MTB

On Test: Cube’s Women’s MTB Kit

It's bright, bold and beautiful. We find out how the Cube AM women's kit fairs on the trails

The new All-Mountain women’s kit from Cube is light, airy and ready for some summer trail shredding.

With the women’s mountain bike industry growing at a rapid rate, big brands – and smaller ones – are finally starting to get their act together and churn out some decent kit.

Too long we’ve been in men’s and children’s MTB wear, and with the release of more women’s specific bikes, clothing and accessories, we’re starting to see more choice and variety to suit every style of rider.

Cube Bikes has seriously proactive with their women’s line. The Women Like Series (WLS) range of bikes has certainly won us over at TWC, so we were excited to see how their women’s kit faired.

Cube AM WLS Round-neck Jersey L/S

The Cube AM jersey for women is lovely and soft to the touch with bright vivid colours that’ll have you easy to spot on the trails.

The feminine cut allows the jersey to shape nicely to the body, without being too clingy and restrictive.

There’s a convenient zipped pocket on the side for stashing away those keys, lip balm and sweets. This is a feature I’m quite partial to on a trail jersey, and I always find stash pockets useful when I want to ride light.

What’s great about this jersey is how light and cool is feels to the skin. Definitely a fair weather riding jersey, I found the armpit meshing and pin-hole ventilated back allowed for air to circulate through, and keep me cool throughout the ride.

Sizes: X.Small – XX.Large

Colours: Blue/Taupe/Lime & Black/ Taupe

For more information, check out the Cube website here

Cube AM WLS Shorts

Accompanying the AM WLS Jersey are these brightly coloured soft-shell shorts.

Unlike most women’s MTB shorts, these actually reached my knees which is something often hard to find in shorts, especially if you have daddy-long-legs like me. However, once in the saddle I did suffer from the dreaded thigh-skin gap that peaked through above my knee pad.

These shorts offer maximum comfort for riding in. Very light weight and soft to the skin, I found these shorts to move with my body, without any restriction.

Mesh fabric lining the inside of the shorts helps with moisture and temperature control. Having worn padded Lycra shorts underneath, I didn’t notice this effect all that much though.

Zipped pockets on the leg and hip are idea for storing small items and lift passes, and the adjustable waistband allows you to dial in that perfect fit.

Sizes: X.Small – XX.Large

Colours: Nectarine & Black

For more information, check out the Cube website here

Cube AM WLS Jersey Jacket

Keeping in theme with the nectarine and taupe colour-way, the full-length zipped jacket is the finishing touch on the AM WLS kit.

Wind resistant and warm, this jacket is the perfect layer pre and post ride to give you that warmth you need before working up a sweat. Although, given it was a breezy day out for me, I wore the jacket for riding, and still found it extremely comfortable.

I’m a big fan of thumb loops. They are great to wear with gloves to prevent wind shooting up your sleeve when riding. The sleeves are long and comfortable without unnecessary pulling to stretch them over your hand.

The asymmetric zip feature looks pretty cool, but I didn’t like the function of it. I found myself subconsciously pulling straight down/up when the zip didn’t want to go that way, which then became a little more fiddly than I would have hoped.

For more information, check out Cube’s website

Verdict

I got on well with Cube’s AM WLS kit for women. I found it extremely lightweight and comfortable to ride in and it functioned how I would want for trail kit.

A lot of thought and consideration has been made for the women’s kit with its refined cut and the attractive colour-way options to choose from.

This kit is certainly suitable for fair weather riding, with its ultra-light and thin material options. However, I feel the shorts can always afford to be a tad longer, and the asymmetric zip feature on the jersey jacket is a poorly functional gimmick.

It’s certainly great to see more options available for female mountain bikers working its way into the market.

With big bike brands, like Cube, working hard on their women’s division, it’s looking like a promising future for the industry.