Replica kit

Frank the tank

Over the last few weeks/months various posters have been asking about the merits of replica trade kits/national jersies/world champ shirts/K.O.M. etc and should they wear them or would they look t*ts if they did?

Who cares? To the GP these tops mean nowt, it's a case of there's another cyclist.

But I've yet to read a post from anyone questioning their judgement over the purchase of a bike in team livery.

What is the difference?

BTW not being judgemental, AFAIC folks ride/wear whatever they like.

markos1963

I think team kits are fine but you could look a bit of a wally if your chosen team get turfed out of the TDF on a drugs bust and your £3k bike is painted in team colours

mgcycleguy

Well here is another twist on the argument, I have last years Predictor-Lotto kit. Picked it up at a very nice price when Lotto changed over to Silence-Lotto.... and the quality is excerlent. The bib-shorts are way way better than any other kit I have, excerlent chamois... they even have a little pocket high up on the back, which i assume would be for the race radio's, but I use it for my phone/mp3/radio... perfect.

... personally I tend not to wear bib and jersey together very often (mainly because they never both seem to be clean at the same time...lol), but on a nice sunny sunday, whats the problem with wearing your fav. team colours.... only the same as having a kickabout in the local park with your england football shirt surely... ?

Takis61

I just got the La Vie Claire jersey & hat - looks great, and how many people will know what is is anyway ?
Downside - shame I can't climb like the Badger or Lemond !
Also, saw a guy the other day in the Giro Pink Jersey - lots of guys will post & say you have to earn the right, etc. etc, but it looked awesome.
I second the football team comment - doesn't bother the seriously fat boozy fans does it ?

hammerite

markos1963 wrote:

I think team kits are fine but you could look a bit of a wally if your chosen team get turfed out of the TDF on a drugs bust and your £3k bike is painted in team colours

:oops: you mean like the day I bought a Cofidis jersey (I needed more cycling kit) following Wiggin's breakaway exploits, and they pulled out due to Moreni's testosterone positive.

greasedscotsman

Back in '97 I won a TdF "Pro Manager" competition run by Cycling Weekly. The prize was a Saeco Cannondale R4000. So did I earn the right to ride it? Think there was about 6,000 people who entered a team that year.

Anyway, I say wear/ride what you like. The 'dale was a good bike, put a big smile on my face when I rode it, even won a road race on it...

ratherbeintobago

The bike in team colours is sometimes much cheaper that not - I wouldn't have been buying a Liquigas themed bike if the non-team S6's weren't much more expensive (due to spec).

A fat middle-aged bloke in full team kit & bike is, clearly, going to look preposterous. Especially if they wear one of those silly wee caps.

I don't see a problem with wearing team kits where they've been turfed out of the Tour (says the man who was, for comedy value, actively looking for a Saunier Duval shirt late last year - this is part of the mindset that made me want to get a Sale shirt with '10 Baxendell' on the back, though)

RBIT

rjh299

Think there has been a few questions on how good the actual quality and fit of the team kits are aswell. Are you paying for the team and getting cheap shorts or are they still good shorts for the money?
Cervelo has got to be the best looking kit, want the socks but £13.50 for a pair of socks. Dunno.

ThreeLionsBrian

Is the problem not so much wearing a team kit but then riding a rival teams bike?

I tend to agree against a team bike!

fungus_the_muffin_man

:? What does it really matter as long as you like the look of what your riding/wearing. F**k what anyone else thinks.

Aggieboy

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

:? What does it really matter as long as you like the look of what your riding/wearing. F**k what anyone else thinks.

Unless it's a Rugby League shirt a, Fungus?!!

fungus_the_muffin_man

Aggieboy wrote:

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

:? What does it really matter as long as you like the look of what your riding/wearing. F**k what anyone else thinks.

Unless it's a England Rugby Union shirt a, Fungus?!!

edited

bobtbuilder

Think there has been a few questions on how good the actual quality and fit of the team kits are aswell. Are you paying for the team and getting cheap shorts or are they still good shorts for the money?

