Parentini is an Italian cycle clothing brand started back in 1976 and based in Pisa, and once supplied clothing for Giuseppe Saronni, who won the world cycling championship in 1982 held at Goodwood along with Milan-San Remo and stages of the Giro d’Italia.
The clothing company have been busy recently and have just revealed their latest autumn and winter jersey, the Mossa, a top designed for temperatures from zero to 15 degrees with a wind and waterproof fabric. That should cover just about the full range of typical UK winter cycling conditions.
The Mossa is constructed from a Windtex Membrane fabric, with two external layers sandwiching the membrane designed to provide the necessary breathability to avoid overheating. It’s completely windproof and, thanks to a Hydro treatment, is waterproof too.
It’s designed to fit like a jersey so is snug and close-fitting. It’s high at the front and dropped at the rear to work well in a race bike position. The fabric is lightweight and the high stretch factor helps with the fit, and Parentini have opted not to seal the seams, taking the slight compromise in total waterproofness, for the higher stretch the regular seams allow.
Parentini offer a suggested guide for dressing with the Mossa. They say it’s best suited to riders that ride at a steady average riding speed, the insulation relies on the rider producing plenty of heat, and can be worn over just a base layer.
Sounds a bit like the ever-popular Gabba from Castelli doesn’t it? Parentini don’t deny that they have followed in the footsteps of the iconic jersey. They’re not the first though, and they probably won’t be the last. Though there are clear similarities of intended purpose, Parentini are keen to stress that the Mossa differs in that they claim it offers more protection and is completely waterproof. They also claim the Windtex fabric is four times more stretchy than other fabrics.
We’ve got a Mossa jersey winging its way to us now so we can find out how it performs, and we’ll be comparing it to the Gabba. An interesting aside, the Danish national team use Parentini clothing with Matti Breschel finishing 4th at the recent world championship road race wearing the Italian clothing.
The Mossa is available now in black or flouro yellow, and costs £150 with short sleeves and £175 with long sleeves. Sizes include XS to XXXL. More info at www.parentini.com/pagina.php?IDmenu=154&IDarticolo=414
David has worked on the road.cc tech team since July 2012. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds.