Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Ashmei Men's T-Shirt

8
£75.00

VERDICT:

8
10
This technical tee is a brilliantly versatile piece, but you really have to pay for it
Weight: 
138g
Contact: 

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

What the road.cc scores mean

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

  • Exceptional
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Quite good
  • Average
  • Not so good
  • Poor
  • Bad
  • Appalling

The Ashmei Men's T-shirt is a very capable baselayer or technical T-shirt for wider use, but your wallet might shudder at the mere thought of buying one...

  • Pros: Technical ability, wide-ranging uses, style
  • Cons: The cost

So what has Ashmei done to justify the £75 price tag? Well, it of course uses merino wool as its base material, but also weaves in 35 per cent carbon too (according to the website – the internal appliqué says it's polyester) for additional breathability. Supposedly, this fabric blend is about as good as it gets in terms of moisture wicking – although Ashmei doesn't quote any figures – while it also provides 50+ SPF protection too.

> Find your nearest dealer here

> Buy this online here

Relying on my own subjective opinion – an opinion qualified by the fact that alongside cycling I also row and go to the gym regularly – I have to say that it's incredibly effective. Light to begin with at 138g in this, a medium, it never really gains any tangible weight even when working hard to shift moisture. After a dousing following a particularly grotty Wattbike session, it largely dried after around an hour of doing core exercises. Even my Nike Dri-Fit Knit T-shirts struggle to do that after the same kind of session (they retail at £59.95 normally, for reference).

ashmei Men’s T-Shirt - back.jpg

It remains light and, unless truly soaking, doesn't cling, which makes it very comfortable in pretty much any environment you test it. Also, once dry again it's one of the best technical T-shirts I've ever used at resisting odour. I'd still wash it between uses to remain socially acceptable at the café, but if you went on a weekend gravel adventure with this top either as a baselayer or a second layer, you could easily stretch it for the duration.

> Buyer's Guide: The best casual kit for cycle commuting

Ashmei describes it as a looser cut ideal for lifestyle use, but it remains a relatively slim fit if you buy a size down – so if you're of an athletic build you'll fill it nicely, while thinner cyclists won't get lost in it. The crew neck has a decent amount of space as well, so it really does feel like a T-shirt you can relax in, not restrictive at all.

ashmei Men’s T-Shirt - chest.jpg

The seams are very high quality, as you'd expect, with no fraying after plenty of use. As importantly, the shape of the T-shirt has remained the same, and I've been washing it on 40-degree washes along with the rest of my soiled sports kit, despite the recommendations to wash it on a cool 30 cycle. There's no instruction to wash it using a 'delicate' setting, hinting further at the quality of its construction.

Finally, it's available in four standard colours (this blue, navy, black and silver) along with a special edition purple. I think it's a stylish design, with those sublimated vertical tramlines down the back, and the subtly contrasted Ashmei branding on the chest.

ashmei Men’s T-Shirt - shoulders.jpg

So, the bottom line is that Ashmei's technical T-shirt is very good indeed, and versatile too. You can use it as a relaxed baselayer, sports tee or as a stylish lifestyle T-shirt, and it works brilliantly as all three. However, no matter how well it works, it's impossible to ignore that £75 price tag. A quick look in our casual jerseys section – which includes T-shirts – shows you can get technical tees for a lot less, although you can still pay more for technical 'polo' shirts...

Verdict

This technical tee is a brilliantly versatile piece, but you really have to pay for it

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: Ashmei Men's T-Shirt

Size tested: Medium

Tell us what the product is for

Ashmei says: "Our regular fit classic T-shirt is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Literally – it has been expertly cut from superfine, comfortable Merino fabric and is as big on performance as it is on looks. We have been able to craft such a jersey using our wealth of fabric expertise, while cutting absolutely no corners when it comes to optimising performance.

"Lightweight, wicking and highly breathable, the T-shirt is designed as an ideal first layer on cooler outings. As you would expect from such an adept temperature-regulating fabric, it can handle insane temperature variation. Crafted from our luxurious lightweight Merino blend, the T-shirt is extremely breathable.

