Gear News

Evans Cycles launch FWE autumn/winter clothing range

Five piece collection from Evans will set you up for the winter – and will appeal to anyone on a budget too

Given that Evans Cycles are the UK’s largest high street bike retailers, it’s perhaps surprising they haven’t launched their own clothing brand prior to this year. But, like everything in life, if it’s good it’s worth the wait and from our first look at the new FWE range they’ve done an excellent job with their debut collection.

As a little bit of background, the FWE range is named after founder F.W.Evans, the man who opened the first Evans Cycles shop on Kennington Street, London, in 1921. Evans have had their FWE range since 2013 offering parts and accessories, but this is the first time they’ve branched out into clothing.

Evans’ staff have nicknamed the long-sleeve jersey the ‘Star Trek’ jersey. And with its attractive mustard colour way, it’s easy to see why

While the summer range featured only a jersey and bib shorts, this first autumn/winter range contains five pieces for men and women: a long sleeve jersey, bib tights, waist tights, softshell jacket and a snood. Design-wise they’ve kept things simple and elegant, at first glance, you could be forgiven for mistaking their clothing for that from another, significantly more expensive, brand.

The long-sleeve jersey (£39.99) is made from a quick drying polyester/polypropylene fabric designed for a close but not race-fit cut – designer Will Hurd recommended that we size down if looking for a classic super slim fit. The fabric is nice and stretchy, meaning that if you do size down you’ll retain that flexibility of movement necessary for comfort. It also features fitted cuffs, a full length front zip, silicone grippers at the hem and four pockets on the back (three standard and one zipped), the central of which has a high-vis hyper reflective strip. Colour-wise, both men and women have a black option – men’s with turquoise trim, women’s with purple – as well as a mustard option for men (nicknamed the ‘Star Trek’ jersey by Evans staff) and a maroon choice for women.

The Coldharbour bib tights have a few nice touches like the ankle grippers here, but keep things functional and simple with added reflective touches

The Coldharbour bib tights (£59.99) match a high performance Italian fabric on the multi-panelled legs with a breathable supportive mesh that makes up the bib sections. All stitching on the tights is flatlock to maximise comfort, and the Coolmax chamois has been chosen for comfort and its cooling qualities.

At the leg openings, the grippers are paired with a zip which should make them nice and easy to take on and off, with ‘since 1921’ in white lettering making for a nice contrast with the all-black design. On the rear, the reflective strip from the long-sleeve jersey is continued, designed to be revealed when you’re in the riding position and maximise visibility.

The Kennington unpadded waist tights (£39.99) are effectively the bib tights with the bibs replaced by an elasticated waist band and the chamois removed. They’re basically aimed as either an entry-level set for beginners, who aren’t sure about using a pad yet, or a secondary set of tights to wear over bib tights for when the weather’s really cold.

If you’re after a bit more upper body warmth, there’s the King of the Downs softshell (or Queen for the women’s version). For £64.99 you get what was described to us as a ‘Gabba’ lite: a water resistant, windproof breathable fabric designed to be the only outer layer you’ll need until it really starts pouring with rain. The side panels are elasticated to ensure a good but stretchy fit, and the reflective detailing seen on the long sleeve jersey is also added to the back for good measure.

Evans have called the King of the Downs softshell jacket a ‘Gabba lite’ and with touches like the drainage holes on the pockets it’s easy to see why

The final piece is the Snook Snood, so named after Evans’ PR Manager Chris Snook. It’s basically a thick piece of wicking, quick-dry fabric to be worn either around the neck or forhead, with a reflective strip on the front and back (if a cylinder can have a front and back, that is). It’s £9.99 and a nice little complementary option to the other pieces.

If you fancy getting your hands on this kit it’ll be available exclusively though Evans Cycles, as you’d expect. The long sleeve jersey is in stock now, and the rest will be available in two weeks’ time (around the start of November).