TESTED: Track X Women's clothing

Words: Anna Beck   Photos: Tim Bardsley-Smith

Track X are a cycling attire company founded in 2008 when downhill aficionado Byron Wallis became frustrated with riders at races resorting to wearing motorcross gear, often from companies that had no interest in supporting mountain biking or developing specific mountain biking attire. The goal of Track X was to produce awesome mountain bike clothing, but also to give back to the community and Wallis has been active in his home state of Tasmania, putting on build day barbies, sponsoring downhill races and developing a local ambassador program.

With the boom of enduro and emergence of trail riding as a strong discipline within the sport of mountain biking, Wallis states that the product has shifted slightly from pure downhill attire to more gravity and all-mountain styled gear; loose fit, baggy styled kit, that doesn’t stray too far from their downhill roots but adopts some of the styling seen in gravity racing (slightly less baggy shorts, slightly firmer jerseys to wear without armour).

Track X has some presence in retailers in Tasmania and while they’re looking to expand their distribution to mainland Australia, much of their business is conducted online at their website (trackx.com.au). Most of Track X’s gear is made overseas, but Wallis states he uses Australian companies for embellishments and screen printing wherever possible.

We were sent the women’s tiled jersey in teal, which retails at $70, and features the popular 3/4 sleeve. It’s made of 100% quick-dry polyester which claims to be performance wicking in warmer weather climates. It’s not a cross country jersey so there is not an abundance of pockets, but there is a discreet hidden zipped pocket for ferreting away a car key or delicious trail snack. The tiled jersey is available in sizes small to extra large.

First impressions were good – the material is lightweight and the tiled design quite appealing. The majority of the jersey is a flattering navy blue colour; with teal, aqua and orange sublimated tiled graphic highlights. I’m pretty impressed with any cycling company that steers the ship away from fuschia, magenta, rose, salmon, magenta or mauve – or any other variation of pink – so was delighted to unwrap a stylish women’s jersey in a different hue. 

The fit ran slightly small; I’m consistently a size 8-10 at 168cm tall and 58kg, and while the fit was acceptable, the small was more snug than I am used to in this style of jersey. If you’re in between sizes or prefer a larger fit I would recommend sizing up, which is also what is specified on the website.

Despite that, I didn’t feel inhibited by the sizing. The cut’s flattering and the longer sleeves would be welcomed in cooler weather for protection from the sun and unplanned dirt-eating events.

We also tested the Enduro/Trail Shorts MKII Women’s in black, which is the only colourway available for this product. The shorts are on trend in terms of length, coming in just below the knee making them knee pad compatible for the super-rad amongst us. Comparable in sizing and cut to the popular DHaRCO shorts, they also run slightly on the firm side and are available in small, medium and large. The small was right on the mark for me. The four-way stretch fabric is much lighter weight than many other options on the market, making them more appropriate for anyone sweltering on mainland Australia.

The shorts do not include a liner, so it’s BYO bibs or liner shorts with these guys, and while they do feature two side pockets and a zipped key pocket they’re definitely not large enough for anything substantial – so spares would need to go on the bike or in a pack.

All in all the Track X kit is aesthetically appealing, lightweight and functional gear for the shredder that also dislikes magenta and it’s large array of pink-tinged cousins!