You prefer Modern or Vintage cycling jerseys ?

Raffles

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Pic on left is an ultra modern Assos mille made of hi tech fabric and Pic on right is a vintage Bianchi made of merino wool.

I can say without a moments hesitation that the modern jerseys do absolutely nothing for me whatsoever as I find them soulless and passionless. On the contrary I adore vintage jerseys, the bianchi jersey just takes my breath away when I just look at it. When I look at the vintage jerseys I see riders in peaked caps making their way up Cols and I can literally sense the essence of cycling, one look at the assos, rapha type modern jerseys and I feel..................absolutely nothing.

Im always scouring ebay for killer vintage jerseys, some of them look pretty bad, but the tasty ones are just mindblowing and are snapped up by those with a keen eye in doublequick time for buy it nows whilst the auctioned ones reach decent money.Getting a killer vintage would just make me so proud to be seen in it and I cant say that about a modern jersey at all.

Which do you dig, modern or vintage and why so ?

tiredofwhiners

I only like jerseys with no writing or advertising on them. I don't care about their 'vintage'.

smoggysteve

Man after my own heart. I have a bunch of retro look Bianchi jerseys. Would love the old wool ones but they cost a fortune.

Monty Dog

I have both merino and modern jerseys - the problem with merino or merino/acrylic mix is that they aren't as effective at wicking sweat or staying warm in the cold. For performance riding, give me a modern jersey anyday. However, for just casual riding, I'll wear my Cinzano, Italia or L'eroica jerseys.

smoggysteve

While we are on the subject of jerseys, what are people thoughts on seeing people wearing "award" jesrseys? Tour yellow or Giro pink jerseys? Retros are fine but seeing some fat git in a polka dot jersey looking like he's about to have a heart attack climbing up a small hill is cringeworthy.

ugo.santalucia

If you are built like a PRO cyclist, by all means wear Lycra jerseys, but if you have a few extra pound, even not too many, Lycra looks awful, you might not notice, but everybody else will.
When I was 69 Kg Lycra was borderline acceptable, now at 74 it looks wrong... Merino jerseys are way more forgiving, and tasteful too.
We really have enough fat Wiggos around...

Raffles

SmoggySteve wrote:

Man after my own heart. I have a bunch of retro look Bianchi jerseys. Would love the old wool ones but they cost a fortune.

Im always on the snoop for a "real" ,not vintage look bianchi piaggio or jerseys of that nature. Gotta be real deal 100% merino like they were made in the day and just make the rider feel like a col rider of old, even if he has 10% of their talent. All about the way they make you feel is where its at for me, I could put on the best jersey Assos could make and couldnt give a damn about wearing it as it stirs zero emotions for me.

smoggysteve

I would love them and would wear them all the time, but its getting hold of them in the first place for a reasonable price. I would still out of the choice I have, wear retro look than modern looking ones with all sorts of sponsors and colours. Keep it simple and classic looking.

Raffles

SmoggySteve wrote:

While we are on the subject of jerseys, what are people thoughts on seeing people wearing "award" jesrseys? Tour yellow or Giro pink jerseys? Retros are fine but seeing some fat git in a polka dot jersey looking like he's about to have a heart attack climbing up a small hill is cringeworthy.

Personally ive been disgusted reading about snooty riders pouring scorn on another cyclist for wearing say a cofidis jersey and sniping at him for it......that stinks, but id feel very uncomfortable indeed wearing a general classification or world champ jersey out on the road as im truly not worthy of any of them, i abstain out of respect for the riders who are worthy of wearing same.

smoggysteve

Not sniping, I just think it looks daft.

MountainMonster

I love all Jerseys! They all look good as long as they are of a decent quality. Modern ones look really nice, but I am in no way a vintage person in my life so that is to be expected I guess. Saying that I do like vintage stuff too sometimes.

simon_masterson

I like both. I intend to add a Merino jersey to my wardrobe at some point; vintage or otherwise. I wouldn't opt for one in preference for something 'modern' that would do the job better, however.

