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review
£130.00
VERDICT:
Great thermal and windproof jersey with much of the protection of a jacket
Weight:
316g
Contact:
www.sportful.com
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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The new Fiandre Light Wind Jersey from Italian company Sportful has become one of my go-to tops for cycling on cold and slightly damp days. The Windstopper fabric provides good insulation for brisk tempo riding and the NoRain back panel provides good water repellency for short showers. It's ideal as a top layer over a long sleeve base layer down to 5 °C, or as a mid-layer for cold or wetter days.
Sportful use a Windstopper 4 Way Light fabric for the front-facing panels. It stops the wind in its tracks and it's water resistant. You don't want to head out in a heavy downpour without a rain jacket, but if you get caught in a lighter shower while riding, then the Fiandre Light Wind Jersey offers enough water repellency that you don't need to stop immediately to pull on a rain jacket.
It's better suited to mostly dry and windy days though, with the low risk of a shower or light drizzle in the air. The Windstopper fabric holds back light rain just fine, and thee rear of the jersey is constructed from Sportful's NoRain Thermal fabric which really does keep the rain off your back - useful if you ride without mudguards too. It's not going to be your first choice of a wet ride, that's not really its design brief, but it won't leave you stranded if the weather does make an unexpected change.
It's good in the cold. Sportful says it's ideal for temperatures between 6 and 16 °C, and I found those suggested temperatures about spot on. With a short sleeve base layer you can comfortably wear it into the mid-teens. Swap to a long sleeve merino base layer and it goes down to about 6 or 7 °C and, provided you're riding at a brisk tempo at such low temperatures, provides decent insulation to keep you nice and warm.
The fit is excellent. The size small tested proving a really good cut and shape, sitting flush with the body around the torso, shoulders and arms. All very aero. It's well appointed with pockets. You get three regular rear pockets and there's a small zipped pocket on the left side. I found this invaluable for storing the house keys when out riding, especially handy when heading out with the three pockets fully loaded for a long day in the saddle.
The Fiandre Light Wind Jersey is simply a really versatile jersey with enough insulation for all but the coldest days with ample breathability and water resistance, good as a top or mid-layer that is a perfect fit for most typical UK riding conditions. The jersey part of the name is slightly misleading. It has the flexibility, comfort and lightness of a regular long sleeve jersey, that much is true, but with much more of the protection that a jacket provides, and that makes has made it a staple of my winter cycling wardrobe.
It also looks brilliant in this Belgian blue colour with the lower black section blending seamlessly into bib tights. It's also available in yellow if you really want to stand out, and a more conservative black option.
The Fiandre Light Wind Jersey offers loads of performance for the money and it's so versatile you can wear it for every single autumn, winter and spring ride simply by adjusting the base layer and occasionally adding a jacket over the top to meet the demands of colder or wetter weather. It's best suited to cold windy dry days but it has just enough rain protection for short showers.
Verdict
Great thermal and windproof jersey with much of the protection of a jacket
road.cc test report
Make and model: Sportful Fiandre Light Wind Jersey
Size tested: small, blue
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
As light and comfortable as a thermal jersey but with front wind protection and allover water protection. It has a close-to-body fit like a jersey, yet protection like a jacket. A do-it-all piece that makes you rethink how you classify cool-weather clothing.
Fiandre, Italian for 'Flanders,' is a line named after one of the toughest spring classics on the ProTour calendar. What makes it so hard? Because the weather there can be the riders' biggest adversary. Fiandre clothing is designed to let you laugh in the face of rain, wind and mud. Utilizing our NoRain technology, it keeps you dry and warm but has the fit and breathability to let you push on when the pace picks up.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
100% Polyester
Cut like a jersey, protection like a jacket
Windstopper® 4 Way Light fabric for wind and splash protection
High-cut collar
YKK® Vislon® zipper with wind flap
3 rear pockets with reflective piping
Back in NoRain Thermal for high breathability and water repellent insulation
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
9/10
Really good on cold to mild days with a low chance of rain. Really comfortable too, nice and aero and good pockets too.
Rate the product for durability:
9/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
9/10
Sportful kit is really good fitting, but it's on the small side so unless you're a skinny racer you might want to check the sizing guide closely - that's a size small in the pictures for reference.
