Isadore is a Slovakia based cycling apparel founded by professional cyclists brothers and are well known for their premium quality, commitment to sustainability, and modern designs. In this review we’ll be looking at two specific women’s cycling pieces in Isadore’s product line: the Debut Shorts and the Signature Thermal Long Sleeve Jersey. The Debut Shorts retail for $145 and have similar construction as Isadore’s popular men’s bib shorts sans the bib straps. They feature dual Power Lycra materials for optimal durability and fit as well as a women’s specific chamois. We paired the shorts with the $190 Signature Thermal Long Sleeve Jersey, a classic long sleeve jersey with 44% Merino wool blend. The jersey’s anatomically shaped fit combines minimalist aesthetics with a warm yet breathable design.
Using a similar construction as the Isadore men’s bib shorts, the Debut Shorts are high performance cycling shorts with premium aesthetics. Instead of bib straps, the Debut Shorts feature a wide waistband to ensure a comfortable and secure fit. You’ll even find fabric loops on the insides of the shorts on either side that can be used to hang the shorts or help pull them on. The shorts also use a dual Power Lycra construction with soft and stretchy material where fit is important and a more durable material at the contact points. The shorts have contrasting black paneling and reflective Isadore logos on each leg for additional safety in low visibility conditions.
Whether you’re dedicated enough to ride in winter or just have chilly morning rides, long sleeve jerseys are an essential part of a cyclist’s wardrobe. The Signature Thermal Long Sleeve Jersey combines the minimalist aesthetics, tailored fit, and premium details found in Isadore’s jerseys with a 44% Merino wool blend for warmth and breathability. The jersey has a solid color scheme with no branding aside from an Isadore logo on the side for a timeless visual design. The mint color jersey looks lovely in person and has color matched zippers and silicone detailing…
… Read the full review @ https://thesweetcyclists.com/isadore-womens-signature-thermal-long-sleeve-debut-shorts-cycling-kit-review/
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00:00 Intro
00:13 Unboxing + Specs
02:55 Fit + Finish
09:05 On The Road
10:18 The Final Score
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Thanks for tuning in today we’re going to be reviewing the Isadore Women’s Signature Thermal Long Sleeve jersey and the Debut Shorts. Based in the EU, Isadore is a popular brand that provides a lot of men’s and women’s specific items that focus on sustainability premium fit / finish and ethical design practices. What we have here today is two items in their women’s line their Signature Thermal Long Sleeve Jersey which is a great three season jersey as well as the Debut shorts which are both designed for anatomically fit women. So we’ll go ahead and review the packaging first you can see it’s a nice sustainable plastic bag recyclable and it’s great to see here a lot of cycling can be non-green a lot of disposable items so it’s nice to see some more recyclable options and compostable bags like this. Otherwise there’s two basic bags and they come in a larger box. We’ll go ahead and take them out and go over the specs. Starting with the long sleeve jersey this is their Signature Long Sleeve jersey and it’s designed to really one of your favorite items in your closet. It combines a lot of their Signature Jersey features with this Thermal Long Sleeve construction for a three season riding, so it’s designed for cold weather or winter riding depending how you layer it. It has a women’s specific anatomical fit with these elastic side panels designed to really form around you. It has large four large pockets in the rear as well as a zippered one for valuables. It’s also made in the EUR which is really nice to see it’s not a made in china product and it has their premium almost brandless construction. So you can see no real big Isadore logos just small reflective ones on the sides. It’s also made of Merino Wool blend which is one of our favorite fabrics with about 44 to really provide that softness and the thermal benefits. Now let’s take a look at the Debut Shorts in terms of specs this is a $145 they’re pretty well priced and it mimics a lot of their features from the men’s bib shorts minus the actual bib straps. It has a power lycra construction so two forms of power lycra it’s an italian source fabric and it has a very soft and elastic material as well as a more durable rip stop material that’ll prevent it from getting beat up at the contact points. It has a women’s specific what they call a 4d chamois which is a multi-layer construction with different thicknesses and provide all-day comfort. You have silicone grippers as well so this will keep it in place with the Isadore logo on there and as with all of Isadore’s products you have reflective panels here and reflective detailing to make sure you’re actually visible at night. Now lets look at the fit and finish of the women’s debut short. You can see this is a non-strap version so unlike bib shorts which have these big straps you have just a wider waistband here and what’s important about wearing just normal shorts you want to make sure you’re comfortable so that’s why there’s a lot wider panels. You have silicone grippers along the edge too to keep it in place and some other nice features here on the waist are these little hoops. So you have these Isadore branded fabric hoops on the inside and that’s great for either hanging this or for just pulling up the edges if they were to come down a little bit. The tag is actually printed directly on here so no real discomfort you don’t have any piece of fabric and you have all these specs right there. Simple black construction and this uses two different lycra power materials. Isadore describes them as italian sourced and one is soft while the other one is more of a rip or scratch resistant design so you’ll find that fabric where you contact the saddle where this can kind of wear down with use and then the softer material where it touches your skin. So you can see multi-panel design really divine designed to form around you has a mid-level compression so you can see a really wrap around you and then hug you while you’re riding. You have the Isadore branding on the side really subtle with this reflective logo and again it’s really important to have reflective elements because being a black bib shorts or shorts you can really blend in at night so really nice to see that here it’s on both sides too so both legs. You have the same silicone grippers on the hems and again really great so that’ll prevent it from sliding up and down and if you’re wearing leg warmers they can really tuck under there and then stay in place. You have a flat lock stitching so you can see no real fabric bulk it’s nice and flat and the insides are all really well finished as well so soft