I’m looking to get at least one new bike jersey for this year’s gravel riding. I’m looking for a “traditional three pocket” jersey with the following criteria.:
comfortshort sleevewicking fabrichigh SPF valuebody fitfull length zipperlots of color and design optionsand most importantly - value priced!!!
A google search returns a ton of options and I’m interested in reading some ST recommendations!
I’ve been very happy with the jerseys and bibs I’ve bought from NeoPro- seems to check all of your boxes!
Ahh yes, the old where do I get the perfect, high quality product but for cheap…
eBay all day
.
A lot of my cycling jerseys are finds from the thrift store
If someone were to ask “Why would you wear a jersey from a team you weren’t on or a tour/ride you didn’t do/beer you don’t drink?”
I’d have to answer “Because they’re only a dollar or two, they look great, and I don’t give a shit?”
.
Cusroo and Weimostar from AliExpress.
I’ve been buying these for 3 years now and like them just as much or more than any other jersey. The JPO from Weimostar is so light and breathable, I can wear a black one on a 90° day with no issues.
There is no reason a cycling jersey should cost $100+. That’s gouging the cyclists.
Ahh yes, the old where do I get the perfect, high quality product but for cheap…
Is there a problem with that? I thought I was your typical consumer looking for quality at best value.
https://www.cycologyclothing.com/ - over the last couple of years i have ordered half a dozen short sleeved jerseys, a couple of long sleeved jerseys, a half dozen base layers (summer), socks and glove - all are excellent except the gloves - if you sign up to their email they have frequent sales.
I’ve had good luck with the Sponeed jerseys on Amazon.
It all depends on your perspective. But yes, generally I feel outsourcing everything to the cheapest possible places and killing domestic low skill, blue collar jobs is a bad thing for everyone except those running the companies that outsource the jobs and the leaders of the countries exploiting cheap labor.
Especially when it comes to non necessities and luxury goods we should be willing to spend a little more to support domestic production and help our neighbor.
My two cents, I just find it funny when people in our sport will drop 15,000 on a bike they don’t need and then pinch pennies on other shit or buy cheap Chinese garbage elsewhere.
To boot: it drags down the quality of everything.
If I ho buy a cheap jersey from China, that means a domestic company that focuses on high quality products makes less and thus might have to reduce the quality of their product.
The Chinese cheepo sees this and brings their quality down a bit more, not enough to make me jump back to the more expense domestic, but enough to make more or lower prices.
It’s s viscous cycle of dragging down quality of consumer goods
Argue with my opinion all you want, it’s still an opinion.
I respect your opinion. If I could afford a $15K bike I’d be buying high end apparel to go with it. I started this sport in the '90s riding used bikes and not until '16 was I able to afford a brand new TM02 ~$4K. Heck, I just recently “splurged” on a new gravel bike for about $5K and it’s everything I need in a bike (and it was on sale :).
Most of the clothes I wear are all from the tables in SAMS. I’m sure they come from overseas, but they are so much cheaper than brand names (probably made overseas) and I feel comfortable wearing them.
I don’t make the rules for imports; I’ll leave that to the politicians. In my world, I need to stretch the buck as far as I can to provide for my family and myself.
It all depends on your perspective. But yes, generally I feel outsourcing everything to the cheapest possible places and killing domestic low skill, blue collar jobs is a bad thing for everyone except those running the companies that outsource the jobs and the leaders of the countries exploiting cheap labor.
Especially when it comes to non necessities and luxury goods we should be willing to spend a little more to support domestic production and help our neighbor.
My two cents, I just find it funny when people in our sport will drop 15,000 on a bike they don’t need and then pinch pennies on other shit or buy cheap Chinese garbage elsewhere.
To boot: it drags down the quality of everything.
If I ho buy a cheap jersey from China, that means a domestic company that focuses on high quality products makes less and thus might have to reduce the quality of their product.
The Chinese cheepo sees this and brings their quality down a bit more, not enough to make me jump back to the more expense domestic, but enough to make more or lower prices.
It’s s viscous cycle of dragging down quality of consumer goods
A Chinese jersey with a lower price than an American jersey is not necessarily lower quality. The fabric is a big part and unlikely it is American. It is probably Chinese or Indian. If it is a good zipper it will be YKK from Japan. Chinese seamstresses are the best in the world. And that “American” jersey may well be sewn in another country.
Argue with my opinion all you want, it’s still an opinion.
It all depends on your perspective. But yes, generally I feel outsourcing everything to the cheapest possible places and killing domestic low skill, blue collar jobs is a bad thing for everyone except those running the companies that outsource the jobs and the leaders of the countries exploiting cheap labor.
Especially when it comes to non necessities and luxury goods we should be willing to spend a little more to support domestic production and help our neighbor.
My two cents, I just find it funny when people in our sport will drop 15,000 on a bike they don’t need and then pinch pennies on other shit or buy cheap Chinese garbage elsewhere.
To boot: it drags down the quality of everything.
If I ho buy a cheap jersey from China, that means a domestic company that focuses on high quality products makes less and thus might have to reduce the quality of their product.
The Chinese cheepo sees this and brings their quality down a bit more, not enough to make me jump back to the more expense domestic, but enough to make more or lower prices.
It’s s viscous cycle of dragging down quality of consumer goods
Argue with my opinion all you want, it’s still an opinion.
Can you provide me with a domestic company that produces their own jerseys that aren’t $80+?
Borah, Voler? Those are OK at best
Desoto, Canari?
I do not cycle anymore but when I was racing tris I think I bought like 1 jersey in 10 years at full price. I was lucky to be sponsored and “sponsored” so everything I got was free or 50%+ off depending on year and I wore jerseys forever. I just could not justify spending $100+ on a damn jersey when I did not really need it. I should say it was just about last on the list of things for triathlon that I would buy because I spent a lot of money on stuff I did not need! I mean even now for running only I rarely buy anything at full price. I do not need this year’s latest and greatest unless it is something I am going to race in. That is just about the only time I will pay retail for anything.
Another vote for Ebay. Let’s not get too romantic about the idea of where your snot, sweat and dirt will end up.
Always ridiculous to me to spend high dollar and some bullshit that doesn’t even fit well so you can look cool.
In my experience, every time I’ve tried to buy a cheap jersey, it ends up looking like a cheap jersey. The fit is weird, the fabric is off, it washes like crap… The best kits I own are the ones I paid an honest price for from a reputable company (i.e., Pactimo, Castelli, etc.).
I used to use cheap bibs from ebay on the trainer. They were fine for 60 minute trainer rides, but like anything in life, you get what you pay for.
FWIW, I have a rapha bib that sucks, and the desoto stuff I’ve had I’ve not been fond of (sorry!). I’ve had the best luck with Pactimo by far.
Pearl Izumi sale or clearance jerseys (and bibs) all day for me.
In my experience, every time I’ve tried to buy a cheap jersey, it ends up looking like a cheap jersey. The fit is weird, the fabric is off, it washes like crap… The best kits I own are the ones I paid an honest price for from a reputable company (i.e., Pactimo, Castelli, etc.).
I used to use cheap bibs from ebay on the trainer. They were fine for 60 minute trainer rides, but like anything in life, you get what you pay for.
FWIW, I have a rapha bib that sucks, and the desoto stuff I’ve had I’ve not been fond of (sorry!). I’ve had the best luck with Pactimo by far.
I’ve always been pretty happy with my DeSoto purchases. I have the 400 shorts and bibs (on my third pair). And a pair of Forza shorts. They’re all good, but, not cheap. I still have Desoto stuff from the '90s that I could wear (maybe). I really like their skin cooler jersey but its ~$150. That just is a lot of money for a top and I was hoping (and did) get some recommendations on similar but cheaper jerseys. A google search is pretty overwhelming on cycling jerseys and I just wanted some recommendations that I had faith in (Slowtwitch).
5k buys a pretty damn fancy gravel bike.
Okay, snark aside the politicians don’t dictate the free market, we do. Every dollar you spend is a vote for the world you want to live in.
Personally, I’d rather buy an entry level 2k gravel bike and use the extra to support domestic production on all the other things like jerseys etc.
It’s easy to say I need to stretch every dollar, but all that does over time is compound the problem, drag down domestic wages across the board and make it harder to afford everything.