Machines For Freedom: An Incredibly Inclusive Approach To Women’s Cycling Apparel
It’s refreshing to see a brand in the cycling industry that is deeply committed to giving women’s apparel equal attention. Machines for Freedom is a California-based, female-founded and lead women’s cycling apparel company, focused on body and size diversity and inclusivity.
Before she started Machines for Freedom, founder Jenn Kriske saw a clear gap in the market — aesthetically she didn’t feel confident in the women’s cycling apparel that was available, and functionally the pieces were causing her pain and injury.
“All cyclists deserve to be comfortable and wear something that makes them feel good,” Kriske shares.
I’ve tested the Essential Cycling Shorts and Summerweight Long Sleeve Cycling Jersey and can attest to the support and compression that feels just right on the bike, along with a silky soft comfortable fabric that seems made to be next-to-skin for hours in the saddle.
Machines for Freedom is making their mark, increasingly known for their inclusive sizing that ranges from XXS to XXXL for cycling apparel. Check out this sizing guide video to see how their true-to-inclusive-sizing ethos comes through.
The brand is offering a new perspective around the culture of cycling and finding new ways to celebrate the feeling of freedom a bike can help create — whether you’re on a road bike, mountain trail or cruising through a beach town.
“We want to show different types of people on bikes [and] hopefully anybody can scroll through our feed and relate to our brand,” explains Kriske.
Machines for Freedom has a cool weather-ready line reveals innovative apparel pieces such as the Essential Cycling Pant, the Luxe Cropped Base in sleeveless and long sleeve. A new seasonal print called Moonlight is also appearing in the Summerweight long sleeve jersey, designed to pop in low-light conditions.
“Machines’ ‘north star’ is to fix women’s gear that doesn’t function, fit or flatter,” says Kriske. “We’re thrilled to provide year-round layering options designed to solve the issue of ill-fitting, bunching layering with cycling apparel built from the ground up with women's needs in mind.”
Machines For Freedom has also recently teamed up with ROKA to design two pairs of versatile, stylish cycling sunglasses — the GP-1 Series from ROKA's Advanced Performance line engineered for on-the-bike efforts and featuring the Machines for Freedom Palmera print, and Oslo from their stylish collection of Modern Classics and featuring the Palmera green with a rose gold mirror lens. Both styles feature bendable titanium core wires and multiple nose pad sizes for a customizable fit, no-slip nose and temple pads, and a full suite of world-class lens coatings, including anti-scratch and water, sweat and fog-resistant treatments.
Kriske says Machines for Freedom is "passionate about providing opportunities for voices that are typically ignored by the industry to be heard.” The company has recently created a film titled Hermanas and the film Pedal Through to help amplify these very voices to the world.
Learn more about Machines for Freedom at machinesforfreedom.com.