to the touch and a nice elastic feel. The most important part of any shorts for cycling is the kamwa or chamois so this is a 4d design that’s women’s specific seamless so you can see it they describe it as a multi a four level multi-layer construction so you have soft material the edges and then different densities where you need it designed for all the saddle rides so really supposed to be quite comfortable and you can see a nice large coverage with extensions on the edges. You can see it’s very securely attached with those flat lock stitching again so something that should last quite a few miles. Now let’s go over the fit and finish of the Thermal Long Sleeve jersey you can see it has a very nice form-fitting design and minimal branding. As with our other signature items you don’t have big bold logos instead you have very subtle ones. You have Isadore here with this little raised rubber reflective piece and then on the rear you have Isadore on the pocket so really nice minimal branding one solid color design. It’s offered in a few colors we have the mint version here which looks really good in person and you can see it has a long full length front zipper. You have the zipper garage on both ends which is these little loops here and that prevents the zipper from actually chafing against you. There is a color matched zipper which looks great in the mint and the little windproof backing which is essential for cold weather riding. As it keeps you nice and warm you have the merino wool on the inside so very soft so it feels really good to the touch and you have minimal branding again with this little raised Isadore logo on the rear and then this taller collar to keep you warm around the neck. Multi-panel design here so that’s what keeps it really form fitting you have these elastic side panels so you can see nice and soft and you can see how much it tucks in around the waist so nice form fitting. You can still wear base layers underneath this so you can layer accordingly to the weather you can see on the front you have this pocket and it’s actually accessible on the inside which is really nice. So a little pocket here so you can hide valuables keys smaller things you don’t need access to although you do see the seams on the exterior. You have the drop tail on the bottom as with any jersey and the Isadore silicone gripper so this will prevent it from moving around and you can see that wraps all the way around really high quality construction. You can see flat lock stitching to keep it nice and flat you have their branding and size specifications right on the inside with this flat tag. So it won’t be chafing against your skin and again really soft on the inside. You can see these multi-panels so elastic here and a little bit stiffer there and again very form-fitting so you can even see how the sleeves kind of cut in and it’s a two-piece design with the bottom one having that more elastic material. You have the long hems on the sleeves as well to keep you nice and warm. If we flip it over you can see very simple solid construction. You have the Isadore logo here with the reflective material. Three large pockets so you can see nice and deep and they’re actually reinforced too so they won’t sag. You can see that backing on there and then you have the zippered pocket on the right side with what appears to be a waterproof material too so this is great for cards smaller things that you want to keep nice and dry and then with the zipper design it won’t fall out when you’re trying to reach for something else. We also like Isadore for including their reflective material so even though this is a brighter color you have this reflective edging and reflective logo so that keeps you visible at night which is great so you want to look stylish and be safe. Everything’s nice and color matched with this mint color as well and again that drop tail you can see it comes down pretty far so it keeps you nice and warm. Now let’s take a look at the kit on the road. As you can see our test rider is wearing a POC helmet that’s almost a perfect match for that long sleeve jersey you can see it’s a great color match it looks even better in person. That’s a great thing about Isadore all their products have that nice solid color schemes that look really distinct and modern unlike a lot of gear which has a lot of branding on there very minimal here and you have very form fitting design. What’s great about the long sleeve jersey is you can see that even though it is tight around you it has enough elasticity that you can wear base layers underneath and where to wear whatever you need for the appropriate temperature being a merino wool you get the magic quality of having breathability and warmth. So overall long sleeve jersey works well and those big three pockets in the back with a fourth zipper and the fifth on the front is a great combination. In terms of the bib shorts that was less of a success at least for our test rider. She found it quite uncomfortable with a pressure point right off the front of the chamois. So as with any saddles you want to make sure you can try to test fit these or buy from somewhere you could potentially return otherwise these shorts on are nicely designed you have a wide waistband reflective logo and again that modern style that’ll match a variety of kits. Now let’s go over the scorecard for the Isadore women’s signature and debut cycling kit. We’re going to grade it on three different categories: design, sizing and comfort. For these shorts we’d give the design an A. It has a nice minimal styling reflective logos and thoughtful details like the loops on the inside it also has a wide waistband so you don’t have a pressure point around your waist which is something shorts typically have. For sizing we’d also give it an A as it matches the sizing guide so you can use that with confidence and find the one that fits for you. Comfort-wise we give it a B- the chamios just wasn’t a good fit for our test rider as with any saddle or bib short type review we would recommend trying it for yourself as your experience may differ from ours. For the Thermal Long Sleeve Jersey that one’s an A across the board. Again minimalist style really premium colors and you have the nice form fit with the tailored elastic construct that really hugs around you. We also appreciate all the pockets you have three pockets in the back a fourth zippered one and then a fifth on the front. Sizing it’s really contoured around you so you get that race fit but it’s still elastic so you can wear base layers underneath and wear it in a variety of temperatures and then comfort of course is an A because of the merino wool construction has a magic balance of breathability and warmth. Thanks for watching this review don’t forget to like and subscribe. You can see more content from us on our website at thesweetcyclists.com as well as follow us on Instagram at @TheSweetCyclists. This is The Sweet Cyclist reminding you to enjoy the ride!