racergal

I am starting this thread in road forum as it will probably generate the most activity. I am wondering who everyone is using for custom cycling clothes these days? And what do you like/not like?My race team is currently with Cuore, and we are *generally* happy with them, but I wanted to look into other options. We are a women's race team and most of our members truly race year round (most of us do gravel, road, mountain, cx, and fat biking) so having a stellar women's lineup (and not just "unisex") is important as well as low minimums. Extra points if design is included to simplify things.

I'll start with a general rundown of who we have used in the past and who as caught my eye so far:

Have used:
-LG: overall, we were happy with them for a bit, however, the bib material seemed to change SIGNIFICANTLY and one year our black bibs were essentially transparent. Their ordering is (was?) also a pain in that individual members did not have their own account - one person had to collect the money and order (who's on first?!)

-Cuore: with the exception of the "gravel" bibs, the Cuore quality has been excellent. With that said, their chamois have caused the most polarization. Most of the girls think the high end chamois is too thin the the mid-range is too thick. No goldilocks of chamois. I also like that they have a lot of customization options that individual racers can apply to their order (e.g. adding 2cm to bib length, etc.).

So far the front runners are:
- Verge Sportswear: the have a ton of options clothing and accessories-wise, which is great. I know a lot of people who use them and everyone raves about their customer service....however, the reviews of their high-end stuff is great and the mid-range is meh (we'd likely be more on the high-end, but high-end might not be available in everything), they can't seem to quite get their zippers right (lots of breakages, but always replaced), and the accessories are hit and miss.

- Bioracer: I really like their clothing options, however, I do not know anyone who personally has experience with them. It's hard to find complaints on the web, though.

Any input about these companies or any others doing custom in the US would be appreciated! We are not a team made of money, however, we do have racers that spend a LOT of time in the saddle in some very extreme weather, so high quality is important.

Koyote

Wish I could find the direct email, but check this out:

https://www.facebook.com/Texmarket-USA-144270582336139/

Texmarket is probably the world's largest private label apparel manufacturer - lots of club and team kits and such come from them, but you'd never know it. Their catalog is deep, and their stuff is good.

Contact them, and ask for Joni. She's great! And she's been riding for eons, so she understands cyclists' needs.

jaxgtr

Check out Mt. Borah, they make some really nice stuff.

Elvo

https://jlvelo.com/

I like how they have +1 and +2 lengths for every size

WhyFi

Twin Six does our kit, but we don't have any female members, so I couldn't comment on that aspect. We're able to place relatively small orders, though we do have some licensing agreements with them, so that could play in to some preferential treatment, but I don't know for certain. Good folks to work with, though.

No Mojo

Jakroo makes our club kits and they do a great job. I would highly recommend them.

datlas 

Add Voler to your short list. Our club has used them for years with good reason.

Hiro11

My experiences:
Jakroo - very high quality and durable. Very comfortable bibs for long rides. The particular models we chose were not a true race fit (which I prefer), more just standard club wear. Very reasonably priced for what you get. I would go with them again.
Hincapie - a racier design than the Jakroo. I didn't like the bibs at all but the jersey is great. Pretty durable. Reasonably expensive but not ridiculous. Don't think I'd go with them again as the bibs just didn't work for me.
Castelli - great Euro race fit, extremely comfortable for long rides. Unfortunately very fragile and very expensive. The ~$200 bibs were completely destroyed after one season, that's unacceptable to me. Really put me off the brand in general, to be honest.
Went with Rapha this year. Haven't received them yet, but they were Not. Cheap.

I've been pretty happy with the Black Bibs Ultimate bibs, I would like to give Starlight a try (the company behind the Black Bibs). Very reasonable prices and the kits look good.

racergal

- I've heard sort of mixed reviews on Jackroo, but maybe I'll reach out.
- Hincapie - funny you mention you didn't like the bibs. At first I was digging their selection, but I noticed that based on how the bibs looked on the models it seemed like their seams were almost sewn too tight or something so all the pictures kind of gave a "muffin top" look to the legs. I've worn shorts/pants like that in other brands and I don't find them particularly comfortable.
- Catelli - you aren't the first person I've heard complain about this.
- Rapha - based on their website their full custom requires minimums of 50. While we might been that on the standard jersey and jacket we wouldn't be able to hit that on anything else!

racergal

I've heard good things about them, too. Alas, no thermal tights, which are a favorite of the girls since we do so much winter fatbiking (we are in the nether regions of NY state, so our winter clothes get as much use as our summer). I wish they would add them to the lineup!

racergal

We previously had contacted them, but the sales rep was frustrating to work with (weeks and months between contact), so we definitely brushed them off.

racergal

Thanks for the suggestion on Texmarket. I kind of had brushed them off just because they are SO huge, but glad to hear there is a US rep who is easy to work with so I'll keep it in mind!

Unfortunately, Twin Six and JLvelo have weak product lineups!

I really appreciate the feedback! This is enormously helpful.

Sy Reene

I've heard Eliel stuff is really nice, but it ain't inexpensive.
https://www.elielcycling.com/pages/p...gh-performance

Koyote

Their US office, in Reno, is pretty small – I think it’s just two people and I know them both very well. Nicest people you’ll ever meet. Oh, and since winter apparel matters to you, I will mention that a couple of their heavier items basically get me through the winter here in a rather cold climate. It’s very good stuff. And they will have what you need, since their selection is extraordinarily broad and deep.

