Review: Reggie cycling kit

As I’ve said before, many companies that make cycling kits are small businesses built by cyclists who rope their family members or friends into their project: Reggie is no exception. It is the product of a Canadian racer who spent a season in Belgium, and his sister who is a passionate designer by trade. The two combine love of the sport with bright, 70s pop designs to make Reggie, a cycling company focused on fun.

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Reggie Long-Range Dropper bib shorts

They share my love of easy-off or “dropper” bibs. The Reggie Long-Range Dropper bibs ($113) are a concept that I prefer: no magnets or clasps to reattach; the straps form a simple arch over the shoulder blades combined with a stretch panel at the lower back. In the great rankings of easy-off bibs, they aren’t at the bottom, but they’re not rivaling Velocio or Iris either. They’re somewhere in the middle. If Velocio didn’t have a Foundation line in this price range, Reggie’s bibs would truly be a stand-out in the market, but the competition is steep.

Evaluating the bibs on the essential features all shorts share — chamois, straps, and grippers — Reggie performs well. The chamois is dense where it needs to be and the stitching is fine even to avoid chafing at the edge of the pad. The straps serve their purpose as part of the dropper bib design, resting comfortably over my shoulders, even when used for their intended dropper purpose. The gripper seam was the only downside and didn’t work with the sizing as well as I expected.

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The gripper fits well and even has a fun motto on the inside, but the seam attaching the gripper has is a little too tight. Luckily these shorts have an elastic gusset in the rear of the thigh that adds stretch to the area. The straight seam at the waist has the same issue -it doesn’t have the proportion of give relative to the fabric panels that one would expect. I dislike the straight waist seam in general because it works against the drop-tail design. While the seams might make me choose other bibs in my collection for my roughest days in the saddle, the Reggie Long Range is a solid drop tail training bib, and I wouldn’t hesitate to take a long Saturday ride in them.

Reggie Nederlander jersey

The Reggie Nederlander jersey ($113) is a more modern cut with aero sleeves, available in their “fast” and faster fits (“fast” being wider in the body than the “faster” option). It’s a modern pattern with a low collar, sleeve cuffs that hit just above the elbow, a generous wedge of mesh under the arm, and a zipper pocket. Add some unique, bright prints to that, and you get a solid piece of kit.

Two unique points help Reggie gear differentiate itself from the pack: the hand-driven rivets, and the mesh garment bags that come with jerseys and bibs.

Derived from the rivets on a saddle (the phrase “on the rivet” connotes going hard), the rivets on the kit are Reggie’s nod to racing culture, hand-tamped to each item by the owner himself. Besides the bright design that has a decidedly 70s pop flair to it, arguably the rivet is the detail that makes the otherwise standard jerseys into Reggie brand pieces.

Reggie accessories

But frankly, the mesh garment bags are much more useful to me than the rivet. I may not be able to show off the garment bags to other riders like the rivets, but I can wash my jerseys, bibs, and especially gloves in them, or use them to store my kit in one place, etc. A mesh garment bag is definitely a handy add-on to any Reggie order.

Reggie knee warmers
Also available are the Reggie Flashy black knee warmers ($24) as their warmest leg protection. As a member of the “chicken-leg” club, I have problems with roll-down on warmers, and these Reggie warmers are no exception. Warmers are more likely to stay up if they have silicone grippers on both the inside and outside of the thigh band to keep the warmers in place, and unfortunately, these only have silicone on the inside.

Reggie Totally Rad cycling cap and Orange Twist socks
The Reggie Totally Rad cycling cap ($22) is a standard, much like the warmers. It’s a four-panel cap in a cotton-poly blend. It’s comfortable, bright, and not too tight-fitting.

The Reggie Orange Twist socks ($15), also, are perfectly serviceable; they are not too tight, not too short, and keep with Reggie’s hip 70s-era styling. I’d need to really love any pair of socks to pay $15 for them, or they’d need some special feature, but they’re fun socks and they match the kit.

Reggie Ramble mask
The Ramble Mask ($18), on the other hand, is a polyester bandana, not a mask. Though it’s perforated, it’s not easy to breathe through, and the slick nature of the polyester doesn’t lend itself to staying tied, so it doesn’t function well as a mask. I would usually use a fully cotton bandana as a scarf if I wanted the square form factor, likewise, I’d use cotton if I wanted it to absorb sweat or be able to clean my glasses with it, for example. However, polyester does dry faster than the traditional dollar bandanas available at any local store.

Overall, I’m glad I got a chance to wear Reggie brand cycling apparel. I’d recommend them as a solid option for the price-conscious shopper, and a good example of the direction I hope brands will take: prioritizing functional pieces, like dropper-bibs, and add-ons like mesh garment bags that riders can use.