But the main point here is that you must earn the right to wear such a high class garment as a vintage woollen racing jersey: by owning a classy vintage racing bicycle. If all you ride is soulless and modern, you do not qualify!

Elmobelmo

First post....it's interesting seeing the various threads regarding vintage vs modern vs replica jerseys. I wear I replica jersey and have no opinion on what people want to wear. I have the usual argument comparing cycling jerseys to football replica shirts.

Anyway back to the point. Do you think in 50 years time cyclists will be looking at the current modern day tops and making similar comments, such as "I just feel so much passion for that Team Sky jersey..."

Frank the tank

I so desire a 100% merino wool jersey, just for casual wear.

Raffles

Elmobelmo wrote:

First post....it's interesting seeing the various threads regarding vintage vs modern vs replica jerseys. I wear I replica jersey and have no opinion on what people want to wear. I have the usual argument comparing cycling jerseys to football replica shirts.

Anyway back to the point. Do you think in 50 years time cyclists will be looking at the current modern day tops and making similar comments, such as "I just feel so much passion for that Team Sky jersey..."

if 50 yrs down the line another rider sees a sky jersey , if he has any sense of taste, id fully expect to hear him say looks pretty cr@p that does as the sky jersey is a design stinker anyway in my opinion

Raffles

Some people here said they preferred jerseys with little or advertising plastered all over them and I agree totally as I think those type suck visually.

Id love to have a modern jersey made with the following plastered over it:

Anusol
Preparation H
Canesten
Vagisil
Head & Shoulders

and wear it with a straight face for a laugh to gauge reaction to it

rodgers73

I ride a modern bike so I reckon a vintage jersey would look a bit out of place really.

mallorcajeff

having a pop at fat people in lycra seems a bit off, at least they are doing something about it. Better that than sat on the sofa doing nothing.

As for me I prefer the performance of a modern top but do like the look of the retro stuff but i dont own any.

simon_masterson

rodgers73 wrote:

I ride a modern bike so I reckon a vintage jersey would look a bit out of place really.

Quite right, but it's never too late. The vintage bicycle brotherhood accepts all who truly repent. (and purchase a vintage bicycle)

Monty Dog

In the late 70s/early 80s, most jerseys were made from an acrylic / wool mix - they might have looked good, but they didn't half stink the cafe-stop out! When you loaded-up the back pockets they'd stretch down over your arse and catch on the back of the saddle! I remember my first pair of Santini lycra shorts and synthetic top - it was a revelation.

Camus

No real problems with people wearing replica team jerseys, I have the Radioshack-Leopard-Trek one because I like a lot of the pro riders on that team, the Schlecks, Voigt, Cancellara, and I like the colours, plus I don't see it that often, unlike Sky, Cofidis, Saxobank for example. I am a moving billboard though when wearing it which leaves a sour taste! Don't get me wrong, I'm hardly elite level, but I'm 6"2 69kg so it doesn't look too bad. Sometimes when I see an overweight chap pootling along at 10mph in full team regalia I do allow myself a wry smile, but then it's their money to spend and these things are available to the general public.

I play tennis a lot too and quite a lot of tennis gear is stuff worn/endorsed by pros, obviously this is the brands saying there is a level of performance in the garment, but I think people do buy such things for the positive motivational benefits / psychological element / competitive edge too, and if it makes you try harder and make personal improvements, or get fitter and faster using Federer's racquet, Nadal's outfit or a pro cycling team's kit then great.

Classification jerseys on the other hand, I would never wear, and I don't believe anyone really should unless you've earned it on the pro tour. I wouldn't even wear a generic yellow jersey because of the connotations. Other people would see it differently, perhaps as irony or just displaying their love for the sport. To me those jerseys are a prize, so to own and wear one would be akin to having a replica Premier League or Grand Slam trophy on hand every time you did anything related to that sport.

