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review
£125.00
VERDICT:
Smart looks and well finished but you're paying a lot of money for that
Weight:
147g
Contact:
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.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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Le Col has teamed up with Tour de France winner and Olympic gold medallist Sir Brad to deliver the Wiggins range. This Pro Gold Stripe jersey is part of that collection and it's a really nice bit of kit but a little pricey against some others I've been testing lately.
- Pros: Excellent attention to detail, highly breathable
- Cons: Pricey, waterproof pocket lets water in at the zip
It's a bold design and one I rather like – after all, I haven't got a whole lot of gold-trimmed kit in my wardrobe and maybe that's what I've been missing.
The jersey is nicely put together and I especially like the neat detailing such as the Wiggins embroidery on the sleeves; it gives the whole jersey quite a classy finish.
The main fabric is a close-knit mesh, which makes it great for warm summer temperatures as the breeze can just pass through but on cooler days I didn't feel as though I needed to layer up.
The sleeves and side panels use a more traditional Lycra, which delivers a close fit and a soft touch to the skin.
The cut itself is aimed at the performance cyclist with a slim, shaped fit but it's not exclusive to those with single-digit body fat figures. It'll still flatter those of a more normal disposition.
The jersey follows the usual theme, with a dropped tail to keep your back covered when in the saddle and an elasticated hem to keep things in place.
You get four pockets at the rear, three in the traditional manner which'll take all the kit you need for a ride with an extra valuables pocket incorporated on the right with a side zip. This is lined to keep the water out, but the zip isn't waterproof, so even though the lining works, if you get caught out in a heavy downpour like I did rain can seep into the pocket and damage your phone or whatever else is in there.
Around the front you get a full zip with chinguard, which is always a nice touch.
On the whole it's a decent jersey but nothing really outstanding for the £125 asking price. This month I've tested the dhb Lab Raceline for a fiver less which shows real innovation in terms of fabric choice and design, plus the Pente Exclusive which, like the Le Col, isn't exactly groundbreaking but delivers a good performance for a third of the price.
> Buyer's Guide: 20 of the best summer jerseys
Being a Wiggins fan I like the design and the colours certainly look smart, but there is nothing here to really make me go 'Wow!'
Verdict
Smart looks and well finished but you're paying a lot of money for that
road.cc test report
Make and model: Le Col By Wiggins Pro Gold Stripe Jersey
Size tested: Medium
Tell us what the product is for
Le Col says, "The Le Col by Wiggins Pro Jerseys are a modern take on classic shapes in cycling, inspired by team jerseys throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
"The Le Col Pro Jersey is a unique mix of pre-dyed and printed panels to achieve a luxurious look and feel with a standout graphic. A more aero fit suited for speed and those with a more aggressive riding position, the pre-dyed panels provide a soft touch quality to a supremely fast jersey."
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
From Le Col:
Inside seams are cover stitched to ensure a low-profile to negate any irritation while riding and a soft lycra chin guard and collar ensures the jersey is comfortable when fully zipped up. A quality lock down puller allows for ease of use at high speeds and a silicone gripper at the hemline and comfortable arm grippers ensure the sleeves and hem stay firmly in place at all times during your ride. Additional features include three large pockets with a waterproof hidden valuables pocked on the rear right hand side and an ergonomically cut collar to remove unnecessary fabric while in a fast riding position.
Fabric:
Main Body:
100% Polyester
Contrast:
91% Polyamide
9% Elastane
Construction:
Unique mix of fabrics for comfort and style
Ergonomic collar
Full length lock down zip and chin guard
Waterproof valuables pocket
Care Instructions:
Machine Wash 30 °
Do not use fabric conditioner
Dry Flat, Do not tumble dry
Do not bleach, iron or dry clean
Rate the product for quality of construction:
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
8/10
Rate the product for fit:
8/10
Rate the product for sizing:
8/10
Stick to the Le Col size guide and you'll be fine.
Rate the product for weight:
8/10
Rate the product for comfort:
8/10
Rate the product for value:
4/10
How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?
The white fabric always came up clean after a 30 degree wash.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
It's a decent jersey especially for use in warmer temperatures.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The embroidered Wiggins logos.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
It's expensive for what it is.
Did you enjoy using the product? It's a nice jersey to wear.
Would you consider buying the product? No, not at full rrp.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? There are a lot of cheaper alternatives.
Use this box to explain your overall score
It's a decent enough jersey when broken down into its component parts but there is nothing really here that hasn't been done before for less money.
About the tester
Age: 40
I usually ride: This month's test bike My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed
As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!
Latest Comments
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Radar tells me their closing speed, if they are slowing and how far away. Then I decide to say a prayer. The change of light pattern is incidental.
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Quite so, which is why our village 20mph zone covers the whole residential extent. Of course, enforcement is another thing..
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No, that's very doubtful while proper testing would be fully destructive.
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In that £1000 exactly scenario, beginners should probably be made aware that pedals will be extra.
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Add new comment
10 comments
If anyone on here buys one of these, please post. I've always wondered who buys this stuff. Surely the target market is vanishingly small. Rapha's Wiggins kit ended up in the bargain bin after a few months and I can't see this effort being any more successful.
Does it arrive in a jiffy bag?
A bit of gold trim seems nice... But this is like a one of those 80's shell suits.... And then add the Wiggins name?! ...maybe just pr for the brand rather than driving sales?
I think it's time we started assessing the environmental impact of all this plastic clothing.
Every time we wash our plastic clothes, we're sending microfibres to the sea via our sewage systems. When we've finished with them, burying them in landfill is at least a way of leaving dumps of valuable petrochemicals for our descendants, but it would be much better if we weren't mining petrochemicals for clothing.
I'd like to see more cotton, merino and other natural fibre cycle clothing in these reviews. I know from personal experience that merino tops and merino padded 'pants under cotton shorts are very comfortable when cycling in the tropics, so they're fine in the UK! (Sadly the pads are plastic). Why aren't merino bib shorts widely available? I'm not weight obsessed, so I'd welcome a stylish Ventile top instead of Goretex. I like Merino socks, but why do they have nylon scaffolding? What about bamboo cycling socks?
I understand that there are biodegradable and sustainable alternatives to Lycra, so where's the cycling clothing using them? Indeed, why can't we just use latex?
For thinner fabrics what's wrong with organic cotton? Otherwise, Nylon degrades better than Polyester/PET and Acrylic, but Viscose Rayon, Modal and and Lyocell are even more biodegradable and sustainable.
I'm surprised that hardly anybody remembers the Volendam fire of 2001, when so many young Dutch people died or were maimed because they were wearing plastic clothing! I'm not aware of any change in the fire resistance of plastic clothing since.
Are we really "Cycling for a Better World"?
It's a dangerous game commenting on here without really knowing what you're talking about... but I'm going to do it anyway. I was told by someone who knew this kind of stuff (I think!) that when you wash wool it also sends contaminants into water systems. Maybe we should just stop washing.
Good point, I think it is something we need to address. This looks like it could be some kind of solution for the problem the industry has already created:
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/feb/12/seafood-mic...
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder... but i think this jersey is damn ugly.
who wants something with that idiot's name on the back? No thanks ..
'a nice touch' for the zip chinguard should be a basic addition for jerseys north of £40 never mind £125.
It looks a bit short on the reviewer so if you had shorts and not bibs and you've a long torso it doesn't look to be long enough.
Is this one of those optical illusions, where half the Internet says it's black and blue, and the other half says it's white and gold, and then everyone wakes up and agrees it's just fucking awful?