Cannondale Performance 2 Jersey

The Cannondale Performance 2 Jersey is a good polyester top for summer riding, although it's lacking in standout features.

This jersey is made from the same fabric throughout. It's a medium weight by summer jersey standards, picking up sweat from your body pretty well and drying out fairly quickly. You don't get any mesh areas to improve the breathability and I'd prefer that for very hot weather, but for most UK summer days this fabric does a sound job.

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It's made to what Cannondale call their 'Semi Fitted' style, which is medium tightness, sitting between 'Fitted' and 'Relaxed Fit'. The idea is that "although not as aggressively streamlined as the Fitted, the Semi Fitted still provides the trim silhouette of traditional cycling wear".

I'd agree with that. I found it to be close fitting but not super-slim (that's not me modelling it, by the way). There's not much lengthways give to the fabric – which means the back doesn't sag too much when you have the pockets full – but there's plenty across the width so this jersey will stretch to fit a range of different builds comfortably.

I'd say that I've got medium sized arms for a cyclist and I found the sleeves just about close-fitting enough. If you have skinny biceps, you might get a bit of unwanted flapping there. That's not a good look.

I always wear a base layer, but if you go without then the seams are flat enough that you won't be bothered by them, and the raglan shoulders add to the comfort.

The zip is full length so you can open it right up to let the air flow in on hot climbs. If you want the front just partly open, the puller locks in place when you flip it down so it'll stay exactly where you position it without misbehaving.

You get the three standard pockets in the lower back, the tops of them slightly elasticated to keep all your precious things from ejecting out onto the road. There's a little reflective trim back there too. It all helps.

Although the bottom hem is elasticated, there's no gripper inside and I found that the rear could ride up a bit if I didn't have anything heavy in the rear pockets to help hold it in place.

The graphics are sublimated so they're there for good; they won't crack or fade in the wash. The branding is limited to just a few Cs so it won't look out of place if you ride this on a non-Cannondale bike.

All-in-all, this summer jersey puts in a solid performance, although it doesn't come with any outstanding features to set it apart from the crowd.

Verdict

A good polyester jersey, but lacking in any standout features