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review
Jerseys - short sleeve
Knockoff Kuota-road.cc team kitKuota road.cc knockoff top

Knockoff Kuota-road.cc team kit

7
by Jez Ash
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published Aug 5, 2011

14
£22.00

VERDICT:

7
10
Not the real thing, but for a cheap jersey it's really pretty decent
Weight: 
0g
Contact: 
Silk Street market, Beijing, China
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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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Anyone who has been to China can attest that the place is awash with fake stuff. Some fakes are well-known (Rolexes, Gucci bags and so on); some are rather more disturbing (pharmaceuticals, chicken eggs).

When I was in Beijing this year, I noticed that cycling team kits are now appearing alongside the Barcelona shirts, Nike trainers, North Face jackets and so on in China's markets. When I found a Kuota-road.cc kit for sale, I couldn't resist.

The kit comprised short-sleeved jersey and bib shorts. I was initially unsure of the wisdom of securing the family legacy in a set of fake bibs, even though the pad looked a bit more convincing than I had expected, but when I stretched the waistband and the stitching started to fall apart, I quickly decided I wouldn't be buying the shorts.

The jersey, however, is really not that bad at all. It claimed to be made from Coolmax, a claim that I treated much like the stallholder's insistence that it was "made it Italy". However, the fabric is similar to that on other mid-range jerseys you can buy in Europe and does a surprisingly good job of keeping you cool and dry.

On a recent touring trip to France, we went through some pretty torrential downpours, and within half an hour after the rain stopped, the jersey was dry. On the hot sunny days the good breathability kept me comfortable and cool.

Like the real team jersey, it has 3 pockets on the back. These coped well with wallet, phone, keys and so on - I had thought they might start to come apart, but they didn't. Unlike the real jersey, it has a 3/4 zip instead of a full one. The seams are not flat-lock which in theory would make it less comfortable, but over 700km or so I didn't find this a problem.

One or two other details give the game away if you look closely - some of the logos don't look quite right - especially the road.cc one, which is a bit of a mess - and there are no silicon grippers inside the hem.

I bought an XL which fitted me well - it's not race-fit but was comfortable and didn't flap around too much.

The jersey has been through the wash quite a few times and survived without any bobbling or fading.

Verdict

I bought this mostly because I was amused that the road.cc argyle had made it to the fake markets on the other side of the world, but to my surprise it's really not that bad at all. It didn't fall apart after 5 minutes as I might have expected, and survived a cycle touring holiday in good shape. I haven't tried the real team kuota-road.cc kit, and I am sure that side-by-side you'd see the differences, but for a cheap jersey it's really pretty decent.

road.cc test report

Make and model: road.cc knockoff Kuota-road.cc team kit

Size tested: L

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

The goods in Chinese fake markets are increasingly aimed at foreign tourists, so the products on offer tend to mirror a slightly skewed Chinese perception of what westerners want. They've obviously picked up that people are buying replica cycling kit in Europe and the US, and hence the fakes are starting to appear.

You don't buy something like this expecting it to be the same as the real thing (or at least you shouldn't). That being so, I was pleasantly surprised at the fact that this is a pretty nice jersey to ride in.

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

Short-sleeved, 3/4 zip cycling jersey. Claimed to be made from Coolmax - I wasn't able to verify this, but it is far from the worst fabric that I've ridden in. No silicon grippers. Three fairly robust pockets (none with zips) at the back.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
7/10

Much better than I'd expected (and much better than the shorts with which it was being sold). Quality akin to a jersey from the lower end of a decent manufacturer's range.

Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10

Was very quick to dry, breathable and generally comfortable in a wide range of (summer) riding conditions.

Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10

Again, better than expected. 1000km or so and numerous washes later, it still looks almost like new.

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
7/10

Lack of flat-lock seams and silicon grippers do count against this, when compared to the real thing ... but in use neither was really a problem for me.

Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

Hard one to rate, this - the price paid was after a considerable amount of bartering (I think the price started at around £80 - rather higher than the list price for the real thing!). Given that you can pick up a passable fake football shirt for £5 in a Chinese market, £22 seemed steep ... but then it's still rather less than the real thing. In terms of what you'd pay in Europe for a similar jersey, it seems good value.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Nice styling (props, Oli), decent fit, surprising comfort and durability. Oh, and the fact that I might have the only fake road.cc jersey in the country!

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing particularly. Would have been nice if the bib shorts were better made I guess.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes, I did.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes, provided they had no moral objections to such things...

