Royal Racing Slice Jersey and Signature Shorts - front and back shots, comfortable and loose cut.

I have been wearing the Royal Racing Slice Jersey and Signature Shorts since this winter, and I found them to be comfortable, durable and feature laden. The excellent long sleeved Slice Jersey has been a pleasure to wear while riding during the test period, and its comfort, loose cut and simplicity are major highlights, while the technical Signature Shorts are extremely tough, and offer unrestricted movement, and have a nice below the knee cut. Royal Racing was started in 2000 by riding legend Steve Peat and designer Nick Bayliss, and they offer no-compromise gear for downhill, freeride and trail riding.



Royal Racing Slice Jersey - Front and back viewpoint, simplicity at its best.

Slice Jersey

The long-sleeved Slice jersey is made from their General Issue Plus Fabric, which is compromised of 100% polyester, and is durable, affordable, lightweight and has quick-drying properties. It comes in Black/White and Olive Green/Lime Green, and S, M, L, XL and XXL sizes, and retails for $49.95.This pull-on long-sleeved jersey is an excellent product, which is comfortable and simple, yet has great functionality and features. It's cut baggy and loose with a long cut, and the sleeves come down to the wrists for good coverage. You can wear most armor underneath the jersey, while bulkier types worked fine on the outside, without too much bunching of the material. It pilled in a few spots by the hydration packs wear zones and down by the wrists, but it hasn't shown any wear spots or holes. The jersey is very comfortable, with excellent stretchiness, and the fabric is soft and plush against the skin. On the back half of the neck is thin taped section, that is comfortable and has a slight tackiness to help keep the jersey in place. There is nothing fancy about this jersey, no pockets, zippers, vents, or extraneous features, just a simple pull-on long-sleeved jersey.

Final Thoughts

The Slice Jersey has been one of my favorite jerseys this past year, as it's very comfortable, offers excellent sun protection, dissipates sweat well for a full sleeved jersey. It can be used across all seasons, protecting the body from the wrath of the sun in the summer, and good covering if used as a base layer in the cooler season. The material is comfy against the skin, and air seems to move nicely through the weave, and it wicks and breathes well, and dry's quickly. It's simple, casual, affordable, comfortable, and lets you wear most armor underneath it without undue binding.

Pros

  • Great breathability and wicking properties
  • Excellent sun protection
  • Loose and relaxed fit, and long cut
  • Comfortable and stretchy
  • Soft material
  • Most armor can be worn underneath

Cons

  • Slight pilling (better than most synthetics)
  • No pocket, zipper, venting (well it's a simple jersey)

Overall Rating

4.5 Flamin' Chili Peppers


Continue reading for the Royal Racing Signature shorts review.



Royal Racing Signature Shorts - front and back, note waist system, side stash pocket, front zippered vents, front closures, and rear vents.

Signature Shorts

The shorts use a 2-way stretch nylon and spandex blend that has a DWR coating, and they have a baggy and loose cut, that comes down just below the knees. They did feel a bit tight and snugger just below the waist, but overall they have a decent fit. The material is slightly stiff and thick, which helps with durability, but lowers ventilation and breathability, so they can feel warm on hot days. The stretchy material helped with comfort, and gave the shorts some nice freedom of movement while pedaling and maneuvering around on the bike. The shorts have a small zippered waterproof stash pocket by the right hip, perfect for car remote, two-hand pockets and two zippered ventilation ports on the outer thigh. The stash pocket was rather small, and outside of some keys, a hey key or tool; it wasn't that useful. Towards the back of the lower thigh was a permanent set of vent ports, which worked in concert with the zippered ones in front to get some air movement through the shorts. The front closure system uses a clasp and two snap buttons, and even though the buttons seemed fairly secure, I found that they liked to pop open, especially when maneuvering around on the bike or sticking your gut out. At least, the inner clasp kept them together, but I found their premature release very annoying. It uses a dual 'hook and loop' waist adjuster system, and although it was easy to adjust, the big plastic Velcro closures sometimes got caught on things, though they at least didn't pop open.

The hanging inner chamois that comes with the shorts is cut sort of loose and baggy, and although they were comfortable and very breathable, they felt like your wearing a pair of diapers or drooping drawers. I ended up using another vendor's chamois liner, that had a proper girdle like fit with good compression.

They come in Olive Green and Black, in S, M, L, XL and XXL and retail for $120.

Final Thoughts

The zippered side vents were handy, and they did let in some air, and it was most noticeable once you got up to speed. The shorts have a good loose cut, and they never felt constricting, and the just below the knee-length cut was ideal, and it worked well with armor. The material, stitching and construction were all rugged and tough, resulting in a very durable set of shorts. The strategically placed stretch panels made them very comfortable, and outside of the snaps popping open I didn't have any issues with the fit. The Signature shorts are comfortable, have a decent long and baggy cut, and use tough durable material, but overall they're hampered by poorly fitting chamois liner and front closure buttons that pop open much too easily.

Pros

  • Tough and durable
  • Comfortable and stretchy
  • Waist adjustment system

Cons

  • Sloppy and lose chamois liner
  • Stash pocket is too small
  • Front buttons can pop open
  • Can feel warm on hot days

Overall Rating

3.5 Flamin' Chili Peppers


Update from the manufacturer: We saw the issues with the snaps very early and changed them over to different snaps since that first production. All of our shorts now use a new more standard style snap that is much better than the ones on the first production shorts that you have.