The Full Gas Aero jersey and Long Haul G2 bibs are new additions to Melbourne-based Pedla’s lineup. In the past we've been impressed by Pedla’s kits and its use of new fabrics, despite being a small company. Featured in our first Wild Style Aussie kits story, Pedla is about creating gear that looks good and perform well.
Pedla borrows the expertise of the iconic Italian textile manufacturer MITI (Manifattura Italiana Tessuti Indemagliabili) for its garments. The pioneer of ‘warp knitting’, MITI is responsible for the Superroubaix or Thermoroubaix fabrics that can be found in nearly every cycle clothing brand's catalogue. Using these high quality Italian fabrics, Pedla has made some great looking and technical kits.
Pedla Full Gas Aero jersey
Price: AU$176 / £90 / US$140
Available in a range of non-offensive hues and designs
Not quite a ‘climbers jersey’, the Full Gas Aero top is a summer garment that excels in the heat. Made from MITI Dimple Dry Aero fabric, this striped jersey is soft to the touch and comfortable once on. The stretchy microfibre fabric hugs your body nicely, wicking moisture efficiently. While we can’t comment on any aero advantage from the dimple fabric, the mesh side panels further breathability, making the top well suited for hot sticky summer outings.
With many brands offering 'aero' garments, we can’t help but wonder whether riders genuinely chasing an aero advantage would be wearing team (or club branded) kit in any case. Pedla is not the only guilty party, but it provides more food for thought over the overuse of such buzzwords.
Compared with other jerseys that cost this much, the pocket design is a little lacking
Just as we'd question aero benefits outside of team kit, it's worth casting a critical eye over the jersey's three small and race focused reinforced pockets. When empty they sit flush and streamlined. Fill them up and storage capacity troubles arise, including issues with smartphones poking out the top. Further to this, it would be nice to have a small zippered pocket for keys or similar. That said, when stuffed to capacity, the pockets don’t sag or bounce.
Our size small sample is advertised as a race cut; while it’s a snug fit, you won’t need to suck in your gut (if you have one) to zip it up. Despite fitting well through the body, we found the rigid neck tape a little too tight, and none of our testers could zip their jersey past their collarbones comfortably. This seems to be a consistent issue, with the four jerseys we tried all suffering from it, however Pedla has assured us this has been rectified in their new release.
The Full Gas Aero jersey features longer sleeves, which we're a fan of, though triathletes and those with bigger biceps may find them to be too tight. (Since we received our sample jersey, Pedla has released a version of the Full Gas Aero Jersey with a slightly longer sleeve.)
The Full Gas Aero Jersey is available in two designs, and enough colour combinations to match just about any setup.
Pedla Long Haul G2 bibs
Price: AU$260 / £133 / US$206
The Long Haul G2 bibs – other options are available, but black goes with everything
The Long Haul G2 bibs are an updated version of the original Long Haul bibs, which received a positive score when we reviewed them last year – only let down by the somewhat generic chamois, and pinchy leg gripper.
Most notably, the G2 bibs are made from a distinctly lighter Lycra, and the leg gripper has been replaced by a more comfortable silicone infused legband.
The four panel bibs provide for decent muscle support and efficiently wick moisture away from your skin. Mesh shoulder straps are a snug fit but offer enough stretch so that they don't feel as though they are pulling you forward.
The same chamois design is found in many other top-end bib shorts
Topped off with CyTech’s award winning 3D Endurance chamois the Long Haul G2s offer premium comfort. This same CyTech chamois is the same seen in many bibs from big name brands. Despite being quite thick under the sits bones, the pad tapers off where less padding is needed. Even as someone who prefers a thinner race cut chamois, the CyTech 3D Endurance pad did not feel bulky – although it does cause quite a ‘MAMIL-toe’ when standing around.
The jersey and bibs are sold separately, so it's worth pointing out that the score we've awarded here is only dragged down a little by our issues with the jersey. Barring the pinchy neckline and the limited pocket capacity, the Full Gas Aero jersey and Long Haul G2 bibs are a solid combination that excel in the sweltering heat. Oh, and the combo looks pretty good too.