Spiro Men’s Bikewear Crosslite Gilet

Review by Colin Dennis

Often misunderstood, a good quality Gilet should be an essential item in your cycling armoury – a bit like this one, really.

Is the weather with you a little too warm for a jacket, or is it a bit too cool for just a single layer? The answer my friend, isn’t just blowing in the wind, I think you’ll find the answer in a Gilet. 

Ok, so Bob Dylan didn’t write that song with those lyrics, but if he was a cyclist he would probably have seen the sense in wearing a Gilet; it’s the perfect garment for when you can’t make your mind up.

Spiro’s take on the classic Gilet is that you get plenty of wind protection up front balanced out by a stretchy mesh back that lets the stream out when you warm up.

Wind is the real enemy when cycling, anyone will tell you that, and protecting your chest and lungs is paramount on chilly morning or evening rides. If you can protect the vital core areas, such as the chest without overheating, then you’re off to a flying start.

On the collar tab of Spiro’s Bikewear Crosslite Gilet garment there is a lovely little tag-line that says ‘Breathe to perform’ I like that, it says a lot without sounding to pretentious. Here it means that your Gilet is going to allow any superfluous heat to escape via the mesh backing, while affording your core body area a great deal of wind protection. 

Its worthwhile noting that wind often translates into even colder temperatures. Finding the balance between keeping warm, but not overheating is always a fickle thing; a good quality Gilet is often a huge step in the right direction though. Well, that’s my take on things!

The reflective markings on the Crosslite Gilet are plentiful without making you look like a school crossing lollypop person. The colour is a subtle shade of high visibility yellowish green that kind of works for me. It’s certainly bright enough to be classed as safety wear, but it also works as a regular biking item any time of the day or year without making me look jaundiced. 

Neat little touches like the zip garage at the neckline keeps things nice and tidily out of the way and the collar sits reasonably high when zipped right up, I like this; it helps keep my scrawny neck just that little bit more protected from the chill. There's a nice long drop on to the tail too, just right for keeping your bum warm and dry.

Elasticated hems around the arm pits are a godsend, any garment that’s too tight, or pulls around the pits, needs consigning to the car boot sale box. Spiro design boffins clearly ride bikes and know what works and what doesn’t – a lot like Bob Dylan and his lyrics, I guess!