Life of An Amateur Cyclist: Craft

15. mar. 2014

Craft Performance Bib Shorts Test

Swedish based Craft is a brand most people who does sports probably knows. The company that was created all the way back in 1977 has established themselves as one of the biggest brands for sporting outfit across many different sport genres. I have already taken a look on the “Elite” cycling jersey, and now it’s time for the “Performance” bib shorts.

On the road

I have been riding these bib shorts on distances up to 140 km, and been doing that for several months. They have been used in both races and for training, so they have been through every possible thing that you would ever use them for.

All I can say is, that they ended up fitting me nicely, being both very aerodynamic, but also extremely comfortable on the same time, giving the best of two worlds. They also do not feel tight at all, even though they seems to fit very tightly, because the fabrics stretches further than what I have experienced at other brands. In addition, the gel pads in them are also well made and they are very comfortable. You will not get any sore ass in these bib shorts, not even after a long run. Craft has really done a great job making sure they fit perfectly, meanwhile not being, literally, a pain in the ass. I can certainly understand why Craft has become one of the most favored brands for cycling outfits in the cycling world.

A fun bonus is, that they write how much tension density they have, the thickness of the gel, etc. inside the bib shorts, as you can see in the picture below.

However, they do not come cheap off either, costing around 100 euro’s for a single pair of bib shorts. Nevertheless, I do still recommend them for anyone, because there is nothing worse than having a sore ass the next two days after a 3 hours training session, because you were riding low quality bib shorts. It can really ruin your mood for another training session the next day, which is not good for anyone.

But price and quality seems to be right about these bib shorts, because the fabrics seems to be very strong. After I have used them for a long time, and at points even tortured them, they look just as good as new. Also where the saddle tends to eat the fabrics up on other bib shorts, the Craft Performance still stands strong without any problem at all. In addition, no stitches has failed yet, and the colors still stands very strong. So they may be a bit pricey, but you can use them for years to come.

The verdict

Once again, Craft comes up with a brilliant piece of outfit that will make your training, and ass, a bit better. You can barely feel that you are wearing them, because they fit great, and they are very comfortable. Cheaper bib shorts can easily be found, but you really should not cheat yourself and your ass for a better ride. Moreover, as another plus, they will usable for many years to come because of the high quality. This is easily the best pair of bib shorts I have ever tested, and I can only recommend them for everyone who wants to have a comfortable ride.

You can check out other reviews of Craft products by clicking here.

Written by René

2. feb. 2014

Craft Elite Jersey Test

Craft is one of the biggest producers of cycling clothes around the world, and sponsors the World Tour team Trek, which includes Fabian Cancellara, Jens Voigt, The Schleck-brothers, etc. The Swedish based company has produced sport related clothes since 1977, and is known to deliver clothes in great quality.

(Note, the jersey's design is from my bike club)

On the road

I have been testing the Shirt, which according to Craft, should be aerodynamic, light, and have a great fit. Well, I can certainly say that they seem to be aerodynamic, because you are able to see every gram of overweight on your torso if you wear the shirt correctly. It is very comfortable though. The fabrics got a great stretching-ability making sure that it fits all different kind of body types. No matter if a rider needs a size medium, and either got big muscularly arms or small mountainrider-ish arms, the same size of the shirt can fit you. I am in the last group, but guys with much larger arms fits the same jersey just as good as me.

The shirt got a total zipper from the neck to the bottom, so it is easy to take on and off, unlike some other shirts that only have a half zipper, or none at all. It makes it a lot easier to put on and take off, along with you can zip it a bit down on hot days if needed.

Since the fabrics are not that thick, sweat transportation is almost impossible. Therefore, you would need a sweat-absorbing shirt underneath the Craft-shirt to make that problem go away. However, on super-hot days, it is really nice to wear because overheating won’t become a problem. It lets a nice amount of wind cool you down. I personally find temperatures above 16-17 degrees Celsius, on a sunny day, fine for this jersey.

The shirt got four pockets on the back. Three of them easily accessible, while one is placed on top of the middle pocket, with a zipper. Therefore, you can put valuable stuff in the pocket with the zipper, and do not have to be nervous if it falls out of the pocket during the workout. A nice feature I have been using a lot for my cellphone and money for a pit stop during the ride. Nevertheless, the three other pockets are easily deep enough to stop stuff from falling out of them 999 out of 1000 times.