We test the Evade Pro Base jersey and Team Bib Evo cycling bib shorts by Maap: high cycling couture

The Australian brand MAAP was born in 2014 from the joint passion for cycling shared by design professionals, fashion and technical clothing specialists. A perfect combination that resulted in an innovative collection of high-end cycling garments, with a price in accordance, and that in a short time have become very fashionable among amateurs and professionals. But we wanted to check if all the hype generated by their equipment is up to their performance.

Testing the Evade Pro Base jersey and Team Bib Evo cycling shorts by Maap

We are in the middle of summer and we have chosen to test three of the garments from the new Maap collection that are suitable for use in hot conditions. These are the MAAP Team Bib Evo bib shorts, the Evade Pro Base jersey, both in size M, and the Emblem socks.

Maap's products are distinguished by an attractive and modern design achieved through the pattern of their garments, the appearance offered by the high quality fabrics they use and with simple designs of uniform colors that only highlight the brand's logo.

Evade Pro Base Jersey

The first thing that really surprised us was the feel of the jersey's main fabric that covers the entire front panel and much of the back. It is an extremely soft fabric that could be compared to the feel of silk. Something that is also felt with the jersey on and offers a very soft contact with the skin. In the garment information we see that it is composed of 89% polyamide and 11% elastane, but we also read that it has been made with Italian fabric and Bluesign certified (production respectful of the environment and people). After holding it in our hands and wearing it, we have no doubt that it is one of the most comfortable on the market. One of the most important details of the jersey is that it provides SPF50+ sun protection.

Both the sleeves and the lumbar area are made with a ventilated honeycomb mesh fabric to evacuate sweat. Although in the lumbar area the mesh is barely visible once it is on, as it is covered by three back pockets.

The sleeves, although short, follow the current trend of reaching almost to the elbow and its mesh fabric gives us the feeling that it is a little compressive, something that instead of being annoying is appreciated. The back has reflective details elegantly added to the design and at the waist we find a wide silicone rubber inside to prevent the jersey from riding up when we pedal. Finally, we can say that the zipper works perfectly and at no time, so far, we have not been stuck when raising or lowering it.

Wearing it we have done a few hundred kilometers on mountain and road in which we have had time to check its virtues and defects. Remember that we have done the test in the middle of summer with temperatures above 30 degrees and the Maap Evade Pro Base jersey we can say that it is a perfect choice for this weather. It feels cool, something that helps the soft touch of its fabric, evacuates sweat very well and we have had no problems with it rolling up or having to be repositioned. The only thing to keep in mind is that the lumbar mesh in contact with the skin is shared with the inside of the back pockets, so what we carry there will end up full of sweat.

We have yet to see how the fabrics behave with the passage of time and washing, but after the first 3 washes the jersey looks exactly the same as new and leads us to believe that its durability will be another of its strong points.

The Maap Evade Pro Base jersey is available in 9 different colors with sizes ranging from XS to XXL and is priced at 155€.

MAAP Team Bib Evo Bib Shorts

The Team Bib Evo bib short is the latest evolution of a garment that has been in Maap's catalog since the beginning, and again it surprised us to the touch just by pulling it out of the bag. This time it was the heavyweight fabric that caught our attention when we held it in our hands. Once again we can see that we are dealing with a high-end garment in which it is enough to stretch it a little and see how it recovers its shape to realize that it will be a bib shorts with which we will be able to do miles for many seasons before it gets old.

Again in the bib shorts we find a high quality Italian outer fabric, also made in Italy, specially designed to be elastic in all directions, recover its original shape and be very resistant against friction. It also includes SPF50+ sun protection. All these features together with its seat cover, which we will talk about next, make the Maap Team Bib EVO a perfect bib short to use on the road or MTB.

The bib straps are wide and have a pleasant feel even in direct contact with the skin, and the micro-perforated back offers excellent breathability with the comfort of having a very wide support. Among other important details, the side logos are also reflective and the rubber at the end of the shorts has a very soft and wide rubberized surface that prevents it from rolling up when pedaling.

But as we all know, the fundamental aspect of a cycling short is its seat cover and this Maap includes one of the best on the market. This is the new 3D Thermo Moulded multi-layer pad, designed to guarantee maximum comfort during long days in the saddle. It is a seat cover of discreet appearance, which does not bulge too much thanks to the game of shapes and densities, this allows you to maximize performance without increasing weight.

After our test we can say that we are facing outstanding bib shorts. The outer fabric can also give a pleasant feeling of compression, but above all it offers us a great security when riding with these bib shorts for the hours or days we need. The seat cover is one of the best we have tested so far and the robustness of the fabric that we talked about before does not prevent it from evacuating sweat perfectly. Undoubtedly this is one of the best options on the market.

So far we have talked about the quality of the bib shorts but we can not ignore its price: 215€. This is a high price compared to other options on the market, but both for its versatility (road, gravel and MTB) and for its level of quality fabrics and performance we can justify it.

The Maap Team Bib EVO bib shorts are available in 2 colors and 6 sizes ranging from XS to XXL and are priced at 215€.

After our test we feel obliged to answer the question we asked ourselves at the beginning about whether all the expectation that there is around the MAAP brand is deserved. And the truth is that this brand could be compared to haute couture in traditional fashion. It is not only about design, the quality of their garments, at least the ones we have tested, is really excellent.