Spokesman Climbers jersey review

If you’re reading this in two weeks time and it’s chucking it down with rain, then I’m sorry. But currently it’s 34ºC outside the Cycling Weekly office (no, really) which means that it’s perfect weather for the Spokesman Climbers jersey.

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Spokesman is a relatively new name in the cycling clothing market, and has only recently begun to expand beyond it’s native Yorkshire after being picked up by Cycle Surgery. The company is aiming to bring a breath of fresh air to what is a very crowded market, hoping to stand out with the technical design of its kit combined with a slightly more relaxed fit.

As a lightweight jersey, the Spokesman Climbers jersey is designed for hot weather, meaning that it has a very breathable front panel. However, it is not mesh and not by any means see through, so that if you don’t exactly have the physique of Chris Froome, then your belly isn’t on display for all to see. This also means that it can offer UV protection, with a SPF of 50+ so you don’t have to cover yourself in sun cream.

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There really has been a lot of thought that has done into the design of this jersey, in fact probably a lot more than with some bigger brands. The shoulders are made from a stretchier material that ensures there’s minimal flapping when riding in the wind, while the ends of the arms are lazer cut for a really neat finish.

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However, perhaps the nicest touch on the Spokesman Climbers jersey is the graphic on the inside of the jersey underneath the pockets that shoes the “top ten must do climbs” ranging from the Passo dello Stelvio to Hardknott Pass, each with their length, average gradient, and start and finish elevation. (I’m afraid to say I’ve only done three).

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There are, however, downsides. I wasn’t a big fan of having two rather than three rear pockets. This design means that if you have lots of things in your pockets you can never find what you’re after, and if you don’t have much in there, the pockets are so vacuous that anything in there moves around far too much.

Spokesman says that this is because having two large pockets would make it easier to stuff a jacket away, but I don’t see the logic in this. There are a huge number of packable jackets on the market that stuff down small enough to fit into a jersey with three rear pockets.

The other thing I wasn’t convinced by was the cut of the Spokesman Climbers jersey, which was quite loose on the front for my liking, and also rather tight under the arms. This means that this is fine if you want a bit of room at the front of your jersey for extra café stop cake, but not ideal if you want a slimmer cut jersey for fast riding.

For more details visit the Spokesman website.