British outdoor brand Rab introduces adventure cycling range

Renowned outdoor clothing and equipment expert Rab are entering the cycle clothing sector with their first-ever collection for adventure biking.

This spring the brand brings more than 40 years of expertise crafting clothing and equipment to protect against the most adverse weather conditions to bear when producing an extensive range of apparel for gravel, adventure, and mountain bike riders.

Tim Fish, Equip Product Director, explains: “Off road cycling adventures require immense versatility. Dealing with terrain, pace, and fickle weather. This season we’re introducing a new cycling collection – Cinder – combining that experience with a finely tuned fit to enable adventure and exploration.”

Cinder includes 31 styles for men and women and features advanced technologies as well as refined designs.

From award-winning waterproofs that keep you fully protected but allow your skin to breathe; to layers that work in harmony to regulate your microclimate at a molecular level, the new designs with body mapped materials that perfectly balance protection and freedom of movement keep you comfortable in any conditions.

The award-winning Cinder Phantom Jacket for men and women is the ultimate ultralight waterproof jacket for cyclists. Weighing in at less than 100g, it’s an exceptionally packable, breathable, protective layer, with a silicone grip drop hem, ride-refined sleeves, and a frame attachable stuff sack. The ultralight Pertex Shield 2.5 layer fabric offers stretch, weather protection and breathability, built with a fusion of durable face fabrics and a breathable, microporous waterproof coating.

For UK retailers keen to explore the Cinder range in more detail, contact Ed Richardson, Rab Bike category manager.

Industry observations

The arrival of a respected outdoor apparel expert in the cycling market represents a strong, positive, challenge to the line all to often trotted out by a sizable number of UK cycle retailers: ‘Clothing doesn’t work for us’. The questions cycling retailers need to be asking themselves?

• Are we looking for ways to increase sales, across all product sectors?
• What brands and products are we choosing to introduce our customers to, and why?
• How is apparel presented in store?
• Are we managing stock as a dedicated apparel retailer would? If not, why not?
• Does our customer experience match that of apparel retailers outside of the cycling industry?

Apparel represent a strong option for increasing frequency of visit, positively impacting footfall, and increasing average basket value, all metrics which point to a healthy business.

The arrival of RAB should give cycle retailers pause for thought regarding how they view the opportunity apparel sales offer, and what customers expect from an apparel retailer in 2023. A visit to retailers outside the space should provide good examples of standards expected for the sale of premium (by quality of garment, price, or brand) clothing and equipment.