Rapha Winter Jersey

And down to £105 at the moment as well...

Aah it arrived.

The large seems a nice fit. Its not tight and not baggy - just about right.

It'll probably be sub zero or boiling, or gale force winds now for the weekend ride.

Ah dammit - just found this. I'm 80Kg and 6 foot and ordered a Large. Will I have to send it back ? Postage from Rapha seems to take fooorevvvver.

The jersey is average at best. If there's a cold wind blowing, or if it's just bloody freezing, a gilet is required which just defeats the purpose of a wind proof fronting, surely? However, saying that, it is damn comfy, even off the bike!

Autumn jersey would be a more accurate name.

Somebody mentioned the Rapha repair service earlier and mine had to go back after the third wear due to the elastic draw string being made of cheese. Being repaired free of charge which is an invaluable service, hopefully won't need to use it again but good to know it's there.

Warmth wise: How does this compare with the brevet jersey?

I have the same jacket, in purple, and I love it. For me it's actually quite warm on short, hard rides if the temperature is above about 7 degrees.

The fit is excellent, the only downside for me (being 6'4" with longish arms) is that the arms aren't quite long enough. They meet with the gloves fine, but it's just not quite as comfortable as I would like.

In contrast, the Rapha rain jacket (which I LOVE) has super long arms... I don't know why the arm length is different in this case. The rest of my Rapha kit is either bibs or short sleeve tops so I have nothing else to judge against.

I absolutely love this jersey. I've had the previous version (no subsantal difference) for just over a year and it's flexibility meant that it has got a huge amount of use.

I've used this from everything from more relaxed ries on cooler autumn days (with a summer baselayer underneath), freezing cold winter chain gangs (where the additional ventilation provided by the zips meant that I was able to keep really comfortable without having to play around with the main zip which could have led to a cold chest), to all day winter training rides (winter base layer underneath with a gilet or rapha's windjacket on top when necessary).

Given the material it is obviously not ideal for all wintery conditions. If it is drizzly outide and not really cold enough to wear bot this and another rainlayer on top, then I would reach for a different item (rapha softshell or pro-team jacket).

Re. the balast pocket, it took me a while to really figure out what to do with it, but now i rather like it on this sort of a top. It means that you can tak a gilet or lightweight jacket, stuf it into the pocket, and not have a massive lump. There is no need to roll up the jacket/gilet to mke it fit, so you actually end up with the bulk more evenly distributed and therefore more comfortably stored. I think i would have still preferred three standard pockets in adition to the balast pocket, but it does work well when used for the right sort of thing.

Rapha do a few items that really blur the lines between winter jersey and jacket, the Pro-Team jacket being the other main example.

Anyone know how this compares to the slightly cheaper, long-sleeve pro jersey?

Picked up one of these in an outlet sale about five years ago now at least. Must have been a while back as it still has the old Rapha-Condor-Recycling team logo on it. Anyway, it has been a fantastic servant and I will not hesitate to replace it with the latest version if/when it finally gives up the ghost.

Say what you like about Rapha's pricing and sometimes rather pretentious marketing (and I do) but their kit generally works brilliantly as well and is still by some distance the nicest-looking cycling gear on the market if you ask me.

I have owned one of these since 2010 (OK, previous model, of course, though it has not changed fundamentally) and it is absolutely fab-u-lous - crashed in it at the back end of August this year (hit just over 0 degrees that day and I hit a pothole and trashed my helmet into the bargain) and the free repair service provided my pride and joy with mega replacement patches as a badge of honour. Repair service was ABSOLUTELY free - freepost shipping to Rapha and free delivery to my door. You really cannot argue with that, plus the jersey washes brilliantly and the venting is superb when you need it.

Yeah, but the free repair service will come to the rescue if you crash in it.

I waited for over a year until they finally put them on sale in Spring of 2014. When it's dry in the 30s to lower 40s, it's a great option. As usual, Rapha does a nice, long sleeve.

There's a free repair, service. Which after coming of last week and damaging a gilet as well as the wind jacket, I'm pretty grateful for.

I splashed out for the purple last week, it's a bit like riding back in the '80s, purple I mean...

I've done 3 days of commuting in it so far, it's like wearing a big fat hug.

The one big downside is how much water it holds on to though. Last Wednesday night I did 19 miles in that really wet thin rain, the thing still wasn't dry Thursday morning despite being on a rack above a radiator. I knew that might be the case, and normally I'd have put a waterproof on, I just wanted to confirm it was going to be a limitation.

I have to say I am sh1t scared of crashing it, I can't afford to pay out that sort of money for a jersey too often.