Finding a high end set of women’s riding gear is hard to do. Finding a high end set of women’s gear with clean colorways, or even more than one, is nearly impossible. For 2021, the FLY Racing’s Women’s Lite racewear checks both boxes.
As FLY Racing released the gear lineup for 2021, there was a massive effort to remain at the top when it came to providing top level gear for everyone, including all the female riders out there. Lead by designer April Zastrow, former racer and product designer, this gear means business.
“Creating and providing high level gear for all ladies is so important to me,” said Zastrow. “I have the passion and the desire to create something that I wish I had when I was racing. That passion has lead to all the designs we have featured through the years. The best part is that each year we get to learn more and evolve into something even better. I have been fortunate to be a designer for a decade and to be at the forefront of bringing new ideas to the market.”
Introducing the 2021 FLY Racing’s Women’s Lite racewear.
The Women’s Lite jersey features multi-panel construction with raglan sleeves, a tag-less v-neck Lycra collar, an extended tail, mesh ventilation panels down the sides and the inside of the arms, shorty cuffs, and sublimated graphics. The sublimated FLY Racing graphic is well placed to not look weird across the bust line, as can happen when graphics don’t span most of the length of a shirt or jersey. The choice of hi-vis on the blue colorway for the mesh inserts provides a pop of color.
The Women’s Lite pant features a lightweight minimalist design, a ventilated mesh liner, 90% stretch panel construction, pre-shaped knees, leather heat shields, adjustable waist belts, leg cuffs with a removable elastic band, and sublimated graphics. The knees have a low profile padding in them that should provide some abrasion resistance and resistance against knee braces rubbing through.
“The gear is super comfortable,” said Zastrow. “It feels like casual wear. As women we like to have the gear fit our body shape not just fit because we found a size that works. Taking the time to contour and provide gear that feels like wearing leggings, but wont fall apart after a few times wearing it, shows that we know our customer and want to create the best for them. Aside from some minor differences, this gear is just like the men’s in terms of performance. In other ways I have found ways to eliminate as much plastic as possible throughout the pant creating an even lighter pant and a better fitting pant for our female customer.”
Beyond the design of the gear, having a professional set of gear in all aspects from boots to helmet and the kit in between, affords the younger generation of female riders getting into the sport the same level of safety and protection once previously tailored to just male riders. If there is something we can all agree on, safety for every rider, whether male or female, should be one of our top priorities to grow the sport.
“I love when I get to see riders out there riding in gear that I have made,” said Zastrow. “I love being at the races whether pro or amateur and seeing my design go by. Every time I get to see the gear go by, it continues to keep the passion for design going.”