BTwin 500 Women's Cycling Jersey

When I first looked up the women's BTwin 500 Warm Cycling Jersey on Decathlon's website, it was what I'd consider a bargain – £17.99! – easily deserving 10/10 for value. It's now £9.99. Okay, you still wouldn't want to waste a tenner on something if it's rubbish, but this jersey definitely isn't. It's not a shining beacon of technological wizardry, but it's hard to fault as a (fairly) simple cycling-and-other-uses midlayer.

'Other uses', eh? Well, yes – because it doesn't have an especially 'cycling' look to it as regards the shape (no overly dropped rear, or over-short front), and no trio of pockets along the back, you can wear it with civvies, or with tracksuit bottoms/leggings for a jog/gym session/trip to Tesco...

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On the bike, I found it a bit long at the front. To be honest, the jersey I tested was a little on the large side – just about okay (and the correct option according to Decathlon's size guide), but I suspect the next size down would have been better – though I think it might still have poked out below the front of most of my cycling jackets. It's hard to say for sure, but I think it's actually slightly longer at the front than the back.

You probably won't have missed the prominent seams at the front – a bit too prominent for my liking – but it's very much shaped to suit a woman's curves, and seems a pretty detailed design for a tenner. Those seams at the front curve up under the arm and down the sleeves, twisting and meeting other seams before reaching the non-elasticated cuffs. Quite why it's designed this way I'm not sure, but everything sits comfortably, on and off the bike (and those seams provide useful places for inserting reflective strips).

The fabric isn't windproof, but it's a good weight for keeping chills at bay, and it's nice and fleecy on the inside, with some seams flatlock stitched. There's no baffle behind the zip or garage to park it in, but the stitching where the zip ends at the high collar is very neat, with no rough ends to irritate, and the collar itself is lined and fairly snug when the zip's done right up.

At the back, rather than a typical cycling jersey's trio of pockets, it has two useful zipped ones – one each side – big enough for a phone and a few essentials, though you probably wouldn't want to pack too much in there, and they're obviously not as easy to access as pouch pockets.

> Buyer's Guide: The best cheap cycling jerseys

Still, all this for a penny under a tenner is impressive. It's less likely to appeal to serious roadies who need pockets for supplies, and windproofing and wicking, but whatever you use it for – training ride, pedal to the cafe, jog to the gym for a spinning class – it's excellent value and does a simple job very well.

Verdict

A good jersey that's well made, versatile and excellent value, and a little bit different to the 'norm'