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 33  Height: 6  Weight: 81kg

I usually ride: Boardman hybrid for the daily commute  My best bike is: Fixed-conversion Eddy Merckx MX-Leader

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, commuting, touring, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,

Kuota-road.cc team kit
Kuota-road.cc
fake
China
Jez Ash

Jez spends his days making robots that drive cars but is happiest when on two wheels.  His roots are in mountain biking but he spends more time nowadays on the road, occasionally racing but more often just riding. 

Add new comment

14 comments

Avatar
smernicki | 12 years ago
0 likes

PS: I was very happy to purchase the real version of this shirt.

Avatar
Sneblot | 12 years ago
0 likes

It looks like one arm is slightly shorter then the other or is that just how the picture was taken?

Avatar
Tony Farrelly | 12 years ago
0 likes

Actually smernicki we were involved in designing that kit, it was a limited run, it was good quality clobber (much better than the imitation reviewed here) and as far as I'm aware it all sold out. Fair enough we didn't make it, or pay for it, but the people who did were paid a long time ago and no-one as far as I'm aware lost out financially. So that's why we're counting this bit imitation as flattery.

Avatar
smernicki replied to Tony Farrelly | 12 years ago
0 likes
tony_farrelly wrote:

Actually smernicki we were involved in designing that kit, it was a limited run, it was good quality clobber (much better than the imitation reviewed here) and as far as I'm aware it all sold out. Fair enough we didn't make it, or pay for it, but the people who did were paid a long time ago and no-one as far as I'm aware lost out financially. So that's why we're counting this bit imitation as flattery.

I appreciate that, and I also know that sales from kit is unlikely to be me your main source of revenue. But I think it is still legitimising counterfeit goods. You're not doing any favours to the legit manufactures for who this sort of thing is a real business damaging issue. We want to encourage investment and inovation - piracy inhibits that.

Avatar
Simon E replied to smernicki | 12 years ago
0 likes
smernicki wrote:

You're not doing any favours to the legit manufactures for who this sort of thing is a real business damaging issue. We want to encourage investment and inovation - piracy inhibits that.

Hey, relax matey! They (and we) are having a chuckle because someone has bothered to put together and sell a fake Kuota/road.cc jersey in China.

I expect you'd blame my colleague for the demise of HTC-Highroad (and maybe the recent riots) because he bought a knockoff Columbia-HTC jersey & bibs for about £30 from China. He would never have bought genuine team kit so it's not like someone else lost a sale, though I do understand your argument.

Avatar
smernicki | 12 years ago
0 likes

I think it is appalling that you are legitimizing this fake kit. It might seem like a bit of fun, but this is piracy and damaging to people who build businesses, the people they employ and the hard work they do - it puts peoples livelihoods in jeopardy. I hope that someone makes a knock off, cheap version of whatever you do for a job and sells it for less. See how you like it.
I think you should remove this from the site, let along the front page.

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the-daily-ripper | 12 years ago
0 likes

it doesn't fit you properly

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Paul J | 12 years ago
0 likes

If you paid £22 for this, then you must not have haggled! Always haggle in China, you can nearly always get at least 10% off, often a lot more! Given the prices on Ali Baba, I reckon you could have got it for closer to £12 ;).

Avatar
James Warrener | 12 years ago
0 likes

You might not be the only one if people ordered from this...
http://road.cc/content/blog/36142-you-know-your-website-has-made-it-when

oh and any excuse to post this picture from my blog last year shouldn't be wasted...

http://road.cc/content/blog/25138-hunting-bargain?quicktabs_2=1

Avatar
Mike McBeth | 12 years ago
0 likes

Hmmm ... not keen on this review.

Why you shouldn't buy fake/counterfeit goods

- A lot of fake goods fund drug dealers and other organised crime - even terrorism.
- We end up paying higher taxes because people who deal in fakes don't pay any.
- You may be putting local people/or legitimate workers out of jobs because genuine manufacturers can't compete with criminals making and selling fakes.
- Fake goods deprive the copyright owner of money that can be used to fund new developments/sponsor teams and invest in our sport.
So don't touch them!

Avatar
Tizzvak | 12 years ago
0 likes

I decided to take the gamble and buy a Garmin Cervelo replica from Singagpore via Ebay - for £25 inc postage for Shirt and bib-shorts thought it was worth the risk.
To my surprise, arrived eight days later and I was presently surprised by the result. Shirt quality sounds very similar to this one and, for £25, I have a kit I can thrash about on my mtb. No complaints so far 1

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Benjamin Hall | 12 years ago
0 likes

Finally some honesty in the cycling media about this chinese kit!

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dave atkinson | 12 years ago
0 likes

Obviously the flight to Beijing hikes the price a bit 39

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automatic_jon | 12 years ago
0 likes

I love the fact that you've reviewed this and that you've said it isn't entirely terrible.

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