Road Cycling Clothing

Evans Cycles F.W.E Range Grows with Bargain Trainer and Winter Kit

We took a look at some of the new offerings from Evans Cycles' own brands

The chances are you’ve popped into Evans Cycles for an inner tube in the past – but when was the last time you checked out what the 1921 retailer had on offer from their own brands?

Founded not far off a century ago, Evans Cycles have almost sixty stores – but over the last few years they’ve been steadily growing their own brand offerings as well as their combined floorspace.

The F.W.E brand is named after F.W. Evans – the initial founder – and comprises of clothing, tools and accessories. New for autumn/winter is a selection of cold weather riding gear, as well as a bargain turbo trainer and an interesting development in the not so thrilling but exceptionally useful world of mini-tools.

F.W.E Clothing

The key message from F.W.E clothing, which was launched this year, is affordable performance. We tested the shorts and jersey in the height of summer, and were impressed with the value for money on offer.

Seeing the full range on display, one of the key highlights for us was the Coldharbour Bibtights.

At £59.99, these are constructed from an Italian fabric, and feature a Coolmax pad, with reflective strips and an awesome vintage touch with the company’s founding year printed on the ankles.

There is a non-padded, non-bib ‘Kennington’ version for £39.99 which could be easily slipped over shorts.

The ‘Queen of the Downs’ Softshell – a play on the Evans Cycles sportive event the King of the Downs – comes in a £64.99 and aims to provide breathability, coupled with water resistance.

The pinnacle of perfection in such a design is the Castelli Gabba, which retails at well over £100, and we’re looking forward to testing one of these to see how it stands up against the competition.

Both men’s ‘King’ and women’s ‘Queen’ versions come in black, but feature reflective details and drainage holes at the base of the pockets – just in case you get brutally unlucky with the weather.

The Lunch Time Ride jersey has also been winterised, and is still available in the pillar box red we love, as well as a more understated black version (and a kind of mustard yellow for men) at £39.99.

Finally, the Snook Snood (named after Evans’ PR Manager Chris Snook) offers to keep your neck and chin warm during deep winter rides, for £9.99.

All the clothing will become available over the next couple of weeks, and the long sleeved jersey is already available to buy.

F.W.E Turbo Trainer for £89.99

Turbo training is never a fun topic of conversation, but when winter hits, indoor riding becomes a staple training diet for many a rider.

7 tips to stay on track with turbo trainers

Indoor trainers usually retail from around £100, extending to the region of £1k for something mega swish. For your extra cash, you generally get a more ‘lifelike feel’, which arguably is a bit ridiculous for a device that will see you pedalling indoors, staring at the television, computer screen or brick wall.

The other benefit you pick up when you spend more is usually increased data feedback – so rather than ONLY knowing you can hardly breathe, and your heart rate has hit 200bpm, you know you’re doing a puny wattage and that everyone else on your internet enabled platform is kicking your arse, virtually.

F.W.E aren’t claiming a lifelike feel, or any smart data – but what they are offering is a turbo trainer with five different resistance levels and a robust steel frame, so you can get your kicks indoors when it’s too cold or wet to be outside. All for £89.99.

The resistance is controlled via a handlebar mounted device, and you can also get a matching mat and sweat catcher to go with it.

F.W.E Mini Torque Wrench

Overtightening bolts can be fatal, as can leaving them too loose, and though you can usually get it ‘about right’, using a torque wrench is the way to ensure you’ve tightened your bolts (stem, handlebar) correctly.

Usually, they’re fairly cumbersome, but F.W.E are now offering this mini version for £39.99 which includes a mini-ratchet handle and three preloaded torque sleeves in the most common 4, 5 and 6 newton metre settings, as well as most hex keys you could need and screwdriver bits.

Granted, we’re not sure we’d take one out on every ride, but this little set would be perfect for those occasions when you take your bike away and have to re-assemble it.

Whilst at Evans Cycles to see the F.W.E offerings, we also had a chat with Sir Chris Hoy about the newest range of HOY bikes, and had a detailed tour of the Pinnacle bike showroom – more on those soon.