First Look: Saikel, a new clothing brand with bold ambitions

With a taste for bold colours and designs, Saikel is a new clothing brand aiming to make a statement and appeal to cyclists wanting to inject a bit of style into their cycling outfit. It'll certainly help you stand out, that's for sure.

It's a good time for buying cycle clothing. There's really no shortage of brands to choose from, with more companies launching all the time. Saikel was founded last year by two racing cyclists who wanted to create clothing with a bit more va-va-voom than what it felt were largely muted and understated designs.

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“We noticed that many brands have gone down the avenue of simple colour palettes rarely featuring patterns and striking designs,” remarks Simon McIvor, Swiss-based founder of Saikel. “We want to challenge this and encourage riders everywhere to embrace bold colours and patterns to showcase their personality when on the road or trails.”

Saikel has developed two designs - Chevron and Segments - used across a range of bib shorts and jerseys for men and women, with accompanying accessories likes arm and leg warms, socks and caps. Technical fabrics have been utilised and manufacturing takes place in Italy, to ensure the performance matches the aesthetics.

We’ve just taken delivery of some items for testing so we’ll put it through its paces over the coming weeks and deliver full in-depth reviews soon. First impressions, based on a weekend of riding, are good.

The Segments bib shorts have an Italian made padded insert that was comfortable for a 130km ride. The wide elastic hems proved comfortable with no irritation, and the bib straps are stretchy yet supportive.

The matching Segments jersey is a bold look - it generally got a thumbs up from riding pals though- and provides a close fit but it’s not a second skin like some race jerseys. It’s comfortable, the soft fabric coped with high temperatures and stayed dry well, and the wide elastic gripper waistband kept the jersey from moving about even when the three pockets were loaded up with food.

Pricewise the company has pitched the clothing in a similar space to Rapha, Maap or PNS - €125 for a jersey, €170 for the bib shorts - with the clothing available directly through the website. Shipping is free on orders over €150.

More at www.saikel.cc