As for modern vs vintage, all my stuff is modern, I have the above team jersey by Craft, another one by Craft which fits nicely and isn't too obnoxious with the branding, one Rapha pro team which kind of nods to the traditional through its cut and since it's plain. I'm trying to decide whether to buy the long sleeve version of the Assos top pictured, part of me likes the aggressive look but part of me thinks save the money, it looks toolish! ; )

Performance wise Merino is known to be great at wicking moisture and retaining heat, better than most modern fabrics, it doesn't start to stink either because it has anti-bacterial properties. I have a merino base layer and it's fantastic.

lotus49

I don't have a strong preference for either but that Bianchi jersey is pretty tasty. I'd definitely like one of those.

I agree with other posters here about classification jerseys though. If I haven't earned one (and sadly, I never shall) I wouldn't wear one.

Omar Little

In terms of styling i like them both - i dont have experience of wearing vintage gear but the more modern versions of traditional materials like sportwool feel very nice against the skin in a way a synthetic fabric doesn't. On the other hand with Assos the fit and function of their gear really comes into its own when on a bike - it does the job well and things like the pockets are better for stuffing alot of gear unlike wool tops which tend to sag and lose a bit of shape when loaded up.

Raffles wrote:

I can say without a moments hesitation that the modern jerseys do absolutely nothing for me whatsoever as I find them soulless and passionless. On the contrary I adore vintage jerseys, the bianchi jersey just takes my breath away when I just look at it. When I look at the vintage jerseys I see riders in peaked caps making their way up Cols and I can literally sense the essence of cycling, one look at the assos, rapha type modern jerseys and I feel..................absolutely nothing.

I'd say Assos and Rapha are not really comparable, Assos goes for the modern look / features whereas the whole of Raphas brand is based on the retro look with a modern take on the traditional materials.

andi1363

giropaul

The really cool thing to do is to use your old, real, wool pro-team or National Champion's jersey with the sleeves cut off as an under-vest like a few people I know round here do.

roypsb

mallorcajeff wrote:

having a pop at fat people in lycra seems a bit off, at least they are doing something about it. Better that than sat on the sofa doing nothing.

As for me I prefer the performance of a modern top but do like the look of the retro stuff but i dont own any.

With you 100%. I'm 80 kilos and wear lycra. Do I care what others think? I'm 47, do I heck! McBovvered with fries please.

thegreatdivide

Monty Dog wrote:

When you loaded-up the back pockets they'd stretch down over your ars* and catch on the back of the saddle!

This

The other problem with real vintage jerseys is that they're so bloody long!

The St Raphael 'retro' jersey from Prendas is great. A real looker, and one that get's sported on the steel bike as much as possible.

binsted

SmoggySteve wrote:

While we are on the subject of jerseys, what are people thoughts on seeing people wearing "award" jesrseys? Tour yellow or Giro pink jerseys? Retros are fine but seeing some fat git in a polka dot jersey looking like he's about to have a heart attack climbing up a small hill is cringeworthy.

No problem at all, wear what you want, if a fat git wants to wear a polka dot jersey and it makes him feel good whats the problem, embrace cycling for what it is.

rodgers73

Simon Masterson wrote:

rodgers73 wrote:

I ride a modern bike so I reckon a vintage jersey would look a bit out of place really.

Quite right, but it's never too late. The vintage bicycle brotherhood accepts all who truly repent. (and purchase a vintage bicycle)

I renovated a late 80s bike a while ago and did London - Paris on it. It was fun but I got sick of down tube shifters after a while. I'll stick with modern gear thanks ;-)

Monty Dog

andi1363 wrote:

I have one of those and a Gios to go with it...

Raffles

rodgers73 wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

rodgers73 wrote:

I ride a modern bike so I reckon a vintage jersey would look a bit out of place really.

Quite right, but it's never too late. The vintage bicycle brotherhood accepts all who truly repent. (and purchase a vintage bicycle)

I renovated a late 80s bike a while ago and did London - Paris on it. It was fun but I got sick of down tube shifters after a while. I'll stick with modern gear thanks ;-)

if downshifters were good enough for le cannibale then we have no right to complain.