £10 more. Style-wise, GRVL has kept things simple. The colours are understated - muted gravel tones or classic black- while the branding is subtle and modern - all in a figure-hugging aero fit.
Image courtesy of @GRVL
Both the jersey and shorts are made from an OEKO-TEX-certified recycled nylon and elastane blend that's UPF 50-rated, moisture-wicking, breathable and biodegradable. According to GRVL, the fabric breaks down in around four years in a landfill, compared with the centuries that many synthetic fabrics can remain intact. To strengthen those environmental credentials further, the company also plants a tree for every order placed. More cyclists are considering the environmental impact of the products they buy, and it's encouraging to see GRVL making that part of the conversation rather than a mere side point. Their "This Kit is Rubbish" marketing campaign is a particularly clever and eye-catching way to highlight this.
Out of the bag the jersey looks absolutely tiny, but the fabric is incredibly stretchy and, once on, immediately feels comfortable and supportive without ever feeling restrictive. It has minimal GRVL branding, with a well-placed reflective detail on the back of the right arm. It is quite short in the body - especially if you’re long in the torso like me. On me, the hem sits at the top of my hip bones at the back but is cut shorter at the front, finishing around my belly button. This can mean that a sliver of the white base layer can peep out when standing if I don’t keep it pulled down into place. Perhaps not the most flattering look while queuing at the coffee stop, but it sits perfectly with no bunching up once you're on the bike, which is really what it’s made for.
The fabric feels like a second skin when riding - there’s no annoying labels or seams in the wrong place. I could genuinely feel the cooling effect as sweat wicked away and evaporated across my back, even in temperatures above 30°C. The longer sleeves feature a laser-cut raw edge with silicone grip dots, creating a smooth finish without digging into the arms. The collar fits snugly but comfortably around the neck, while the contrasting zip guard prevents any friction. The jersey does lack a zipped rear pocket for valuables such as keys, cash or a bank card and I found the rear pockets sat very high on the body. Retrieving anything from them while riding was quite a stretch, although I guess this means that those keys I was worried about are quite secure! Fortunately, the jersey is paired with the cargo bib shorts, so anything I wanted quick and easy access to ended up there instead.
Now onto the shorts. It never fails to amaze me that brands are still producing women's bib shorts designed for endurance or adventure riding that require you to remove your clothing before you can have a "nature wee". None of us wants to strip down to a sports bra and hang an expensive jersey on a branch while wrestling with bib straps. Not only is the process cold, awkward and indiscreet, but with the level of competition now seen in gravel and ultra-distance racing, it's also a genuine time penalty. GRVL has addressed this with a halter-neck front and a highly stretchy rear panel that allows a quick and simple "drop and go" without removing layers or fiddling with clips.
The cargo pockets are genuinely useful. With one on each leg and a large rear pocket, it's easy to carry your phone, snacks and even a lightweight jacket without overloading your jersey pockets. On longer rides, that extra storage makes a real difference. The chamois is CyTech’s Elastic Interface model and is designed specifically for ultra-distance and mixed-terrain riding and I found it really comfortable for long days in the saddle. It's fairly high density where padding is needed most and features a perforated front section to help keep things cool and comfortable.
The halter-neck front panel also incorporates a breathable, sweat-wicking mesh layer, removing the need for a separate base layer. The wide, soft-touch elastic strap is designed to prevent the halter neck from digging in. Whilst, in theory, this makes perfect sense, it does mean the strap sits quite high on the neck, above the collar of the jersey, and this was really my only criticism of the shorts. The edge of the elastic sat right in the crease at the back of my neck when in a riding position, meaning I spent a fair amount of time trying to pull it down to sit lower. On a hot summer's day, the extra layer of thick fabric across the back of my neck became particularly noticeable, especially given how effectively the jersey managed heat and moisture elsewhere. This may well be something that's less noticeable in cooler weather or on different body shapes where the strap naturally sits slightly differently.
Despite my personal gripes with the halter-neck design, this is an excellent first step into women's kit for GRVL. The brand has combined quality materials with thoughtful, modern design to create clothing that performs brilliantly while also taking its environmental impact seriously. This is premium kit and the price reflects that, but it's still less expensive than some of the bigger brands, many of whom seem to have spent far less time thinking about what women actually need. If you spend long days on your bike and value comfort, quality and genuinely thoughtful design, there's a strong argument that it's money well spent. Supporting a small British brand with a great environmental outlook is an added bonus.
You can find all the details of GRVL’s women’s collection on their website.
Images courtesy of @Jo Burt except where credited.