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review
Torm armwarmers£15.00
VERDICT:
Soft Roubaix arm warmers that provide good insulation and stay in place just fine
Weight:
87g
Contact:
www.torm.cc
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.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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Most arm warmers fall into one of two categories. On the one hand – or arm – you’ve got your skinny ones for milder temperatures, and on the other you’ve got your thicker Roubaix ones for colder days. These fall into the second group.
The fleece backing of the 80% nylon, 20% Lycra fabric adds a useful amount of warmth. These aren't windproof but we’ve been wearing them on autumn rides when the temperature gets down to about 10°C or so. Any lower than that and there’s no chance that we’re going to expose any skin even on the toughest climbs, so we just opt for a long-sleeved base layer and a jersey instead – although, of course, your body might have different thermostat settings.
The fabric is very stretchy so you get a snug fit without much creasing around the elbow, it shifts moisture away from your skin well, and it dries really quickly. All good. The silicone rubber band inside the elasticated arm gripper holds the top in place effectively even when you start to sweat, and the subtle white-on-white logo is embroidered so it’s not going to start peeling off after a few washes. Oh, and while we’re on the subject of washing, these go through the machine just fine and you stick them in the tumble dryer too.
Torm go for standard rather than flatlock seams but you hardly move your arms when you're cycling so it's not like the little ridges are ever going to chafe like they can on some leg warmers.
The only other thing to mention is the styling and on that front – let’s call a spade a spade – with a 3cm-wide white band running down the outside, these look a lot like Rapha’s arm warmers. And they’re available in white with a black stripe too, just as Rapha’s are.
But hey, we guess most arm warmers look pretty similar and the basic design has been around for donkey's years. These arm warmers work well and they come with a reasonable price tag, so no complaints there.
Verdict
Soft Roubaix arm warmers that provide good insulation and stay in place just fine
road.cc test report
Make and model: Torm Arm Warmers
Size tested: Black, size II
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?
Torm say, "Arm warmers – the clue is in the name! Really taking the bite out of the wind they are an indispensable part of any rider’s kit list. If the weather is at all in question pop these on and your arms are encased in cosy Roubaix fabric instantly warming you up and eliminating all excuses for turning back."
Some arm warmers come with windproof panels – these don't. Essentially, they're tubes of fleecy Roubaix fabric that provide decent insulation. Simple.
Rate the product for quality of construction:
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
7/10
Rate the product for durability:
7/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
8/10
Rate the product for value:
9/10
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
About the tester
Age: 40 Height: 190cm Weight: 74kg
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: triathlon, commuting, sportives, general fitness riding
Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.
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16 comments
I have products from Rapha, Shutt (hi Pete!
) and also Torm.
I am subjective (about as much as I am objective)...
I like to weigh the pro's and cons of just about everything I purchase...If I have money and want a treat 'I'll buy Rxxxx', because I can...It doesn't make me a better cyclist/person or indeed a 'knob' that has succumbed to a (very good) marketing strategy...
If I buy Shutt...it's because I know it works and (for me) is way better value for money than Rxxxx and equally as stylish and functional.
If I buy Torm it's because, again, it's better VFM and equally as stylish, functional as the other two.
Torm use Sportwool, just as the other two companies do. To manufacture a cycling top in that material, usually means that it's not going to be emblazoned with 'lycra-esque' prints etc....so similarities (infringements??) are bound to arise
Rapha/Shutt sponsor/equip race teams...who's to say that Torm, once they've found a niche, built up a reputation for themselves won't be 'putting' anything back into the sport..business is business...
it's like PC vs Mac...you use one or the other...but sometimes people do use both....
or McDonald and BK..they look similar...but often the end product is entirely different. So it is with these 3 manufacturers...and if you want an unbiased opinion of the TORM Jersey/Armwarmers...go over to Shutt VR and read my write up...
SJ.
I have 20/20 vision and I can spot a pirate when I see one and I will steer clear of Torm like an oil tanker off the Somalian coast.
I am long enough in the tooth to realise Rapha do not run the team and events for altruism for the cycling community.
