Colomba 1970s

Based on a 1974 Retro Jerseys worn by the leading team in the Peace Race,the Colomba are a new Cycling apparel company based in Richmond,North Yorkshire, who offer a small but perfectly formed range of four jerseys at present. All jerseys in the range are made using Sportwool™, an increasingly popular technical fabric for sportswear that combines the best aspects of modern man-made fabrics with the natural benefits of merino wool. It's a well fitting garment with more than a hint of retro chic. It looks good and performs well; all for a very reasonable price.

In Colomba’s words “Our inspiration comes from the golden era of cycling when cycling jerseys were wool and designs were simple but stylish”, and this translates into four designs; an Italian tricolour (the only one with a long sleeved option), plain black with small logos on the chest and sleeves, blue with white arm bands and large Colomba dove emblem on the back, and finally the one tested here, the Peace jersey.

The Peace Jersey is based closely on the 1970s incarnation of the jersey awarded to the leading team in the Peace Race, the famous amateur stage race. The Sportwool™ fabric used here is a slightly heavier grade than similar jerseys from other manufacturers (read Rapha), and that makes it slightly warmer; nice for Spring, but maybe a little heavy for really hot summer days.

The coloured bands are made from separate panels of dyed fabric stitched together and flatlocked to prevent them rubbing; the stitching is of excellent quality throughout giving a quality finish to the garment.

At the neck there is a short, high quality YKK zip for ventilation. The zip is lined to prevent chafing, and the lining extends past the top of the zip to form a guard which covers the zip ends and the zipper itself when fully up, to prevent them rubbing your neck.

To the rear there is the usual three-pocket configuration, with a fourth waterproof zip pocket set into the right hand one of the three which is useful for cash, keys and mobile phones. The pockets are bound at the openings to ensure they keep their cargo in place, and scalloped to give good load carrying capacity. Sportwool™ wins over full merino wool garments here, in that it retains its shape well when loaded and doesn’t sag.

The fit is tailored and close without being tight, and remained comfortable on all-day rides; the tail is cut long to cover you when leaning forward on the bike, and is held in place by a band of wide grippy elastic material which did a good job of keeping the tail of the jersey in position.

Branding is quite bold, with the Colomba name emblazoned front and back across the white centre band in large flock letters applied to the fabric, along with Colomba’s dove emblem embroidered on both sleeves. The font used for the flock lettering adds to the 1970s feel.

Performance is good: the Sportwool™ fabric wicks sweat very well, keeping you warm without feeling clammy, and cool when the temperature outside rises. Well-designed pockets top off an all round good performer.

I wore the Peace Jersey for several rides and no odours built up at all, in the end I washed it due to it getting a bit grubby (rather than smelly) with all the dust I picked up after one particularly long hot day in the saddle. It washed well, with no colour runs or shrinkage at low temperature and came out as good as new. The quality of construction and materials used in the Peace Jersey are excellent, and the tailoring creates