Leatt Ride Kit MTB 1.0 jersey and trousers review

Technical mountain bike clothing rarely comes cheap. It’s rammed full of tech, and despite its price, it does make for a better time out on the bike. However, Leatt has shown that solid riding garbs needn’t cost tonnes of money with its MTB 1.0 Ride Kit. With it, you get a top-notch pair of keks and a basic, but banging jersey all rolled into one package that costs less than just one pair of quality riding trousers. If you’re looking for your first set of ride-specific kit or to top up your riding wardrobe, look no further.

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Leatt MTB 1.0 Ride Kit – Technical details

With the Ride Kit, Leatt has aimed to deliver a serious price-to-performance ratio, and has employed the full might of the Pivot Factory Racing team to develop it. Although it’s designed for gravity-focussed disciplines, Leatt says that it’s designed for a range of riding styles. I reckon it’ll please anyone who rides trail through the downhill, although cross-country riders will still likely gravitate towards Lycra.

2025 leatt ride kit front J.jpg, by Liam Mercer

Leatt’s Ride Kit is built up of a jersey and a pair of trousers with the former benefitting from a ‘relaxed fit’ with tighter sleeves. The torso and sleeves use different materials, with the torso being built from a lightweight polymer fibre and an elastane knit, whereas the sleeves use a super elastic polymer with the same elastane knit. Inside the jersey is a microfibre wipe for eyewear, and it can double up as an inner pocket.

While the words ‘polymer’ and ‘elastane’ don’t sound terribly environmentally conscious, they are bluesign-approved fabrics, meaning that they’re manufactured to bluesign’s strict safety and environmental requirements as per bluesign’s criteria.

2025 leatt ride kit trouser.jpg, by Liam Mercer

As for the trousers, they’re a little more technical. There are plenty of perforated panels found inside the knee and around the back, and the pants also use two fabrics, with the upper being lighter and more stretchy, whereas the lower uses a more durable fabric.

On top of silicone grippers around the waist, there’s a ratchet closure and the trousers rock two pockets, one zipped pocket on the right thigh, and a velcro-closed pocket at the upper rear. They’re then finished off with a PFC-free DWR coating.

Leatt MTB 1.0 Ride Kit – Performance

In a market where cheap can rarely mean cheerful, buy cheap, buy twice, so on and so forth, Leatt’s Ride kit is refreshingly excellent regardless of its price tag. It doesn’t get any fancy bells and whistles, and its style isn’t terribly flashy, but in return, it’s clothing that just works.

2025 leatt ride kit back.jpg, by Liam Mercer

To start with the jersey, there’s no skirting around the fact that it is pretty basic, but as far as jerseys go, it’s all you really need. Although the brand doesn’t state anything about the top’s wicking properties, it does a solid job of shifting sweat from the skin. Breathability is good too, impressively so, in fact, as I’ve ridden in the jersey in summer temperatures without overheating. Admittedly, when the sun’s really beating down, I would opt for a short-sleeve over this, but the way in which it manages higher temperatures makes for a top that can be worn year-round, and used as a mid-layer during the cooler months.

Its fit is rather good too. It’s long enough to cover the top of the trousers, while stopping spray and other nasty stuff from reaching under. The sleeves are plenty long enough, too, and while I’m not usually one who would choose tighter sleeves, they make sense as there’s no material to be snagged in bushes and such.

2025 leatt ride kit sleeve.jpg, by Liam Mercer

The trousers are what really impressed me about the Ride Kit, so much so that I would buy them by themselves if I could. They’re generally a slimmer fit, but there’s plenty of room for even bulkier knee pads. Again, I expected them to overheat in warmer weather, but thanks to the array of perforations around the back and the knees, they managed to stay reasonably cool. Again, in weather that calls for shorts, they’d be too much, but for general riding, and especially mid-season riding, they more than do the trick.

I would ask for more pockets, or at least for the back pocket to be zipped, just for a little more security for carrying keys, but at this price, it’s tough to argue all that much. 

2025 leatt ride kit upper.jpg, by Liam Mercer

They’re certainly durable too. While the saddle area has picked up some discolouration, which isn’t too far from the norm with any trousers, they’ve held up to a full summer’s riding and come out in one piece. The DWR coating has certainly come in handy, too, as it confidently fends off light spray, but don’t expect it to hold on through deeper, more substantial downpours or splashes.

With the Ride Kit, Leatt has done well to keep its look toned down. I’m a fan, and it doesn’t make the kit look as affordable as it is. Generally, it’s just good, honest kit that does the job it’s built to with incredibly few compromises.

Leatt MTB 1.0 Ride Kit – Verdict

Where else can you get a top-quality jersey and pants combo? Unfortunately, there aren’t many offerings that provide the value of the MTB 1.0 Ride Kit, but that’s the product’s real draw. In fact, the kit costs less than just a pair of riding trousers from rival brands. 

I’m a fan of Fox’s more recent Ranger Pants. They’re very similar to the ones included in the Ride Kit, but they’ll set you back £100. They look and fit great, but the DWR coating isn’t as effective as I would have liked.

It’s easy to spend a lot of money on a jersey, too. ION’s MTB Jersey Logo Long-Sleeve will set you back £50, and like the one included in the Ride Kit, it’s fairly basic. 

The truth of the matter is that there isn’t anywhere else on the market where you can find both a jersey and a pair of trousers for less than £100, unless you’re diving deep into the endless sales littered around the internet. At the moment, there simply isn’t a kit like the Leatt MTB 1.0 Ride Kit that brings such solid performance at such an accessible price point. If I were in the market for a wardrobe update or my first set of riding kit, this is exactly where I would start, without question.

• leatt.uk
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