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Ribble Nuovo Thermal Jersey

6
£75.00

VERDICT:

6
10
Decent three-season top that's comfy and well cut, but not quite warm or windproof enough for winter rides
Weight: 
326g

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Ribble's Nuovo jersey is a good choice for late winter and spring riding. It's not quite thick or windproof enough to be a deep-winter option, but the cut and styling are good and it's an easy top to get on with. It's good on its own in milder weather, or with a baselayer when it's colder.

  • Pros: Nicely made, comfortable
  • Cons: Not windproof

This is a pretty comfy jersey, made from a Roubaix-style stretch fabric with a soft-piled interior. It's plenty comfy enough that you can wear it without a baselayer. The cut is good – sporty without being racy – and the sizing sensible: a large fits me (1.89m, 95kg – Ash in the pics is a bit smaller than me) with room for a baselayer underneath.

Ribble Nuovo Mens Long Sleeve Thermal Jersey - riding.jpg

There's a good quality YKK zip, and the collar has a raised section around the rear to keep out draughts.

Ribble Nuovo Mens Long Sleeve Thermal Jersey - collar.jpg

You get three pockets and zip compartment at the back, elasticated arm cuffs and a silicone gripper at the bottom stop the arms and tail from riding up, and reflective tabs on the shoulders and the rear. You can also have the jersey in fluo yellow if you want to stand out a bit more; the grey is a little bit nondescript for my liking but you may disagree.

Ribble Nuovo Mens Long Sleeve Thermal Jersey - back.jpg

Out on the bike the jersey feels good: it doesn't bunch up when you're riding, there's enough length in the arms (and the cuffs are tight enough) to keep you fully covered, and the fabric is breathable enough to stop you from getting clammy when you're working hard. In the rain you can't expect a jersey made from a fairly standard material to keep you dry for too long, but this Ribble top will shrug off the odd shower, and dries pretty quickly.

Ribble Nuovo Mens Long Sleeve Thermal Jersey - sleeves.jpg

One thing it isn't, which Ribble says it is, is windproof. I would not class this as a windproof top: the industry standard suck test – trying to suck air through the fabric with your mouth – suggested that there's a bit of resistance but it's pretty easy for the wind to penetrate. This was something borne out on the road: on a cold (around freezing) road ride at pace, the Nuovo wasn't keeping enough wind out to keep me warm, even when working hard. If the mercury drops, you'll need at least a windproof gilet over the top to stay cosy.

> Buyer's Guide: 11 of the best cycling gilets

That doesn't make it a bad top: it's comfortable and good as part of a layering system. You shouldn't rely on it as your sole protection against the wind on a cold ride, though.

Overall, it's a useful top, and the breathability of the fabric and the comfort next to the skin mean that it'll still be coming out of the drawer well into the spring. We haven't had temperatures in the low teens round here of late, but I'd confidently predict this jersey on its own would be a good option for the weeks before you get your guns out.

Ribble Nuovo Mens Long Sleeve Thermal Jersey - chest.jpg

At £75 it's not expensive, but it's not the cheapest either; dhb's similar Aeron Roubaix jersey is £10 less, and B'Twin's excellent 700 Warm Long Sleeve Jersey covers about the same range of temperatures and is only £30. Stacked against those (especially the B'Twin), it starts to look a bit pricey given the performance.

Verdict

Decent three-season top that's comfy and well cut, but not quite warm or windproof enough for winter rides

road.cc test report

Make and model: Ribble Nuovo Thermal Jersey

Size tested: Large

Tell us what the product is for

Ribble says, "The new AW17 Nuovo collection brings all the best features of a winter cycling jersey into one great product. The thermal yet breathable fabric is unrestrictive and we've cut the jersey in a sporting fit that's suitable for riding or racing, road or cross!

"Crafted from Italian fabrics. Designed in England. #defywinter"

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

From Ribble:

Key Features

Thermal , breathable 4Way stretch fabric

Windproof

Water resistant

Reflective panelling

Wicking

Quick dry ventilation

Elasticated seamless breathable arm cuffs

Silicone grippers

YKK zipper

Three reinforced rear pockets

Reflective rear zipped valuables pocket

Fibre Comp

Multi filament Polyester 63% Polyester 37%

Care Guide

Machine wash at 30C

Wash with colours

Do not tumble dry

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
6/10

Good in milder winter weather but not one for deep winter as an outer layer.

Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10

Washes well, fabric can snag but it's not too bad.

Rate the product for fit:
 
8/10

Good cut, covers the right areas without bunching.

Rate the product for sizing:
 
8/10

Sensibly sized.

Rate the product for comfort:
 
8/10

Easy to get on with.

Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

Not bad value, doesn't stand out either; similar options can be had for quite a bit less.

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

Wash at 30°C, comes out looking good.

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

So long as you're not depending on it to be windproof, pretty well.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

It's comfy and will be versatile though autumn and spring.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Ribble say it's windproof, and it isn't.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes, except when I got cold that time.

Would you consider buying the product? Maybe as a spring/autumn layer.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? As above.

Use this box to explain your overall score

It's a decent jersey, though it's not quite what Ribble says it is.

Overall rating: 6/10

About the tester

Age: 44  Height: 189cm  Weight: 94kg

I usually ride: whatever I'm testing...  My best bike is: Kinesis Tripster ATR, Kinesis Aithein

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo-cross, commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mountain biking, Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling, track

Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.

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1 comments

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captain_slog | 6 years ago
0 likes

I think it looks rather fine, as does the mauve of the women's version.

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