Rate the product for value:
8/10
This is a tricky one. It offers a lot more weather protection than many long sleeve jerseys, and it's much closer to a jacket in that respect. It's very nearly the same price as the stunning Sportful R&D Long Sleeve Wind Jersey, which offers far better cold weather insulation but isn't so good in the rain, and isn't quite as versatile as the Fiandre jersey here.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Does what it sets out to do.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Fit, rain and wind protection, good insulation and breathability for brisk winter riding, looks great in they blue colour.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
There really isn't anything to dislike.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.
Would you consider buying the product? Yes.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.
Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?
The Fiandre Light Wind Jersey offers loads of performance for the money and it's so versatile you can wear it for every single autumn, winter and spring ride simply by adjusting the base layer and occasionally adding a jacket over the top to meet the demands of colder or wetter weather.
About the tester
Age: 31 Height: 180 Weight: 67
I usually ride: My best bike is:
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, touring, mtb,
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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24 comments
Narcoleptic-Kid
1st - get some sleep!
2nd - depends what conditions you are riding in...
If you ride hard and ride in the most minging conditions get a Gabba 2
If you ride at a lower pace (ie don't generate a lot of heat) but still go out in most weather get an Espresso
If you ride when its cold and dry at a medium to fast pace then get a Fiandre Wind Jersey.
To be honest they are all great so you will be happy with whatever you buy if you use it in the right conditions. I've been riding in the Fiandre Wind jersey most of the winter so far when it's cold and dry, but if i was going out in full on winter showers id go for one of the others.
I'm undecided on which one to go for autumn and winter riding,
(1) Sportful Fiandre Wind Light Jersey
(2) Castelli Espresso 3
(3) Castelli Gabba 2 - Long Sleeve
I've read several reviews on each Jersey/Jacket and they're all highly rated, now I'm confused on which one or ones to return, does anyone have any of the Castelli Jersey/Jackets above, and how do the compare to the Sportful? It's hard to believe without wearing the Gabba 2 Jersey on a ride, just how warm it claims to be with being so thin, especially compared to the Espresso 3 with it being fleece lined. Could really do with some help with feedback, It's an expensive mistake to make. My plan was to keep the two Castelli jackets, but do I really need both!!?
@mrmo - all good points!
Stock - really difficult, especially in the first year of a product - you can take it to a retailer and they will either love it and buy in loads or say 'oh we already have that area covered with this product or that product' in the end the manufacturer will make as much to cover pre orders and a little extra then if there is a reorder fulfil that... problem is that the reorder for UK is so early that its usually unlikely that the first order has had time to sell out.
Reviews - the good reviews certainly help sell a product but if they are too late in the season they don't affect the re-order enough so no more stock comes in!
Thankfully the Fiandre is set to continue for next year and retailers should be able to see how popular and well reviewed it was so will order accordingly.
The worst is when a product gets no press and no orders and just disappears from existence despite being awesome!
Seems a bit odd to give road.cc a jersey to review, clearly hopeful they'll get a good write up and generate some sales, and have a low stock level available though, eh?
Welcome to the problem with reviews, and I am not having a go at anyone on this.
A product is available for a limited time, but the end user will expect it to last a while. For example my current road bike is 7 years old, the tester will get an item, will use it when they can but at some point they will have to come back with an opinion.
Durability, well the tester only had it for a month or two, so how much faith can you place? if it is really crap! it will show up but so-so?? comfort, well everyone is different, and what may be comfortable to one person could be torture to someone else.
And while the tester is doing their thing shops are doing theirs, so the years stock is slowly dropping, no retailer wants any left over stock they have to give away so will only order what they think they need, the manufacturer will be looking to get stock for the next season so aren't really able to magic up more stock after a certain point.
This Sportful Fiandre stuff seems to have had a lot of favourable comments, so probably hasn't helped prolong stock levels until the more indepth reviews have started to emerge. And when your testing "winter" kit and the temperatures are decidedly unwintery, you don't get that many chances to test!
Took delivery of my Jersey yesterday (seems like I might have snapped up one of the last blue ones left
)
Tried it out on a couple of rides, and I have to say, I'm VERY impressed. It did a fantastic job of regulating my temperature - keeping the cold wind out, but at the same time, I never 'overheated' on the climbs either (my previous winter top used to induce a 'boil in the bag' feeling). I even christened it with exactly the sort of unexpected heavy shower this top is designed to protect from .... the rain lashed down for a good 15 min, but the Jersey did indeed keep the rain off.
I found one in stock as Sigma... but then someone bought it...
I just contacted Wiggle to see when they might get some in. According to them, the Fiandre Light Wind Jersey has been discontinued...!!
