Quick kit tests
www.tucanourbano.com
IF YOU’VE NEVER heard of Tucano Urbano, it’s probably because the Milanese company is better known for striking a pose with its fashionably Italian range of scooter, urban and commuter clothing. But for the last year or so the company has also been expanding its range into more all-round biking gear — so though it’s not making full-on adventure suits and one-piece leathers just yet, jackets like the Gulliver are a step in the right direction for us rustic folk.
The Gulliver is a good-looking, welltailored mid-length touring/city jacket and, while it doesn’t claim Gore-tex levels of waterproofing or tri-layer levels of deep winter warmth, with a 100% polyamide Hydroscud outer layer, D3O shoulder and elbow armour, and polyester detachable quilt lining (which reverses to a light coat) it’s good enough to resist early spring showers and temperatures down to 8°C – I wore it for this month’s retro roadster test and it kept me comfy against the chilly dampness.
Features include reflective strips hidden inside folds on the cuffs and collar; the collar also holds a roll-up hood. The liner isn’t zipped-in, just held by a couple of popper loops so it flops about a bit but the overall build quality is high and the jacket has a lovely, expensive, tactile feel to it; if you asked me, I’d put its price north of £300 so £230 seems pretty reasonable for what is a philosopher’s stone of bike kit: a three-and-a-bit season bike jacket that doubles as a stylish (for a Brit) coat and looks damn fine while it’s doing it.