The chamois insert in the Vermarc bibshorts (Silence Lotto / Quickstep, etc.) is the best quality pad I have ever used.

shane515

Hello all

My 10pence, for what its worth........I own about 10 Westham Utd shirts (past & present :shock: ) but have never played for the mighty Irons, I own the England One Day Cricket shirt but have never even fielded for England let alone bowled or batted, I own the white Test match shirt ditto point two, I also own the England rugby shirt and have only ever drunk for England at Twickenham !!!!

I have seen and know many people wearing football/rugby shirts who without a doubt could not tackle one flight of stairs let alone 90/80 minutes of full on sport and no-one passes comment on the wearing of those shirts/tops.

So why cant I wear a team shirt or even shock horror the pink or polka dot shirt (I wont suggest the yellow ). I am never going to win either race, in fact I dont race at all but if I want to wear these shirts I will and for those who dont like it.........look the other way.

Shane

PS In fact I'm off to get the new Pink Giro shirt.......OMG whatever next!!!!

Infamous

I agree that there's nothing wrong with wearing teamkit etc (i own some myself)... however I couldn't let myself buy a world champ's jersey, because it seems a bit egotistical. I don't care what other people wear though, WC or yellow jersey or whatever, none of my business.

rjh299

shane515 wrote:

PS In fact I'm off to get the new Pink Giro shirt.......OMG whatever next!!!!

That's a nice looking jersey. Wear it with pride

greasedscotsman

Went to Paris Roubaix a few years ago and saw people dressed in full team kit riding in and out of the VIP start area in Compiègne. They were quite obviously not pros, they were far too chunky and didn't have matching team bikes. The security staff obviously didn't know the difference. Team kit does have it's advantages...

Homer J

Wear what you feel comfortable in, I wear my club kit and when that's all in the wash i got some plain stuff. Personally I would just feel a bit uncomfortable wearing pro kit :oops: . And i definatley do not want to be compared with them twats in football shirts

OffTheBackAdam

I turned up for a TLI race, some years back.
One of the riders was in full GAN kit, complete with bike.
We did feel he looked a bit of a tit., especially as he didn't exactly set the race alight.
Mind you, some of my team mates rode a Notts & Derbys Cyclo-cross League meeting and reported a rider in full PDM kit. Said rider proceeded to ride away from everyone else. Turned out is was Martin Early, so I suppose that's a different kettle of fish completely!

mgcycleguy

bobtbuilder wrote:

Think there has been a few questions on how good the actual quality and fit of the team kits are aswell. Are you paying for the team and getting cheap shorts or are they still good shorts for the money?

The chamois insert in the Vermarc bibshorts (Silence Lotto / Quickstep, etc.) is the best quality pad I have ever used.

+1 ... the chamois used by Vermarc is something else, really best I've come across

NWLondoner

I would love a replica kit. Either Saxo Bank,Liquidgas or Cervelo Test Team.

Sadly none of the jerseys come with a zipped pocket to store my mobile in. My phone is NOT strong enough to withstand a ride in my saddle pack.

Sirius631

Active cyclists wearing replica team kit is not as sad as the average, bear swilling, tub-of-lard football supporter wearing an England shirt. At least our cycling kit is used for what it was designed, not just acting as a girdle to hold in the beer belly.

Stone Glider

If you can wait, last year's stuff can be had at a discount (often large) and you still get the quality. I have a hankering for a KoM shirt but can't quite summon up the nerve. This name of mine is not entirely divorced from reality :oops:

mgcycleguy

NWLondoner wrote:

I would love a replica kit. Either Saxo Bank,Liquidgas or Cervelo Test Team.

Sadly none of the jerseys come with a zipped pocket to store my mobile in. My phone is NOT strong enough to withstand a ride in my saddle pack.

... as I mentioned earlier, my Lotto bib shorts have a little pocket on the back ( for a pro-race radio maybe)... which is perfect for keeping your phone safe !... maybe worth checking out if the team kits you mention have the same ?

GavH

I agree about not wearing a World or maybe even National Champ jersey. Yellow/Pink/KoM et al are equally suggestive of ability (not confusing that with 'earned' - my Rangers replica shirt is earned AFAIC but it doesn't stop me wearing one!) but team and generic national colours are a go for me AFAIC.

