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review
£130.00
VERDICT:
Extremely well fitting and comfortable jersey, perfect for autumn rides as a top layer, and a middle layer on colder days
Weight:
210g
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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- Very Good
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- Bad
- Appalling
Rapha's Pro Team Long Sleeve jersey uses a slightly thicker fabric than the Pro Team short sleeve jersey on which it is based, making it an ideal accompaniment for cool autumn rides over a base layer, and to provide insulation on colder days when worn under a jacket.
The Pro Team Long Sleeve jersey provides an exceptionally good fit, and that is really its biggest appeal. I'm always struggling to get really good fitting jerseys that don't have any excess fabric to flap in the wind and slow you down, and the Rapha jersey measures up to my demands with admirable perfection. But it's definitely cut on the close side, with a tight fit around the torso and arms, so be careful when you're sizing. It's available in sizes from XS to XXL; I found the size small I tested equivalent to similar offerings from Sportful and Assos.
It's made from proprietary polyester/elastane fabric, soft next to the skin, and it has a good deal of stretch, benefitting the fit and comfort. Importantly, it provides a good level of insulation for colder autumn rides when worn over a short sleeve base layer. Rapha says it's a thicker fabric than the short sleeve Pro Team jersey, but it's still very thin and lightweight. That means it covers temperatures ranging roughly from about 7 to 15 degrees just fine. When it gets colder a gilet or jacket will be desirable.
There is no wind resistance in the fabric, so on really brisk windy days with the temperature in single digits, you might want to slip on a lightweight windproof gilet to give you a bit more protection, especially for the first hour of an early morning ride. Come the winter and its colder temperatures, you'll want to sling on a jacket of some description to match whatever conditions you're cycling in.
As well as the unparalleled fit, breathability is where the jersey really excels. You can ride as hard as you like in the current temperatures and you'll struggle to stifle yourself with excess heat buildup. After a three-hour brisk tempo ride over the weekend in a range of temperatures, heading north of 15 degrees, the jersey remained impressively dry despite the high exertion level.
It's a well equipped jersey. There are three capacious rear pockets and on the inside of one pocket is a small zipped pocket, just large enough to keep your house or car keys safe. Also on the rear pockets are reflective bars, along with a couple on the front too.
The Pro Team Long Sleeve jersey is unashamedly a race fit jersey designed for racing snakes wanting a versatile jersey good for autumn as a top layer and colder winter days as a mid-layer. It's a fine alternative for a short sleeve and arm warmer approach, with a bit more warmth that largely negates the need for a gilet when it's not so cold.
Then there is the colour. Where did this green come from? Rapha have to be commended for introducing a new palette of colours to cycling over the years, and while they're certainly not the first to do green, it's a fine addition to the range and a colourful alternative to the more conservative black and blue colour options. It's certainly a colour that'll have you standing out on the road.
Yes it's expensive, and there are more affordable offerings that provide similar performance, if not quite matching the excellent fit. It's also extremely well made, is very durable and every detail has been really well throughout, leaving very little to find fault with.
If you want a comparison, the best fitting jersey I've tested that trumps the Pro Team jersey on price is the Howies Cadence long sleeve jersey, which offers similar insulation properties. The Rapha jersey offers more usable and accessible pockets, the fit is that little bit better around the neck and shoulders, and the colour choices are far more appealing.
Verdict
Extremely well fitting and comfortable jersey, perfect for autumn rides as a top layer, and a middle layer on colder days
road.cc test report
Make and model: Rapha Long Sleeve Pro Team Jersey
Size tested: Small, Green
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?
With a new fabric and refined front panel construction for an improved fit, the long sleeve version of the Pro Team Jersey is made from a heavier weight fabric than the summer version.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Proprietary, high-stretch fabric
Race fit with low-cut collar and high stretch cuffs for comfort
Moisture wicking and bonded seams
Reflective bars on rear pocket and front panel
Three durable rear pockets
Zipped internal valuables pocket
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
9/10
Rate the product for durability:
9/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
9/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
9/10
Rate the product for value:
7/10
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
For cool autumn days it's a good top layer with very good breathability, and when it gets colder it go under a jacket just nicely.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The fit is perfect, and the high breathability of the fabric makes it good for brisk rides.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.
Would you consider buying the product? Yes.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.
Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?
The Pro Team Long Sleeve jersey is unashamedly a race fit jersey designed for racing snakes wanting a versatile jersey good for autumn as a top layer and colder winter days as a mid-layer. It's a fine alternative to a short sleeve and arm warmer approach, with a bit more warmth that largely negates the need for a gilet when it's not so cold.
About the tester
Age: 31 Height: 180 Weight: 67
I usually ride: 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: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, touring, mtb,
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. 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, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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Add new comment
18 comments
Tight fitting or what. If it was priced at £1:25 I would still look like a badly stuffed sausage.
Why on earth do people spend money on Rapha stuff... Someone with a higher than usual personal sense of importance, i would say. Try Decathlon and donate some money to charity...This is made for 7 quid, if that.
