1. URBAN CYCLIST / 33
ON TEST
TheRegentsParka is something special. The build
quality and style had everyone in this office cooing
over it. The Parka shares many of its features with
the Harrington, including the lighting, pockets, fleece
collar, elasticated and vented shoulders, and long
sleeves with Lycra cuffs, all of which are just as
effective and well judged here. It also adds a hood
that’s scalloped to preserve your peripheral vision,
fitted to keep it in place and it’s peaked to keep out
rain and to support the front edge so it can’t fall over
your eyes. It’s all very well thought out.
The fabric’s Schoeller c_change membrane is the
key to the high price and even higher performance.
The fabric is 77 per cent wool and has a luxury feel
yet thanks to the membrane it’s waterproof, highly
breathable, windproof and reactive to your body
temperature, opening up to release excess heat. It’s
deeply impressive and the only other jacket we’ve
seen it on cost £550, so the Regents is well priced
even before you consider its added visibility.
The Parka hides its lighting completely by day,
shows up clearly at night and looks great all the time.
It’s one of the very best jackets we’ve ever tested.
Exceptionalperformance,great
cutandfeatures,cleverlighting10
LUMO
REGENTS
PARKA £400
www.lumo.cc
WefirstsawUKbrand Lumo in the Spring issue, just
after they’d smashed their crowd-funding goal. These
jackets and the backpack on the next page arrived
together and are so desirable we’re featuring all of it.
The Herne Hill is a feature-laden take on the classic
Harrington style. It’s made of windproof, breathable,
water-resistant and stain repellent cotton with
Schoeller 3XDry technology. The collar is fleece lined
and the sleeves have Lycra wind-blocking inner cuffs
which are both effective and neatly hidden. It has a
drop tail, long sleeves, articulated shoulders, vents,
one internal and two external zipped pockets, plus a
rear pocket. The fit when riding is excellent, especially
the shoulder mobility and arm length, and it’s proven
very weather-proof. The long tail is good on the bike,
though perhaps a bit too obvious off it. The torso is
also cut quite large on our medium sample – great if
you’re a big guy with a long body, less so otherwise.
The LED strips are invisible when off and then light
up with two modes, giving 6-14 hours of runtime and
visibility from a claimed 400m. They aren’t blinding
and no substitute for lights on your bike but they’re
bright on a dark road and clearly visible in traffic, too.
The LED strips are waterproof and washable. The
small battery pack is removable for recharging via
USB. This is a good idea, very well executed.
Verywellmade,featurepackedand
effectivebutaslightlyquirkyfit8
LUMO
HERNE HILL
HARRINGTON
JACKET £250
www.lumo.cc
32 / URBAN CYCLIST32 / URBAN CYCLIST

2. ON TEST
URBAN CYCLIST / 35
www.lumo.cc
Aswellasthejackets on the previous pages, Lumo
have also applied their lighting idea to a backpack.
And not just any backpack. The Bermondsey is
absolutely beautiful and very desirable regardless
of the lighting. The roll-top design is, they say,
inspired by British military packs and it’s made
from water-resistant Scottish waxed cotton canvas
with straps in Italian Misouri leather. The materials
and detailing are fantastic.
There are white light strips built into the straps at
the shoulders and a red strip at the base at the back,
both well placed to be visible to traffic when you’re
leaning forward on your bike. As with the jackets, the
LEDs aren’t super-bright but they are clearly visible at
more than 50m in town at night and this is additional
lighting; you’d still have lights on your bike.
Inside it there’s a laptop sleeve and sufficient
volume for a helmet next to it, with space remaining
for some smaller items. The padded straps and back
keep the bag comfortable even when fully loaded. It
generally stays still while riding unless you hit a big
bump or start sprinting – we’d like to see a chest strap
for extra stability but it’s our only niggle. The price is
not insignificant but this is a gorgeous backpack and
it feels worth every penny.
Abeautifulandtoughbagwith
clever,effectivelighting8
LUMO
BERMONDSEY
BACKPACK £200
www.hiplok.com
Thisisagreatway to add some extra visibility to
your outfit, assuming you’re also in the market for
an easily portable and very tough lock. We’re always
looking for hidden reflectivity in jackets and jeans so
that they don’t mess up your look when off the bike;
as a Hiplok is something you only wear when riding,
why not go full-on reflective? The sheath on this chain
is worthy of its name, visible from a long way off and
also from all angles because it wraps around.
The Superbright comes in three grades: the £50
Lite which is 1kg, gets a Bronze Sold Secure approval
and has a 75cm locking circumference; the Original is
1.8kg, 90cm around, Sold Secure Silver and £70; and
this range-topping Gold which is named for its Sold
Secure rating, earned with a 10mm chain and 12mm
shackle, both made from hardened steel. It’s 2.4kg
of stout reassurance.
The patented clip fastening offers adjustment for
waist sizes from 28-44”, so it sits just right and even
this heavy-duty version can almost be forgotten
about after a few minutes of riding. It’s also well
priced for a chain lock of this length and calibre.
Practical,portable,visibleand
secure;agreatproduct9
HIPLOK
SUPERBRIGHT
GOLD £89.99
34 / URBAN CYCLIST

