Swrve Wander Over Shirt

The Swrve Wander Over Shirt is a very stylish, practical and bike-friendly top for cool-weather easy rides, as well as daily kicking about. Smart enough for 'work' but very at home in the pub or cafe with a great on-bike fit, it's an instant classic.

If you want to ride to work in comfort and style, check out our guide to the best cycling clothes for commuting.

> Buy now: Swrve Wander Over Shirt for £135 from Swrve 

As people look to integrate less driving and more cycling into their lives, there comes a point when you realise that for some applications you need a more bike-friendly wardrobe to help arrive looking sharp and comfortable. I'm not talking about half-day sub-maximal efforts on a road bike, or muddy splatterfests. I mean riding maybe five miles along a path to meet friends for a pint, or a commute on an e-bike, or the school cargo-bike run. Maybe a half-day seaside path adventure with your non-cycling-mad Significant Other, who doesn't want to be seen riding alongside a tightly wrapped Belisha beacon of obvious bikeyness.

For this sort of caper you need gear that doesn't scream CYCLIST, but has features that make cycling more enjoyable. And yet is perfectly good – and good looking – at the rest of 'life'. This is the need the Wander Over Shirt is here to meet.

Swrve was founded in Los Angeles in 2005, with a focus on 'stylish, strong and functional clothing that would perform as well on a bike as in an office, out at a bar, or exploring the diverse terrain all around'. Lots of boxes ticked there then.

The Wander Over Shirt is what you might call a 'shacket' – heavier than a shirt and windproof/water-resistant, but not full-on waterproof/hooded garb. Thrown over a short- or long-sleeved shirt, it blends in and adds a layer of warmth and protection that is often all that's required.

It's cut longer to protect your bum from a bit of spray or rain, but not so long as to look out of place when standing up.

The fabric is a nylon-spandex mix that has four-way stretch to easily move with you as you bend over on a bike or twist and reach during daily activity. It's treated with a finish that sees water bead off – so light showers aren't an issue.

The inside is lined with a soft terry-faced cloth making it comfortable against the skin if worn over a T-shirt.

Details

Fastenings at the front, pockets and cuffs are quality YKK poppers – not a zip in sight – making for safe and fast one-handed on-bike adjustment. The cuffs and forearm split are generous, so it's easy to open or roll up the sleeves for ventilation.

Speaking of which, there are laser-cut ventilation holes at the armpits for a bit more breeze and to encourage airflow.

Pockets abound, but don't look outlandish. The two breast pockets will fit a large phone, and inside the left pocket there's a pen holder with a wee access slot so it can protrude if needed – geek chic pour tous.

There are two side handwarmer pockets, which sit flush with the side seam so unless you have your hands in them, they're pretty much invisible. These are large enough to hold a tablet or a beer, take your pick.

On the inside the pockets aren't sewn in at the top, so you effectively get two more 'dip' pockets, also large enough for a tablet or beer... there's a theme emerging here.

Construction is first-class. All the important stitching holding panels together is triple-chain – three lines of stitches instead of one or two. The internal hems are flatlocked.

Cool customer

At 639g this is not a lightweight item you can roll up and put in a pocket. A small backpack or messenger bag, yes. This bulk also means that if you do need to work hard, or are out in, say, 15°C+ sunshine, it's almost certainly going to be too warm. The fact it totally blocks wind and can button right up marks the Wander Over Shirt out as a shoulder-season and warmer winter's day kind of top layer.

I wore a large and that felt perfect for me at 6ft tall, with long arms and average build. According to Swrve's chart (on its US site) I should have been an S or even an XS, which would have been an Italian-road-esque tight fit indeed. So be aware when ordering.

Riding about below 70-75% max heart rate – ie conversational pace – in cooler weather is the sweet spot for the Wander Over Shirt. Swrve uses a loaded bikepacker in its promotional shots, but I feel this might be missing the key market here. Bikepacking, pretty much any time the road or trail rears upward you're in your lowest gear and working for the gains. Unless the temperature was in single digits, I feel you'd be overheating in the Wander and looking to shed it until you crest the rise.

My on-bike time with the Wander was a learning curve of temperature, sun, effort, and luggage capacity if I needed to take it off for a bit. If these stars align, what you have is a garment that feels great, is practical, sheds the odd sprinkle of rain and looks ace.

The only thing I wish the Wander had was underarm zips. I feel with the extra breeze zips would afford, its versatility and ability to manage comfort would be significantly increased.

The standout feature of the Wander for me is the combination of fit and looks. In a decade of reviewing this was the first time my highly bike-fashion-sceptical and Lycra-weary family universally acclaimed a product's appearance. Even our every-limb-tattoo'd resident Goth – with enough piercings to guarantee airport metal detector klaxons – commented on the Wander's sharp lines.

Value

Design, backed with excellent fabric and construction, plus a raft of bike- and life-friendly design features, means the Wander Over Shirt punches well above its apparent steep-ish cost for a 'shirt' or 'jacket'. This isn't a bike-life garment, it's a garment that helps fit bikes into your life.

And in the Doesn't-Scream-Cyclist genre it's not as expensive as some: the Vulpine Men's Regents Mac is more of a waterproof solution but is nearly twice the price.

The Vulpine Men's Insulated Riding Overshirt is cheaper (£100) but isn't windproof, though it does a similar job of adding warmth on cooler days while not looking at all bikey.

Also a little cheaper is the reversible Endura Hummvee Shacket that Matt tested in 2020, a similar option, and at £105 it's sharply priced, too – if you like rocking the lumberjack look.

Conclusion

If you want to get about on your bike or life in general in cooler weather, be comfortable and look sharp doing so, the Wander Over Shirt is a damn good shout. Just make sure you get the right size.

Verdict

Great choice for relaxed rides on cooler days, not looking like A Cyclist