Ekoi 2017 Winter Collection Preview

by Paul Horta-Hopkins · 11/10/2017

Ekoi 2017 Winter Collection Preview

Simon Tuck

Winter clothing preview from Ekoi.

French online clothing and accessory company Ekoi proudly work with Pro team AG2R and provide accessories to Quickstep, including Marcel Kittel. I recently visited their stand at the Cycle Show in Birmingham and was taken through their range for Winter 2017.

The Ekoi Elegance Bibtights and Jacket

Elegance Bibtights and Jacket

The star of their line up has to be the Elegance bibtights and jacket. This combination has loads of premium features and the plain black with either gold or chrome logos on is perfect for stylish Winter riding. Jacket and bibtights have a waterproof fabric treatment. The outfit is designed to be worn down to zero degrees and is specifically designed to protect against the rain. Sounds good to me.

The neck of the Elegance jacket is nice and high and has a soft edge to stop water getting down your back. There’s a full zip and two ventilation zips on the front. Around the back are two large pockets and a zipped central pocket, all of which are water-proof. The arms have a double cuff and should get over or under most gloves.

Chrome or gold on black are this winter’s colourway

The Elegance bibtights are what really caught my attention. They also have a waterproof fabric treatment for your comfort during the lovely Winter weather. Firstly you’ll notice the legs have no zippers. They are neoprene around the calf so you can put overshoes on without having a zip pressing into your leg. I wonder if the neoprene would mean that overshoes will seal better and not need tucking under the bibtights unless you had really heavy rain and that’s definitely something I’ll be testing when I receive my review set.

Neoprene cuffs and an integrated seat pad should keep you comfortable this winter

The other interesting feature is the seat pad. It’s actually integrated. It’s not sewn into the seat of the tights, but rather the material of the tights is sewn around the pad. I was told this removes a layer of material, so reduces friction. It’ll be interesting to see if it works, and especially if it works on Winter clothing which usually tends to be thicker to keep out the cold. The straps are single layer laser cut fabric and will sit flat with no unnecessary stitching. The outfit looked great on the dummy at the show so I’m hoping it looks as good on me.

Perfolinea

At the cheaper end of the Winter range is the Perfolinea. There’s a big choice of bright neon orange, green or yellow colours to get you spotted in the Winter gloom (they even come with a LED light that goes in a pouch at the back, or you can stick with the more conservative red or white versions that are the same price but don’t have a LED light. Windtex fabric combined with a super Roubaix lycra means the jacket and bibtights here are also recommended down to freezing point. There’s more traditional zippers on the legs of the bibtights. It’s a good-looking kit and the quality and fit are as good as similar priced kit from Gore, Sportful and Alé.

Bright and bold colours will get you noticed on the road

Aerocomp 2

We reviewed the previous version of the Aerocomp Thermal suit here. The main improvement is that the suit now has a water-repellent treatment and comes in a single colour option that’s a bit more understated. It’s not as versatile for coffee stops as having separates, but there’s no straps to dig into your shoulders. The zip up front means that, for men at least, toilet stops are still possible and it’s very reasonably priced compared to similar one-piece offerings from other brands.

The Aerocomp 2 now has a DWR treatment making it waterproof and breathable

Heated Overshoes and Gloves

I’ve still not seen any cycling company showing something similar in their line-up, but I used to have something similar that connected to my motorcycle battery. These battery powered, heated items are a great idea and look really well thought out. We looked at them in detail here. If you get cold hands and feet then look no further.