Decathlon!? God you must have a big ego - buying your cycling gear from a fancy French sports store. Do you think you're a pro athlete or something? Try Lidl and donate some money to charity....or is shopping in a 'normal' store like the rest of us beneath you, Mr Fancypants?
Personally I think this jersey is only for a handful of guys. But if you want to use this for cooler rides then I don't think I will be buying this one.
The whole point of long sleeve is for cooler weather. During October this year with big varying temp from 8C in the morning to 15-17C in the afternoon or evening causes a need to be more versatile. So you probably better off with a short sleeve Merino blend jersey and with arm warmer.
When the weather is constantly below 10C morning or night then the long sleeve pro jersey is then not adequate even with a merino base layer. You will need to have a wind breaker on top of the long pro jersey. In the rapha range I find the long sleeve sports wool jersey paired with merino base-layer is adequate for rides 7C above with moderate to fast paced riding. Provided you wear warm tights.
So in all I don't find this jersey to be really functional because of the material used. It is neither for hot weather or colder weather and not versatile enough.
This green is such an ugly color and I thought Rapha is about style but this year they've gone completely off tangent.
Shame because I really like their products so far and have full wardrobe of them especially found of the high vis pink and the bright orange.
Your comfortable temperature ranges may (nee will) be different to the next rider and the next and the next and so on. Just because it doesn't work for you....
Hmm you didn't quite get the point.
But hey who cares. Its your money.
I've got this jersey - fits in line with other Rapha tops (merino / pro team short sleeve jersey, and pro team jacket) - I wear a small, am 5'8" and 61kg. Agree with all the points in the review and would recommend (usual caveats about price, cheaper alternatives are available)...although do bear in mind that it is a polyester or similar fabric, and after a decent ride it definitely lets you know odour-wise! Buy one of their classic series Merino tops for something that resists odour better.
I own the black pro team jacket which is superb - if a little long in the sleeves. Not sure who modelled for it - a pro gibbon perhaps...
Can't buy anything flourescent though. Orange, yellow, pink or green. Nope. None of them. Sorry - but no. I want to ride the roads - not look
like I work on them. But hi vis is safer and it's up to me to be seen! Safer? Hmmmmm. If it allows drivers to see me a little earlier and by doing so brake a little later then that isn't progress for me.
Call me old fashioned but I want drivers to drive cautiously and slowly - expecting to find a cyclist dressed in black, or a pedestrian in brown or a horse wearing no hi vis at all around every corner.
Well, you may be old fashioned, but you are also silly.
Wishful thinking about motorists won't change their driving behaviour or help them see you as early wearing black as when wearing flourescent and hi-viz.
Still, you're not wrong. It's up to you to decide that you'd rather wear stealth black.
I like Green I don't think £125 is too expensive and i admire some things Rapha do, but when did any of you loons ever see a pro cyclist with fabric rippling over his chest and stomach on a race bike ? as the whole article is about the amazing fit I can only guess the writer has just moved to this from a flour sack? the main pic and the back pockets look appalling flappy and baggy the only image it looks a good fit is when stood upright (freezing by the looks of the pic) so there you have it clearly perfect fit is "designed for using at the coffee shop" which makes the word pro, the colour green and £125 seem a little silly........ now get that man a coffee before his nipples break free
I was checking this out in the shop the other day. It did seem to me, albeit without trying it on or putting it through a testing scenario, to be quite a thin jersey. The reviewer makes comment on this and I think I would not want to wear this much lower than 8-10 degrees (depending on base layers). Rapha's long sleeve pro jacket has been made for lower temperatures.
Yes it is quite thin, and is for milder days or when riding at a very brisk tempo. You can't compare it with the Pro Team jacket, but you could wear that jacket over the top of the jersey, and treat the jersey it as a mid-layer. The other option when it's not that cold is to throw a gilet over the top, so you get more wind protection on the torso, but good breathability on the arms
I'm disappointed.
After giving us colours with inspirational names like "Chartreuse", "Bordeaux," "CoolBlack" and "Armagnac in June", this new Green jersey offering just shows where Rapha are cutting corners and trading on brand heritage. It's not right.
To be fair I'm not a fan of the green. It does seem a bit of an abuse of their customers to change the colours so they cannot get the matching kit piece. But should customers expect anything less?
Seems a bit of a bargain compared to some of the stuff reviewed recently...
brilliant jersey, well made, awesome fit.
now come on lidl warriors... i can start you off
HOW M....
I'll dive in with a positive
The first incarnation of this jersey was a bit meh. The pockets sagged, I found the sleeves way too loose and long and the neck was designed badly – not very race cut compared to the rest of the PT range. It was a bet of a let-down compared to all the other quality Rapha kit I own (hate me). It didn’t get much wear and was sold on. I took another punt on this newly designed version and was pleasantly surprised to find that all the issues I’d had with the previous model had been addressed. It’s now a top bit of kit!
Stand by!