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On test: Capo Forma Retro & De Marchi Unita wool blend jerseys
Staying warm in style
The clothes rack at your local bike shop is full of flashy-looking synthetic team jerseys, but John Stevenson begs you to consider these partly-natural, subdued and very comfortable alternatives.
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It hailed in Sydney last week, but because of these two wool-mix jerseys, I didn't care.
Thanks to the Australian Tourist Board, most Cyclingnews readers probably imagine that this is a tropical paradise full of blokes wrestling crocodiles and saying "Crikey!" and "Throw another shrimp on the barbie". In fact we do get winter and occasionally it throws insanity at us - like an inch of rainfall in 40 minutes. As lumps of ice.
Mostly though, it just gets a bit chilly in the early mornings. Seven Celsius at 7am is not unusual, and while that likely doesn't sound cold to those of you who live in the Rockies or Canada, it's the contrast with the 20°C afternoons that's the shock.
For the last few weeks I have been staving off the winter chill with either of these two jerseys, or, on really chilly mornings, both of them. Both use a 50 percent wool, 50 percent acrylic blend that has a nice soft handle and can take being machine-washed on the most gentle cycle, though Capo Forma and De Marchi both say hand washing is preferable.
Both jerseys also have three rear pockets with button closures and distinctly retro styling. The shape is close-fitting but not skintight - Capo Forma calls this a 'club style' fit, and it's certainly preferable for those of us who get out of Lycra shape in the winter.
If it sounds like the two are very similar, well, they are. Sufficiently so that it seems likely they're both in fact made by De Marchi. That's no bad thing, as the Italian clothing maker is known for the quality of its manufacture, and while De Marchi has gone down a very simple route with a plain colour scheme, the Capo Forma version attractively combines coloured panels and embroidered logo and lettering. It looks great, and not just in my opinion; it's had a lot of "ooh, that's a nice jersey" comments on group rides.
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But rather more important than their looks is how these jerseys feel. I find that trying to keep warm by piling on layers of synthetic cycling jerseys doesn't work very well. Synthetic jerseys just don't feel good if they get a little sweaty, and the paradox of winter riding is that you want to be warm enough to get just slightly sweaty (or I do anyway). But that sweat has to go somewhere and if it goes into a synthetic jersey it quickly feels cold and clammy.
Not so with these jerseys. Wool absorbs water into the fibers rather than having it wick over the surface. That means that a slightly damp wool-mix jersey still feels cosy. That's perfect for a rolling ride like my regular commute, where you build up a head of stem on the climbs, but can get chilly very easily on the descents.
It's also perfect for a damp Tuesday evening after a hailstorm. A few brave, hardy or just foolish souls were apparently seen riding in the hail, but I waited till it had subsided and headed out on to roads that were still wet and, in some places, dusted with hail.
Not having fenders, I got damp. But with both jerseys on I was plenty warm. The air temperature was 13°C and the damp meant it felt colder. A nylon vest over the top kept off the wind chill and the Capo Forma and De Marchi jerseys' wool/acrylic mix kept me toasty.
Spring has begun to threaten to arrive here in the last few days, and that's shown up another positive aspect of these jerseys: versatility. Because the fabric is a slightly open knit, the jerseys are comfortable on their own even when things warm up a bit. Sunny afternoons in the low 20s are no problem.
Both jerseys have withstood a few machine-washes (I'm far too lazy to hand-wash things) and the only problem that's thrown up has been a bit of dye-run in the Capo Forma jersey. However, that was almost certainly my own fault for not taking it out of the machine straight away. Oops.
Another advantage of wool is that it doesn't need washing as often anyway. I've been able to get away with three or four days' consecutive use of these jerseys without them getting smelly. A similar stunt with synthetic jerseys would leave them in no fit state to sit on my desk as I write this review. My colleagues would hound me out of the office.
In all, I'm very impressed with these jerseys. With cooler weather approaching in the northern hemisphere, they're well worth considering as additions to your winter wardrobe.
As it happens, Capo Forma parent company Upland Sports Group has just announced a substantial expansion of the range which includes a wool mix base later, as well as shorts, jerseys, arm warmers, leg warmers and much more. Look out for a peek at all that in our New Arrivals segment very soon.
Pro: Warm, comfortable, stylish
Con: Maker recommends hand-washing
Fabrics: 50/50 wool/acrylic mix
Cyclingnews rating: 
Capo Forma Retro Wool jersey
Colors: Red/cream
Sizes: S-XXXL
MSRP: US$149.99
More info: www.uplandsg.com
De Marchi Unita
MSRP: AU$249.99
Colors: Blue/white, Red/white, Black/white, White/red
More info: www.demarchi.com;
in the USA - www.worldcycling.com.
Australasian readers can obtain this jersey through the
Cyclingnews shop.
