Megmeister Aero Woven Jersey

The Megmeister Aero Woven Jersey is a slim, figure-hugging design with a smooth and lightweight fabric. It is comfortable, has generous pockets and keeps you cool, although the seamless-knit material needs care to avoid threads catching and pulling out.

Megmeister specialises in seamless-knit fabrics, and the Aero Woven uses a 4-way stretch version that's shaped to hug the body. If (like me) you are not a fan of all black kit, there are navy blue or coral versions. They're all available in sizes from XS to XXL, and although Megmeister's size guide doesn't actually list the XS tested, it sizes up as you'd expect from the other numbers.

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The fit is skin-tight, but one I found very comfortable. The arms are relatively long and, while I did experience some movement in them, it was only slight – nothing like the rising sleeves of the Megmeister Ultrafris Pro Cool tested recently.

The waist has an elastic gripper and the rear has three large, deep pockets plus an additional zipped pocket to the side, which is not huge, but enough for a smaller phone, card or keys.

The centre pocket is larger than the two side pockets, and it's big enough for a phone within a waterproof case. The stretch of the material does a good job of holding everything in place tightly as you ride.

The neckline is excellent, with a V-shape profile that ensures the collar stays tight – even fully closed there's no fabric around the neck to cause a nuisance.

The YKK zip has a puller that's large enough to grab but doesn't get in the way while riding, but there are no reflective areas at all – not even a small tab on the rear pockets. Combined with the full black, visibility on the road might be a concern for some.

Performance

Megmeister makes no claims on speed or performance, which is quite refreshing, but the close fit ensures there is no material flapping and increasing drag. Airflow through the fabric is good, especially compared to aero-optimised jerseys, which often tend to block the air. Even as temperatures rose during testing, at no point did I feel the need to unzip.

It would be virtually impossible for me to test the jersey for aero gains, but I would have no qualms about using it for any purpose where speed was a priority.

The only problem I found was this: the very thin fabric is delicate and prone to damage, even when care is taken. On the first ride a stray bramble caught the jersey slightly, pulling a thread. I would strongly recommend against any use off-road, and even taking care with nails when putting it on.

Still, if you can put up with the potential for a few pulled threads and don't expect the jersey to look as new forever (though this black hides it quite well), there is very little to fault for the performance.

Value

At £119.95 it's head to head against some very popular brands, such as Castelli. I really like the Castelli Aero Race 6.0 at £110 and, while the fabric is very different from Megmeister's, it's just as comfortable. There are of course serious aero jerseys costing much more, such as the Le Col x McLaren Project Aero Jersey at £170, but for me, the Megmeister beats that on every level.

> 30 of the best summer cycling jerseys — tops to beat the heat from just £10

At the time of writing, Megmeister is selling the Aero Woven at a significant discount – £71.97 – and at this price has few serious competitors, though the excellent La Passione PSN is £80 and shares a similar fit.

Overall

Megmeister has delivered a very good, race fit jersey that is comfortable to wear. The limited colour choices might not appeal to everyone and the fabric is easy to damage, but otherwise this is a really good option for summer road riding.

Verdict

Very comfortable, slim race jersey with an excellent fit – it's a bit easy to pull threads in the fabric, though