Endura M90 Graphic Short Sleeve LTD Jersey

With its M90 Graphic Short Sleeve Limited Edition jersey (M90 refers to the eye-catching design), Endura shows it hasn't lost sight of achieving high performance and comfort in the pursuit of striking looks.

High-vis camouflage wear must be some kind of post-modernist joke that people of my generation aren't supposed to understand. At first I wondered how it would look if I got knocked off my bike wearing this, and what the other guy's lawyer would have to say; but far from making you invisible, this is pretty well unmissable and definitely a kit for the extroverts among us. All those isosceleses, instead of softening the edges, are as shards in the eye of the observer. Then the acid-green of the arm grippers and pocket stripes burns into the wounds. I was glad to be riding in it, rather than looking at it.

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According to Endura, the jersey is made to the same specifications as the kit ridden by the Movistar team, and the whole is finished to a high standard. There's nothing particularly unusual about the panelling and construction: tidy double-stitching with generous zig-zags to keep it all flat.

It's not flatlock stitched, something I've noticed with a few designs this year – perhaps the feedback to manufacturers is that there's no noticeable increase in comfort so they're keeping costs down by leaving it out. There was no rubbing or pressure anywhere in the garment. On the contrary, you could forget you were wearing it.

I like the Lycra sleeves, which are long and close-fitting and have no hems. A centimetre or so of fine, rubber coating around the inside holds everything in place. They worked very well over arm warmers, too.

At the neck, there's a more conventional hem, designed to provide a glimpse of the high-vis trim that lines the collar internally. Though the zip-pull has no port to park it in, it didn't press or scratch and it has a good-sized tab. There's an attempt at making the zip invisible down the front of the garment, but the fabric doesn't quite meet in the middle and resulted in the zip looking a bit lumpy, perhaps the least satisfactory element of the M90.

There are four pockets instead of the regular three – the right-hand one is on the side-panel and made of mesh, perhaps to improve air circulation around your banana. It means you have no larger central pocket so check that your choice of packable jacket will fit in. You have to look behind to see how securely these are stitched in, with T-shaped reinforcement at the tops where the strain is greatest.

At the waist, Endura plumps for an elasticated hem over the increasingly common silicone gripper (whatever the description says), and I found this worked just as securely and with no compromise on comfort.

The polyester fabric has plenty of stretch, mostly in the width but also some in length. In the large size I tested, the overall fit was close. Heavier-built riders than I am might find this getting on for skin-tight. Also, the side panels had a tendency to stretch a bit diagonally, which may have something to do with my appalling posture, but no attempt at standing straight really changed this. It didn't affect the comfort at all.

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The light weight and close fit suggest this garment is aiming at the same warm-summer riding as the Santini Tono I tested recently. It's a mere 9g heavier, and though not as see-through ventilated, it's proven dry and breathable on some long days out (admittedly, temperatures above 15°C have not been available). It also seems rather more robust, with no pulls or snags so far – and it's £10 cheaper.

Once I got over the shock of the look, I really enjoyed wearing this jersey and would recommend it from a fit and performance point of view. It comes in a couple of other designs, including a stealthy 'Cubitex' black/grey geometric, and each comes with matching shorts (review to come) and socks.

Verdict

You won't be overlooked in this striking limited edition jersey, but you will be comfortable