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Road Cycling Clothing

Pactimo Summit Speed RFLX Women’s Jersey and Summit Raptor RFLX Women’s Bib Shorts Reviewed

Comfortable, cooling, pretty spot on road kit

I’ll admit that I can sometimes be a little bit picky about kit, but when you’re spending £210 on a pair of bibs and a jersey, I reckon it’s fair to have high expectations.

In the Pactimo Speed RFLX Women’s Jersey and Summit Raptor RFLX women’s bibs I found very little to disagree with and a lot to love – high expectations well and truly met.

Firstly – let’s address the elephant in the room – it’s black and grey, with flashes of pink and purple. Personally, I like the design a lot – but design is subjective, so onto the features and fit…

I wore the set for a short, 35 mile speedy ride, plus an 80 mile hilly slog that took me up multiple Surrey Hills climbs, resulting in a full 5 hours in the saddle – so it’s fair to say it worked hard (we both did, actually).

Pactimo Summit Speed RFLX Women’s Jersey

The jersey uses five different fabrics across the design – woven together to provide a light, sleek, next-to-skin feel.

Italian Superleggero fabric sits comfortably against the skin, and ‘zero-wight’ mesh carbon woven sections lie under the arms for added breathability.

The ‘euro-lenght’ (in other words, longer, “cooler cyclist”) sleeves hug my arms perfectly, with no muffin-arm or unsightly sleeve flap.

It’s claimed that shorter front panels and low profile collar make the kit more aero, but if I’m honest I can’t comment without a wind tunnel, and I don’t think many of us are counting the seconds in non-race kit.

This kit isn’t just perfect for those after a racy fit, though, the RFLX armbands and silicone waist gripper become illuminated in car headlights. Thankfully, now it’s summer this isn’t a feature I need on a regular basis, but it’s a cool addition.

Three pockets on the rear, I can attest, can carry phone, keys, 3 gels, and cash card. More could be stuffed in, but I carried a puncture repair kit in a saddle bag, and opted for C02, because the pockets felt a little short for a mini pump – short enough that I was concerned it might fall out the top.

Summit Raptor RFLX Women’s Bib Shorts

The most noteable feature of the shorts, for me, was the light, thin chamois pad, which provided me with all the comfort I needed over a full morning in the saddle – and I’m sure it would go on to work hard all day.

The pad is an endurance focused design, which has a smaller, but more ‘accurate’ protective area – meaning it’s dense where it needs to be, and not where it doesn’t. The fabric is infused with carbon to reduce heat and odor – and because, let’s face it, carbon is always good.

Pactimo’s ‘Silhouette’ design promises to provide support in the riding position, without allowing chafe inducing bunching, and compression is delivered via the ‘Raptor’ fabric.

The ‘flash’ & ‘coldblack’ fabric features are designed to wick away moisture, and prevent overheating by blocking the absorption of UV rays, and I can also confirm that even on a hot, early summers day I didn’t feel I was overheating at any point.

I was pleased to note the loving addition of RFLX leg band grippers, which Pactimo have ensured do not hug the leg too tightly.

The top of the bibs is a traditional design, with a teardrop cut-out around the bust and wide straps. There aren’t any features to make going to the toilet any easier than removing the jersey and getting a bit naked in a bush – though if you’re wearing a base layer it’s not so bad!

Overall, I was really impressed. Great additions would be deeper pockets, and some sort of toilet-friendly design (there are many) – but I wouldn’t mark this kit down much for these.

It is a pricey set – but then why buy two “ok” sets of kit when you could have one that ticks all the boxes?

Pactimo Speed RFLX Women’s Jersey – £80 (Size reviewed: Medium)

Summit Raptor RFLX Women’s Bib Shorts – £130 (Size reviewed: Medium)

Sizes: XS – XXL – “race fit kit” – so think “up a size” when choosing!

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