Assos Equipe R Spring Fall LS Jersey S11 review: A sensational long sleeve jersey for hard riding, with a surprising extra feature

In summer, choosing the best cycling jersey is relatively easy, unless you’re after something for truly scorching temperatures. In the winter, your jersey tends to just become part of a layering system has less of an overall influence, and can often be eschewed entirely if you have the right winter cycling jacket. 

In the spring and fall, however, a long sleeve jersey can really make or break a ride. Too thin and you’ll get cold, even with the usual addition of a cycling vest. Too thick and you’ll cook when the sun randomly appears, usually at the base of a long climb in my experience. I’ve really enjoyed using the Maap Evade Pro Base LS Jersey 2.0 recently, but it is a little too thin for chilly riding. 

Enter the Assos Equipe R Spring Fall LS Jersey S11, something which has been a real revelation for me in the fall of last year, all through winter, and into spring. It’s relatively thick and fleecy, but its party piece is that the back is entirely mesh. Yep, the same mesh you’d find on a summer jersey. It sounds mad, but it’s fantastic and has made it the long sleeve jersey I’ve been reaching for most often. 

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Design and aesthetics

In classic Assos fashion, the Equipe R Spring Fall LS Jersey S11 is a sea of intricate panels and different technical fabrics that somehow come together to form something rather special. I think my colleague Tom summed it up best when reviewing Assos’ LS skin winter base layer in that it feels special even when you pull it on. 

Much like the monumentally expensive Equipe RS Johdah winter jacket, the theme is business in the front, party in the back, insofar as the insulating is taken care of up front, with breathability being the order of the day at the rear. The chest panels, sleeves, and shoulders (basically anything that hits the wind directly) are a super luxurious, fleece-backed lycra, while the stomach panels - primarily I suspect to better support the pocket contents - are cut from a slightly stiffer fabric with far less fleece backing. 

The cuffs are just raw cut, so no seams to annoy your wrists, but unlike Assos’ winter jackets it’s the same fabric for the entire circumference. The collar is constructed from the same fabric as the stomach panels, and both the collar and front hem have welded edges rather than anything stitched, so everything sits perfectly flush. The aim of the collar fabric, much like that of the Equipe R Habu winter jacket I reviewed, is to keep your neck insulated without having to unzip the jersey with any frequency. 

At the back is where the interesting stuff happens. The whole back panel, discounting the shoulders, is an extremely open, summer jersey-style mesh, with the aim of maximising breathability. Even the pockets are backed by this mesh fabric, while the outer face of the pockets is heavily perforated to allow heat to escape through. The brilliant internal flap that I love is evident in the Equipe R Spring Fall LS Jersey S11 too, so you can be relatively sure the contents of your pockets are going to remain staunchly in place even if you hit a speed bump at lightspeed. 

From an aesthetic standpoint, the styling is classic old-school Assos. The fluoro yellow is great for visibility, but the black one I have goes with absolutely everything and looks fantastic, with all the stitches blending into a trim silhouette. 

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Performance

Cards on the table here everyone, I think this is the best long-sleeved jersey I’ve ever used. It’s utterly marvellous. The only gripe I have with it is that the collar is a little tight, but other than that I think it’s basically faultless. 

The fit is, as it has been with almost every Assos garment I’ve tested in recent months, spot on. Close fitting without ever being restrictive, especially in the sleeves, which are good and long for riding in a more aggressive position - this is the ‘R’ line after all, the brand’s second most racing focussed. I often find sleeves this close fitting and in thicker lycra to be a bit constricting around the elbows but that’s just not the case here, as the fabric has so much inbuilt stretch. 

Despite such intricate pattern design and subsequent internal stitching, I never felt any of them rubbing or itching. You’re more likely than not to wear this jersey with a base layer, which does help, but even in thin, short-sleeved options like the Rapha Merino base layer, I was fine. 

The pockets are excellent, supported as they are with that slightly stiffer stomach fabric at the front. They never sagged, and I really do appreciate the extra internal security flap. It might make it a bit harder to get my phone out sometimes, but not by much, and I’d rather than worry about it ejecting. 

Where the Equipe R Spring Fall LS Jersey S11 really comes into its own though is in terms of heat management. As simple a concept as ‘make the back mesh’ is, it’s incredibly effective when combined with a more insulated front. I tend to run rather hot, and you’d be amazed how much of a difference it made. 

I can also happily report that it didn’t really ever leave me feeling cold either, contrary to what you might expect. I wouldn’t necessarily suggest it for big zone 2 trundles, but there’s very little wind chill effect on your spine even at low speeds and so the drawbacks, such as they exist, are really limited. I’ve paired it with a Castelli Perfetto RoS vest and that was a brilliant combo for hard riding even in showery weather.

Even in the deepest depths of winter I reached for this jersey as a mid-layer for harder rides and found it really helped stop me from overheating on climbs when encapsulated in a thick winter jacket. 

As mentioned at the start, the only gripe I have with it is that the neck is a little tight even for my relatively slender neck. On its own, it’s less evident, but if you wear it within a layering system you may find you need to have it a little bit undone. Taken in the round, this is something I’m happy to countenance. 

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Value

With an RRP of £175/$210, it’s not going to win any budget awards, but it is cheaper than the likes of the Maap Evade Pro Base LS Jersey 2.0, if only just, and it’s usable in a far greater range of conditions. It’s beautifully made, well designed, and has far more bells and indeed whistles too, and as such I actually think it’s pretty good value. 

Ultimately, it’s probably the only long-sleeved jersey you’d need, with next to no drawbacks, and in the marketplace of premium cycling apparel, it’s actually not all that badly priced. 

Verdict

The Assos Equipe R Spring Fall LS Jersey S11 is as close to faultless as I’ve had any long-sleeve jersey get. It’s supremely comfortable, usable over a big temperature range on its own, with a gilet, or within a more substantial layering system. The pockets are excellent, the mesh back is sublime, the sleeves are totally unrestrictive, and it’s cheaper than some other premium options. The only gripe, and I mean the only one, is that the neck is a little tight, other than that I’d have to say it’s perfect.