Lusso Trofeo Long Sleeved Jersey

In a world awash with hyperbolic marketing claims about what a jersey can do for your cycling ability – improve speed, moisture management, attractiveness to the opposite/same sex – the Lusso Trofeo Long Sleeved Jersey stands out as the most hidden light around. It does the job, looks the part, and for 60 quid represents fabulous value.

There are very few cycling brands that can claim their products are made in Britain, and Manchester-based Lusso is one, since 1982. 

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The Trofeo is its long-sleeved full-zip jersey with three deep pockets at the back and a zipped valuables pocket large enough to fit an iPhone 5 in its protective case. Result. With ever-larger phones about it amazes me brands don't actually try to reflect real-world use cases with things like, erm, phones in real-world use cases.

The Trofeo is available in two colours – the black tested, and green, which looks like yellow on my monitor, certainly one for the high-vis acolytes. I really, really like the styling – it looks quite the business and, to my mind, a lot more expensive than the £59.99 price tag would suggest.

Fit-wise it's snug. I'm what my wife calls 'skinny' – 6ft tall with 37in chest, 33in waist – and the medium fits like a glove as per the Lusso sizing chart (it's not me in the photos). It rates medium up another 2-3in so expect 'rather snug' if you're at the higher end of the range.

Huge bonus points are awarded for the sleeves – my Ape Index of 1.04 means my arm span is 4in longer than my height, and the cuffs still reach my wrist joint and don't ride up on the bike.

For £60 you can't expect fabrication miracles, and there are no flatlocked seams, and no zip garage or headphone port in the pockets. I always wore a baselayer underneath, so I can't attest to whether the uncovered zip edge or seams would irritate after a while. With the rise of mesh layers for heat control instead of warmth maybe this is now irrelevant, and given that it's a winter jersey, maybe it's always meant to go over a base.

Rounding out the tech detail, there's a reflective sew-in on the bottom of the centre pocket, and silicone gripper hem. The inside of the MT.1 fabric has a Roubaix fleece feel. It purports to be designed for 'high moisture transfer keeping you cool and saving energy to ride longer'.

So it's a jersey meant for cooler days, and to handle moisture. And it delivers.

On two to four-hour, 80% max heart rate efforts, the Trofeo was very comfortable – in temperatures of 7-9°C with a thin mesh baselayer underneath I didn't need to ventilate with the zip at all. Wearing a thicker 150gsm merino layer on a very windy 10°C Strava Personal Record fest working at the same effort I was warm, but again not uncomfortable by putting the zip to use on hills.

> Check out our guide to the best winter cycling jerseys here

As winter set in, slower rides at 2-7°C with the merino and a gilet meant cool arms for the first 10 miles or so, but the proof is in the finger pudding. I suffer awfully from cold hands, yet the Trufeo kept the chill at bay just enough (even with the thickest gloves in the world you can still get cold hands if your arms aren't warm enough).

All in all, the Lusso Trofeo delivers in style, and at a price half that of the competition that work no better. Testing a similar-spec jersey costing over twice as much, around the same time of year, I found myself preferring the Trofeo. A real result for a made-in-the UK product, and at a sensible price.

Verdict

One of the best cool-weather long-sleeved tops out there for the money – and good looking too