3. ON TEST
36 / URBAN CYCLIST
Addinglightsto your helmet is a popular and very
good idea – it places them above the line of car lights
and makes you easier to identify as a cyclist. Torch
have taken that idea and built the lights into their
helmet so they look much sleeker and you can’t
forget or lose them. The T2 features five LED lights
front and rear, and recharges from a USB port in 1.5
hours. The runtime is 6-36 hours depending on which
of the four modes (high/low, constant/flash) that you
use. It weighs a very reasonable 359g and comes in
eight colours (inexplicably, the two black versions
cost £90) but only one size, said to fit 54-61cm using
the two supplied sets of pads and the dial-adjusted
retention system.
It’s a good shape, providing lots of coverage
without looking huge, and the vents are effective.
The fit is decent but compromised by the single shell
size and the unpadded retention device.
The T2 is clearly visible at 50 metres or so but it
isn’t really bright enough to stand out. It seems fairly
bright held in front of your face but if you think about
the sort of rear lights that really shine out of the sea of
cars, you can’t look straight at them from 20 metres,
let alone right in front of your face. We’d like the high
power mode to be much brighter. As it is, this is a
good addition to your visibility measures but you
definitely still need some powerful lights on your bike.
TORCH
T2 £85
Decenthelmetwithusefuladded
visibilitybutroomforimprovement7
www.torchapparel.eu

4. ON TEST
www.resolutebayclothing.com
BritishKickstartersuccessResolute Bay came up
with a nifty idea for an urban riding jean that kills two
birds with one stone. The zip across the back allows
the rear yoke to expand, raising the waist to protect
your modesty and revealing the large reflective panel.
There’s also a reflective chevron inside the right leg.
Both are bright but that defining rear panel gets
covered by any jacket – we had to pull up our fairly
short jacket for this photo.
Resolute Bay seem to have a real passion for jeans
– they say the RB1 is made from 100 per cent cotton
raw Japanese selvedge denim, woven on 1950s mills
in Okayama, rope dyed with natural indigo and cut
in a “slim, straight-fit, five-pocket jean”. Reflectivity
aside, though, it’s short on cycling features. There’s
no stretch, no pre-curve to the knees, the seat isn’t
reinforced and the crotch seam hasn’t been moved,
so this isn’t good to ride in. What’s more the denim
is so incredibly stiff from new that they aren’t even
comfortable off the bike.
AcleverUSPletdownbyeverything
else;notgoodforriding4
Well-intendedbut
ineffectiveandgimmicky4
RESOLUTE
BAY RB1 £140
Thisproductcausedabigstir when
it was launched in October. Cyclists
went into a frenzy for it, first clearing
out thousands of free samples in just
a few days and then buying cans on
eBay for up to £40. But there was also
a backlash, with many cycling activists
accusing Volvo of a ‘victim blaming’
mentality. We’re not going to get into
the politics here, only the product.
Life Paint is just for textiles; it will
settle on a helmet or bike frame but
doesn’t stick and brushes off at the
first touch. It’s more robust on clothing
but still only lasts for around a week
(depending on use) and comes off in
the wash, though it’s okay in the rain.
It sprays on and dries quickly and
invisibly. A single spray settles like
glitter – it needs intense application to
create a significant reflective area, such
as the lower leg of a jean, and that takes
about half a can. Tested with a mobile
phone camera set to flash, there is
some reflectivity but it isn’t very bright
even close up. From 20 metres back it’s
barely visible at all whereas reflective
details built into the jean are still bright.
The paint is also more angle sensitive.
Long-term, with regular reapplication,
it’s likely to get expensive and tiresome.
VOLVO
LIFE PAINT £tbc
www.volvocars.com
38 / URBAN CYCLIST

5. ON TEST
40 / URBAN CYCLIST
Wehadafirstlookat this suit in the last issue and
now we’ve got our hands on one, in the sharper
looking navy colour. It’s also available in grey and
Prince of Wales check. The very first thing to say is
that this is a really nice suit, with a great fit (model
is 185cm, 72kg, wearing 38R) and the quality of finish
you’d expect at the price. It’s made from a ‘bi-stretch’
fabric which is treated to be water- and stain-resistant.
The lining (which is rather flamboyant and certainly
more suited to some tastes – and offices – than others)
has perspiration pads and an antibacterial finish, and
there’s a Velcro cuff hidden inside the right leg to keep
it out of the chain. There are small reflective details
at the cuffs and under the collar, though these are
more design touches than lifesavers. There are three
external and five internal pockets, though you should
never use the outside pockets lest you spoil how the
jacket hangs and of those on the inside three of them
have no fastening and can’t be trusted with your
phone or wallet.
No suit is especially restrictive but the Commuter
certainly feels entirely comfortable to ride in and
when we were caught in a light shower the rain sat
in beads on the surface, from where it could be
shaken off. The cut isn’t particularly cycling-focused
but you wouldn’t want to compromise the style and
fit off the bike just to have the cuffs of the jacket meet
your wrists while riding.
Stylishsuitwithaddedfunctionality
thatdoesn’tdetractfromdailyuse9
TED BAKER
COMMUTER
SUIT £539
www.tedbaker.com