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review

Craft Monument Bike Cap

8
£20.00

VERDICT:

8
10
A simple design with all the attributes to make for a top performing cap
Weight: 
27g

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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Craft's Monument Bike Cap Giro Di Lombardia is a simplistic piece of kit that works wonders at keeping the elements off your face and out of your eyes. It's very well made too and comfortable, but then again it needs to be as it's at the upper end of the price bracket.

  • Pros: Excellent fit, firm peak
  • Cons: Priced at the top end of what I'd pay for a cap

The Monument range is Craft's way of celebrating the various classic races of the professional calendar, the likes of Milan-San Remo, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Giro Di Lombardia that we have here, amongst others. (I tested the matching jersey, too.)

craft_monument_jersey_m_giro_di_lomb_unisex.jpg

Simple as a road cap is, it can be easy to get it wrong but the Craft scores well right across the board. Its 100% polyester construction is soft to wear and is relatively breathable until the effort and temperature really ramp up.

When that happens, usually while ascending a long steep climb in the mid-20s, any excess sweat from your brow is transferred to the peak to drip off rather than run down into your eyes.

It's the same with the rain. And when everything calms down, it doesn't take long to dry.

The peak is a firm one with a classic round shape which doesn't restrict your vision anywhere, and if you want to you can flip it up to expose the GDL (Giro Di Lombardia) logo on the bottom.

craft_monument_bike_cap_giro_di_lomb_unisex_2.jpg

The fit is really good for a one-size-only garment. The polyester itself doesn't have much in the way of flex but at the rear is an elasticated section around the base. It's taut enough to hold the cap in place at speed without ever feeling too tight.

The seams are quite pronounced inside but are quite soft so aren't noticeable when you are wearing the cap. And where they all meet in the centre doesn't leave a hard lump that can be irritating when you've got a helmet pressing down on it.

craft_monument_bike_cap_giro_di_lomb_unisex_3.jpg

Colour-wise it's pretty discreet in a dark burgundy to match the other pieces of apparel in the range. The orange base of the peak and the panel on the front lifts it a little. Foglie morte, in case you didn't know, is the nickname of the GDL – Classica delle foglie morte, or the Classic of the falling leaves.

Price-wise, like I mentioned, at £20 it's at the upper end of what I'd be prepared to pay for a cap when you can already by some good 'uns for a lot less.

> Read more road.cc reviews of cycling headwear here

The high-scoring Primal Neon Crush Cap is yours for £15, for instance, or the FWE Fred Unisex Cap for £11.99.

Others, like the Café du Cycliste Cap Sardine at £25, are pricier, though, so the Craft isn't over the top.

Verdict

A simple design with all the attributes to make for a top performing cap

road.cc test report

Make and model: Craft Monument Bike Cap

Size tested: One Size

Tell us what the product is for

Craft says, "Classic bike cap that celebrates the Spring Classics."

(And the autumn ones...)

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

From Craft:

100% polyester

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
Rate the product for weight:
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

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

Easy, just bung it in the machine on a 40 degree wash and it comes out clean every time.

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

Great at keeping the elements off.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The firm peak.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

You can buy cheaper that'll do the same job.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

A good quality build and performance from the Craft warrants a decent score, even if it is up against some cheaper competition.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 39  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 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

Since writing his first bike review for road.cc back in early 2009 senior product reviewer Stu has tested more than a thousand pieces of kit, and hundreds of bikes.

With an HND in mechanical engineering and previous roles as a CNC programmer/machinist, draughtsman and development engineer (working in new product design) Stu understands what it takes to bring a product to market. A mix of that knowledge combined with his love of road and gravel cycling puts him in the ideal position to put the latest kit through its paces.

He first made the switch to road cycling in 1999, primarily for fitness, but it didn’t take long for his competitive side to take over which led to around ten years as a time triallist and some pretty decent results. These days though riding is more about escapism, keeping the weight off and just enjoying the fact that he gets to ride the latest technology as part of his day job.

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8 comments

Avatar
andyp | 6 years ago
0 likes

AH, OK. I have eyebrows, and wear eye protection, so maybe that's why I'm not feeling the need.

 

Avatar
brooksby replied to andyp | 6 years ago
0 likes

andyp wrote:

AH, OK. I have eyebrows, and wear eye protection, so maybe that's why I'm not feeling the need.

Yup - I guess that'd do it too yes

Avatar
fukawitribe replied to brooksby | 6 years ago
2 likes

brooksby wrote:

andyp wrote:

AH, OK. I have eyebrows, and wear eye protection, so maybe that's why I'm not feeling the need.

Yup - I guess that'd do it too yes

..although with all that risk compensation from the eye protection you'll probably basically be a dead man walking..

Avatar
alansmurphy | 6 years ago
2 likes

They make me look awesome but they do ruin my perfect flicked fringe...

Avatar
andyp | 6 years ago
0 likes

I've still to see the point in cycling caps...! Surely their only purpose is to be worn by fakenger hipsters.

Avatar
ConcordeCX replied to andyp | 6 years ago
1 like

andyp wrote:

I've still to see the point in cycling caps...! Surely their only purpose is to be worn by fakenger hipsters.

They stop my scalp from burning, soak up the sweat and keep the sun out of my eyes without blocking my line of sight the way that eg baseball caps do.

 

Avatar
brooksby replied to andyp | 6 years ago
0 likes

andyp wrote:

I've still to see the point in cycling caps...! Surely their only purpose is to be worn by fakenger hipsters.

A cap keeps rain and sun out of my eyes.

I'm certainly not a fakenger, and I'm pretty sure I'm not a hipster (too many gears, too old, too untattooed, too 'not carrying a huge great bag').

Avatar
brooksby | 6 years ago
0 likes

Quote:

it's at the upper end of the price bracket.

My daily cap is a black cotton Walz cap which cost more than this oe - £20 seems a decent price for a cap, tbh.

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