The Gore Torrent Breathe jersey is a lightweight, mesh-style top ideal for hot-weather riding. The fabric lets plenty of air flow through it to keep you cool, and the fit is close if you don't like your jersey flapping in the wind. It's a bit pricey for what it is, but it's well made and comes in a range of four eye-catching colours in both men's and women's models.
If you're in the market for a jersey, check out our guide to the best summer cycling jerseys, or our guide to the best cheap cycling jerseys.
Steve reviewed Gore's Torrent jersey in spring last year, when he described it as comfortable, stylish and well made. This Torrent Breathe uses the same cut and styling but is made from a lighter fabric with a mesh style designed to improve air flow.
It's made from a recycled polyester blend with a small amount of elastane added to provide some stretch, and the material feels soft against your skin, with no scratchiness or itchiness, so you can wear it with or without a baselayer.
The Torrent Breath uses different size mesh patterns throughout its design, with a more open knit on the arms and side panels to promote the most airflow, while the main section of the body features a tighter knit.
The airflow is really good, though, regardless of the knit size. The end of the review period coincided with some warm weather peaking at around 20°C and the Gore got to show how breathable it is on some steep climbs.
You can feel the air blowing through it too, which means it stays pretty dry, even when you're riding hard.
With a mesh baselayer underneath I found it warm enough down to about 14°C, so it's not a jersey that just going to be limited to those few properly hot weeks of the year that we typically get in the UK.
The fit is what Gore call 'form fit', so it's cut to sit close to the body with little in the way of spare fabric. When holding this large size up it actually looks tiny, but there's so much stretch in the material it delivers a close fit without it ever feeling like it's pulling anywhere or being overly stretched.
The tail is dropped to give coverage to your rear even when you're riding in the drops, with a silicone gripper to stop it sliding up; the front sits higher to stop the fabric bunching.
If I'm honest I'd like to see top and bottom zip garages – the former to prevent any neck irritation, the latter to stop any potential damage to your shorts. In its defence the neck does sit lower than most, so the chance of irritation there is much lower.
The arms are quite long, which could mess with your mid-bicep tan lines and the extra material doesn't necessarily mean better protection from the sun. Gore doesn't mention any SPF protection.
The quality is to a high standard, with the whole jersey looking very well finished throughout, with just the odd stray thread end here and there.
As part of the construction, you get four rear pockets, with three in the traditional layout running horizontally, the two outer ones have a sloped entrance for easier access when on the fly.
You also get a fourth zipped valuables pocket, which I consider to be a given these days.
Value
Priced at £99.99 it's a tenner more than the standard Torrent, a jersey that Steve reckoned was pricey and I tend to agree with him. The Breathe is well made as you'd expect from such a big name – but there is nothing here that stands out as being exceptionally special for the money.
The Van Rysel Road Cycling jersey is a close-cut aero top with high levels of breathability. It costs a mere £39.99 and I really rated it when I reviewed it.
But the Gore is far from alone at this price point. Scott's Premium short sleeve shirt is also designed for warm-weather riding and is now priced at £99.99, up from £90.99 when Ben reviewed it last year.
MAAP's Evade Pro Base Jersey 2.0 is even pricier at £165. That said, Steve did find its performance impressive.
Conclusion
Overall, the Torrent Breathe is a quality jersey that is well made and performs spot on for hot days. It's also good to see recycled material being used. It is pricey, and while not alone at around £100, there are much cheaper options that perform very well.
Verdict
Great fabric for use on warm days, and a fit that will suit those who want a close, aero feel
Make and model: Gore Torrent Breathe jersey
Tell us what the product is for
Gore says: "A superlight mesh jersey allows more airflow to stay cool on long, hot, intense rides."
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Quick-drying materials
Highly breathable with maximum air flow
Tight-fitting jersey with contemporary road style
3 gusseted back pockets
Zipped side pocket for keys and valuables
Silicone hem gripper
Branded full front zip with semi-lock slider
Reflective details
MAIN FABRIC: 91% Polyester (recycled), 9% Elastane
INSERT: 94% Polyester (recycled), 6% Elastane
Machine Wash Cold Delicate
Do Not Bleach
Do Not Tumble Dry
Cool Iron
Dry Clean Except Trichloroethylene, Delicate
Rate the product for quality of construction:
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
7/10
Rate the product for fit:
8/10
Rate the product for sizing:
8/10
It may look small on the hangar, but in reality the sizing is spot on to what you'd expect once you're wearing it.
Rate the product for weight:
8/10
Rate the product for comfort:
8/10
Rate the product for value:
4/10
How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?
The label recommends a 30-degree wash and when following this there were no issues with keeping it clean and looking like new.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
A highly breathable jersey for riding in hot conditions.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Great airflow.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Quite pricey for what it is.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
There are some cheaper and similarly effective options on the market such as the Van Rysel I mentioned in the review. For comparison the equivalent Scott jersey is the same price while the offering from MAAP is considerably more expensive.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Possibly
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
A high-quality jersey as you'd expect from Gore – but it's not exactly groundbreaking for the money.
Age: 44 Height: 180cm Weight: 76kg
I usually ride: This month's test bike My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,
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10 comments
Gore doesn't give an SPF rating, so I'm guessing it's near zero. Will fair skinned types need to wear sunscreen underneath? Will it wash out on a cold delicate wash programme?
Everyone who doesn't want skin cancer would be advised to, all skin types can get pretty nasty damage from the sun.
When I were lad, factor 8 sunscreen was seen as high-protection and 15 was only for us delicate kids. Now 30 seems to be on the low side and most people I know use only 50. Even with 50 I burn if I don't reapply every couple of hours (although I am unusually sweaty).
I'm not really sure it's appropriate for garments with no sun protection to be marketed specifically for use on the hottest (so usually sunniest) days.
So the problem that gives me with a top like this is that you have to wear sunscreen underneath it, but likely the fabric itself then wicks up much of the sunscreen. That leaves your skin unprotected and the garment a yucky mess.
I'm also capable of sweating off suncream in no time at all. I can really recommend P20. Goodness knows what's in it, and it can stain fabrics, but I've used one application for 12 hour sunny days on the bike without burning, whereas I normally burn if I so much as look at the sun.
+1 for P20.
Also, Pelotan is excellent and lasts just as long.
I use Calypso factor 50 once a day, as good as P20 but it doesn't make your clothes green. I have to wear factor 50 summer and winter because of the side effect of my medication and I thoroughly recommend the cream.
I've just run out my P20, so had a look at Pelotan. Seems they only do SPF30, is that right? If I'm only applying it once, I'd prefer to go for the highest SPF possible. But maybe I've misunderstood how SPF numbers work.
I use P20 or Calypso for cycling as they last all day. Yes, P20 especially tends to give fabrics a green tinge - I believe it is exacerbated if you don't leave 15 mins after application before donning your kit. Using bleach in the wash also makes it worse. So far my white cycling sunshirt survives, and anyway I sooner it turned green than me turning red.
I don't think you need a higher SPF on account of it needing only one application per day (or however long it is). The all-day formulas sink into the skin, the others form a layer on top (and so would be especalially prone to rubbing off worn under a mesh jersey like this). The SPF is in theory how many times longer you can stay in the sun compared to wearing no sunscreen for the same amount of tan/burn. How many times you need to reapply is another matter.
My point was that all of these are all day / one application products, so if I'm not going to reapply them at all, it makes sense to me that I would use the one with the highest SPF.
I used to use P20, it's excellent other than what it does to fabrics. Have now switched to Pelotan, equally as good in performance and has the added advantage of your fellow riders commenting on the fact you smell like a pina colada at the start of a club ride.