Tested: Pedla On/Off Grid collection

As gravel riding grows in popularity, it makes sense that clothing manufacturers are creating purpose-built gear.

On paper, this gravel riding attire ticks all the boxes for what makes my favourite cycle clothing: beautiful fabric, well-sewn, an elastic interface pad with really dense foam in it, and unconventional jersey graphics.

SuperSYSTEM Bib Shorts

The bibs have one large snug pocket on each thigh – a perfect place for even the largest phones, or several snack bars. I tried my favourite jumps trail on a MTB and confirm the phone doesn’t move around at all.

The third pocket is on the back between the bib straps. It is intended to hold a drink-pack bladder. Aside from being difficult to load, getting the bibs on with more than a kilo flopping about in the pocket is awkward – it sits well once it’s in place.

SuperSYSTEM Jersey

The jersey has the usual three pockets across the lower back. They are very snug, so they don’t take as much cargo as the stretchiest of pockets, but the benefit is that what’s in there should stay there. There is also a zipper on one end that accesses a fourth full-width pocket. A credit card or other small items could be safely stowed in there. Both shoulders have a hole for the drink bladder to emerge, meaning pick your favourite side. I didn’t find that the hose flapped at all, despite no clip.

I found the full bladder fought for space with the jersey pockets, so you’d have to consider what goes in which pocket. My usual pump and tools in the centre back pocket didn’t work. I had to put them aside where my phone usually goes, but that fit well in the leg pocket, so overall, I was in business. The jersey has a two-way zip with long pull cords, making it easy to unzip the jersey upwards if you need to get inside for whatever reason, even while riding. I tested these during a chilly couple of weeks in Canberra, so I can’t attest to how well the jersey works in warm weather, but it looks and feels like it might be very at home on hot days. It is remarkably thin and light.

Hydration pack

I found the bladder sitting right on my back quite noticeable, but not uncomfortable. I don’t see an advantage to “wearing” the bladder over wearing a backpack. In 100km MTB races, rapid bladder refills are essential to a good result, and extracting the bladder is way harder than with a backpack.

Still, the overall look and feel of SuperSystem attire is sleek and racy. I can see a place for this combo in a fast race or event where you don’t want to resort to a pack but need extra water with no refill. Like gravel itself, there is a niche the SuperSystem clothing fits.

Sizing

Every clothing brand has its own idea of what “shape” cyclists are, and every cyclist is unique. Sizing is where the SuperSystem clothing let me down. I chose the sizes from a measurement chart and was concerned that none of the dimensions looked similar to my existing clothing. I usually go one size up on the bottoms to accommodate 20+ years of track racing (big quads). With the Pedla sizing, I chose the same top and bottom size and found the bottoms verged on too big in most places, while the jersey was quite snug. I really think they’d be great if I were the right shape for the cut, but they just didn’t work for me. As with any clothing, there is no substitute for trying them on first.

More info the pedla.com