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Chapeau! Club Jersey

8
£69.99

VERDICT:

8
10
A nice looking jersey, with some good material and design choices from the British company
Weight: 
151g

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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The Chapeau! Club Jersey brings together great styling, fit and performance into one reasonably priced package, although it would be nice to have a zip pocket and silicone gripper.

The Club is Chapeau!'s lightweight jersey offering, designed for hot weather rides but also incorporating some aero elements.

> Buy this online here

As with all hot weather clothing, the most important element is heat management and wicking. Here the jersey is pretty good: while doing 100km in 28°C heat I found that, although I was certainly sweating, it was wicked away and you could feel a breeze running through the fabric at higher speed. This comes from a good choice of fabrics, with the front and back using a relatively porous (and slightly see-through) material that allows a breeze through without letting in enough sun to burn your skin.

Chapeau! Club Jersey - riding.jpg

The well-made full-length YKK zipper also came in very useful for additional venting when the heat really began to climb.

Chapeau! Club Jersey - chest.jpg

This heat management is good for comfort, and other elements in the jersey help here too, with a label-less design meaning there is little to chafe against. Chapeau! hasn't used flatlock stitching, but in the 50+ hours I had this jersey on my back over the review period I didn't notice any discomfort.

Chapeau! Club Jersey - back.jpg

It's a close-fitting jersey, more aero than casual – especially the longer sleeves – although it's not what you would traditionally call an aero design. The medium I reviewed sized up well and as I would expect from a British kit manufacturer – I'm large in Italian/performance gear and medium in most others, so this seems about right.

Chapeau! Club Jersey - sleeve.jpg

It's a good looking jersey, with the raglan sleeves giving it a strong shape, combined with the retro styling and contrasting sleeve cuffs. There is also a nod to visibility with the 50p sized Chapeau! button on the back made of a reflective material, which helps slightly in low light.

Chapeau! Club Jersey - pockets.jpg

At £69.99 it's a good price for the quality, and about where I would expect it to sit on the scale. Chapeau! has invested well in the materials, but it does lack some modern details you'll find in more expensive jerseys, such as a zip garage at the top of the zip, silicone gripper on the hem, and a zippable pocket in addition to the three already on the rear. None of these really impact on day-to-day use, but they would still be nice to have. With no silicone gripper it rode up a little when nothing was in the pockets, but nothing too major.

> Buyer's Guide: 15 of the best summer jerseys

All in, I really like this jersey. It looks great, wicks moisture well and manages heat adequately thanks to the good choice of material, but to take it to the next level I'd like to see some of those more common modern trappings included.

Verdict

A nice looking jersey, with some good material and design choices from the British company

road.cc test report

Make and model: Chapeau! Club Jersey

Size tested: Medium

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?

A mid-range lightweight jersey with classic design features.

Chapeau! says: 'Available in five colourways, the Club jersey features a bold chest stripe detail and contrasting sleeve cuffs. Inspired by classic jerseys and presented in modern moisture wicking, breathable fabric that performs when you do.'

Sounds about right.

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

Chapeau! lists these features:

Climate Control

Lightweight

Moisture wicking

Reflective

Slim fitting

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10

Well made, and a good choice of materials with a degree of stretch certainly helps.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

Performed very well throughout, offering good wicking and breathability.

Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10

Seems well made, although given that it's a lightweight jersey the material is thinner than others.

Rate the product for fit:
 
8/10

Nice on the arms, and a bit of stretch in the fabric means it fits well.

Rate the product for sizing:
 
8/10

Pretty much as I would expect a British brand medium to fit.

Rate the product for weight:
 
7/10

At 151g it's not going to weigh you down too much on a climb.

Rate the product for comfort:
 
8/10

Very comfortable thanks to the heat management and lack of internal labels.

Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

About what I would expect to pay for something of this quality, but it is lacking a few details for £70.

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

Easy to care for, put through several 30-degree washes without incident.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Performed well, allowed a decent air flow and wicked moisture well.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

It is a really good looking jersey, with clean lines and decent cut.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Would be nice to have a few more modern trimmings, like silicone gripper on the hem and a zip pocket.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your score

A good looking and practical jersey that does what it needs to very well.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 29  Height: 6 ft  Weight:

I usually ride: Mercian King of Mercia or Cinelli Gazzetta  My best bike is: Cannondale Supersix Evo

I've been riding for: 5-10 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mountain biking

George is the host of the road.cc podcast and has been writing for road.cc since 2014. He has reviewed everything from a saddle with a shark fin through to a set of glasses with a HUD and everything in between. 

Although, ironically, spending more time writing and talking about cycling than on the bike nowadays, he still manages to do a couple of decent rides every week on his ever changing number of bikes.

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