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Arm & leg warmers
Lusso Max Repel Leg Warmers Lusso Max Repel Leg Warmers Lusso Max Repel Leg Warmers Lusso Max Repel Leg Warmers
Lusso Max Repel Leg Warmers

Lusso Max Repel Leg Warmers

9
by Mike Stead
UPDATED Mon, Jan 30, 2017 19:46

First Published Jan 30, 2017

5
£29.99

VERDICT:

9
10
Well shaped and featured, made of warm, water-repellent fabric and made in the UK – a great choice
Weight: 
139g
Contact: 
www.lusso.bike
How we test

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The Lusso Max Repel Leg Warmers use fibre treatment to resist water while keeping you warm, and they stay put too. Made in the UK, they're a great option for cool rides.

Manchester-based Lusso has once again come up with a product that's hard to fault – simple in both design and execution, with performance fabrics that work out on the road and look good doing it.

> Find your nearest dealer here

The 'Repel' bit in the name refers to Lusso's treatment of the fabric yarns before being woven into the Roubaix fabric itself. This treatment holds up under persistent water, the drops beading and falling off with no wetting out. While they aren't claimed to be 'waterproof', it would be a strong, persistent shower that managed to soak these through, and even then you have the brushed Roubaix fabric to keep things warm.

Lusso Max Repel Leg Warmers - lining.jpg

Unlike many leg warmers there's no ankle zip – keeping things simple with one less feature to fail as the years progress.

Lusso Max Repel Leg Warmers - ankle detail.jpg

They come up quite high on the leg for me, the medium measuring 65cm long and sitting past mid-thigh. Grip strips are located on both the inside and out of the laser-cut upper cuff, to hang onto legs and bib shorts alike. The stitching is angled at the back of the knee to impart a tad of pre-bend into the garment, without ever feeling bunched – over 40 miles they stayed put top, knee and bottom.

Lusso Max Repel Leg Warmers - gripper.jpg

Branding-wise there's only a small Lusso roundel on the front just above the ankle so no, these are not the highly-reflective commuter leggings you're looking for. That said, the minimalist approach pairs well with any shorts, in particular the excellent-value Lusso 2-Zero Thermal Bib Short. Given their position, leg warmers pick up the lion's share of road filth, but these washed out like new time after time.

> Buyer's Guide: The best arm and leg warmers for chilly days

Of course the acid test of a pair of leg warmers is, do the legs remain warm? With moderately rubbish circulation, minimal body fat and a penchant for Raynaud's disease in the upper limbs at least, I'm a great test case. Over the Christmas month I ventured out in temperatures ranging from 3-10 degrees, sometimes in winds approaching 40 or 50mph including showers. At no stage did my legs or – even worse, but intricately related, my feet – feel cold. If the shins are the radiators of the feet, and the blood cools on its way down, your feet will never feel warm. The Lusso Max Repel warmers did their job admirably.

Verdict

Well shaped and featured, made of warm, water-repellent fabric and made in the UK – a great choice

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: Lusso Max Repel Leg Warmers

Size tested: Medium

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

It's for people who want to ride in the cold and wet.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

* Repels Water

* High Insulation

* 4 way stretch

* Made in the UK

* Machine washable

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10
Rate the product for fit:
 
9/10
Rate the product for sizing:
 
9/10
Rate the product for weight:
 
6/10
Rate the product for comfort:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
10/10

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

Washes out like new.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Excellently.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The warmth. So warm. Lusso has the best warmth. They make legs feel great again.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your score

It's hard to think how these could be improved, unless you are of the view you need a zip to get your feet through. The price is mid-range for leg warmers, the performance is high-end.

Overall rating: 9/10

About the tester

Age: 43  Height: 183cm  Weight: 72kg

I usually ride: Merida Ride 5000 Disc  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: A few times a week  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo-cross, club rides, general fitness riding, mountain biking, Dutch bike pootling

Lusso Max Repel Leg Warmers 2017
Lusso Max Repel Leg Warmers
Lusso 2017
lusso
Mike Stead

Living in the Highlands, Mike is constantly finding innovative and usually cold/wet ways to accelerate the degradation of cycling kit. At his happiest in a warm workshop holding an anodised tool of high repute, Mike's been taking bikes apart and (mostly) putting them back together for forty years. With a day job in global IT (he's not completely sure what that means either) and having run a boutique cycle service business on the side for a decade, bikes are his escape into the practical and life-changing for his customers.

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