Why are we banging on about gravel kit?
We’re doubling down on “gravel specific kit” moving forward and thought it’s right and proper to let you know a little bit about what that looks like and why we’re doing it. Gravel has been a bit of a buzzword bingo winner over the last few years and we wanted to make sure that designing and releasing gravel specific kit made sense.
Let’s get one thing out the way off the bat. Our gravel kit is super versatile. This isn’t great on gravel and crap everywhere else. It’s kit that makes loads of sense on the daily and gravel has been the kick up the arse we needed to make it a reality. From a technical point of view it’s allowed us to use some tech fabrics that are a bit too exciting for the roadies*. A bit more robust, a bit more relaxed.
*#notallroadies
Looking at our Carbon Tech Tee We’ve used a plush jersey like fabric (Come and have a squeeze of it next time you’re in our gaff, its ace) that’s carbon backed allowing it breathe like a lightweight jersey but insulate like wool. It fits like a well made Japanese tee and has side pockets that are handy when you need them and discreet when you don’t. We’ve worn the white one out on socials and never felt like we were wearing a performance piece of kit whilst sharing brews with mates. No bikes required.
Gravel also gives us an excuse to play with style in a different way. The Tee-Shirt with bib shorts vibe is real. If you feel good you ride better. It’s not for everyone, and some of you fine folks will want to stick to classic style cycling jerseys and that’s ace too. We’re just chuffed that gravel has given us more options. PARIA team member Ste makes a point that when he “just wants to ride” putting on a proper jersey makes it feel like he’s got to hit certain numbers or aim for PBs, whilst slinging a tee on makes him stop and smell the roses a bit more. Calling it a state of mind is a bad cliché but honestly it makes a difference.
We’ve also been loving the bikepacking/gravpacking/fastpacking scenes where being comfortable hike-a-biking or sitting round a fire pit (or hiding from the rain in a bus stop) is half the clothing battle. Our Gravel Bib-Shorts are a testament to those long, memory maker days where you’re never quite sure what you’re gonna need next.
Mix and match grav with non-grav till your heart's content. We’re not making any rules here. We’re making kit that performs and kit that we want to wear - and then winging it our to you, our PARIA fam.
Shop our full grav collection here
