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Proviz Classic Men’s Podium Long Sleeve Cycling Jersey

6
£79.99

VERDICT:

6
10
Comfortable, warm and likeable jersey let down by a poor build, weird arms and a too-high price
Warm
Pretty breathable
Low collar is good under jackets
Stylish
Bafflingly long arms
Unimpressive stitching
Feels much cheaper than it is
Weight: 
371g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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Truth is, I wanted the Proviz Classic Men's Podium Long Sleeve Cycling Jersey to score a bit higher as it's warm, comfortable and decently breathable – and to my eyes it's really stylish too. But the strange shaping, cheap-looking build and question marks over durability make that impossible, given that price.

This is a usefully warm top. Over just a thin, short-sleeve baselayer I found it comfortable down to around 12°C, and it doesn't get too hot until it's really mild – say, 16° or more. There's no windproofing, though, so fast or exposed roads obviously affect it.

> Buy this online here

The polyester/Lycra mix breathes well enough not to feel clammy, though it's not exceptional at it. I found my back could get a bit sweaty even when the air was cold enough to chill my chest, though it was never enough to feel uncomfortable.

It's happy as a mid-layer too, thanks in part to the low, almost non-existent collar – there's nothing to bulk out the gap in your jacket's collar and strangle you – and it carries on breathing well enough, if not spectacularly, when covered up.

2021 Proviz Classic Men's Podium Long Sleeve Cycling Jersey - chest.jpg

The sleeves are almost comically long, with the resulting bunching of fabric big enough to obscure the three-colour banding, which is a bit of a shame. Happily, the silicone be-grippered elastic cuffs stay firmly on your wrists, and the rucked-up section never actually caused issues with jackets – though if yours are very slim-sleeved, they might. There's also plenty to overlap with gloves (though you could probably overlap them with your brake hoods too).

2021 Proviz Classic Men's Podium Long Sleeve Cycling Jersey - hem.jpg

The seam under the armpits sits quite high, so once on it looks stretched and the fabric doesn't want to sit flat. Again, though, it's an oddity that doesn't actually cause any problems, as the easy stretch means it remains perfectly comfortable.

> How to dress for cycling in autumn

There are similarly ugly stretches from too-tight seams elsewhere, most noticeably where the pocket-topping elastic joins the main side seam and drags it out of line.

At least the main, overlocked seams feel strong enough, despite looking messy; the stitching on these pockets is finer and less impressive. I can already stick a finger from the middle pocket into the righthand one near the bottom, and the top is coming away too.

2021 Proviz Classic Men's Podium Long Sleeve Cycling Jersey - pockets.jpg

It doesn't help that stretching the fabric reveals undyed white lines, as it's been permanently stretched along a lot of stitched joins and folds, which makes them look faded or damaged, even though they're not.

I've got some actual damage (either from scuffing or stretching, I don't know) on one of the pockets, though, and that has the same effect. It shows up white, and looks bad. At least this, being from Proviz, has some decent reflectives on the lower back.

Value

If this top were £40 it'd be an easy seven out of ten; yeah, it looks a bit budget, but it's comfortable, versatile, performs well and it looks, if you ask me (go on), very cool. It's not, though, it's £79.99.

> Buyer’s Guide: 19 of the best winter cycling jerseys

The dhb Blok LS Jersey is only £60 and shares none of these issues with shaping or build, though it's arguably less stylish.

The Lusso Momentum is very well made and effective – plus 100g lighter – for £74.99. And if you want visibility as well as performance, the Giant Illume Mid-Thermal LS jersey is also great and only £64.99.

Overall

Despite its slight shabbiness, I like this Proviz jersey. It's comfortable, useful either alone or as a layer, and it looks good – at least, it does from a distance. If it were cheap I'd probably recommend it, with the obvious caveats. The actual price, though, is high given its issues with quality and shaping.

Verdict

Comfortable, warm and likeable jersey let down by a poor build, weird arms and a too-high price

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Proviz Classic Men's Podium Long Sleeve Cycling Jersey

Size tested: Medium

Tell us what the product is for

Proviz says: 'The Classic Men's Podium long-sleeve jersey is designed to give cyclists a high performance, comfortable and elegant looking jersey that will perform as you'd expect. It has high levels of wicking and breathability and the slightly denser grade material (over the short sleeve models) gives you a little bit more protection in the early mornings or coolers days. Three rear pockets give you ample space for all of your extras you like to take with you.'

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Proviz lists these features:

Three rear-drop pockets

Lightweight moisture wicking four-way stretch fabric

Silicone hem and arm strips

Highly Breathable

Material: 140gsm soft-touch polyester

Machine washable

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
5/10

Messy stitching and some strained-looking seams.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

Warm, comfortable and pretty breathable across a wide range of temperatures.

Rate the product for durability:
 
5/10

The main seams are scruffy but solid, but some pocket stitching was already failing on ours, and the fabric seems slightly vulnerable to damage.

Rate the product for fit:
 
6/10

A weird one... the arms are far too long on me and don't sit neatly under the armpits, but in use neither thing caused any discomfort or issues – the fit feels good thanks to the easy stretch, even if it looks bad.

Rate the product for sizing:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight:
 
7/10
Rate the product for comfort:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
4/10

Looks distinctly budget – like it should be half the price.

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

No issues.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Very well, and it's versatile for layering or use on its own.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Warm, versatile, stylish graphics.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Cheap-looking build, bizarrely long sleeves.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

It's at the expensive end for a simple warm jersey, and the quality doesn't match the price. The dhb Blok LS Jersey is only £60 and shares none of the issues with shaping or build, though it's stylish in a far more divisive way. The Lusso Momentum is very well made and effective – plus 100g lighter – for £74.99, and if you want visibility as well as performance, the Giant Illume Mid-Thermal LS jersey is also great and £64.99.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Not at full price, no.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Probably not.

Use this box to explain your overall score

On the bike this does the job pretty solidly, and it's comfortable and good looking too. However, even a brief inspection shows up numerous areas of ugly finishing, questionable shaping and pocket stitching that seems destined to fail. That said, it works better than expected, but given the price I'd say it's a six; if it were £40 it would be a seven.

Overall rating: 6/10

About the tester

Age: 48  Height: 183cm  Weight: 78kg

I usually ride: Vitus Zenium SL VR Disc  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: A few times a week  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: general fitness riding, mtb,

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1 comments

Avatar
Chris Hayes | 2 years ago
0 likes

Landfill.

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