Performance and Style: Finding the Balance!

G4 shares with you some major points, how to find a Balance between performance and Fashion in the cycling world.

As you know, we always care about the well being of our clients and seeking each day to find innovative materials and garments that make our outfits more elegant and more comfortable to let you enjoy your ride whatever the weather is.

In this context, we appealed to two professionals in their domain, Larisa Chinces, a mountain and road cyclist and ambassador aswell and Robert Thorpe, Pedal North’s executive editor  to tell us how to combine performance and elegance in the world of cycling.

Larisa G4 ambassador presenting us her thoughts

There is an ongoing debate in cycling, especially on the visual social media portals, about performance and style in cycling clothing.

Since few months lot of new brand appear on the cycling market and focusing on style, but watch out!! Not all good looking stuff is followed by needed technicity.

It’s all too easy to dismiss one or the other, or to over focus on style, without addressing the key issue, the kit has to work well for us first and foremost.

Yes, we all want to look good, but it has to be a secondary aspect, because we cannot afford our shorts to be uncomfortable on a long and hilly ride – however good they make us look!

Riding the bicycle is all about passion and freedom. In order to feel free you need to feel comfortable, that means a great cycling kit that fits you like a glove and gives you the comfort and the style you need.

Style is all about the look, more like eye catching designs and beautiful bright colours combinations which make us more visible in traffic.

It helps to feel good and to perform well at the same time; and if it keeps us safe in traffic, so much the better.  I like graphic designs and reflective details too.

For me it’s simple, if I look good, I feel good !

It gives me confidence and positive energy. It is very important to feel comfortable riding, especially on long rides. When I’m preparing for a ride, I look close even at the smallest details. For example I like to match the colours from the kit with the colours from hair scrunchies. It is fun and it’s all about the details.

Robert G4 tester

As cyclists we all want to look good as well as to perform to our best. Good kit is crucial to both aspects of our cycling life.

On many occasions, I’ve been out in rain or snow, head down and pedalling simply to stay warm and to get home and safe again.

The Yorkshire Dales can be a very tough cycling challenge. Having kit that keeps me warm and dry is absolutely critical.  I can’t go out without a good underwear for example.

It means that I can focus on one thing “the bike”.

Kit that fits close to my body, doesn’t move and rub, adds useful compression to the muscles, allows my body to breath and keeps the elements and wind at bay. With all of this taken care of, I can smile though  the miles and enjoy the challenge that the weather and the road or trail throws at me.

Riding both road and trail, I’m one the few Dales based mountain bikers that mainly wears bib shorts on the trail. I want the kit to feel tight, to keep the pad firm, to allow me to breath and sweat as I work hard. Bibs do this exceptionally well, and they fit my imperfect form perfectly. They make me feel good as I ride, and ultimately that’s what we are all after in performance clothing.  I’m testing G4 since months and their bibs are incredible. The owner, who is an Ex/pro cyclist developed his pad himself.

The second element, style, cannot be forgotten. My wife is still not wholly convinced that I need a variety of coloured helmets and shoes; that I need socks to match each outfit, and sunglasses that finish things off and create the look.

We work hard on the bike, and in general we all stay aesthetically fit and try to look the part. So yes, we want to show that hard earned fitness off to a degree. However, style in action is the real goal, or it ought to be; for without the cycling itself, it’s just fashion and says nothing about our sport or about the performance of the garment we are wearing.

The image of a cyclist, cranking out a climb, their body in unison with the bike, and the stylish gear fitting to their form is a great advertisement for our sport, for the lifestyle we all lead or aspire to.

This I suppose is the aim of the best designs: to produce clothing, shoes and helmets that keep us working well and looking good.

We want to create the clothing equivalent of the Porsche 911 or the Audi RS, creating a style that performs at the highest level and in the harshest of conditions – style in action…G4 style! 

Nowadays, G4 is also proposing to create custom design, so nobody can has the excuse to look ugly on the bike.