Pinning Numbers on Jerseys

I wouldn't worry too much but if you want to avoid holes does the top of the pocket have some kind of edging or stitching that you could use for the top pins - I do have a gabba but I can't remember exactly. Then it depends on the size of the number if you can reach the bottom of the jersey to do similar there - they've got kind of a drop tail on them haven't they so not sure.

As most others though I'd just pin it on the pockets - yeah I might try and minimise any damage as above but that's what you do in any race and a gabba is meant to be a wet weather race jersey after all - even if it leaves a tiny hole it's not going to be visible unless you search for it. Bikes, kit etc it's all just tools to help enjoy riding the bike it's meant to be used and use is going to wear things out.

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

So how do they put a gabba jersey together, is it not stitched? Unless all the seams are taped afterwards the material must be able to be penetrated by a needle without losing the water resistant properties?

Yes - most of the time they are taped ... if they're not taped then you'll probably find that the seems are glued as well as stitched.

I've pinned my number on a summer jersey once a week for 2 seasons TT's .. I can see where I've pinned - I'd not pin to a waterproof jacket unless there was a pocket to pin to and even then not that often.

Pinning a number on a cycling jersey is a part of cycling, it's been going on for over a century. So what if it may out tiny holes in your jersey. FFS pin it on just like in a proper race and get out there and enjoy yourself.

nbalcombe wrote:

I'm doing a sportive next weekend and they're requesting that you pin your number on your jersey. I was planning on wearing my Castelli Gabba if the weather's a bit iffy but don't really want to put pins through it. I have plenty of short-sleeved tops that I don't mind putting pins through but now I have no idea what to wear if it's a bit wet/chilly.

Any thoughts?

Is the Gabba softshell on the back too? I thought not, but may be wrong.

Step83 wrote:

ben@31 wrote:

I remember triathlons used a belt with tags that held the number. You just attached the number to the belt then tied the belt around your waist. Place the number on your back when on the bike and at the from when on the run.

Like this one ... http://www.wiggle.co.uk/orca-race-belt-1/

Tri belts are great been using one for a few years now does the job perfectly plus an extra way to stash gels.

I would train with a tri belt first to see if you like it rather than just sticking one on for a sportive.

Personally I would find it an unnecessary annoyance, but each to their own.

Just pin it on, for the odd event it shouldn't matter...its when you race twice a week it ruins jerseys!

ravey1981 wrote:

guy.spartacus wrote:

apreading wrote:

guy.spartacus wrote:

Worse is when they force you to stick a number on your frame (this is for a triathlon event) and they give you a handwritten number on one of those manky office stationary stickers that basically welds itself to your frame leaving bits of sticker and glue residue for years afterwards.

Could always have a patch of helicopter tape on the frame already - stick the event sticker to that and then peel off and replace ready for the next event. Might seem a bit extravagent but helicopter tape isnt that expensive really.

It's a bit late - I did the event about 4 years ago and still have the poxy mank left on my frame

You haven't tried very hard to get it off then... WD40, hairdryer, nail varnish remover or all of the above.... its not rocket science.

rocket engineering...the science is the easy part...;)


I did do a sportive once where they asked you to pin the numbers to your jersey back, oddly they dropped it the next year and now the numbers fit to the bike handlebars instead, Im guessing because the poor photographer spent alot of time photographing people who got caught on a very popular bike route who were wondering what on earth was going on.

anyway I used a rather old fashioned solution of clothes pegs (bulldog office clips are an alternative) and just pegged the number off the rear pocket of my jersey as I was b******d if I was going to ruin the nice jersey Id picked for the ride with safety pins,and didnt care how "aero" it was or how stupid it might have looked like as it was on my back & I didnt have to look at it

Anywhoo

I have two thoughts on this... I was given some endura race snaps years ago - they are fantastic no pins and a wee bit of stretch

Also I think wearing a number at a sportive is vital... Because of my photographic memory I remember every fecker that passes me and then I look longingly at their awesome times in the post event leaderboard :-)

Most will just pin it. If you want a solution to a first world problem, then you could look at getting some racedots.com

Or you could do it DIY with neodymium magnets of the right size - lots cheap on ebay. They're great as cadence sensor magnets too - just stick one on the inside of the pedal spindle - where it sticks out of the back of the crank.

Draw it on with a marker pen, no holes...

Bobbinogs wrote:

darkhairedlord wrote:

Draw it on with a marker pen, no holes...

Perhaps permanent marker on the forehead? Nice and clear on the day and then everyone you meet over the next month or so will think you are an epic racer, or something like that. Either way you should get some clear space at the bar.

Clearly you have never tried wriiting 13 upside down on your forehead whilst looking in a mirror.

Fenix wrote:

Why not pin it on your under jersey and not through the jacket ? Bit late for this now.

I'm constantly amazed in running races by :

1. The 0.5% who pin their numbers on the back and think that the other 99.5% are wrong.
2. The people who pin their number through a jacket as it's cool at the start and then can't get out of the jacket on route.

I swear by the race belts. Much easier than messing with jerseys.

He wasn't racing, he was sportiving... so why on earth they needed rear facing numbers is a little beyond my comprehension.
I cant go with the triathlump belt idea either. My aerobic system gets stressed enough without any constraints on the lower/mid body.
I would never wear a jacket for racing.
My Gabba for early season races has been pinned numerous times over the last 2 years, the pockets now fill up but luckily the extra holes let it out again... :roll: