A few weeks ago an apparel brand generously shipped me some samples of their new kit. I told them I’m typically a size XL jersey these days, and that’s exactly what arrived.
I pulled the jersey over my arms and immediately knew something was off. I couldn’t even get the zipper to meet across my waist, and my sausage arms were bulging out at the elbows. It was comical how small it was. I handed it to my 11-year-old son (who is 150 cm tall, 50 kg – no bigger or smaller than any of his friends) and it fit him. This was an extra large jersey, fitting on an 11-year-old!
Now, to be clear, I’m well aware that I'm not the same cyclist I was a decade ago. I used to hover around 82 kg (180 lbs) when I was racing regularly – a comfortable medium in most brands (except for the notoriously tiny Italian ones). These days, I sit around 85–90 kg (187-200 lbs). I ride less, do more weights and play hockey, and have become much more well-rounded in my fitness, literally and figuratively.
In everyday clothing, I’ve gone from a medium to a large. That makes sense. But in the cycling kit I'm accustomed to buying, I’ve graduated from medium to ... XXL?
Even more telling: when I went up into my attic to retrieve some of my old medium-sized jerseys, they fit similarly to today's XLs:
Here's the thing. I know XXL isn't my proper size, simply because of how loosely the shoulders fit. But the rest fits the way I'd want. Therefore I need to suck it in, stretch on the XL, let some seams rip, and be slightly self-conscious about how I look.
Many brands offer a 'sport cut' of some variety that I can fit into comfortably (usually in a size large), but I often find those to be mediocre quality and poor fit. I know they exist, but they feel more like a 'beginner' option than something that's state-of-the-art.
To try to make sense of what’s happening, I dug into some sizing charts using the Wayback Machine, comparing what brands like Rapha and MAAP listed at roughly the beginning of their businesses and now. I'm not picking on these brands for any other reason than they're what I personally familiar with as a reference point. I have many other newer jerseys in my drawer (Specialized, Attaquer, Pedla, Le Col, Ciovita, PNS, etc) that also raise this same question.
Chest measurements on these charts haven't changed much. On paper, a ~37-inch (95 cm) chest should still fit in a medium. But when I compare a new XL jersey with an old medium from 10 years ago, they feel pretty darn similar in fit. In fact, the XL is tighter in many places.
So what gives?
To get some perspective, I spoke with Graeme Raeburn, who was the lead designer at Rapha for a decade and has now worked with Albion for the past three years. He’s seen this evolution first-hand.
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