So much of what mountain bikers choose to wear is an homage to our identity. Troy Lee Designs is often seen as being for aggressive and racy riders, Dakine for the casual and relaxed, Pearl Izumi for the conservative and cardiovascular focused, and so on.
Velocio has been making apparel for the road biking world and the company is now bringing its premium material and fit to mountain bikers, while maintaining an understated look that any rider can rock.
The Velocio Trail kit is in its first few months of production. Like all of Velocio’s apparel, the Trail kit, which includes a jersey, shorts, and bib liner, are made in Italy, from Italian fabrics.
I’ve had the kit for a little while now, and it’s quickly become a favorite for longer rides where comfort is imperative and protection and coverage are a second thought.
Men’s Trail Mesh Bib Liner
- Full mesh with leg grippers
- High-density chamois
- $139
I don’t often wear full bib liners and usually throw on just a shorts liner with a chamois, but after wearing the Velocio bib, that might change.
The bib liner stays where it’s supposed to better than short liners and the Velocio liner has superb comfort.
I found the sizing to be a little small on the bib liner. I sized up to a large, which rarely happens, as I am usually medium through and through. My quads and hips are a bit on the thicker side, though.
According to the Velocio size guide on its website, I am still recommended a medium based on waist and inseam measurements, but Velocio did say that they are adjusting to body types of mountain bikers after producing apparel mainly for road bikers.
Once the bib is on, it fits and feels amazing. The shoulder straps are nice and wide and soft to the touch, like elastic silk. They roll over the shoulder well, and feel light and supportive and will come down easily for bathroom breaks.
The large fit of the bib on my medium frame felt right, also. The coverage was spot-on and I didn’t experience any sagging or loose spots anywhere.
I felt comfortable with the bib liner on long rides and the chamois is one of the best I’ve worn yet. It’s thick and retains its density even after being in the saddle for a while. The liner vented well and the legs stayed low where they needed to be.
Men’s Trail Short
- Four-way stretch with Italian fabrics
- Tailored fit
- $199
The Velocio Trail short is a straight-to-the-point pair of shorts for mountain biking. They’ll work for cross-country, trail, and even gravel riding.
The Trail short fits slim and hits above the knee for a clean, fitted look. Velocio says it uses a woven, high-stretch Italian fabric to make the shorts. It’s equipped with a regulating belt on both sides of the hips to easily cinch the shorts up.
The medium pair fit me well, at 5’8″ and 160 pounds. The material is very comfortable on and off the bike, and sheds water easily.
On the bike, the shorts conformed to an athletic position. At first sight, I was skeptical of the pocket positions, which are on the sides, mid-way down femur, but it’s the perfect spot to stash a phone or set of keys.
On other shorts, stashing stuff in a normal pocket position around the hip flexor often jams the keys or phone into the hips, and that didn’t happen on the Velocio shorts.
Fortunately on a low-speed crash where I landed on the left side of my hip, my phone was in the right side pocket, because it might’ve been broken otherwise. After I got up, I brushed the dirt from my left side and there wasn’t a tear or even a snag on the shorts. That’s reassuring since they are pricy.
Check out our mountain bike shorts buyers guide and our picks for the best mountain bike shorts.
Men’s Radiator Trail tee
- Polartec Delta mesh
- Tailored fit
- $80
The Trail jersey completes the Velocio kit, unless you’d rather rock the bib liner with the shorts alone. I won’t fault you for it, but other trails users might.
The Trail jersey is baggy in the sense that it isn’t Lycra, but it features a very tailored-feeling fit. The medium again proved to be a bit small for me, so I sized up to a large. After a run through the washer it fit perfectly.
The Radiator tee is also made from Italian fabrics and a mix of 51% polyester, 45% Tencel, and 4% Elastane. It’s probably most important to know that the material feels like a soft and sturdy mesh.
Stitching runs through the sleeves and shoulder to pull it together, and the tail of the tee runs a bit lower than the front.
The fabric vents well and is great for hot rides. It also seems to mitigate stink pretty well, at least from what I could tell on rainy and humid rides in Vermont. The only disappointing thing about the jersey is that a few spots seemed to snag somewhat easily.
Conclusion
The new line of Velocio mountain bike apparel is a premium kit on the pricier side of clothing, so it won’t be for everyone. But, if you have some money to spend and want to be really comfortable on the trail in a kit that holds up and performs, the Velocio Trail short, bib liner, and Radiator tee make it happen.
