Velobici Van-Vinden Winter Jersey Preview

 

Mark Tearle

 

Preview of the wet weather Velobici Van-Vinden Winter Jersey

 

CycleTechReview.com introduced the new Velobici Van-Vinden jersey in a news story a few weeks ago, and Velobici were kind enough to put one in the post for us, which arrived just in time for a bit of snow to hit the South Coast…

 

 
The Van-Vinden is the next generation in cold and wet weather performance jerseys from the Velobici collection and first impressions are excellent; as you tear into the distinctive Velobici post bag, premium card postal pouch with the jersey wrapped in orange paper, the packaging is as much an experience as the product itself.
 
Velobici continue to keep a tight grip on their R&D, supply chain and quality, sourcing threads and fibres, and then designing the range, knitting performance fabrics and manufacturing the collection in and around their base in Leicester. It shows in the quality and attention to detail of this jersey. I am not sure what I was expecting, having read the Velobici description of the jersey – laminated, what’s that all about? – but the resulting finish is a remarkable, lightweight, exceptionally comfortable, beautifully fitted winter jersey. There’s something wonderful about the way it smells too. 
 

 
The Van-Vinden is developed using the new VB/Pro-Shell fibre that Velobici claim to be 100% waterproof and windproof yet breathable. The jersey is made up from three layers consisting of VB/Pro-VR1 for inner and outer, plus the all important middle layer made from a high-tech flexible PU membrane. The resultant laminated jersey is designed to offer comfort, stretch, insulation and protection from the elements in cold and wet riding conditions.
 

 

Velobici say, “The PU membrane is the crucial component in this special class of laminated fabrics: while the early developments of these types of fabric used a simple barrier membrane that kept rain and wind out and perspiration in, the latest type of membrane used in our fabrics has been developed to incorporate micro-pores of sufficient size to allow the transportation of the smaller perspiration particles out while acting as a barrier to prevent larger rain particles in.”

 

 

The outer layer of the laminated fabric has a DWR (durable water repellent) coating that helps precipitation bead up and roll off the garment. The anticipated result is you stay dry, you are thermally insulated from the effects of wind chill, and with enhanced breathability you could be looking at perhaps, with a decent base-layer, the only jersey you’ll need throughout the winter?

 

 

My first ride in the jersey was a local audax, the early season test of the Mad Jacks John Sevoir Memorial Audax – 125km with nearly 2500m of ascent. Even if I had wanted to, I doubt I could have dreamed of such extreme weather to give the Van-Vinden jersey it’s first test, as it sleeted and snowed, and hovered around 2 degrees and below for a good proportion of the morning, but you’ll have to wait for my review to find out how the jersey performed; for my part I bailed at the half way point, but the less I say about that the better…

 

If you’re into Strava, fancy a challenge, and would like to be in with the chance of winning some Velobici, Rouleur or Knog prizes, have a look at the Velobici Spring Classics Challenge 2015

 

Velobici Van-Vinden Winter Jersey – £195

 

Velobici

 
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