Road Cycling Research

lizwormald1

Hi everyone!

My name is Liz Wormald and I'm currently progressing into my 4th and final year of study on the BA(Hons) Fashion Design for Industry degree course at Heriot Watt University, in Scotland. I have recently decided to take part in a competition titled 'Active: Performance Sportswear' which is being run by a German fashion foundation named the Stiftung Der Deutschen Bekleidungsindustrie.

The competition involves designing a range of performance sportswear which caters to the sport chosen by each entrant. I've chosen to carry out my entry based on the study of Road Cycling and as a result of this I'm required to carry out some thorough research into the habits, requirements and preferences of the athletes who participate in this sport, be they professional or amateur.

As a part of this I've made an online questionnaire as a starting point for my research. I would be super appreciative if anyone reading this who feels it applies to them (if you do any road cycling whatsoever, i'm talking to you!!) could take a few minutes and fill it in for me. Also, if you're feeling generous, if there were any way you could pass the URL for the questionnaire on to anyone you are in contact with who is involved in Road Cycling, that would be amazing. Thanks in advance guys,

http://www.esurveyspro.com/Survey.aspx? ... 84ab14c485

All the best,
Liz x

CiB

Done, but you might want to change the 'When do you cycle?' question - the options should be check-boxes not mutually-exclusive radio buttons.

Good luck with it all.

ollyridesfirst

done....might be worth sending this to the pro riders who are on twitter. They are normally quite active on there during the tour

Bobbinogs

I thought the survey could have been slightly better worded with some better options. For instance, when it comes to listing all my bikes, does the price really matter and is it the price that I paid or what the bikes are worth...or is it really not that important in that the main question is "do you spend £xx on bikes/bikekit in any normal year"

I guess some idea of the objective of each question might have helped as in, which ones do you want specific info and which ones just an indication (for instance, getting me to list the contents of my saddle bag is only of value if you think I might want to carry the stuff on my back?? If so, forget it).

Might be an idea to get to a local cafe that cyclists frequent on a sunday and chat to a few to see how the survey could be better structured so that you get the right info on the right questions and understand what some cyclists do by choice and which things the large majority do and are never going to change.

Good luck.

danowat

Wheres question 23 :?:

Bobbinogs

Maybe it's the one in Welsh?

vorsprung

Liz,

I have done your survey. Feel that some of the questions were not well focused. For example "what time of day do you usually ride?" I commute so the answer is just before 9 and just after 5. None of the options addressed this common situation

Also the question "how often do you remove layers?" My answer, and I'm not being funny- when the weather changes.

All the best with your project

Headhuunter

Done. Some badly worded questions which I found impossible to answer. Have left notes in the final box...

red dragon

Survey completed.

RowCycle

Not a very good survey for a final year university student I'm afraid

White Line

Done.

I too am going into my final year and the course I'm doing requires a lot of research.

I'd recommend trying to become involved in road cycling, as it is truly the best way to find out all the details.

oldwelshman

Usuall arshole comments from some :?
Survey done, as some others (not all) constructively suggested either re phrasing some questions or maybe add some more.
One of the questions asks how many layers I wear. This may not be obvious to you but it depends on the time of year and can vary from 2 to 4 for me.
Also the question about time of day I ride because midweek I train/race in evenings, sometimes very late, and on weekends I ride very early.
One of the questions asks about brand of clothing wore. I am not sure if your trying to identify particular brands that may be popular or not but I do not look at brands really I just go for ones that are good quality, especially shorts.

oldwelshman

By the way you might get a good response from veloriders forum, though the response may be a bit sarcastic from some

lyn1

Your preamble indicated that "The competition involves designing a range of performance sportswear which caters to the sport chosen by each entrant. I've chosen to carry out my entry based on the study of Road Cycling".

Dozens of major brands already do this and no doubt carry out detailed and expensive market research to identify key issues. There seems no point "reinventing the wheel" and coming up with a "me too" copy of current offers. To differentiate yourself from other entrants in the competition, presumably, you will need to be creative by identifying and then filling a current gap in provision.
I'm not sure many of your questions will help you to address the core issue which is to identify current weaknesses in the existing provision of performance cycle clothing. The ones that are relevant do not generate sufficient depth.
Would you be better doing qualitative depth interviews and focus groups to identify improvements in current designs that people would appreciate? or identify a niche market that is not served by the existing brands and design something specifically for that segment of the market? For eg. the adaptations in clothing design needed for women who cycle during pregnancy.

dragonontheedge

Done.

Good luck !

Al

red ed

Done, but honestly I'd agree with most of the comments above.