Castelli

The Gabba is the piece that made Castelli famous, and it remains the reference point for riding in mixed and showery conditions. It is not fully waterproof but it sheds showers, blocks wind and keeps you warm even when damp, which is exactly the gap most riders need filled in the shoulder seasons. If you cycle through changeable weather rather than just dry days, it earns its keep.

Castelli sits at the premium end because you are buying decades of Italian racing heritage plus genuine fabric and pad technology, such as its high-end seat-pad work. The brand has dressed the sport's elite for generations, and that R&D and reputation are baked into the price. Many riders rate it the best kit going, though plenty wait for a sale before committing at full retail.

Both are premium, and the choice usually comes down to fit philosophy. Castelli is prized for Italian engineering and long-distance comfort, while Rapha is often described as more race-cut. There is no wrong answer here, so try the cut against your own body and the kind of riding you do rather than chasing a verdict.

Castelli is the Italian cycling and triathlon clothing brand behind the Gabba jacket and the famous white scorpion inside a red circle logo. It is also remembered for a string of firsts in the sport, most notably bringing Lycra to cycling shorts in 1977, a material previously used only by skiers.

When Maurizio Castelli started his own company in 1974, he chose a scorpion as his emblem, and it has identified the brand ever since, rendered as a white scorpion inside a red circle. It has become one of the most recognizable marks in cycling, a quick signal of the racing pedigree behind the kit.

The lineage runs deep. The original workshop opened in Milan in 1876 under Gianni Vittore, and Armando Castelli bought the company in 1935. The modern brand as we know it began in 1974, when Armando's son Maurizio launched his own company under the Castelli name and chose the scorpion. Today it is based in Fonzaso in the Veneto.

Maurizio Castelli, son of Armando, is the figure behind the brand's modern identity. Captivated by sportswear from an early age, he founded his own company in 1974, pioneered Lycra shorts in 1977 and was an early adopter of sublimation dyeing, which allowed colors, logos and graphics on technical fabric. He died suddenly in 1995 at the age of 47 while cycling on the Cipressa.

Castelli was bought in 2003 by Giordano Cremonese, president of Manifattura Valcismon, the parent company of the Sportful brand, who moved it from Rosate to Fonzaso. So the brand sits within an established Italian sportswear group rather than operating independently.

Castelli's racing credentials are extensive. It returned to the pro peloton in 1999 with ONCE, later supplied Cervélo TestTeam, and from 2017 sponsored Team Sky, which became Team Ineos. It also signed on to provide the Giro d'Italia's jerseys in 2018, and from 2022 began sponsoring Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team.

It is one of the brand's defining moments of nerve. In 1981 Maurizio dressed his cyclists in turquoise Lycra shorts at a time when only black shorts were allowed, so the riders showed up at the start line in an unexpected explosion of color, then had to change them. It captures the brand's willingness to push at the conventions of the sport.

Yes, and it was a genuine pioneer here. Castelli was the first brand to launch an entirely women's collection for cycling, and that commitment paid off on the world stage when Paola Pezzo wore Castelli to win mountain-bike gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Premium kit is rarely cheap at full price, and many riders simply wait for end-of-season clear-outs to pick up jackets and bibs once a year's range is being cycled through. If you have a specific Gabba or bib short in mind, it is worth being patient for the seasonal markdowns rather than buying the moment you see it.