"What's more, the fabric's moisture control capacity excels – key for any first layer – as a result of our signature MERINO+CARBON blend. The Merino blend actively wicks moisture away from the skin to the outer layer of the fabric to keep you dry. In addition, Merino has odour reducing properties, which means you will never face the prospect of your pals complaining about your body odour in the bar."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

From Ashmei:

Features:

- Highly breathable, fast wicking Merino blend

- Looser lifestyle cut for everyday wear

- Crew neck, set-in sleeves, classic shoulder

- Reflective ashmei logo on front

- Tonal striped signature branding at rear

- Fast drying, easy care

- Super lightweight

- Sun protection of UPF 50+

- 65% Merino Wool, 35% Carbon [polyester]

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

Typical high Ashmei quality here.

Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10

It's a great technical T-shirt, and performs as such.

Rate the product for durability:
 
10/10

Its survived thorough testing in a variety of scenarios, and returns from my 40-degree washes looking and fitting as new. The seams are slightly beefier than the normal baselayer too.

Rate the product for fit:
 
9/10

Its a relaxed fit, but slim enough to accommodate those with narrow builds in the right size.

Rate the product for sizing:
 
9/10

A medium fitted me very well, which is about right in a general-use or athletic T-shirt. Sizing is true.

Rate the product for weight:
 
9/10

Very light at 138g, and it stays light even when sweaty.

Rate the product for comfort:
 
9/10

The fabric is super-soft and the overall fit is very comfortable in all situations.

Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

It might be a stylish and great-performing technical T-shirt, but £75 is a huge amount of money to pay.

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

Really well – 40°C washes never troubled it despite the recommendations to wash it on 30°C cycles.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

As well as my Nike Dri-Fit Knit tops – which is to say, brilliantly.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Technical ability, wide-ranging uses, style.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The cost.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Possibly, though I'd probably buy a discounted Nike Dri-Fit Kit top instead and use the rest to buy a fashion T-shirt.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? For its quality, yes.

Use this box to explain your overall score

It's a great technical top that can triple as a relaxed baselayer or fashion T-shirt, but £75 is a pretty astronomical amount to pay and it loses a point on that.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 28  Height: 188cm  Weight: 80kg

I usually ride: Canyon Ultimate CF SL 9.0 SL (2016)  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 5-10 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding

Add new comment

6 comments

Avatar
Tass Whitby | 5 years ago
0 likes

It's MORE than twice the price of my first car - a £35 Vauxhall Viva HA. The 6 months tax it came with was worth more than the car…

Avatar
Cyclespeed Tours | 5 years ago
0 likes

Rapha are now selling their (quite ordinary) T-shirts for 55 Euros, which is quite frankly, ridiculous.

Avatar
Chris Hayes | 5 years ago
0 likes

I wonder what this company's sales figures look like? BTW - half the cost of my first car - a K reg VW Beetle Marathon (circa 1985)...

Avatar
Freddy56 | 5 years ago
2 likes

I am disappointed in road.cc consumer base. You click on this and not one comment  ''that this cost more than my first car''.

 

Pricing fatigue has set in to the UK finest bikers.

Avatar
HarryTrauts replied to Freddy56 | 5 years ago
1 like
Freddy56 wrote:

I am disappointed in road.cc consumer base. You click on this and not one comment  ''that this cost more than my first car''.

 

Pricing fatigue has set in to the UK finest bikers.

 

Sadly, ridiculously priced cycling/sporting products are everywhere, and so often reviewed on this website that it washes over me and, I assume, many others.  It's certainly not that I accept the price and don't baulk at it.  It's that I ignore the review and move on - in my case, to Decathlon.  I only looked at this review because I saw someone had commented as that hardly ever happens.

Avatar
gnarlyrider replied to Freddy56 | 5 years ago
0 likes
Freddy56 wrote:

".... not one comment  ''that this cost more than my first car''.

Not to disappoint, my first car did cost less -  £60 for a Mark 1 Escort van, but to be fair did need quite a bit of work to get it through an MOT.

Latest Comments