Bergamo Summer Kit: I’m NOT Too Sexy For My Jersey

A while back we said that Italian kit-maker Bergamo’s cycling clothes reminded us of the comfort of a certain Swiss brand, but affordable to those of us without Swiss bank accounts… Their kit for spring / summer ’05 goes for the podium again.

I have an insane amount of clothes; three racks of Bibs (probably 60 pair), enough jerseys to fill an 8 foot hanger rod and three storage tubs above it. Two 3 foot by 2 foot drawers full of socks…, enough shoes that, when placed end to end create an Italian leather chain 4 feet longer that the great wall of China… And what happens? Bergamo send a couple of pieces of clothes that are nice enough that I gotta pull out my credit card and order more… I hate Marcello Bergamo!

One of the things I love about Bergamo is that they have a knack of taking a color pallet that could grace the body of emergency response vehicles and race cars the world over but manage to place them in designs that give you a classic almost old world feel…

The clothing demands attention, but does so in a different way than lots of cycling gear or team Pro team kit. Kinda like the difference between Pam Anderson and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

The 05 Jersey’s we got were the Bormio…

And the Peloton…

Both have an on-bike cut, and very good moisture wicking fabric. Soft inside, with an very well done stitch. Both also feature the standard three back pockets…

And both feature the grippy silicone at the waist and a full zipper

One thing the Peloton jersey brings to the game is the Traforex Mesh panels under the arms and maybe a bit better wicking fabric in the body.

The construction (stitching and seam placement) is great with both jerseys. The zip is full function and Bergamo don’t use too much boarder fabric on the sides of the zipper, so you’re not constantly reminded of a full zip as you might be on other jersey’s that overdo that part… The pockets are average size and I like that Bergamo don’t draw the pocket openings closed too much with the use of elastic. Instead they are just reinforced there. That means once things are stuffed inside they stay, but inserting them in the first place is easier. It also means that for folks fuller around the middle that the jerseys don’t squeeze in and over-emphasize your belly (note that in the picture, I manipulated the pockets a bit so that the openings would show better…).

Mid-Pack Pricing
At $79.95 for the Bormio Jersey and $99.95 for the Peloton, these are not the cheapest around. That said, there are a host of jersey’s out there that run for $120+ dollars and these certainly are competitively priced given the fabric and construction.

Now to the other really good part… The Peloton Bibs.

Back at Interbike, the guys at Upland Sports Group (Bergamo’s North American distributors) were talking to us about our Pez Team kit… Bergamo do custom very well too, and the Pez Crew was trying to choose a vendor for our skins, so we had a meet and greet. And in that meeting we got the first squeeze of the best Chamois we’ve felt to date.

A quick look might have you thinking that it’s the same fancy stitch job around the same old chamois that most of the cycling industry had in one form or another… Simply not so.

The folks at Assos had the lock on the super plush memory foam type chamois and they used it in their FI-13’s to create what I thought were easily the nicest shorts in the industry. What Bergamo has is a Chamois that gives you that same super comfy feel, but they add a very snug top layer to theirs that gives where it should and is basically bunch proof.

It is a thick Chamois no doubt:

But the fabric used in the bulk of the short has very good compression and holds shape well, meaning that once you have “things” adjusted well, the chamois and “tackle” stay situated and move well with you.

The shorts have a better wicking back panel but also use a separate fabric panel at the inner thigh that maintains support but is obviously well vented as well.

The construction on the shorts is as good as anything on the market. The fabric selections are supportive, but are not overly so, and are exceptional when compared to some other summer weight fabrics…

Bergamo still build this kit in house in Italy. No farming out here, and the quality comes through loud and clear… Priced at $149.95 msrp, the cost on these shorts is 20 to 50 bucks less than anything else I have tried that has this quality of insert. I know there are a couple of other companies that use a version of the elastic interface technology that Bergamo feature in the Peloton short (and in our Pez Team gear), and in fairness I may not have tried ‘em all yet. But in the shorts I have tried with inserts that come close, these are 15–30+% less expensive…

The coverage up front is good for those that would prefer not to have their riding partners “peaking out”, and the leg length on the short is standard to maybe a hair shorter than some (not short-short, but not down to your kneecap roll up the elastic). The size run is a maybe half way between Eurotight and American Pork, same with the jerseys. Maybe a touch more room than some, but not loose fit.

No seams rubbing (flat stitching and very good inside detailing on the Jersey’s and shorts make for great comfort). No triple rolls of fabric bunching at the front, no tightness or stretching as you grab the drops. The stuff is cut for riding and it feels like it.

Bergamo gives you high tech in a classic wrapper. If this kit were a car it would be the Bentley Continental GT Coup – that you could afford. It’s modern technology and tremendous performance, but in comfort and a fairly timeless design. Not a bad combo…

The colors available for both Jersey’s and shorts can be found at Upland’s web site, and these are worth checking out

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Get more info at the Upland Sports Group Website: www.UPLANDSG.com

Where To Get ‘Em:
Get yourself some online at:
• GLORY CYCLES
• EURODUDS.com
• CADENCECycling.com