British brand Altura have long been known for good value practical clothing and kit. This season they have expanded their “all roads” collection and these items seem perfect for commuting, gravel biking and riding in general so to see if what’s written on paper is true I tried a few pieces out to see if they lived up to their billing.
All roads Cargo Shorts. First up then is an essential, in my opinion, part of any cyclists wardrobe if riding medium to long distance and that is a pair of padded shorts. I was a long time sceptic of bib shorts with pockets on the legs but since trying them I’ve become a complete convert and now wouldn’t consider a pair of bib shorts without some sort of storage option.
The Altura Cargo shorts actually have 5 pockets. two on one leg, one on the other, two rear pockets in a similar spot to where jersey pockets would be and also a loop at the rear which I found perfect to store an Altura rain pullover jacket.
The two pockets on one leg i found a perfect size to hold a phone and some gels and keep them separate from each other and the other side perfect for a bag of walkers! The two rear “jersey” pockets are sized just like jersey pockets so anything you’d be able to stuff in a top you’ll be able to fit here too. Bear in mind though that whatever you stow here will be nearer the heat of your body so chocolate bars are probably out but gels should be easier to swallow when warmer! Obviously if you put something heavy or unwieldy in the pockets they will drag the short legs down but trial and error is your friend here.
The pad in the shorts is comfortable for short and medium rides without any chamois cream for me, anything over 50 miles I’ll be slathering on the cream to stop any hot spots, but this is the same for any padded short regardless of cost.
The sizing is realistic, I usually take an XL to feel comfortable at over 6ft tall and XL in these shorts was spot on. numerous washes haven’t made the shorts baggy or tight so I can say with confidence they are worth a place in your wardrobe and may end up as your go to shorts.
All Roads Shorts At the other end of the spectrum are the Altura All Roads “baggy” shorts. I’ve put those quotation marks in as although the shorts are baggy compared to bib shorts they are quite fitted and so look “normal”, more quotes but what I mean is you could wear these as everyday shorts and no one would bat an eyelid. Ride to work and wear them all day or in the pub. Personally i’d add a padded short too if going any distance as these shorts have no padding. What they do have tough is a stretch fabric so pedalling is easy in them with no pulling.
The shorts have waist adjusters and three pockets. The rear is zipped for security and the two side pockets are very useable in that you can ride with a phone in the pocket without it interfering with pedalling action. The material is lovely and soft to the touch but maybe a little thick to wear on the hottest of days. Sizing again is realistic and large for me with a 34″ waist was spot on.
All Roads Cycling Shirt The ubiquitous check shirt, sometimes known as a flannel. Well Altura’s verion is not flannel at all. It’s a technical fabric more akin to a cycling jersey and is made of a polyester ripstop material, very handy when riding through the UK’s overgrown bridleway network. It has a lovely amount of stretch to the fabric has two chest pockets and snap button (or press-stud if you’re old enough) which makes venting on climbs very easy. Because it’s not flannel it folds up compactly so is great to stow away on your bike for pub stops or bike packing when you’ve made camp and are sitting around the fire…ok, maybe eating rehydrated cardboard dinners and hiding from midges but you know what I mean. The shirt also has some reflective detailing if the check pateern isn’t enough to get you noticed.
A shirt like this should be in every riders kit as it’s so versatile and comfy to wear.
Altura Esker Cave Trail Hoody Hoodies for bike riding? doesn’t the hood just fill with air and act as a brake? sometimes yea in a high wind or speed situation but it really is just occasional and the benefits outweigh that drawback massively. The Altura Cave hoody (not sure what the Cave bit is about if i’m honest) is a soft feel jacket with high loft fleece areas on the chest and outer upper arms, just where windchill will make it’s presence felt. because of this it’s really an early or late in the day or an Autumn-winter-spring garment. The two zippered front pockets are big enough to stash a phone and the hoody is treated with a water repellent coating to shrug off spray and a light shower. And the hood? it’s actually elasticated so it’ll fit over a helmet and not fly off.
This hoody has been so comfortable and because the test period co-incided with the hottest spring for years has seen more use off the bike than on. That just shows it’s versatility though.
Altura Esker Waterproof Packable jacket Riding in the UK you will need a waterproof jacket at some point unfortunately. In my mind there are two types of waterproof cycling jacket. One that you wear when it’s already raining when you leave the house or one that you take with you, tucked away somewhere on you or the bike incase it starts raining when you are already mid ride. This Altura jacket is for the latter and it works pefectly in this respect as it is very packable and will fold away into it’s own pocket.