WhyFi

What do you mean? Are you just going by what's currently on their site? They list what they have in stock, not everything that they offer, so it's not unusual to for out-of-season offerings to not be visible. Regardless, we're talking about custom offerings - they start with Race or Club fit and go from there. They have multiple chamois options. You can spec the length and type of sleeves, etc. Their office is based in MN and the have a wide range of gear to cover all seasons - my group obviously has fat bike riders, too, so we've done thermal bibs, thermal knickers, winter jackets, etc, etc.

phrantic09

I have a couple of jerseys from Champion Systems that I’m happy with.

jaxgtr

Oh wow, that stinks. They were always very good and responded quickly whenever I had questions or request.

topflightpro

Check out Vie 13.

My wife and I are big fans.

Others we have used: Hincapie, Garneau, Voler, CCN, Pactimo, Verge, Starlight. Of those, Garneau and Starlight are the only two I would recommend from a fit/quality perspective, but last I checked, Starlight did not offer individual ordering options, only bulk ordering.

seypat

https://www.cutawayusa.com/

I don't have any experience with this company other than the jerseys they make for some local running events, but I think another member does. He might be able to get you connected to someone that can help you.

Dan333SP

tomato coupe

My experience is different. I've got both off-the-rack and team (custom) Castelli gear, and it has all held up very well.

LAJ

I would like to try Verge, simply because I want our team to try to source away from where Cuore is manufactured. That said, we've been with Cuore for many years, and at one time, one of the few teams using them. Now, it seems everyone is in them, and there's good reason. They do have quality stuff, lots of options, and lots of tailoring options.

The club I belong to uses https://teamalchemist.com/ and I love their stuff. You may want to contact them and see what they have to offer.

Dan333SP

My team currently uses Vie13 for our custom kits, we have a lot of women in the club and they rave about it. Personally, the sizing is a little different than what I'm used to but the bibs and jerseys are made out of great material and seem durable.

My team previously used Cutaway and I absolutely adore that stuff. Excellent kit all around, for both men and women although technically it is unisex as I don't see any women's specific stuff on the website, and the owner of the company is a good local guy here in VA (he's in Charlottesville), he's always been super responsive to team orders and he's very heavily involved in the local race scene. racergal if you all have ever done the Green Mountain Stage Race, you'll be familiar with Cutaway as they sponsor it and make the leader's jerseys.

Weird thing about a local company is knowing everyone they use as a model in the photos on the website. Good material to make fun of some friends.

topflightpro

It depends which facility does the manufacturing. From what I hear, Castelli has few manufacturing facilities, and the quality and fit varies across them. And from year to year, your custom stuff can come from a different facility.

bOsscO

Our club has gone with LG and Sugoi, but we're in Canada and the club consensus was to choose a Canadian supplier. racergal is there a local company you can approach for custom supply?

79pmooney

A name from the distant past that I believe has been revived by the founders' offspring - Jones Cyclewear in Leominster, MA. In the mid '70s they made custom jerseys for NEBC, a Boston area racing club that is still around. At the time they offered custom jerseys in either wool or synthetic. Now this was long before the modern wicking synthetics and Smartwool. The wool jerseys had the washing and drying requirements of a century ago and stretched a lot if you loaded the pockets. I was a young racer/bike shop employee. Cash was tight and surplus dedicated to sewups so I ordered the synthetic jersey. I made it work rather well by wearing a fishnet T-shirt under.

Relative to this thread - that jersey and two others I bought over the next two years were really well made and fit very well. I still have the jersey I raced the next year when I was at my best. My weight has barely changed and I can still wear that jersey and get reminded every time how well it fits. It has zero issues with stitching, pockets, zipper or details and has never seen a repair. Very faded. Probably 10-20,000 miles on it.

I have no idea what Jones is producing now or their quality but certainly they know their past reputation and if they live up to it, they could be a nice answer for a club. As far as women's jerseys? Nothing first hand here! But I remember Lyn Lemaire wearing hers frequently as reigning US TT champion and record holder. She's on wikipedia so shouldn't be too hard to find and would probably get a kick out of being asked how she liked the Jones clothing.

If you do talk to her, give her a hi! from Ben Jeffries. Last I saw or heard of her was summer of 1978 when she was on top of her game and I was riding my post TBI year. I'd start Cat 1-2 criteriums and quickly get dropped. She'd leave the woman's peloton behind us and eventually pass me. I'd jump on her wheel for "motorpace" training until the 1-2s came around, then withdraw. She'd go one to win the women's race. So I spent some quality time getting to study her Jones jersey, but sorry, I wasn't paying attention! And for the full circle - Grace Jones, the founder (with her husband) of the company was also USCycling's (well, two iterations of names before) district rep. She'd be there watching me illegally draft a member of another race. She was also my biggest fan. She was at the NEBC annual dinner when it was announced I was in a coma and watched me progress all the next summer to eventually finishing in the field of a 5 hour 1-2 race after getting dropped when the winning break left. Sad part was that Grace left us too soon after years of Alzheimer's.