Cyclist
Cyclist’s Gear of the Year 2024: Kit
If you missed our first two Gear of the Year round-up of our favourites bikes and kit of 2024 last week, what were you doing? Spending time with loved ones? Going for a nice walk? Getting started on the leftovers? Eating chocolate? Playing board games until you’re close to tears? Pathetic.
Anyway, here’s our third one on the Cyclist team’s favourite kit (clothing etc.) of 2024.
Sam Challis, tech editor
Trek RSL Knit shoes
Many top end road shoes these days tend to be coalescing around a certain formula. That’s no bad thing – Shimano’s S-Phyres and Specialized’s S-Works Torch shoes are superb, for example – but choice between such options can, to a large extent, come down to fit and looks. Many competitors in that strata of the market are otherwise quite similar in terms of performance, which is why I’ve chosen a true category outlier as my standout bit of kit this year.
Trek’s RSL Knit shoes pair a heavily perforated carbon sole with a knitted upper, which differs from rivals by focussing purely on providing stretch, rather than structure (others, such as DMT, try for a bit of both in their woven uppers).
As a result, although weirdly tricky to put on (get your shoehorn at the ready), the RSL Knits really do offer sock-like comfort, and conform to the rider’s foot unusually closely. That isn’t to say they lack support though. Dual Boa closures fix an exoskeleton of structural material around the upper for security, and the suede-covered heel cup is pretty sturdy too.
Unsurprisingly, the RSL Knits are useless in the rain and cold, but the other side of that coin is ventilation by the bucketful in hot weather. Plus, they’re offered in a black and gold colour option, meaning the shoes stand out in both form and function.
James Spender, deputy editor
Assos Mille GTO bib shorts
This are Assos’s endurance aka most comfy bibs, and they saved my bacon this year. I got ischial bursitis, which is where you get a little squishy lump on your sit bones that, while not exactly life threatening, is really uncomfortable as you squash them betwixt sit bone and saddle when you sit on a bike. And it’s almost certainly caused by cycling, hence the cure is to stop cycling, which is not an option.
In my most laymanic of terms, bursitis is when a bursa sac (there are loads all over your body) gets inflamed. These little guys are like cushions between parts of your body, specifically in areas where one part slides over another, hence they can get all riled up if you ride a lot on an ill-fitting saddle, which I think I did (saddle shall remain nameless).
Anyway, these Assos bibs have what turns out to be an amazingly comfy pad for a person in my position, and I wore them almost exclusively for most of this year, until it got too cold. I therefore credit the Mille GTO with me being able to keep riding, and over time to start to heal – the ultimate cure, like most such things, is to stop doing anything that aggravates the injury i.e. to stop cycling.
Rab Cinder Kinetic jacket
When the Cinder arrived for testing, I liked it a lot, but I didn’t wager on it becoming a near daily staple. But it has, and that’s what makes it worthy of these prestigious pages.
Officially the Cinder Kinetic is pitched at gravel riding, but really this ended up as a brilliant commuting jacket, running jacket and just a jacket jacket.
It’s stretchy and soft like a softshell but at 10,000mm rated it’s also usefully waterproof. It’s also insanely breathable, rated at 35,000mm, nearly twice most classic waterproof hardshells (which for context tend to be rated around 20,000mm for waterproofness).
If I could change something it would be to have front hand pockets like a regular jacket. As it is there are only two pockets, a rear zipper across the small of the back and a chest zipper. But they do the job for carrying stuff, and I guess I’ll just have to work out a different way of standing when I’m loitering around in moderate rain.
Laurence Kilpatrick, staff writer
Canyon Tempr CFR shoes
Since I’ve worn more pairs of shoes than I can shake a stick at in 2024, it would be remiss of me not to put a pair forward.
There are some seriously competent contenders with new brands entering the space all the time. And while they are hardly a plucky upstart, the newly launched Canyon Tempr CFR shoes get an awful lot right.
First of all, they look fantastic, which is half the battle won. The combination of a tongueless sock structure, overlapping straps and supple material, brought together by Boa dials made for an incredibly comfortable fit.
Admittedly, the comprehensive ventilation means they aren’t ideal for year-round riding, but that is a minor con as many riders will have other shoes for bad weather riding. That said, the material is easy to clean and durable, meaning they remain looking crisp for a good while.
Kostüme Bib Shorts
You can take the boy out of the west country, but you can’t stop him going back to get some God-tier bib shorts. Kostüme is a pre-order batch based producer that, as well as being legitimately environmentally conscious, punches well above its weight in terms of bib performance. The brand only produces what it knows it will sell, so wastage is almost nil. Kostüme insists that ‘truly sustainable apparel doesn’t really exist’, but minimising waste can be no bad thing.
The Italian-made chamois Kostüme uses has a 4-layer construction and three types of aloe-infused memory foam, designed to be used without any of kind of anti-chafing cream. Kostüme claims market-leading pressure distribution and having spent a long time in these bibs, I can believe that.
The OEKO-TEX certified ECONYL regenerated nylon has a brushed texture and feels pretty incredible on the skin. It’s compressive without being restrictive and the hems have no elasticated band, and yet they have remained perfectly tight and well-shaped after some heavy use.
Since they only sell 350 garments per product run, you’ve got to have your toe on the pedal to even get hold of a pair. If you do, I can’t imagine anyone regretting it.
Will Strickson, website editor
Quoc M3 Air shoes
I could’ve quite easily chosen the Castelli Espresso jersey in this picture, alas, like dear Laurence, I’m just a sucker for white shoes.
However I’m also a sucker for Quoc shoes, I’ve been a big fan of the brand since I stuck my feet in the Gran Tourer II gravel shoes and I’ve been waiting to try a road pair for a while. It just so happened the first one I tried are the new shoes of choice of one Geraint Thomas, and if it’s good enough for someone that’s ridden bikes for as long as Geraint and with the wealth of choice as Geraint, do you really need my opinion?
Well yes shoes are very much personal preference so they’re not for everyone, but the M3 Airs are sufficiently stiff, sufficiently lightweight, sufficiently stylish and sufficiently comfortable. I was slightly concerned with their large mesh panels that they’d get cold in the winter, and not only was I pleasantly surprised, but Quoc has made some toe covers that alleviate any inkling of that issue anyway.
One of the more important attributes that gets the M3 Airs on this list though is that they’re easy to clean, and for a bright white pair of shoes, that is essential, though not common enough.
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