I'm getting cheap...
 

While I'm not one to buy low quality gear, I just can't justify spending $80. for a jersey
at all for me, especially when they go on sale at the end of the season for 1/2 that.

Trickle-down might not have worked for the economy, but I'm lovin' what it's done for cycling gear.
I'm picking up some screamin' deals that I wouldn't even have dreamed of purchasing last year.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking buying the best a person can afford (relatively speaking of course),
but I don't see a day that I'll spend more than forty bucks on a jersey and that's for a good quality jersey
that won't fall apart after a few washes or lose it's tint at what I consider to be a reasonable price.

So, what's the consensus? What's a fair price to pay for an everyday jersey for hot weather riding?
I'm not talking about the blingy gear for the weekend rides, but something for training.

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/...ln382l-1-1.png
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last summer when i started riding i wanted to cry when i saw the prices of clothing. ive got two shorts, two shirts and two long sleeve (thicker material castelli) jerseys. the long sleeve i got on bonk, for around 40 i think, and paid about 70-80 for the short sleeves. i would much more comfortable paying around 40-50 for this stuff,and probably would spend more. if i see something i really like, i may pay full price, but as of now if its not on sale i dont really pay attention. and with all my other hobbies, it doesnt leave much room to spend between snowboarding/splitboarding, climbing, and fly fishing......i like to do things that end with "ing" :eek:

I personally would pay $50> for a jersey. Doesn't matter if it's for training or the "runway".

Check DepartmentofGoods. They have decent ones for $50> .

My (6) MTB jerseys I bought for $12. each (down from $50.).

I thought about the Performance house brand jerseys, but for about $10.-$15. more,
I can get Louis Garneau stuff on sale. My first "real" road cycling jersey is an LG.
It was a reward to myself after having met a personal goal on my bike.
($80. beans and worth every penny)

Right...$50. would be the ultimate max for the right jersey. I agree.

Have 6-7 Jerseys right now... all were ~$30. Swobo, Voler, Hincape and one Performance. At my level I don't see a need for anything more expensive and if I do buy more I'll only buy them on a nice sale.

thats good its part of bonktown/realcyclist. i think they all are apart of backcountry.com but backcountry has split some stuff up and now has a cycling specific page (realccyclist) also if you go to gearscan.com you see all the sale pages at once (steepandcheap, chainlove,bonktown,whiskeymilitia)

Well done Pete. :thumb: Thanks for that.

I use www.QBike.com for detailed searches.

i havent used that one before, but ill definitely take a look, thanks

I don't pay much for jerseys...bibs...that's another story. I've learned my lesson there...only the top of the line. This has been my favorite and all I ride with. Oh, and they're on sale;)

Edit...I just ordered two pair before they are gone. :)

i use the performance ultra jerseys. good for the money; the pockets could be deeper and feel more secure, but nothing has ever fallen out and they are not loose.

Agree................unless it's way cool..;)

Let me get this straight - you are willing to pay ridiculous amounts to buy fancy parts for your bike in an effort to get it into the 15lb range, but you are not willing to spend money on clothing that can affect your comfort while riding - Do I have that right?

My jerseys basically don't wear out, so I'm comfortable spending more money to obtain the right fit and comfort.

FYI - I have spent more money on cheap jerseys that I never wear than I have on the few "nice" ones I have that I wear almost every time I ride. (And my "nice" ones are around $40-$50 and usually from Bonktown).


Also, I'm not sure that anyone else wears "training" clothes during the week and then "blingy" clothes for weekend rides. It's like you're training for the weekends! :lol:


Also, I was disappointed with the quality of performance-brand jerseys. I bought a bunch on sale one time, and I gave some away and shoved the rest in the back of my closet.

My minimum requirements for a jersey is that they are full zip (with a quality zipper), long enough, and provide a natural fit that moves with your body rather than the garment moving/walking. Ask any tailor, it takes skill and attention to detail to make garments that don't have puckering or mismatched fabric grains, and even more skill to do so with form fitting garments made out of elastic fabrics that must fit well when moving and when static. It also takes better equipment, more material, and more expensive material to make them.

In order to obtain that sort of quality, you often have to pay for it. But paying more alone, doesn't always get you that quality either, so watch out.

i've found some good deals on lightly used jerseys on ebay... bought a couple of them for as little as $5, wear them all the time and they're not falling apart. a couple are Castellis, a couple LG, and one Pearl Izumi (all from U.S. sellers, i've yet to try any of the Chinese sellers). i think i paid maybe $85 for all 5 of them combined, including shipping.

