Giro New Road Mobility Shirt

What we have here, ladies and gents, is a shirt. For One. Hundred. Pounds. It's not waterproof, it's not insulated, there are no reflectives and I can guarantee that it will not make you any faster. I suspect that for most people that is probably all the information you really need from this review. Move along, now.

There's a theme that's run through all of the Giro New Road gear that we've been reviewing lately. It starts with the shock of "how much?!", followed by a quick bit of googling to confirm that yes, the pricing of similar items from Rapha, Vulpine and (in this case) Ted Baker isn't much different. In the end it all comes down to how much you are prepared to pay for clothes - plenty of people will pay this sort of money for a shirt, but for a lot of people - me included - a hundred quid seems a pretty insane price for a shirt.

So for the purposes of testing we're going to have to park that - you're either willing to pay this sort of money or you're not - and move on t the question of whether it's any good?

Of course, it's a really nice shirt. Made of a fairly heavyweight blend of 97% cotton and 3% lycra, it's also got some give in the fabric. You wouldn't call it stretchy, but it makes it a bit easier getting in and out of it, particularly if you're a slob who doesn't always bother to undo the buttons first, like me. As you might imagine, the lycra also makes it pretty comfortable to wear on the bike (at least as far as shirts are concerned), while allowing it to be slim-fitting without being restrictive.

You might not think so from the pictures, but the chambray fabric is reasonably crease-resistant too. I've worn it at work quite a bit, although generally not having ridden there in it first; the hills en route mean that getting changed on arrival is pretty much a must. So it arrives at work folded in a pannier and emerges fairly unfurrowed, which is more than can be said for some of my other workwear.

If you do want to wear it on the bike, as surely you must if you're still reading this far down, then you'll appreciate the pleats at either side of the back. Together with the yielding nature of the fabric, these extra folds open up when you're reaching forwards to the bars, so you don't get the feeling of being constricted across the back.

The Mobility Shirt (I'm guessing in California the word doesn't make people think of wheelchairs and stairlifts) is available in two colours, the grey-blue China Blue that we have, and a darker grey, inaccurately called Jet Black. It comes in a wide range of sizes, from small to XXL. Here we have the medium, which is a good fit on me - like Mat in the pictures, I'm around 6ft 3in tall and somewhere in the vicinity of 12 stone. So if you're Quintana-sized, I'm guessing the small might be a bit on the big side for you. With a bit of hunting around online, I found Giro's sizing chart, but as ever, try it on in a shop if you can.

There are some interesting styling features, including the "hidden" pocket. Can you see it? Yep, that's right, it's under that flap on the chest. The popper holding this flap down is a good idea, preventing the contents spilling out as you sprint for the lights, and the pocket itself is just about big enough to hold a phone. The buttons down the front are concealed behind a fly-front placket (what I'd have called a flap), which gives a contemporary look. It's also a smart feature if you're going to use a bag while wearing this shirt, preventing you from accidentally ripping the buttons off with the strap. All of the buttons have tiny Giro branding around the edge; in fact this is the only branding visible from the outside.

One reservation when it comes to using this shirt for riding, though. When wet, the fabric darkens quite a lot. This shirt isn't meant as an outer layer, so you'd want something over it if you were heading out into the rain. Just don't forget your anti-perspirant on warmer days, if you want to avoid the Camacho.

Smart shirts for cyclists is a concept which a few of the high-end brands have got into recently. The Mobility shirt has competitors from Ted Baker (£95), Vulpine (also £95), and Rapha (£150). Giro have the Wind Shirt, also from the New Road range, priced at £149. This is made from Epic Cotton, giving protection against wind and water. Sadly, it appears that Howies have discontinued their Etape shirt, which was priced at only £59.

The Mobility Shirt is really well-made, fits well and looks pretty smart. It has some features which make it a bit better for riding in than most shirts, but for me that isn't really enough to justify that monster pricetag.

Verdict

Smart, well-made shirt with tweaks to suit use on a bike, but like all of currently available smart shirts for cycling it's not cheap