TESTED: QOM women's riding gear
Queen of the Mountain cycling apparel is a small Brisbane-based brand that was born in 2015 out of a love for all things outdoors.
QOM founders Seb Mitaros and Amy Lukritz had a shared love of adventuring and felt there was an opening in the market for well designed, well fitting women’s cycling kit that catered for all shapes and sizes of riders.
Taking the name from the road cycling ‘Queen of the Mountain’ or QOM (you may know it better from social ride app Strava…) which is the jersey given to the best climber in a road race, the women behind the apparel believe that every woman should be able to set goals to tackle individual accomplishments. To wear QOM kit, Mitaros tells us, is not reserved for the elite road women on grand tours, but is to encourage everyday riders ‘be their own queen’. She reckons that every woman should feel empowered to be proud of their efforts on the bike, to be strong, confident and have fun, and this–Mitaros says–is where good looking, comfortable kit comes in.
QOM kit is designed in house and printed on Cuore custom wear, a high-end Swiss brand that offers custom kit design. In this way, QOM have ensured they aren’t reinventing the wheel with potential dire consequences (like cheese grater chamois) but are rather designing a range using existing chamois and panelling options; so you know the quality of the product will be high-end.
The design itself differs from many women-specific offerings; it’s predominantly black with a teal, watermelon and white design. If this isn’t to your fancy QOM offer a multitude of design options and keep releasing more; from geometric pink options to a stealth black option and everything in between.
We tested their Mandala in a ‘sport’ fit jersey and short option; Mitaros explained that there are two fits to cater for different riders; the sport fit being the slightly shorter torso and slightly firmer and racier fit while the ‘original’ fit is slightly longer through the jersey and a slightly more relaxed fit. We tested a small/small combination and found it true to size, if slightly on the large size (our tester is 168cm tall/60kg and usually wears a small in cycling kit and 10 in regular clothes). If you are used to a European cut or very slim-fit road kit it may be an option to order a size down, or consult the website with any queries. QOM offer kits in sizes XS to XL.
Similarly the shorts were a good fit (a wide band reduces the likelihood of the dreaded ‘sausage thigh’ or ‘muffin leg’) albeit a little simple in the panelling compared to other high-end products. Despite the lack of panelling (which generally gives a little more shape to the rider and structural integrity to the short) the ‘Embody WF1 women specific’ chamois gave us no problems even on 4hr rides on trails. As a devotee of the bib we did miss the firmness of a bib set up but didn’t find reverting back to shorts too much of an inconvenience. Furthermore we experienced no stretching or discolouring of the short fabric in our extensive testing.
QOM initially offered their kit only as a pre-order, however with a better feel for consumer need they have now begun to stock their latest ‘black label’ kit. Other kit design orders at this stage incur a four-week wait, but Mitaros has assured us that this allows each customer to choose different size and fit options (for example medium shorts and small sport fit jersey, for example); a feature many cycling kit retailers don’t offer.
Mitaros and Lukritz have really carved out a niche with their QOM kit offerings. By allowing a more customisable experience using high-end kit and a range of designs they have created a range of products that almost any female cyclist would be able to peruse and find something to fall in love with.
From: Queen of the mountain
