Originally Posted by Koyote

I’m a little bit confused now: you’ve been claiming that the “high-end” jerseys are no better than your cheapies. Is that the argument? Because now you seem to be arguing that they’re just not worth the asking prices - which is a very different thing. “Worth“ is subjective. If you’re stating that those jerseys are not “worth it” to you, you’ll get no argument for me. But hopefully you can acknowledge that for other riders – – people who have other priorities and goals, who ride longer distances and perhaps on different terrain, and who have different budgets – – those expensive jerseys may be “worth it.”.

I’ll add this: if you’ve only ever tried on these jerseys in stores, you should have at least noticed that they are made of better textiles, they fit better, etc. Even then, you’re not really equipped to judge their performance. For that, you need to ride in a really good jersey – – you might notice that it wicks moisture and regulates body temperature better, that it has less extraneous fabric to flap in the breeze, that the pockets are easier to access and hold things more securely, that it does not ride up in back or droop down like a cheap jersey, etc. A lot of good cycling apparel feels like it fits poorly when you’re standing up in a shop, and then it’s perfect once you’re on a bike in riding position. Lots of little seemingly small improvements add up to a big leap in quality.

Again, I’m not arguing that this kind of apparel should be “worth it“ to you. But for you to judge it without ever trying it? That’s just silly.