As I see it, if you see me out on the road and you don't like it, you have pretty much only two options:
1- you're passing me by in the opposite direction so I'm afraid you'll just have to be offended for the grand total of about 2 seconds.
2- you're coming up behind me in which case you get the satisfaction of passing the kn0b in the team top - treat yourself. Unless you can't actually catch and pass me in which case you're in no position to comment on whether what I'm wearing is appropriate.

Some people should really get over themselves.

bianchi777

I think it's fine to wear a full team kit...it really makes no odds to me. I have a couple garments from the Pepsi cycling team in the 1980s...a jersey and a jacket. Still, I'd probably think that wearing the yellow and other "prize" jerseys would be a little silly and it wouldn't be something I'd do myself.

Myself, if I ever got the guts to go all out Lycra again- I don't wear the Pepsi jersey or the jacket now- I'd probably buy that nice looking vintage Nalini Bianchi kit that's on wiggle. In Celeste, of course. Not the yellow or pink versions!

Aggieboy

NWLondoner wrote:

I would love a replica kit. Either Saxo Bank,Liquidgas or Cervelo Test Team.

Sadly none of the jerseys come with a zipped pocket to store my mobile in. My phone is NOT strong enough to withstand a ride in my saddle pack.

I can't see why a phone isn't strong enough to go in a saddle pack on a road bike NWL and I've never lost my phone from a rear pocket, but each to their own. Why not wrap it up/use a phone sock etc and get your shirt? Another option is to get bibshorts with a rear pocket in for your phone and your new fitted team shirt 8) will keep the phone in.

NWLondoner

Aggieboy wrote:

NWLondoner wrote:

I would love a replica kit. Either Saxo Bank,Liquidgas or Cervelo Test Team.

Sadly none of the jerseys come with a zipped pocket to store my mobile in. My phone is NOT strong enough to withstand a ride in my saddle pack.

I can't see why a phone isn't strong enough to go in a saddle pack on a road bike NWL and I've never lost my phone from a rear pocket, but each to their own. Why not wrap it up/use a phone sock etc and get your shirt? Another option is to get bibshorts with a rear pocket in for your phone and your new fitted team shirt 8) will keep the phone in.

You have never owned an INQ1 mobile then Fragile little b*stard. Damn LCD screen cracked in my pocket. One minute it was fine the next moment it is broke.

Aggieboy

NWLondoner wrote:

Aggieboy wrote:

NWLondoner wrote:

I would love a replica kit. Either Saxo Bank,Liquidgas or Cervelo Test Team.

Sadly none of the jerseys come with a zipped pocket to store my mobile in. My phone is NOT strong enough to withstand a ride in my saddle pack.

I can't see why a phone isn't strong enough to go in a saddle pack on a road bike NWL and I've never lost my phone from a rear pocket, but each to their own. Why not wrap it up/use a phone sock etc and get your shirt? Another option is to get bibshorts with a rear pocket in for your phone and your new fitted team shirt 8) will keep the phone in.

You have never owned an INQ1 mobile then Fragile little b*stard. Damn LCD screen cracked in my pocket. One minute it was fine the next moment it is broke.

Buy cheap phone like this http://www.phones4u.co.uk/shop/shop_payg_details.asp?itemkey=243769&mpitemkey=243772 for cycling with,change sim,buy shirt, go enjoy.

heavymental

The argument that you shouldn't wear yellow jerseys etc because you haven't earnt it is stoopid! Its not as though you're trying to tell the world that currently, you are infact leading the Tour De France or that last night, you were awarded the King of the Mountains jersey and are hoping to hold onto it for the tomorrows ride up the local 10% hill! I wouldn't wear full team kit just like I wouldn't wear matching socks, shorts and shirt to play footy at the weekend but some people do and thats fine. I don't believe that they're actually on a lucrative deal at their chosen club! Or, I don't nudge my mate with a confused look on my face and point out that unless I'm mistaken, that isn't actually David Beckham. Team/Grand Tour shirts aren't sacred items. If you like the look of them, go wear them! But if somebody passes you in your KoM jersey up the hills, be prepared to have a laugh about it.

mgcycleguy

Heavymental wrote:

...But if somebody passes you in your KoM jersey up the hills, be prepared to have a laugh about it.

... or you could wear the points jersey... and shout after them you are saving yourself for an intermediate sprint ?