Earlier this year we got the first glimpse of the highly anticipated Hoy Vulpine cycling apparel range. Instantly it was a hit across the TWC team. Sleek lines, understated colours and no hefty price tags made the range pretty attractive. Meeting the really lovely Sir Chris Hoy soon after receiving the range only heightened our love for the range further!

One of the most notable things about the range is the fact that aside from anatomical differences, the range does not differ for men and women – the colours, style and number of items in each range is exactly the same. Kudos to Chris Hoy and Vulpine’s founder Nick Hussey for that decision.

First up to test was the Valldemossa Race Jersey (£69.99).

The Valledemossa Race jersey, is a pretty standard jersey. It has a nice cut, three rear jersey pockets, a full zip and rear silicone grippers. Once on however, I have to say the jersey was pretty darn comfortable. Not scratchy labels which are a particular pet peeve of mine and the technical fabric wicked away my sweat in an efficient manner. Overall I really liked the understated look of the jersey – a grey/blue with bright blue contrast zip and logos.

The El Toro Bib shorts (£79.99) for me were the more impressive part of the package though. People who are familiar with the Rapha Classic bibshort will notice a couple of similarities between it and Hoy Vulpine’s El Toro Bib short. Both have opted for full coverage across the torso, which personally I am a big fan of. And despite the difference in price between the two sets of shorts, I am happy to report that this gap does not translate in quality.

The El Toro bib short feels fantastic the minute you put it on. The mesh on the torso is sublimely soft and very breathable which the shorts themselves offer a nice level of compression, a relatively slim chamois and sleek fit – no sausage legs thank god!

The El Toro shorts look sleek on thanks to subtle black on black logos and a grey torso (which doesn’t yellow with wear thanks to sweat like white does).

Verdict:

All in all both the Valledemossa Race jersey and El Toro bib shorts are winners for me. With the bib shorts coming in a lot cheaper than a lot of their competitors I was happy to see that quality has not compromised.

The Hoy Vulpine range is available from Evans Cycles and Vulpine.