Team Cycling Kit

tubsolard

Hi,

We are a small team, more of leisure than competition and an arm of the local running club. As numbers are not so high as a dedicated and competitive cycling club it is difficult to find a supplier of club kit that:

A) provide a competitively priced kit.
have a low enough minimum order for new members or replacement kit.

Does anyone have any recommendations of anyone who they currently use or have used in the past. It's not really necessary for us to go with a prestige brand like Castelli though!

Thanks

Dorset_Boy

Lots of club round 'ere use Kalas.

flasher

For small runs I've used Wildoo, the SS jerseys are excellent and very well priced.

http://www.wildoo.co.uk

StillGoing

Champion Systems. Minimum order is 10 main items, but they will do smaller orders for a reasonable penalty. Accessory items have no minimum order number. Turn around is around 6 weeks and sample garments are available in club and race cut.

rudivoller22

Owayo were brilliant with ours. Great quality very quick turnaround and they sent us a load of sample kit to try before we ordered.

tubsolard

Thanks for the tips, I've sent a few emails in the hope of finding someone from the list.

I've also contacted a few others so will update if we go ahead with any.

iPete

http://milltag.cc/custom

Minimum order, I think, is about 10. It's very nice kit but whilst it's not Rapha prices it's not dhb either.

oscarbudgie

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19725679#p19725679]philthy3[/url] wrote:

Champion Systems. Minimum order is 10 main items, but they will do smaller orders for a reasonable penalty. Accessory items have no minimum order number. Turn around is around 6 weeks and sample garments are available in club and race cut.

I would avoid Champion System. Our club used them for a couple of years but have just stopped because of the very poor quality and poor customer service. Worst instance was the inner pad coming detached from (as far as I know) EVERY pair of bib shorts / skin suits they sold us and ending up as twisted lump in the crotch - not nice at all. They weren't exactly falling over themselves to fix the problems either. The other stuff could be pretty poor as well with some very odd pads and weird sizing and poor detail - everything that came from them need loose threads sorting etc. Lots of other suppliers out there so you don't need to use this shower

iron-clover

Owayo all the way here- their re-order policy makes small re-orders affordable. They also added 3 names (name on breast, nickname on sleeve cuff and which 'team' on the back) on each jersey for no added cost.
They last really well as well- we went for the 1/4 zip and even after 4 years it's still my most comfortable jersey, and the long sleeved version is a staple in the winter, even though I haven't ridden with that club for 2 years!!

StillGoing

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19726640#p19726640]oscarbudgie[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19725679#p19725679]philthy3[/url] wrote:

Champion Systems. Minimum order is 10 main items, but they will do smaller orders for a reasonable penalty. Accessory items have no minimum order number. Turn around is around 6 weeks and sample garments are available in club and race cut.

I would avoid Champion System. Our club used them for a couple of years but have just stopped because of the very poor quality and poor customer service. Worst instance was the inner pad coming detached from (as far as I know) EVERY pair of bib shorts / skin suits they sold us and ending up as twisted lump in the crotch - not nice at all. They weren't exactly falling over themselves to fix the problems either. The other stuff could be pretty poor as well with some very odd pads and weird sizing and poor detail - everything that came from them need loose threads sorting etc. Lots of other suppliers out there so you don't need to use this shower

We've had 2 supplies to date and not a fault with any of the items. We've had jerseys in club and race cut which came exactly as specified. Bib shorts all came with the Gran Fondo chamois that has been perfect. Standard leg length in shorts is short so I'd recommend going for the extra long length and on our last order we mistakenly forgot to specify extra long length when finalising the order, which they sorted with a quick phone call. We've had additional kit made by them too from casual polo shirts, winter jackets, overshoes, gloves, head covers, gillets and rain tops all without fault.

With regards to communications, we've found them pretty good with follow ups and where mistakes have been made (see above) and although translation can be an issue with Taiwan, as long as your instructions are clear, they do as requested.

There are good and bad examples with all of the companies out there. Santini who we originally tried were an ignorant bunch of twonks who never responded to communications. Endura kit has always bobbled and frayed for those of us that have bought their stuff. Owayo were quick with responses and helpful, but their available colours at the time weren't a match for ours. So while you might have found Champion Systems a "shower", we've been very happy with them. Like all things though, you're the customer and free to take your business elsewhere if you become dissatisfied.

oscarbudgie

[/quote] So while you might have found Champion Systems a "shower", we've been very happy with them. Like all things though, you're the customer and free to take your business elsewhere if you become dissatisfied.[/quote]

That's exactly what we did.
Just reporting on the experience of our club although fwiw I know several other clubs had problems too. Sorry but there's no other way of presenting it, they were very poor. All companies can have things go wrong so the measure is how they react when this happens - and their response was poor as well. Enough said

thestrand

Our team used a company called Bodhi recently who were really good, great quality of jersey, great price and excellent service! (and only have 5 pieces minimum). I was a bit sceptical ordering because I had never heard of them, but it was well worth it and would definitely recommend.