It is full waterproof with taped seams and has vents front and rear to aid breathability and an integrated hood. the hood has a drawstring adjuster to tailor the fit and prevent it blowing about. the jacket is cut for cycling and has sleeves that are longer to account for the cycling position. The cuffs are also partially elastic to stop draughts blowing up the sleeves. Again the fit is real world.
As with any waterproof jacket, even the most expensive, you will get warm riding in this jacket in warm humid conditions, that’s unavoidable but this jacket is no worse in that respect than jackets costing three times as much.
An essential waterproof jacket that takes up no room at all so you can take it with you for when you need it….and you will!
Altura All Roads Packable Waterproof Trousers Do you really need waterproof trousers? I’ve always thought this as all the waterproof leg wear I’ve tried in the past has been franly, horrible. Rustlely, clammy and hot is my experience with waterproof trousers so I put these on in trepidation, prepared to absolutely hate them but, what a revelation, these Altura waterproof trousers were truly excellent.
I picked a day when it had been raining for a couple of days and was still raining to give them a proper test. First thing to note is that the zip “fly” is off set to one side so no bunching up when you bend over and there’s a waist adjuster to get the fit just right. there’s also a side pocket that these trousers actually roll up into and are of small enough bulk to stash away on the bike making them perfect for bike packing or commuting.
The main thing I loved about these trousers was the fit. most cycling trousers tend to not have the correct articulation at the knee and the pedalling action pulls the trousers down when the knee grips the fabric. No such thing happened here, even standing up i didn’t have to adjust the waist height everytime. The material has a waterproof coating which made water bead off them and despite riding for a couple of hours in the rain in them I didn’t feel like i was over heating.
Fit again is good but I’d like to improve a couple of things, first the length. I’d like the legs to be longer, when riding there was a gap between trouser leg hem and shoe. easily rectified with a waterproof sock btu if you were using these as an emergency rain stopper them water will run off them into your shoes. the other thing is also hem related. the hem is elasticated and this ensures minimal trouser-chain interfaces but they fit so well here it’s definately a shoe off situation to get them on in that emergency deluge situation.
Those two things are far outweighed by how good the trousers perform and also how quiet they are when pedalling. no annoying rustle of the fabric. Invest in some waterproof socks, buy a pair of these altura all roads waterproof trousers and go and play in the rain!
Altura Esker Eco Trail Trouser winter riding sucks right? Its cold, dark and motivation is at an all time low. bib tights are just not cutting it in the single digit temps. That’s my feeling anyway so I bought the old version of these trousers and wore them with bibs and knee warmers underneath and they kept me toasty and able to extend rides because of the warm and how comfortqble they were.
I was keen to try this new version to see if they were still as good and what differences there might be. The ECO part of the name is the result of using recycled materials in the fabric. there’s a water repellent coating that works well and the fit is great. the waist is a wrap around design with the adjuster over to one side so it doesn’t stick in your belly when in the cycling position. The material has a great stretch to it and it doesn’t hamper pedalling at all. Altura say there’s enough room at the knee for low profile knee pads, not something I’ve ever used but this room means the knees are free to move and don’t pull the material down. the close fitting hem length means there’s no flapping that might put the material into the chain.
The fit is just as good as the original pair i bought and they pedal equally as well. If you hate riding through nettles and brambles in summer then these trousers are your go to. Despite me wearing mine in winter i have tried them in more clement conditions just to see how they faired and you won’t feel like a grain of rice in a boil in the bag sachet. They also pack up fairly small too so definately an option for bike packing.
The Altura Esker trail trousers are still my favourite full length riding trews!
This is just the tip of Altura’s clothing iceberg, they do road specific , commuting and MTB stuff too but these pieces above seem to cross all genres and so fit gravel riding perfectly.
The Altura All roads and Esker clothing range is good value, has realistic, real human sizing and is carefully designed by people who know about UK riding. Definately check them out when looking for kit to go riding in.
here’s a link to altura’s website, it’s not an afiliate link so I don’t get any money for this review, I do however get to keep the kit that they sent to me, afterall, no-one would want those bib shorts now would they?……hmm, maybe of of those specialist websites!
UK GRAVEL COLLECTIVE 