Okay ... I guess if you buy something that doesn't fit you, it doesn't fit.

The fact that the label says "Assos" or the price tag says "Just sign over your paycheck" doesn't mean that the thing fits, or that it doesn't have a seam which hits just the wrong place on Your body. But particularly for jerseys and also (in my experience) with shorts and bibs,. mot manufacturers have figured out the simple stuff ... it's not like bike short and shirts are new developments. Even the Chinese knockoffs get the dumb stuff right ... they just cheap out on everything that goes into the actual physical garment.

If you bought some stuff that didn't fit You, specifically ... oh, well. Was it bargain-basement cheap? Was it midgrade?

Since you say you don't buy bargain-basement and you don't buy high-end (extrapolating) then you must buy mid-grade stuff ... maybe in the Garneau/Pearl Izumi spectrum.

They also know how to make good clothes ... so if one of their products doesn't work for you ... it might be that specific design and your specific body.

I have a closetful of Nashbar and Performance Bike and Pricepoint jerseys ,... and so Cannondale jerseys (PI/Garneau level.) They are all good.

How much better than a jersey which lasts, fits well, dries fast, doesn't stink, and has the pockets I need, can a $300 jersey be? What else can it offer that I need a jersey to do?

I see your point---if the ultra-cheap stuff is poorly designed or made, yeah, it is just junk. And almost certainly, the really top-end stuff won't be junk.

That doesn't mean everything else, or even anything else is.

I am with you ... a little irritation, even a tag that rubs, a seam that twists, bibs or shorts which sag a tad and catch the nose iof the saddle too often when I am moving around---just not acceptable. I will park a pair of shorts or bibs if they don't offer complete comfort and support. My time on the bike Matters to me, more than any garment, no matter how much I paid.

But once you get past that very low threshhold of "It works" the rest is hype. Assos and Rapha are not twenty times better at just being jerseys than the $7 Nashbar jerseys I own. They might be a little better ... or not ... but what you are paying for is the name.

Come on. We all understand the idea of luxury goods. A Rolex doesn't tell time better ... it tells other things. A Rapha jersey is not per se better than any other jersey except for truly crappy jerseys--and all jerseys are better than those..

And you know ... that Rapha jersey, depending on its cut and your build ... might have a seam which rubs you the wrong way.