When I moved to Taiwan my cycling jersey was one of the things I had to leave at home. I figured what with Taiwan being the cycling manufacturing capital of the world that finding decent gear here wouldn’t be too much of a challenge.

Upon arriving here however I quickly came to the realisation that unless you wanted to deck yourself out in cheap and crappy Giant branded cycling apparel, you didn’t have many options.

Thus the search for a decent cycling jersey online commenced and in the end I decided it would be a great opportunity to try out some of Ground Effect’s cycling gear.

I’d heard good things about Ground Effect gear and the simplicity of their ‘Median Strip’ Merino wool cycling jersey caught my eye.

Admittedly I was bit reluctant to purchase a wool based cycling jersey because I’m one of those people who can’t wear a sweater on bare skin… it just irritates me and feels scratchy. In doing some research though I’d read about the benefits of woolen cycling jerseys and it seemed that so long as you weren’t buying bargain basement stuff the feel off the wool was quite nice.

Still not 100% convinced, I decided to put an order in for a Median Strip anyway to test one out and after about a week my jersey arrived. After four or five months of use, here’s my thoughts.

Comfort

I’m pleased to report that comfort wise the Merino wool based Median Strip is awesome. Wearing it causes no dramas to my skin and it’s easy to forget the jersey is actually made of wool.

This is mostly due to the fact that from what I gather, Merino wool for use in athletic garments is much finer then say your standard sweater wool. The finer wool is definitely worth the cost though and shouldn’t irritate you in the slightest.

Sweat wicking properties

Wool is a natural moisture absorber and the Median Strip does a great job of keeping me cool. Of course it does have a saturation point but riding around in Taiwan’s 35+ degree summer days, you’re going to get that with any cycling jersey.

Despite the great wicking ability of the woolen jersey though, I have found that unlike my fully synthetic jersey the saturation point is reached much faster when wearing a woolen jersey. This brings me to my next point;

Saturation point

To be a little clearer I’ll establish that saturation point is the point at which the jersey starts to feel wet. It basically means the rate of evaporation on the outer surface of the jersey is slower then the rate of sweat absorption off your skin. This causes the jersey to feel wet against your skin.

Usually it’s only temporary as, unless you’re constantly hill climbing, the jersey will naturally dry itself off as you coast along on flats or a downhill.

Unfortunately I’ve noticed the Median Strip’s self drying properties are well below that of a synthetic jersey.

As a cyclist I don’t sweat much anyway yet it’s hard not to notice the patches of moisture that accumulate on the Median Strip as you cycle around. I’ve since had my synthetic Uno ‘Jansie’ jersey shipped over and can confirm it’s evaporation rate is quite capable of keeping up with Taiwan’s heat.

One annoying property of the woolen jersey is that sometimes it’s moisture absorption properties seem a little too great. For example earlier in the year just before summer started, every day you’d have the moisture in the air rise up to the clouds before being dumped back down again once the sun went down.

This wasn’t rain or anything but it was noticeable as thick humidity in the air. If my Median Strip was hanging outside for a bit of air, I noticed that it’d actually start to absorb moisture from the air and accumulate sweat patches on the outer surface as if I’d just come back from a ride.

Slightly annoying if I woke up for a morning ride and the jersey hadn’t dried itself from absorbing moisture in the air all night. This isn’t a problem with my synthetic jersey so I presume is a pitfall of using a woolen jersey in a humid environment.

Mind you the inside of the jersey stays dry, which is important… but it’s kind of annoying riding around with giant visible wet patches on the outside of your jersey. Especially if you’re not even working up a sweat.

Durability

Durability wise the Median Strip woolen jersey feels tough and durable. I imagine I’m going to get many years of use out of it, although due to the drying problems I have relegated it to casual rides only. For mountain climbs it just doesn’t dry fast enough.

Wash wise I wash it with my normal colors but do place it in a mesh laundry bag. After 4-5 months it looks as good as new and I don’t see it wearing out any time soon. Thanks in part I imagine to the great build quality from Ground Effect themselves.

Conclusion

If you live in a cooler, less tropical climate then Taiwan then a woolen jersey might be a perfect fit for you. A decent woolen jersey is no more or less comfortable then a synthetic jersey however they do tend to be a little less ‘superhero’ looking which in my mind is a big plus.

If you’re a heavy sweater or live in a warmer climate though I’d probably give woolen cycling jerseys a miss and just stick with your premium synthetics. They dry better and I’ve found leave you cooler.

All in all I don’t regret my woolen jersey purchase as the Median Strip design is a lot more subtle and suitable for casual rides,  but I probably won’t be buying another one anytime soon. At least not for the properties of a woolen cycling jersey alone.

1. Reviewing the Median Strip jersey from Ground Effect
2. Ordering Ground Effect cycle gear from NZ
3. Free cycling course: Confidence riding on Sydney’s roads
4. Riding a tandem bike: My first experience
5. Kerri-Anne Kennerley fails to mask anti-cycling agenda