StillGoing

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19726746#p19726746]oscarbudgie[/url] wrote:

So while you might have found Champion Systems a "shower", we've been very happy with them. Like all things though, you're the customer and free to take your business elsewhere if you become dissatisfied.[/quote]

That's exactly what we did.
Just reporting on the experience of our club although fwiw I know several other clubs had problems too. Sorry but there's no other way of presenting it, they were very poor. All companies can have things go wrong so the measure is how they react when this happens - and their response was poor as well. Enough said[/quote]

Fair enough, but we and countless others have had nothing but good experiences with them so far for all of their range and we have been quite picky in our design.

Search for the bad reviews of the various manufacturers before selecting one.

northcliff66

Kalas is OK, but it is important to get samples as the fit on most custom stuff is different. We got jerseys there, and whilst the quality is OK I struggle with it being tight in some places, loose in others. And its not my body!

Owayo quality is very good and no minimums AFAIK.

rudivoller22

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19726970#p19726970]northcliff66[/url] wrote:

Kalas is OK, but it is important to get samples as the fit on most custom stuff is different. We got jerseys there, and whilst the quality is OK I struggle with it being tight in some places, loose in others. And its not my body!

Owayo quality is very good and no minimums AFAIK.

Yep no minimums with Owayo just price drops as you order more. They also mix so if you ordered 5 bibs and 5 jerseys they charge you the price as if you bought 10 of each. Great quality too I was impressed with ours. They were really helpful on email with the hundreds of questions we asked too.

ic.

We use Champion System. I get very irritated by their delivery prices. They add 5% on top for delivery. It's bonkers, it means you pay more for delivery the more you order. It's usually the other way round, an incentive to buy more is the offer of free postage if you spend more.

A £2000 order is £100 delivery. Bonkers and very off putting

durhamwasp

http://www.pedallingsquares.cc/team-tops.html did ours - great quality tops. £60 a jersey, minimum 5.

If you are looking for the cheapest option then http://www.danger-uk.co.uk/custom-cycle-wear-2/ is pretty hard to beat, quick delivery times too.

StillGoing

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19727340#p19727340]IC.[/url] wrote:

We use Champion System. I get very irritated by their delivery prices. They add 5% on top for delivery. It's bonkers, it means you pay more for delivery the more you order. It's usually the other way round, an incentive to buy more is the offer of free postage if you spend more.

A £2000 order is £100 delivery. Bonkers and very off putting

We get around that by one person ordering otherwise as you say, everyone pays delivery when it all comes in one consignment to whoever the kit manager is. It is crafty and unethical and would be the one criticism I have of them.

oscarbudgie

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19727537#p19727537]philthy3[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19727340#p19727340]IC.[/url] wrote:

We use Champion System. I get very irritated by their delivery prices. They add 5% on top for delivery. It's bonkers, it means you pay more for delivery the more you order. It's usually the other way round, an incentive to buy more is the offer of free postage if you spend more.

A £2000 order is £100 delivery. Bonkers and very off putting

We get around that by one person ordering otherwise as you say, everyone pays delivery when it all comes in one consignment to whoever the kit manager is. It is crafty and unethical and would be the one criticism I have of them.

I'd forgotten that little quirk of the Champion System 'system' ! Bonkers is right and another reason to give them a wide berth.

StillGoing

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19727803#p19727803]oscarbudgie[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19727537#p19727537]philthy3[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19727340#p19727340]IC.[/url] wrote:

We use Champion System. I get very irritated by their delivery prices. They add 5% on top for delivery. It's bonkers, it means you pay more for delivery the more you order. It's usually the other way round, an incentive to buy more is the offer of free postage if you spend more.

A £2000 order is £100 delivery. Bonkers and very off putting

We get around that by one person ordering otherwise as you say, everyone pays delivery when it all comes in one consignment to whoever the kit manager is. It is crafty and unethical and would be the one criticism I have of them.

I'd forgotten that little quirk of the Champion System 'system' ! Bonkers is right and another reason to give them a wide berth.

OK so name your club and I'll ask our rep about it?