Ekoi Monochrome Jersey SS Black

The Ekoi Monochrome Jersey SS Black is light, super-stretchy and has a racy, aero fit. Its wicking and breathability make it great for warm, sunny days (hah! Remember those?!) when its UV50 fabric will also help. It's comfortable too, with the stretch of the fabric accommodating the fuller figure without it ever feeling compressive or restrictive. And while at its full RRP it's pretty expensive, this is from the Spanish perma-price-cutter Ekoi, so you're likely to be paying much, much less.

For more options, check out our guide to the best summer cycling jerseys.

> Buy now: Ekoi Monochrome Jersey SS Black for £85.45 from Ekoi

While Ekoi markets this as a spring to moderate summer's day jersey, I think it's a little conservative in its suggested temperature range: from 15°C with arm warmers and baselayer up to 25°C.

I'd say the lower temperature's about right (though I'm so not wearing arm warmers when it's that warm) but I'd happily use it all summer long in temperatures up to around 30°C or possibly more.

This is also one of the lightest cycling jerseys – or possibly the lightest – I've ever worn, and it packs down to a bundle not much bigger than a cricket ball. Both of these factors could be handy if you're looking to travel small and light, for example to a training camp or warm-weather cycling holiday.

As for its fit, I've worn some stretchy cycling jerseys in my time, but this beats the lot. Forget four-way stretch – this feels like it has a laws-of-physics-defying five-way stretch – it's **that** stretchy! This makes for a very accommodating top, which is just as well given the weight I've put on over the last few years.

The result may not be that flattering, though that's down to me rather than the jersey, but while it will show every curve and bump, it never felt restrictive.

And in spite of its minimal weight and bulk, the jersey still manages to pack in a full raft of features.

It has the usual three rear drop-in pockets, the outer two having sloping tops for easy access, and as they're made with the same super-stretchiness as the rest of the jersey, they're pretty capacious. The middle pocket has an outer zipped security pocket, which would just about take my Samsung S22 mobile, though not in the case it's always in – so I just dropped it in the central pocket, saving the zipped one for key, cards and cash (yep, I still use paper money...).

The full-length zip has small zip garages at the top and bottom.

Ekoi flags up the Monochrome for its wicking and breathability – and it's not wrong. For testing purposes only I wore this for rides on three consecutive days, and while it wasn't exactly as fresh as a daisy at that point, my wife – going well above and beyond our marriage vows – agreed it wasn't as bad as one might expect. And this was during a brief spell of warm and sunny weather. Remember that?

I found that the jersey stayed in place pretty well too. It only has a narrow silicone gripper at the rear, covering around a third of the jersey's diameter, but it didn't ride up. The narrow elasticated hem at the front was equally effective.

The laser-cut sleeves are longer than I'm used to but they're very neatly finished and they have an 'aero sleeve profile', apparently. That'll no doubt help me on my 20kph canal towpath and Sustrans Two Tunnels trips. Just think of the watts I'll save, and the speed I'll gain. Whooosh! I'll arrive at my destination before I've even started, or something...

Nah, I'm not concerned with any speed gains, but more for its comfort for summer rides.

And I also like its understated, non-garish looks in this shades-of-grey black version. It's also available in khaki, white, red and blue colourschemes, which seem to have greater availability at present.

Value

With an RRP well over 100 quid the Ekoi Monochrome jersey doesn't look great value, but it's well under the £190 cost of the similarly racy Santini Redux Speed that Josh liked so much.

But at the sort of price you're more likely to pay for it – this is Ekoi, after all – it comes in less expensive than the £90 hot-weather special dhb Aeron Lab Ultralight. Okay, so at a tiny 77g the dhb is lighter, but the Ekoi has the advantage of not being see-through!

It's currently £85.45, but it was as low as just £61.37 with 50% off – that's barely more than our favourite value-for-money jersey, the £60 Vanelli Proline.

Conclusion

This is a lovely, comfy, close-fitting top made for warmer rides, and if you can get it at its usual discounted price the Ekoi Monochrome is a good value jersey from one of the biggest kit suppliers to the pro peloton. It's super-stretchy and very light, but in spite of its low weight it's fully featured, with four pockets, and its colour not only means stains don't show, but the black – or more accurately dark grey and black – jersey complements most cycling shorts out there.

> Buy now: Ekoi Monochrome Jersey SS Black for £85.45 from Ekoi

Verdict

Comfortable, breathable, lightweight and with sun protection, this is a very good jersey for warm to hot rides