As I write this, I’m sitting in 10 Speed headquarters looking bad-to-the-bone, resplendent in black and skulls and script and block letters of Rock Racing – the hipsters of American domestic cycling.

I’ve finished riding in a Rock Racing costume — bib shorts, jersey, socks and arm warmers — and it’s time to write about it, so here I am. A Rock rep recently asked me if I’d like to test and review one of Rock’s Team Series kits, and I agreed, though with a bit of trepidation.

For two reasons:

1. The Rock apparel is European-sized, which means, like some other brands, the size on the label has no basis in reality for jumbo-sized Americans such as myself. Rock’s largest size is XL euro, which in American sizing is barely a Large, and I’m a solid 2XL American, at around about 6-4 and significantly north of 200 pounds.

2. As a late-era Boomer, I don’t exactly fit the Rock target demographic of edgy hipsters.

So, “fit” in both the literal and figurative sense is an issue for ol’ 10 Speed. But Rock Racing is all about living large and living on the edge, so here you have a plus-size, boomer kitted up in all black and skulls, scaring everyone in the neighborhood.

As expected, sizing is, shall we say, a huge problem with the jersey, but slightly less so with the bib shorts, only a small issue with the arm warmers, and not at all with the socks, which fit my No. 12s perfectly in the XL size and come with helpful L and R designations.

The arm warmers are snug, though comfy and warm with fleece lining. However, anyone with large pipes might find them to be too tight.

The bib shorts are dandy, with a thick, well-shaped gel chamois for padding in all the right places and multiple panels that comfortably support the tree trucks. My quibble with the bibs relates to the XL euro size, which is rated for someone 6-foot-1 to 6-3, but at 6-4, I find the straps to be too tight over my shoulders, not quite to the point of gouging but uncomfortable.

The euro-size XL jersey is for chest sizes 39-41 inches, which isn’t even close for me. Twas a bit of a struggle just to attach and zip the full zipper! Once zipped, the jersey is embarrassingly snug on me. One plus for the plus-sized: The elastic at the bottom keeps the jersey from riding up too terribly much, though I am thankful to be in bibs.

Because of the sizing, I have to give the jersey the thumbs down – the XL euro is just too small for a big fella like me. (For comparison, the 4XL Hincapie jersey I wear for the JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes is for chest size 46-48″. For Cannondale clothing, that same chest size, 46-48, is an XXL.)

OK, I’m largely to blame for my personal sizing issue — get it? largely? — but not all cyclists are all sinew and skeleton like the Body Worlds exhibits. Cyclists come in all shapes and plus sizes, particularly recreational cyclists in the good ol’ USA, which, by the way, is where Rock gear is manufactured.

Yes, the Rock cycling gear is American-made, and for all my yammering about the fit, the finish of the kit is first rate, with the eye for detail evident in the quality and craftsmanship of the materials. For as big as I am and as much as I stretched everything out, none of the seams have shown any sign of failure. Rock’s Here To Stay slogan applies in that sense.

The kit is pricey — $220 for the bibs and $180 for the jersey — but I think the bibs compare favorably with the equally pricey top-of-the-line bibs of other manufacturers. But only if you’re 6-3 or under, with a chest size no larger than 41″.

I’m told that the sizing issue will be addressed in the 2009 model year, with an upsize to XXL for the jerseys, but again, that’d be XXL euro – about 42-44, I reckon — and that still wouldn’t fit me.

Rock also has a variety of designs for its Team Series, with multiple jersey and bib options. My personal favorite is the Harlem Rocks, which has an understated Rock skull logo in comparison to the others. Austin Rocks is cool, too, tho I’d like it better without the skull.

That’s the thing with the Rock Team Series. You have to really like skulls to wear it. But if you don’t and you want to buy genuine made-in-America, high-tech cycling gear, you may be in luck. In 2009, Rock will sell an understated version of the Team Series, called the Tech Series, which is the same high-quality stuff with smaller logos and should be a nice alternative for the anti-skull-ites.

A value-priced version — the Core Series — also is in the works, with many of the features on the high-end stuff, but at less cost — $125 for the jersey and $130 for the short. 

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