I'll spend 40-60 depending on how cool it looks. If I'm out of town and I go to a nice shop and their club/shop jersey is something I like I'll pick it up (ive regretted not getting some) just because they will be unique to my area. I bought most of my start up stuff from Bonk...but now that I'm to a point where I can diversify and don't need the little stuff I can focus more on quality of quanitity. (before I had 1 jersey for the week and 1 pair of shorts, now I have 2 bibs 3 shorts 5 jerseys)

Click the link in my sig for Rudy jerseys at $50 each and bibshorts for $75. I don't get any kickback from it, just trying to share the savings.

(I just ordered a couple bibs and a jersey for myself too).

I prefer to get them at a huge discount like you, but did just order a couple of 100.00 jerseys from pactimo. I have no problem paying for what suits my wants and needs.:D

Hot weather gear? I usually just ride in a t-shirt.

I have 3 swobo jerseys I paid between 30-40 dollars for. My only gripe is they don't have a full zipper. I wouldn't pay anymore than 50 dollars for gear.

I admire your ability to do that in our weather. For me, that's like riding wearing a sponge.

I usually buy the inexpensive jerseys or nicer ones on clearance. The performance classic jersey's seem to hold up pretty well and I usually snag one when they go on sale for $20. I'll spend more for one that really appeals to me, or a jersey for my club. I've also decided from now on I only want jersey's that have the 3 pockets in the back. Ran across a nice Canari last night for only $20, but it has a single smallish zippered pocket in the back that is awkward to get into.

I have a bunch of the Performance Ultra 2 jerseys for hot weather. Fred-ish I know but well made, fit well (no flapping), comfortable, breathe well, have good pockets, made out of nice fabrics, full zip, innocuous designs and they stand up well to washing. They're usually $30. Not sure what else I could possible need.

Depends who is selling the jersey. A good looking young lady telling me I look good in a jersey will certainly get more than the older balding guy tossing it to me and saying this one is for you. :thumb:

I honestly pay way more for clothing than I do on my bikes, relatively speaking.

I would never pay for Dura-Ace or Record, for example - but there's almost no limit to what I'll spend on clothing. Ultegra doesn't detract from my riding at all, but being cold/wet/hot does.

That said, I'm a big fan of Castelli summer gear. Their jersey and bib shorts suit me well. For cold weather gear, I'm gradually moving to Rapha wool. It's very expensive, but it's worth it in my estimation. Then again my favourite gloves are $10 'Axiom' cheapies...

I don't like to spend more than $60 bucks on a summer jersey. Bibs, shorts and winter gear are a different story, though.

bonk town and RC can be your friend. I don't like to spend more then I would then club stuff, so $60 max for jerseys and $100 max for bibs.

I grew up riding bikes in t-shirts & jeans. Works fine for me.

I got cheap after buying my first bike which I got when I was a beginning triathlete on the recommendation of fellow roadies and triathletes based upon my running ability (I ran a lot, like 70 miles per week.) Got a Cervelo bike right off the bat. Figured I'd spend more and be happier not upgrading.

That turned out to be good advice in terms of not needing to upgrade, but honestly, Ive since gotten cheaper in everything else. Once it became crystal clear that road ability had zero to do with gear or even the bike and everything to do with training, I cared a lot less about the 'stuff.'

We all know it, but the 41 is filled with people who are really into 'stuff' and not into the training. That's fine as long as you know you're into it for the reasons of collecting bike gear or hobbying with the stuff, but don't confuse that one bit for actually improving your performance.

You can (and we have one guy on our club ride who does it) hammer with the best of them on a totally dirty, cheapo 80s era steel Schwinn bike with rust on it, and downtube shifters from the same era just as well as the best of them. (At least at the amateur level.) I've been crushed by a fair number of older cyclists who are retired and ride the crap out of their bikes (like 4-6 hours every day, 7 days per week) since it's all they do, and they often rock the most rattiest, oldest jerseys and gear you can imagine. And I'm not that slow on a bike.

I personally would be much happier taking all the gear out of cycling. I've since taken to riding my 'backup commuting' bike nearly exclusively outdoors - it's a $650 new Giant Defy3, with no upgrades. Sora parts. Stock wheels. I am not limited one bit by it.

Get the gear if you enjoy it, but if you live to train or ride, focus on that and forget the rest.

^^^Aw, great! Now here comes 6 pages of "I'm not a poser" replies. :roflmao2: