Would YOU pay $150...

[tprevost]

Hey Veronica,

I think I ordered this in sleeveless race cut (probably Medium). I'd actually love to keep it but I have a thing about wearing a jersey when I didn't complete the ride. Maybe they'd let you grab it?????

Tracy

[jobob]

Oh, geeze, the Allegra jersey !! Yep, that was one I wanted reaaly badly but when it arrived in the mail I found out that Sugoi jerseys are cut rather generously on top - which is great for some, but not for me, it looked ridiculous balooning over my flat chest. Oh well. TE is very good with returns, bless their heart.

And Sugoi comes out with such nice designs from time to time. grrr.

(And I'm entirely too lazy to try to do alertations)

Sheebest jerseys look OK on my though, thank goodness. I have a sleeveless Sheebeest tie-dye like print that I was really happy to pull out for it's inaugrual ride for the season on our TE AC trail ride. It's going to get a lot of use this summer, especially now that I have a bolero for the cool mornings.

That bolero is great, by the way - many thanks to whoever talked it up in the first place (V? Nanci?). I don't think I'll ever buy another short-sleeve jersey again.

It will be nice to go through one summer without a "farmers' tan"

[jobob]

Wear your jersey with pride, Jeni, you'll have definitely earned it

oh and check your private messages

[Bron]

Paid 120$ for a zerorh+ long sleeve... but for a short sleeve? nope. Not for Assos either - they are swiss but what's the big deal? are the pants really that good?

Hmm, I am also not sure, but my husband always makes sure he has his Assos shorts for long rides. He also has one of the cow jerseys and matching socks. Ebay is his friend, so he didn´t pay full price for any of it.

Bron

[wabisabi]

My cycling friend and I signed up for The Leukemia and Lymphoma's Team in Training. We've already done centuries but us MidWest girls have never done anything as cool as Tahoe! The price tag for Tahoe is a minumum of $3900 per person raised. Fundraising has been hard, really hard and our event is less than a month away! I can't (and don't want) to know how much time involved and money out of pocket has gone towards our fundraiser

You do know that there's also some serious elevation there....

[Brina]

If Assos suddenly produces all those wonderful eidelweiss and cow jerseys in women's sizes I'll be the first in line.

considering my size that would just be opening myself up to way too many jokes.

[SadieKate]

You do know that there's also some serious elevation there....

Eh, I live at 52 ft elevation and did almost all my training on the pancake flat roads here. If you pay attention, ride conservatively and drink lots of water it is not a problem. It isn't that high since you are down inside the lake basin.

[TrekJeni]

You do know that there's also some serious elevation there....

Yeah, we all think our coach is the Devil reincarnated! He scouts out all the hills in the area and makes us ride them till we puke. I've heard from other TNT'ers that have done Tahoe already that we end up overtraining. So it's all good. In 65 miles last weekend, we climbed almost 5000 ft.

He also told us to NOT look at our computers during the ride because our mph would be down.

Just did a century (actually turned out to be 109) two weekends ago and averaged 17.2! My best ever!

Jeni

All my other jerseys have come from Ebay - to keep this on topic!

[SAMbike]

Hi,

I actually looked at that jersey, and the shorts that go with it too, because I like to wear bright colors when riding (blaze orange & hiviz yellow).

The jersey's I currently have are mens jerseys by Performance, which work fine - but they stopped making the blaze orange color so I was looking for something else, plus it's actually a womens cut! But cannot bring myself to spending that kind of money. I don't understand why a jersey would be that much. Did you get it? If so, how does it feel? Does it have wings?

On a related note, the shorts - Castelli Physio - are white and orange. Anyone have white shorts? I'd think they might be like a white pair of pants or dress - a bit sheer especially if I get wet from sweating....? Just curious.

-Susan

[Squirrel 2]

I have white shorts. Not the Castellis, these:

http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=18029

I love them, but yes, in certain light you can see through the white sections. Notice that any potentially revealing areas are a matte black, so you're covered. I see the Castellis are white on the seat, probably not a good idea. I have a pair of red shorts that stained on the seat from dyes coming off sweaty saddles. There are reasons to have a black seat.

And there are perfectly good reasons for buying an expensive jersey. No, it does not have wings. No, it does not make you go faster. But if it is cut better and made out of superior fabric, you will be more comfortable and should be able to go longer. It is the same reason you buy more expensive shorts. And just like in shorts, more expensive jerseys might have lots of panels, sometimes even made out of different fabrics in different areas. The fit on these is designed to be snug, like a second skin that wicks moisture off you. They're also designed to be worn in a riding position, so they might feel like they pull when you first put them on. But you get on your bike and go and after a while, you've forgotten all about them, they disappear.

I like to go for long rides, and on long rides the darndest little things start to bug you. A bad chamois won't even make it on a long ride. A hot shoe, or gloves with no ventilation will make you miserable. But jerseys can be treacherous, too. I've worn some that become unbearable on really hot days because they seem to trap heat inside. I've worn some that become unbearable on humid days because they don't wick well & end up getting clammy & soggy. I've had rashes from fabrics or dyes that bothered me. I've even had issues with zippers & threads! One full-length zipper sewn on with a rough, plastic thread rubbed a raw area right down the front of a good pair of bib shorts! Oh, that's another thing to note, expensive jerseys tend to use soft & supple zipper plackets so you don't get the pitched tent effect from a stiff zipper that sticks out over your chest.

Convinced yet? I was a hard sell initially because of innate cheapness, but I have now been ruined forever. I used to wear lots of nice jerseys with fun designs, but I only wear them on shorter rides now. On a long ride I will reach for my really good jerseys.

So would I spend $150 for a really good jersey? You betcha!

[SAMbike]

Thanks for the feedback! Those bib shorts you have are very sharp looking!! Very good advice about making sure there's no white in certain areas. Yours are much better than the ones I was looking at for sure in that respect. As for the jersey, good points about comfort/fit esp. on long rides. Hmmm, I might just buy that jersey afterall (maybe it will go on sale soon ).

Much appreciated,
Susan