It's not been discontinued - they've just run out of 2014 stock
Their words, not mine.
their stock system reads 'discontinued' when a product line doesn't have any repeat orders next to it, which this won't since it's an autumn/winter 14 product that isn't available to order in spring/summer 15... trust me, it's in the catalog for next winter, though if you like the 'Belgian Blue' I'd grab it now...
Well, according to their website, this (the Jersey) as the windproof panels on the front, and a more breathable panel on the back, while the jacket has the windproof panels front and back.
The upshot is that the Jacket is rated as having better insulation (from wind), while the Jersey has better breath-ability.
Thing is, the jacket is really really breathable as it is. You would need to be a right sweaty pig to need more breathability.
Which jacket are you referring to?
"rjfrussell wrote:
Thing is, the jacket is really really breathable as it is. You would need to be a right sweaty pig to need more breathability.
Which jacket are you referring to?"
The Light WS jacket
Seems to be quite a lot of overlap in the Fiandre range.
I am struggling a little to see significant differences between this "jersey", the Fiandre Light Windstopper "Jacket" (which I have, and think is excellent), and the Fiandre Light No Rain "Top".
Light WS Jacket - Full Windstopper (except for under arms) - full on protection but not so much insulation (IE it is a jacket)
Light Wind Jersey - Windstopper front, NoRain back - thermal jersey with wind proof front and water resistance, not a full on jacket, more breathable, don't need to layer so much underneath
Light NoRain Top - this this is super light, so it's not a winter product, unless you are putting loads of layers under it, it's NoRain and Windshield so much thinner than Windstopper, good spring/summer jacket
Perfect for me, let's go buy one...can't find one in the blue/black anywhere!
As for washing, I've a few bits of NoRain kit - don't use fabric softener as it can affect the water-repellency. Great kit, just doesnt seem to be well supplied at the time of year when it's most likely to be in demand!
What is it with cycle clothing manufacturers that they can't resist putting large (& small) patches of black on their kit? They especially like doing it of the back for some reason.
It's boring, not good for visibility and often spoils the look of upper body cycle clothing, IMO of course.
Possibly because dirty marks are less visible, especially when you're firing mud and debris up your back from your rear wheel at this time of year. If you can't keep your light coloured clothing wet or hose it down before it goes in the wash, those marks are a nightmare to get out, especially without removing any water repellency treatment.
I'm well versed in this, having endured the last two winters in white and fluo yellow team kits respectively.
I've just got one of these and I'm really impressed with it so far. I also run pretty hot and don't generally tend to reach for long sleeves base layers until temps are getting consistently into single figures. In fact, on the recent mild day we had with high winds, I was almost too warm with this on due to the fact it's so good at blocking the wind. But with the recent sub zero temps and snow up here, I've been riding this with either a gilet over it when I think it may warm up or have gone for a double base layer combo when I know it'll stay cold and have been warm enough in either case.
Oh and I got it for £90 from Wiggle, which I thought was pretty good.
I bought one of these in November and can concur with the reviewer. A great bit of kit. I generally hit the roads around Edinburgh where it is always windy, generally cold and often wet. This hasn't let me down yet and worn with a gilet protects well against the coldest days.
Well timed review - I have been trying to decide between this and a Gabba, with finger poised over the buy button.
I'm looking for a winter top that is easy to live with (not to heavy or flappy), will stand up to an unexpected shower, be comfortable up a hard climb, and then keep the cold air at bay on the way back down.
I'm looking for a top that will keep me warm down into minus temperatures - but then I find a summer jersey just fine down to about 10 (or even 8) degrees with just a lightweight base layer underneath, so I think would be OK this this?
(I tend to prefer thin outer layers, and then add insulation underneath if I need to)
Does this wash well, and are there any reflective details on the back?
Sounds like you run quite warm, in which case this jersey would probably be ideal for you. I combine it with a long sleeve base layer and am comfortable down to about 6 degrees if riding at a brisk tempo, and find very good temperature regulation due to the excellent breathability. I could probably go lower temps than that, but I do run cold so tend to layer up a bit more than you probably do. It is a jersey after all, not a jacket, so slinging another layer over the top for colder temps works well (when it's sub-zero I reach for the insulated Sportful R+D Long Sleeve Wind Jersey which is toasty even with just a base layer
It washes very well, I've had it caked in mud (from the club run no less) and it comes out clean in a standard wash just fine. There are a few reflective details around the back