The Parentini name has been synonymous with quality cycling apparel since 1976, so it’s no wonder their garments are of such high quality. All of the kits are designed and made in Italy which gives you confidence knowing that no part of the process is taking ‘offshore’ or put into someone else’s hands.
For our #destinationbike trip to North East Victoria, one of Australia's most beautiful alpine regions I had entry level bib shorts, two long sleeve jerseys, an undershirt and a jacket. I also had a variety of warmers but due to the rather mild conditions for April, I didn’t use them.
Using the bib short for the first time, the quality was evident straight away. The cut was firm and tight with no loose or saggy sections. The chamois was very high density and I could immediately tell it was of a high standard, after a few hours in the saddle, this was confirmed. The danger a lot of manufacturers have is as the chamois gets bigger and more dense it creates touch points that become irritable and you end up feeling like a duck waddling from place to place… not so with these. The chamois feels like it has distinct sections, very dense and narrow around the sit bones and relatively small and unnoticeable in others. I really liked the feel and had no sore points and chaffing after over three hours on the bike.
Watch the Parentini kit in action climbing the Front of Falls
From a performance point of view these ticked all the boxes, from an aesthetic point of view, there’s not much to write home about. They were black with some small silver reflective sections, very minimal branding and from outward appearances nothing to differentiate them from any other. However, the good thing for people considering jumping on the Parentini train is they are all about custom kits, so you can have whatever design, colours and patterns you like. So the canvas is great - you just have to fill in the blanks.
The two jerseys I had were both long sleeve and made for racing. Once you are on the bike they are a great fit, there are no tight spots or lose spots, it is a great fit all the way through the garment. They also have a rear tail, which I really liked from an aesthetic point of view, but it would also be very handy on any wet days.
I wore the undershirt each day and as all good undershirts should, it insulated and kept me warm. It fit very well across the whole garment, my only commentary on this is that it is long. It sits quite a bit below the waist, with the seam showing through the shorts, which for the fashion conscious out there is a big no-no.
As I said earlier the weather was extremely kind to us for the most part, certainly is was very warm so I didn’t really have much use for the jacket. The only time I wore this was on an afternoon adventure up Mt. Buffalo with rain clouds threatening. It is a more relaxed fit, very well insulated and wind resistant. It didn’t feel too bulky and whilst I didn’t have the need to have multiple layers underneath, I’m very confident it could easily accommodate an undershirt and jersey without an issue.
Parentini can cover all of your cycling kit needs, even making a speedsuit if you are looking for every possible advantage. Some of their custom kits are real show stoppers, so I would encourage everyone to check out some of their designs and work with them to make your own.