I also know that if Rapha and condor chose to advertise their products in a different way, Downing would not be with Sky and a dozen guys would be looking for another team.
Also the Tour Series around Britain may not have happened, having found inspiration in the Nocturne Series, one of the best nights out in London; which can't be bad considering the amount of stuff to do in the World's greatest city.
Perhaps you should use the soap on your rear quarters as you are clearly talking out of your behind.
LOL
LOL, I couldn't give a monkeys about TORM or the arm warmers. It was just your comment about companies giving back to the sport that got my back up and made me wonder your motives - I stand corrected and bow to your greater knowledge.
Such modesty does your impeccable character no justice.
Do you work in the theatre? The pantomime season is almost upon us.
..and no I don't work for any of them.....however I do have a hand in the PC/Mac processor market and have been known to overindulge in the'Hamburger industry'
Pretty much everyone who puts money into professional cycling teams is doing it to advertise their brand, whether it's Transitions flogging more lenses or SunGard flogging more, erm. I don't really see how that reflects badly on Rapha. The point being made surely is that they are doing it rather than not doing it. To give the ad budget to a cycling team over, say, a big print ad in the Times is surely supporting the sport, no matter whether it turns out to be a good investment or not?
I bet Rapha fans are getting more hot under the (pink trim) collar about these 'ripoffs' than the company themselves.
Get a grip, it's just a pair of armwarmers. If it makes you happy to buy Rapha, buy Rapha. But the world won't stop turning if you don't.
Have you ever thought why Rapha sponsor the Nocturne and a Racing Team etc??
Maybe because they have money to burn, maybe they just fancy doing it.
Or
Maybe they understand the value of marketing at their target market.
When did you have to put into the sport to make a product related to the sport. Most companies sponsor Events Teams whatever primarily to increase their sales, brand exposure not for the love of the sport.
I've never posted on here cos I've never felt the need to but your comment got be so annoyed.
What a load of bull. Rapha make great products but you've got to be a fool if you don't think they set up a team for marketing purposes and marketing purposes alone. The black and white Rapha billboards cycling round globe are just that - 'billboards'. If there was not pay pack from the team then the team team would not exist.
You clearly work for Shutt or are just another Rapha bimbo who thinks that Rapha was setup as a gift to cycling. They want to make money and that is it. Rapha is funded by investors who want to make money - simple and fair play to them for that but they just make stuff to sell. You could try using some of Rapha's 'cycling soap'
http://www.rapha.cc/rapha-soap
to give you a clearer vision of the world.
SJ
SJ - Oh no he doesn't...
I am pretty sure he is a customer of ours, is there something wrong with people liking us/our kit and not being an employee..?
Pete from Shutt...
Nought wrong with that Pete there was however an alternative option in my suggestion! Nice brand plug though!
Not trying to plug, just being upfront and honest about who/where I'm from and putting the record straight on winprint and his/her opinions..
I find paying for ads on road.cc works better
Pete
Hey SJ - One post defending Torm so you clearly work for Torm then?
Love FG - who works for Nike in the US before she gets accused of working for anyone else!
Fair point Fixie
Rapha rip off.
Wouldnt buy on the basis Torm put nothing back into the sport and are selling on the back of Rapha's years of marketing, building a race team, the Nocturnes ect.
If you want a cheaper option at least go for Shutt, who don't copy anyone.
Rapha has been around for all of... ooh less than 10 years. Why do you think they go on so much about heritage ?
Cycling was here before Rapha and it will be here after Rapha, as will sponsors and people flogging stuff and occasionally combining the two.
If Rapha make products that people think are worth buying then they will do fine. If the first time a cheaper lookalike comes along everyone goes and buys it then the market is telling them something about their product and pricing.
I sense that some people (perhaps not you Winprint) who are being vocal about rip-offs are perhaps also concerned that the subtle Rapha touches won't be noticed.
What if someone should confuse a person with £15 arm warmers with someone wearing genuine Rapha... the horror, the horror.
Buy it because you like it, you can afford it and it performs a function, not because it's f**king Rapha.