Rapha Pro Team Thermal Aerosuit

Rapha's new Pro Team Thermal Aerosuit is comfortable, weather-beating and better value than buying the jacket and tights that it's based on separately.

The onesie concept, of combining tights and jacket into one garment, isn't new. Castelli was there first with its Sanremo Thermosuit, and Rapha has followed suit with its aim of producing the 'ultimate garment for high-intensity winter riding'. Such a description makes it clear this was developed for professional racers and hardcore training cyclists who don't want to take to the turbo trainer when it's ghastly out.

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Like Castelli, Rapha has combined two existing garments, with some obvious modifications. The top half is based on the excellent Pro Team Jacket, and the legs are borrowed from the Pro Team Winter Tights. It's constructed using a three-layer waterproof softshell for the front of the top, body and legs, with a brushed-back fabric for all the rear-facing sections. That means it's a more breathable fabric at the back, where you need less protection, and waterproof on the front, for when you're battling a headwind and horizontal rain.

The collar is tallish to keep out chills, and the main zipper has a chunky pull handle so it's easy to grab when wearing winter gloves. Toilet stops aren't a problem.

Inside the Aerosuit you'll find the same padded insert as used in the regular Rapha Bib Shorts and Pro Team Bib Shorts, and it's a very comfortable thing to sit on.

There are three rear pockets, placed a bit higher than in Castelli's suit where they tend to sit a bit too low for my liking. An additional small zipped pocket on the front is ideal for house keys.

While it's a bit of a struggle to get your arms and legs into the Aerosuit – there are no zippers at the ankles, just straight openings, and no stirrups – once you're in and zipped up, it's noticeably more comfortable than most regular jersey and jacket combinations. There are no bib straps to irritate at the shoulders, no waistband digging into your stomach, and no need to be constantly pulling the jacket down at the back, as can sometimes happen.

Nor is there any restriction or pulling of the fabric when pedalling or moving out of the saddle when climbing. It feels almost like you're not wearing anything. But you are wearing something, and the protection from the elements is good enough to look after you on a drizzly and cold ride. The fabric keeps the wind out and it does a good job of dealing with rain. It's not one hundred per cent waterproof but copes with sustained downpours well. If it's absolutely thundering down, throwing on a waterproof jacket is a prudent choice.

It also copes well with low temperatures, but that's based on you riding at a decent lick – it's designed for high-paced riding, not leisurely trips to a cafe. It's for people who go out and train and ride at a high intensity and generate a lot of body heat. Do this and it's perfectly warm. It's adequately breathable as well – I didn't overheat once during testing. I tested it with a short-sleeve chunky merino baselayer and it proved a good match. There's not a lot of space under the arms for a long-sleeve layer, although maybe a tight fitting one would be fine.

The big downside to buying a one-piece suit is if you need different sized tights and jackets. I typically wear medium size tights and small jerseys and jackets, but, fortunately for me, the small size Aerosuit fitted me really well. It's probably down to the Pro Team part of the name. 

> Need a baselayer to go underneath? Check out our guide to the best here

It wasn't unduly tight around the legs or tights, and the top was snug, though not tight, in all the right places, with the slight exception that, with the zipper done right up it perhaps needed a bit more length in the front panels for my height. I rarely ride with a zipper fully closed, though, so it wasn't a huge problem.

For versatility, as well as achieving a better fit, buying the jacket and tights separately might be the better option, but for ultimate comfort – if the size is right – you can't really beat buying the Aerosuit. It makes dressing for ghastly days really easy – no deliberating about what jacket to pair with what tights, it's like pulling on a black suit. Easy. Expensive, yes, but a jolly impressive bit of kit that fulfils the brief. It would be nice to see some more reflective details and some more colour options, though.

Verdict

One-piece winter insulation with incredible comfort and copes well with the worst weather