Review: dhb Professional ASV Jersey and Shorts

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Items reviewed by Chris Baillie –

Over the last month we’ve had in a set of Wiggle’s dhb Professional ASV Short Sleeve Cycle Jersey and dhb Professional ASV Bib Shorts for review. Unfortunately the recent weather hasn’t been ideal for riding in short sleeved jerseys and bib shorts but we paired them up with some arm and leg warmers to get some decent miles in wearing the kit before posting a review.

wiggle-dhb-pro-review-header
dhb Professional ASV Short Sleeve Cycle Jersey and Bib Shorts

dhb clothing has always had a good reputation for offering great value for money but the professional line has been developed to bring a more premium feel to the range with the use of advanced fabrics and a closer more aerodynamic cut designed around a slimmer cyclists build. Wiggle claim the kit is exactly the same technical specification as that used by the Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling team kit so if it’s good enough for them it should probably be good enough for us too.

Being Wiggle’s own in house dhb can get unfairly pigeon holed as a budget brand by some riders but upon opening the Professional ASV kit we were pleasantly surprised by the quality fit and feel of the items which easily matches up to some of the more premium brands we’ve used.

dhb professional unpacking
dhb Professional ASV Short Sleeve Cycle Jersey and Bib Shorts

We’ve had the kit for a several weeks now so as well as riding in it we’ve put it through several wash cycles and it still remains looking like new. We’ll have to report back on how it holds up over a more extended period of use but so far so good in terms of general fabric quality and stitching.

In addition to the short sleeve jersey and bib shorts we reviewed the dhb Professional ASV range also includes long sleeve jersey options, bib tights and matching socks if you want to complete the look. You can check out the full range over on the Wiggle website at dhb Professional ASV Clothing.

We take a look in each item we had in for review in a bit more detail below.

dhb Professional ASV Jersey – £59.99

Manufacturers website – Wiggle dhb Professional ASV Jersey

dhb Professional ASV kit
dhb Professional ASV kit

First up the jersey, it’s a typical cycling jersey design with the standard 3 pockets to the rear as well as a smaller zipped pocket that is ideal for keeping your keys or cash safe. It’s also nice to see the inclusion of a full length zip; although it stayed firmly zipped up during our testing it’s always good to have the option of the extra ventilation a full length zip offers and hopefully we’ll soon get some hotter weather to warrant this!

The jersey is made from a hydrofit fabric which is claimed to help wick away sweat and also has an anti bacterial treatment which should keep it smelling fresh for longer, both are difficult things to test but we didn’t have any issues with the fabrics wicking properties or smell so I guess they work. Probably the lightweight fabric also helps here as well and for those weight weeny obsessives Wiggle helpfully publish the jersey weight at 120g for a size Medium.

The bit that impressed most with the jersey was the fit, there’s no slackness to flap around in the wind but it doesn’t feel too tight that it’s restrictive whilst the rear pockets held their position and didn’t sag excessively even when stuffed with all the usual riding kit.

The design is quite bold with large blocks of colour but it’s really going to come down to personal taste whether you do or don’t like the style, it certainly stands out amongst the monochrome jersey designs that we see lots of riders wearing at the moment which is no bad thing in our opinion. As well as the blue colour we had in to test there’s also a red option available if that’s more to your taste or you feel the need to colour coordinate with your bike. At the moment Wiggle also still have stock of a yellow colour option which was part of the Spring/Summer 2014 range.

Professional ASV Short Sleeve Cycle Jersey
Professional ASV Short Sleeve Cycle Jersey

dhb Professional ASV Bib Shorts – £64.99

Manufacturers website – Wiggle dhb Professional ASV Bib Shorts

Bib shorts can always be a bit of a personal choice, what works for one rider might not necessarily work for another, we’re all different body shapes and fit is the most important aspect in finding something that is right for you. Personally I’m a big fan of my Assos shorts so inevitably anything else I try ends up getting compared back to these despite the sometimes obvious price difference.

At 6’3″ I’m quite tall and skinny so usually I end up going for an XL size in bib tights to get the right length in the legs and for the shoulder straps to not be too tight. That can sometimes mean the legs fitting a bit loose which is never good for comfort or looks. Luckily the fit on the dhb professional shorts was pretty much spot on, they’re quite a lightweight 4 way stretch fabric and a cut designed for a slim build which suited me well.

The wide leg grippers stop the shorts riding up without pulling on the skin and also does a good job of keeping knee and leg warmers in place whilst the mesh bib section has wide comfortable straps that stop the bibs from sliding down.

The chamois is Cytech’s Elastic Interface endurance pad which, as the name suggests, is designed to offer comfort over longer rides and it does a good job of providing enough cushioning without feeling too bulky. It also stays in place well so you don’t feel the need to keep trying to adjust it which is sometimes the case on cheaper and less well designed shorts. For those that haven’t heard of Cytech they’re a leading designer and manufacturer of chamois inserts with their pads found in a wide range of custom clothing as well as in some high end brands such as Assos and Rapha. They make a huge range of pads so it’s not the same one used by all manufacturers but they certainly know a thing or two about designing a decent insert so it’s great to find such a good quality choice at this price point.

To date I’ve only had the chance to test them on 2 hour rides and found them to be very comfortable so it will be interesting to see how they perform over longer rides over the coming months.

Like the jersey there’s also a red and black option available as well as the blue and black option we had in for review.

dhb Professional ASV Bib Shorts
dhb Professional ASV Bib Shorts

Our Verdict

A well designed and good quality set of riding kit with a fit that suits the slimmer athletic built rider. The dhb brand might not have the same cachet as some others but the Professional ASV range offers great value that can give easily give the premium brands a run for their money.

Have your say…

If you’ve tried the items we’ve tested please let us know what you think by posting a comment below.

Interested in purchasing dhb Professional Clothing?

The brand is available exclusively through Wiggle…

wiggle-thumbWiggle | dhb Professional ASV Short Sleeve Jersey

The dhb Professional ASV Short Sleeve jersey we tested is currently available from Wiggle for £59.99 and free UK delivery.

 

wiggle-thumbWiggle | dhb Professional ASV Bib Shorts

The dhb Professional ASV Bib Shorts we tested is currently available from Wiggle for £64.99 and free UK delivery.