The identify Velocio won’t be as acquainted to a few of you as biking stalwarts like Castelli and Assos, and the New England model may need solely been round since 2013, but it surely has made a very good identify for itself within the premium attire sector. Named after French bike owner Paul de Vivie, who wrote beneath the identify Velocio, the American model was acquired by SRAM in 2022, however has remained a largely separate entity when it comes to model picture and advertising and marketing.
(Picture credit score: Andy Jones)
Velocio’s Alpha Air is obtainable in a whopping 8 sizes, from XS to XXXXL for males and XXS to XXXL for girls, however Black or Plum Truffle are the one colors for both gender.
Development
The Alpha Air owes extra to outside clothes than it does to extra conventional biking attire. Though Velocio don’t use these phrases, the Alpha Air is successfully a mixture of a fleece-lined Pertex windshell on the entrance and a Powerstretch jacket on the again; lined windproof clothes have lengthy been a mainstay of strolling and mountaineering gear, going proper again to the unique Buffalo designs. Now although, the liner to the wind-resistant materials is Polartec Alpha, a really heat, gentle and compressible high-loft fleece that’s notably breathable and is a far cry from the essential designs of its distant precursors.
The black is the Alpha fleece while the purple is the lighter ‘jersey-weight’ fleece
(Picture credit score: Andy JOnes)
The arms additionally observe this sample, and are half Alpha-lined windproof and half jersey-weight fleece (as Velocio calls it). The collar is excessive and close-fitting with a comfortable Alpha lining, and there are three decent-sized rear pockets made out of the light-weight windproof materials. There is no such thing as a signal of a zipped safety pocket – a pet peeve of mine – however on this occasion, I can grant Velocio somewhat little bit of leeway as I think about that neither materials would take a zipper very simply.
No zipped pocket, and a much less good aesthetic than many highway jackets
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The total-length entrance zip is double-ended, helpful for lavatory breaks, air flow and if something is saved in jersey pockets beneath the jacket.
Weight is noticeable by its absence; the Alpha Air in dimension medium weighs simply 254g, in contrast with, for instance, 405g for the Santini Windbloc Thermo Jacket or 353g for Castelli’s Espresso Air.
And admittedly, that’s about that. It’s a pretty easy design that depends closely on the standard of the materials and the match.
The trip
I’ll confess, I used to be somewhat underwhelmed after I first unboxed the Alpha Air; its lack of weight gave it an virtually flimsy really feel in contrast with the burliness of one thing like Castelli’s Espresso Air Jacket or Van Rysel’s RCR-R Professional 4 Season jacket, and I used to be sceptical about Velocio’s -4°C temperature ranking declare.
The medium fitted me very effectively, and in keeping with most different manufacturers’ jackets, but it surely didn’t actually look or really feel like a very protecting outer layer, so I used to be cautious about when to make use of it to start out with. A brief trip right here, somewhat gravel loop there, in circumstances that weren’t too arctic.
Nevertheless, it handed each successive take a look at with flying colors and so I finally dedicated to a 100km gravel trip with a most forecast temperature of -3°C. With only a long-sleeved base layer beneath and the occasional addition of a gilet when stationary, the Alpha air stored me heat from frigid daybreak to baltic nightfall.
The subsequent chilly blast of Arctic air noticed me deploy it for a 90km highway trip, and once more, it carried out flawlessly, defying my preliminary misgivings about it.
Excellent for exhausting efforts or high-tempo rides
(Picture credit score: Andy Jones)
The extra I trip in several jackets of various manufacturers, materials and functions, the extra I’m satisfied that breathability is by far and away the important thing metric that defines a garment’s efficiency. All of the insulation and/or climate safety is nugatory in case your sweat chills you from the within out; that is the Alpha Air’s pièce de résistance. It’s phenomenally breathable.
These massive fleece panels, in fact, let loads of moist air out by them, however so do the front-facing, Alpha-lined sections. In actual fact, I don’t suppose that these areas are even 100% windproof, but it surely doesn’t matter. They block sufficient breeze that, even in at -6°C (plus windchill), I by no means felt chilly, and my base layer (and pores and skin) remained completely dry. After most rides, I strip off my damp layers as quickly as I enter the home, however with the Alpha Air, I used to be completely snug to make my espresso and poached eggs with out feeling an pressing have to disrobe first.
With the alpha Air, my base layer stayed dry
(Picture credit score: Andy Jones)
There is no such thing as a discernible DWR therapy on the outer, and even gentle mist wets the jacket, however as a result of its breathability is so good, it additionally makes an ideal mid-layer to put on beneath a waterproof. Thus, relatively than laying aside when to placed on an additional layer within the moist as a result of you understand that the boil-in-a-bag feeling is just minutes away, I used to be completely pleased to place my Squall Shell or Shakedry over the Alpha Air.
It’s a flexible piece too, with an aesthetic that’s maybe barely extra gravel than highway race and it might work very effectively for bikepacking, I believe. Its heat and moisture administration capabilities make it excellent for chilly begins and funky climate days, while its low weight signifies that it might be straightforward to pack away when not wanted, albeit not in a jersey pocket.
Worth and conclusion
Really distinctive efficiency, versatility and nice match make it fairly easy to present the Alpha Air 5 stars, even at £192 / $259. It’s not one thing to put on by itself when raining, however it’s straightforward so as to add a water-resistant excessive when required.
Yep, these puddles are all frozen stable
(Picture credit score: Andy Jones)
For prime-exertion rides, its breathability and moisture administration had been merely very good, preserving me heat and, crucially, dry always. In damp circumstances, you would want to hold a water-resistant layer as effectively, however there aren’t many winter riders after I really feel assured sufficient to go away the home with out one anyway.