Rapha has overhauled its Brevet collection, a range designed for long-distance riding, with reflective detailing, plenty of carrying capacity, weather resistance and long-distance wearability.
According to Ultan Coyle, Rapha’s chief creative officer, who has completed the Transcontinental Race twice: ‘Brevet is built around a simple idea: over long distances, comfort and speed are not opposites. They rely on each other. Comfort keeps you moving. Speed helps you cover ground efficiently.’
With that in mind, Rapha’s junior product manager Finnian Abbot-White says that ultra-racing has been a big driver in the new design of the Brevet line.
‘We wanted to make it more pointed towards the growing area of the sport, which is ultra-racing,’ he says. ‘As well as updating the visual identity, we’ve made it lighter, more durable and more reflective because we know people will be wearing the kit in low-light conditions.’
A hallmark of Rapha’s Brevet collection is a pair of horizontal reflective stripes, which the brand says are now made of less stiff material for greater comfort, with the third generation range made from lightweight, breathable, odour-resistant technical fabrics.
‘We also wanted to consider the full system: how the bibs marry up with the jersey and gilet, and really getting validation and feedback from some of our ultra-riders,’ says Abbot-White.
There are pockets spread across the new Brevet jerseys, shorts and gilet, with the jerseys featuring five pockets, including rear pockets that are designed to lift away from the lower back and include a mesh panel to help keep you cooler when they are loaded up. Rapha says it has designed them to stay stable when riding on bumpier surfaces.
‘When it’s not packed, you wouldn’t notice it was there,’ says Abbot-White. ‘But once you fill it, it extends away because it’s not stitched along the bottom, and that actually gives it a greater carrying capacity than the previous stitched versions.’
Lael Wilcox, to whom we spoke on the Cyclist Magazine Podcast a few months ago, wore the Brevet kit on the Transcontinental Race and will be doing so again on her upcoming round-the-world record attempt. Commenting on the launch, she said, ‘The extended jersey pockets are great for carrying extra liquids. I remember packing them with a litre of juice and Cokes during the [TCR] ride – easy calories for hot weather riding.’
The third generation Brevet cargo bib shorts provide an additional four pockets for storage and benefit from a new seat pad.
‘We took what we learned from the Pro Team bib shorts and our cargo bib shorts, and created an amalgamation of the two,’ says Abbot-White. ‘That means there is a thicker density towards the rear of the chamois pad, on top of the sit bones, and a different shapes that follows the lead of the Pro Team shorts. We also then removed the seam in the centre to make sure everything is as comfortable as possible for long days of riding.’
There’s also a comfort-break feature built into the women’s shorts.
‘The uppers are highly elasticated. In the past we’ve had detachable solutions that have been quite fiddly and troublesome to use,’ says Abbot-White. ‘This time we’ve gone really simple but used amazing materials. It’s basically an elasticated solution where you just hook your thumbs into the straps and the stretch of the material allows for sufficient give. For that we needed a material with great compression retention – and we found it.’
In terms of materials, Rapha has been able to reduce the weight of the Brevet shorts, despite adding pockets and structure.
‘The material we use for the bibs is very light weight knitted fabric,’ says Abbot-White. ‘What that means is our Brevet short in a size medium comes out at 2g lighter than a size medium in our Pro Team bib shorts. It’s super fast drying too, which is a key attribute for racers who are washing their kit in hotel sinks and need to use it again the next day.’
The Brevet Wind Gilet too is in its third generation, with hi-viz stripes and protection against road spray.
‘The gilet has got a hidden stowaway pocket under the chest, so you can pack it into itself,’ Abbot-White says.
Finally, there’s a backpack, which offers an additional ten litres of carrying capacity and also folds into its own pocket.
While this is an extensive overhaul, in both technical capabilities and aesthetic design, Abbot-White stresses that Rapha wants to keep its existing customer base happy: ‘We are 100% focused on our riders who have been wearing Brevet for years, but we’ve also got an eye on where the sport is going,’ he says. ‘We modernised the fit in a number of ways – making the body slightly shorter and making the silhouette more progressive – but we haven’t gone anywhere near the racier end of the spectrum to make sure that we don’t alienate any of our customers. We still want to cater for people who are just riding on the weekend and stopping at a cafe – not just ultra racers.’
Rapha Brevet 2026 products and prices
- Rapha Brevet Lightweight Jersey III – £160 / $240 / €190
- Rapha Brevet Merino Jersey III – £195 / $275 / €230
- Rapha Brevet Wind Gilet III – £140 / $190 / €170
- Rapha Brevet Cargo Bib Shorts III – £260 / $360 / €300
- Rapha Brevet Mitts – £55 / $95 / €75
- Rapha Brevet Bidon – £16 / $24 / €18
- Rapha Brevet Cap – £35 / $50 / €40
- Rapha Brevet Packable Backpack – £60 / $85 / €70
- Rapha Brevet Socks – £24 / $35 / €29