TMonk

Ours are on order too. Pactimo.

Also I hope things start to get better soon Wylde.

topflightpro

We are submitting payment for our kits this week. We stuck with Hincapie again, which is what we've used for about the past 10 years. Every year someone pushes to change it, but no one wants to be the person to actually investigate new kit options.

And Wylde, good luck.

TMonk

I've done Pactimo, Champ Sys, Voler and Canari for generic/bulk orders. They're all equally mediocre IMO.

carpediemracing 

I hope things move along for you.

carpediemracing 

Heh. I already do. My current vehicle gets under 20 mpg also. This one will take 32 gal, I think my current one takes 28 gal. Fuel cost for a year of commuting is about $660, give or take, minus gas points discounts. Might be closer to $400 with points - every other tank I generally get a $1.50 break per gallon. I pretty much won't drive it otherwise, maybe a tank or two to pull the trailer over the course of a year.

gsteinb

I'd change teams if they used hincapie

Ttoc6

My prevous team has changed kit providers every year since they started. Champ sys > Castelli > Vie 13 this year. My new team that I joined down here in Utah is with HyperThreads who is local. It's pretty sweet I will just be able to go to their office to pick it up when it gets here.

Going to be talking with the owner of the company when I go in about getting a skin suit for tt's because the team didn't offer anything aggressive enough in their livery for what I'm looking for. If he can't help me, I'll probably plop down the money for a noPinz suit and just have it shipped.

furiousferret

We've used Pactimo and Voler (meh) Canari (okay) and for the past few years Castelli (good not great though). I really like the 1 piece kits (San Remo) although they don't last as long.

ntnyln

I just picked up my kit for my new team. It's from Cutaway USA. I've never heard of them but it seems to fit well. I haven't ridden in it yet though.

carpediemracing 

Our team started on a terrible company, moved to Verge, moved to Hincapie, and then to Craft. The team's Verge contact moved to Craft, prompting that move (my contact at Verge is still there, and if I wanted more kits, I'd consider placing my own order through him - I can do incredibly small orders if I want).

The team moved off Hincapie after the doping thing. There were a couple ex-pro MTB racers that really felt strongly about not supporting Hincapie. I have to admit that the kits have held up well and they print "true black" tone (not sure of the terminology). Sizing was bizarre (I swim in a size S short, and they go down to my knees, whereas a size S Verge/Craft fits me fine).

I haven't ordered any kit in a while because I haven't really been racing much in a few years.

I'm a huge fan of the nicer Verge stuff for when I'm in shape. For riders not in shape (me right now) they're incredibly unflattering, but when a bit leaner they fit like a second skin. I'd pretty much order kit from Verge if I get lean again just to reward myself.

hack

Team has been in Castelli for 6 years now (3 for me). Aside from one year that we got the Inferno bibs, we've been really happy with the kit.

mattm

Roy Knickman, right?

mattm

We go thru Hyperthreads too, I like it.

Castelli was great but expensive and slow.

Anyway you don’t like the Hyperthreads skinsuit? Not the “san remo” style one but the TT one, I use it for crits anyway and it makes me feel faster so it must be aero.

Ttoc6

I bought two short sleeve race suits for the majority of my racing for next season. The team I'm on wasn't doing custom long sleeve skin suits. Just the long sleeve race suits with the pockets. Tried one on and it was nice, but a dedicated time trial skin suit doesn't need pockets and the fit wasn't quite right for a tt bike Imo.

I actually rode with someone who works for hyperthreads today and he is going to help me get a proper skin suit for tts. Don't really care about it being in team colors. Race day only kinda thing that I'll just be gluing numbers to make it last a long time.

topflightpro

Regarding Hincapie, yeah, I kind of hate the guy, and yeah, the stuff runs large, very large. I wear XS in their basic line.

But, the company has been pretty good to us. They give us a discount because we are a nonprofit, and they've given the women on the team teh 10+ item pricing, even though we never hit that. Our rep said she didn't think it was fair for the women to be punished and how could we expect to grow women in the sport if they had to pay so much more for stuff. So, you have to weight the good against the bad. Also, at this point, we've been working with Hincapie so long, it's just easy to continue.

Putting together a kit design and order is an absolute PIA. Some companies have huge minimums. Some have none. Some have huge design fees. Some require you to supply a design...

One other really nice thing about Hincapie is the ordering process. Everyone submits their order individually, pays with their credit card, and the kits are shipped directly to others. Many others require one order with one payment, meaning someone has to divvy all the stuff up. Hincapie used to do it that way. We still have kits from three or four years ago from folks who have not bothered to come collect them.

Doge

Yes. Effort looks the same.
Capture.JPG

topflightpro

Someone posted to our Nextdoor page that she needs to get rid of her super gentle two-year-old German Shepherd because her 7 month old is afraid of her.

As a non parent and dog owner, I was tempted to suggest she keep the dog and get rid of the kid.

Flatballer

I'm a parent and a dog owner, and I'd tell the kid to suck it up. Maybe keep them separated if the baby is on the floor, but other than that, they'll learn to deal.

gsteinb

don't follow the story. is it "you need to get rid of your dog because my kid is afraid of it?"

topflightpro

Sorry, she has a dog and a kid and is getting rid of her dog. I almost suggested she get rid of the kid and keep the dog.

gsteinb

gotcha.

going to ship books to to you this week. Noah is bringing them home from the other house for me.

Doge

Sat, March Air Force Base, So Cal - They play Retreat during Puppy's cross race.
When the National Anthem is done he continues the race.
Made my day.

revchuck 

Kudos to Puppy. He's doing it right.

topflightpro

My wife has apparently bought me two shirts from Banana Republic for Christmas.

How do I know this, you may be wondering? Well, Banana Republic has sent me emails asking me to write reviews of the shirts. I'm not sure how they have my email address - I suppose it has to do with us having the same credit card and my email on file with it. But come on guys? Really, you can't wait a couple weeks to ask for these reviews?

Flatballer

That's a shame. It's so hard these days to keep things secret with as much tracking as goes on. If you share a computer you have to browse in incognito or something to prevent targeted ads ruining it. If you share an amazon account you have to be super careful with the e-mails and notifications and recommendations.

My wife and I have prime, so this year we finally did the household thing and split it out so I have my "own" account, that still has the prime from the main account, but I get my own e-mails and recommendations and stuff.

Even with that, I know I'm getting something from the NFL shop, and I know I'm getting some socks. The first one I picked up her phone and the notification bar had an e-mail up. The second, my not quite 2 year old tattled on her because she took her shopping and said they were getting socks for daddy. So as soon as I got home "daddy socks, daddy socks, shopping".