Custom cycling clothing buyer’s guide + new online team stores
- By Ben Delaney
- Published Jul. 26, 2011
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VeloNews magazine custom clothing buyer's guide, December 2010 -
VeloNews magazine custom clothing buyer's guide, December 2010 -
VeloNews magazine custom clothing buyer's guide, December 2010 -
VeloNews magazine custom clothing buyer's guide, December 2010 -
Champion System's online team store lets individuals order as few as a single item of a club or team kit, and have it shipped directly to their address. -
Panache is the latest clothing company to offer online convenience in custom ordering.
Editor’s Note: After many requests for the custom clothing guide that ran in the December 2010 issue of VeloNews, we decided to post it below. All prices are based on order size, and are subject to change.
If you’ve ever coordinated a team’s clothing order, you know what a headache it can be when one person is responsible for all the details. Custom clothing companies know this, too, and a few have modernized the process with online team stores where riders can shop and order on their own, and then have custom kit shipped to their addresses.Panache Cyclewear is the latest to offer team stores. Once a team has set up and account to order clothing and agreed on which types of items will be included, riders can log on to see jerseys, skinsuits, bib shorts in their team’s design, and then fill an online shopping cart just like on Amazon or any other online retailer.
“The whole idea of the team store is to make ordering your custom clothing easy,” said Andy Pemberton with Panache. “It’s a more efficient transaction for the team manager and for the team in general.”
Champion System's online team store lets individuals order as few as a single item of a club or team kit, and have it shipped directly to their address.
“We were the first ones to offer that service three or four years ago,” said Pactimo’s Brandon Kibler. “We offered it to the biggest teams at first, then it trickled down to just about anybody. There are three different ways the team store works. One, team members can login and pay separately, and the whole order ships to a team manager. Two, we do individual sorting so it arrives at the manager’s address separated by rider name. And three, for premier customers, we do individual shipping.”
Custom cycling clothing is made around the world. Panache produces in Italy. Champion System — which boasts a huge catalog of custom pieces and no minimum orders — produces in China, as does Pactimo.
Kibler said Pactimo was founded by Christian missionary Jim Hesse, who was doing mission work in China when the idea came about to create Pactimo “based on the idea of improving Chinese workers’ lives.”
Other cycling clothing companies that offer online team stores for custom orders include Voler and Louis Garneau.
For more information on custom cycling clothing, see the four-page guide in the photos below.
FILED UNDER: Bikes and Tech
Ben Delaney
Delaney is the former editor in chief for Velo and VeloNews.com. A journalism graduate of the University of New Mexico, Delaney is responsible for all editorial content online and in the magazine. He's a former (but never very good) Cat. 1 racer. He lives in Boulder, Colorado, with his wife and two children. He can be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ben_delaney