Gore Bike Wear Power Thermo Jersey

Gore Bike Wear’s Power Thermo is a straightforward jersey that provides good winter insulation in a stylish, well-made package.

It’s made from a nylon/elastane mix – a medium weight with a soft, brushed backing that adds plenty of warmth. The white areas down the middle of the back and on parts of the arms are actually a little denser than the black sections. That seems the wrong way around to me, although in use you’d be hard pressed to tell much difference between the contrasting panels. Neither fabric is windproof, but they are both highly breathable and provide good insulation.

While not quite as slim as the Xenon Thermo, the Power Thermo is cut close, and it’s very stretchy so you can go for a snug fit without it feeling tight. The body is long and the slightly extended back comes with a rubber-strand gripper to prevent it riding up. It looks a bit old-fashioned – most manufacturers now use a strip of silicone rubber instead – but it does the job well enough.

I found the sleeves long. If you’re short of limb you might be pushing them up a bit, although the plus side is that you’re never going to get a gap between the cuff and your glove. The neck is high and close fitting too, and the full-length zip comes with a fold-over chinguard at the top to, well, guard your chin. The zip is a good one from YKK that locks in place, the only possible issue being that the diddy puller is sometimes hard to grasp in thick winter gloves.

The three pockets in the lower back are nice and stretchy so you can stow a waterproof away just in case, and while it’s fairly subtle in daylight, reflective piping on both the front and rear adds useful visibility at night.

That’s about it as far as features go: the Power Thermo is a pretty simple top, albeit a versatile one. I was wearing it on top of a short-sleeved base layer at the start of autumn, then with a long-sleeved base as the weather got colder. Now we’re into full-on winter it has become a mid-layer underneath a windproof. It has performed well throughout – not breaking down any boundaries but providing a good mix of warmth and breathability.

Just one warning: the white back panel on mine has got dirty quite quickly from riding on damp British roads, so go for a different colour option. It’s also available in red/black, yellow/black, blue/black and white/black.

Other than that, £70 is quite expensive for a fairly basic jersey, although the build-quality is high all round.

Verdict

Fairly pricy for straightforward winter insulation, but this is a versatile top and the build quality is high