Spotlight: The Standard Jersey

Cedar Cycling sews a new Standard in the quest for domestic perfection

The Standard Jersey
$170 / cedarcycling.com

“We were looking for a jersey we couldn’t find.”

If you’re a quick study, you can probably see where Neil Berrett’s story is headed—it’s a classic tale of entrepreneurial entrapment.

Along with co-founder Jeremy Smith, Barrett spun the story of how they started Cedar Cycling to me several weeks ago, in Denver, at this year’s North American Handmade Bike Show.

Both residents of California’s Bay Area, the duo spend much of their time traversing the region’s numerous microclimates by bike. Privy to a seriously wide temperature range, a ride in the Bay Area could have you heading out in a jacket and warmers, only to see you hit an 8-mile climb and stow it all away, only to put it back on halfway through the climb after you run into the fogline.

Not only did the pair want to create a jersey that would cut down on the amount of gear they had to bring, but also be able to better carry the gear they did bring. They also wanted a jersey that was produced right here in the U.S.

The result?

The Standard Jersey.

The course of action? Do it themselves.

A blend of Merino, Wool and elastane, the jersey utilizes a unique two layer construction. The inner layer is 100-percent Merino to keep you comfortable, while the outer nylon layer keeps you dry. Or in other terms, it’s a proverbial best-of-both-worlds situation.

Take a look around the Cedar Cycling website, and you won’t see much other than the Standard Jersey.

Sure, there’s plans to add more to the lineup, but for the time being Neil and Jeremy have simply focused on creating the best jersey they could—which meant focusing on just that. And focus they did.

But really, obsess, is a much more fitting choice of words. To hear them recount their two-month-long zipper decision-making process reveals just where the two are coming from in their quest for the perfect jersey.

And while on that particular topic, the jersey utilizes a full-length zipper (from zipper demigods YKK) that not only locks in place, but also allows for tab-less operation, or what Neil has taken to calling “rip-cord” action—perfect for when you’re climbing cross-eyed and need a bit more ventilation.

Hyper-local, the Cedar Cycling operation is based in Oakland, California, just a few miles away from the factory where their jerseys are sewn.

Benefitting from the outdoors boom that hit the Bay Area and saw brands like The North Face and Patagonia set up shop—before eventually moving production ‘elsewhere’— Cedar Cycling’s garments are sewn in a former North Face facility in San Leandro, California.

For more info, check out cedarcycling.com