Giro has made some great casual yet practical riding gear in the past and this new Ride jersey combines a relaxed vibe with a great eco fabric mix and useful practicality to be a contender in both best mountain bike jersey and best gravel jersey categories.
Design and specifications
Giro gets off to a good eco start with the 84% recycled polyester Renew fabric that’s blended with 11% merino for warmth control and stench reduction and 5% Spandex for stretch.
Cut is a subtly modified T-shirt style with cowled sleeves and a contrast panel across the chest. The open-topped chest pocket is more decorative than practical for anything heavy or valuable but there are three high-volume, stretchy pockets at the back which you can stuff plenty into. There’s also a smaller zipped pocket on the center pocket, which gets a really nice quality flip-over, rubber tab zipper.
There’s a subtle embroidered logo tag on one pocket and reflective strips up the sides of both outside pockets. There are two different color options and it comes in S to XXL in mens and I guess because the cut is casual enough to be unisex there’s no women’s option.
Performance
The Ride jersey feels like a favorite tee as soon as you take it out of the compostable packaging. The natural feel of the merino means it doesn’t come across as cold or synthetic but it’s not so woolly it’s going to itch even on really hot days. While the ‘Drirelease’ mix doesn’t ‘wick’ and dry as fast as a fully synthetic shirt it’s not far behind. The fact it holds warmth better when wet keeps it comfortable rather than clammy on mixed weather or long climb/fast descent days. It resists bacterial build up too so you can ride further before you start smelling like roadkill. Unlike most synthetic jerseys I’ve used, it shrugged off scuffs and scrapes without any pulls too, so it’s perfectly happy on trails as well as gravel.
The versatile fabric is matched by a cut casual enough to pull over your head easily which is lucky as there’s no front zip. It’s not overly baggy around the belly though and the arms are naturally close rather than loose unless you’ve got proper roadie arms. The only potential glitch is that the loose cut and stretchy fabric doesn’t give much support to the pockets. That means they can shift around a lot or drag down over your butt if you overload them, and that’s easy given their large volume.
Verdict
There’s a lot of crossover in riding at the moment and the Ride shirt spans a wide range of uses really well. The fabric feels and works great, lasts well, repels smell, and doesn’t stink up the planet either. It doesn’t flap too much when you’re plugging into a headwind on the gravel bike or ripping a descent, but it doesn’t look like a roadie sausage skin so you can wear it anywhere. There’s enough quality detailing to make you feel posh without getting overly punished on price too. Just be aware that while the rear pockets are up for a stuffing they will sag and swing if you overload them too much.
Tech specs: Giro Ride Jersey
- Price: $95 / £74.99 / €90
- Sizes: S-XXL
- Options: Black/charcoal, Black/harbour blue
