The Metier Beacon Jersey

I recently had the opportunity to road test a Metier Beacon Jersey. As someone who has become accustomed to high-quality apparel, thanks to being introduced to Q36.5 gear, I genuinely wasn’t sure what to expect from Metier – It’s a brand I’d never heard of before. So, here’s how it all came to be:

Funky Light Up Jerseys!

If like me, you try and consume as much cycling content as possible through YouTube, you may have come across the likes of Francis Cade; a brilliant producer of content. Every video is interesting and, as a bonus, it’s rare that he and his mates talk about gear. In late 2017 I started to notice that Francis’ circle of friends were often sporting black, long sleeve jerseys with LED lights positioned high-up on the collarbone area at the front of the jersey.

Whilst my interest was piqued, I didn’t bother to look into it too much as I had just invested in some new bib shorts and was starting to look toward the warmer weather that summer would (I hope) bring. But when Dave and the team at 7Hundred emailed customers to say that they were doing a night ride with JAMCycling to show people these funky light up jerseys from a brand called Metier, a lightbulb (excuse the pun) went off! Those were what I had seen on YouTube!

Not knowing the Metier brand and only having seen it on YouTube, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But simply by virtue of the fact that the guys at 7Hundred were now stocking these jersey’s and promoting them, for me, went a long way to reassuring me that they were good.

Over the years the team at 7Hundred have refined and carefully curated the selection of products they stock, meaning every product in the store is considered and trusted by the team. They now, in my firm opinion, only stock quality products. You’d be hard-pressed to leave the store having bought something that isn’t worth the money or poor quality.

It was Dave Butcher that got me onto products from Q36.5 and I must say – to this day I still haven’t found apparel from any other brand to be as technical or as premium in quality. Few come close, but they don’t quite match the level of products from Q…

So, when I first got my hands on the funky, space-age looking light up Metier Jersey in the shop, I was suitably impressed!

Safety Over Style Or Substance?

I arrived at 7Hundred at about 6pm. I wanted to be sure I could get my hands on a jersey in my size and I was keen to find out more from the guys what these jerseys were all about. I was greeted by a few of the people behind the jersey and introduced to the guys from JAM, including George and Chris – both of whom you may recognise from many of Francis’ videos.

Both the guys had an abundance of time to chat and talk about the gear, but also cycling in general, too.

I opted for a long sleeve jersey for the ride, as it was set to be a little chilly and possibly wet too. about 12 of us set off on a 15 mile loop or so around some of the back roads of Windsor, towards Maidenhead, taking in Drift Road along the route. We were all lit up and looking good!

Chris and I had a good chat about his plans for 2018, including a stab at the Nationals. We exchanged stories about pneumonia and recovery (timely, after my recent post on the topic) and his role at JAMCycling. It really was interesting stuff.

So much so, it wasn’t until we arrived back at the shop and I was asked what I thought of the Metier Jersey, that I actually stopped to assess my experience!

Conclusion

Well, the fact that we only discussed the jersey’s and gear for a short while, before then naturally moving onto other subjects, just goes to show how well suited this Jersey was to the conditions we were riding in! I pretty much forgot about it, not because it was forgettable, as such, but more because I was that warm and comfortable and didn’t even notice the flashing lights on my shoulders that it was like I was wearing any other Jersey.

You my think ‘Well, that’s kind of the point’, but as someone who has become something of a Q36.5evangelist, who thinks that nothing else compares, I was surprised by just how well the Metier gear…compared!

In fact, would go as far as to say that it was very similar to the Q36.5 gear; warm, yet breathable. waterproof and yet not too heavy.

Whereas I perhaps had somewhat convinced myself before the ride that these jerseys were simply all about the lights, with that being their unique selling point, I actually concluded that the Metier Beacon is nothing short of an incredibly high-end, technical cycling jersey. Even if you were to take the lights out of the equation, the jersey I wore would stand up against the most premium of brands available on the market today!

Little details impressed me. The lights of course are very cool. They’re implemented in such a way that they’re useful and not just some fad to try and make the jersey stand out among the competition. The battery pack gives the lights of 70 hours or run time on a single charge. The battery has it’s own dedicated pocket as not to steal space from the other items you may have stored behind you. The button on the battery pack is used to change the light pattern from static to flashing. A nice bonus is that the button on the battery pack can be accessed through the jersey, even with gloves on thanks to it having a nice responsive and tactile feel so you know you’ve just pressed the button for sure.

But more than that, it had all of the quality little additions you would only come to find on most premium apparel. The gripper material around the waist and hems of the sleeves is perfectly placed and very well attached to the jersey. The grippers did their jobs without being too tight or restrictive.

If, like me, you’re not a fan of high-vis and fluro, but safety neatly designed and well placed reflective strips (that don’t look like high-vis strips! Thank goodness). I was impressed by the fit and shaping too. The 4-way stretch fabric employed int he Metier Jersey I wore meant I didn’t get any of that annoying ‘flapping’ going on as I rode along.

I wore my Gore base layer and my Pactimo Summer Jersey underneath, but in reality, as the guys suggested, I would have been more than comfortable in just a base layer, underneath the Metier Jersey. It is that flexible and adaptable and I have to say I agree.

The fact that this is a Jersey that considers both lights, visibility and safety on a level par with style, quality and performance, is something that I don’t think any other brand has yet to achieve. Much like Q36.5‘s approach. Rather than making a garment to fit a particular budget, Metier are also just making the best products they can. And they have done it!

Lastly, the way the reflective strips on the back of the jersey have been implemented are aesthetically pleasing. they don’t immediately look like reflective strips, which, during daylight hours, when reflective strips are arguably not effective anyway, mean the jersey continues to look pretty cool.

The Metier Jersey strikes a beautiful balance of all of these things. Hats off to the guys involved in the brand for producing

I’ve become accustomed to an extra sense of safety from the Metier Beacon. So much so that I very much intend on picking up a gilet sometime in April or May of 2019 ready for those slightly warmer, late evening rides, but without doubt, you will find me riding around in my Metier Beacon Long Sleeve Jersey when the temperatures drop or when the light fades once again.

Metier Beacon Jerseys are available from 7Hundred, online direct from Metier Cycling themselves, or, for more information you can check out JAMCycling’s website for your local stockist