[Closed] Anyone make their own cycling kit?

I was just thinking why are all flat pedal shoes £100+ must be an opportunity for decathlon. If only I was clued up enough.

I recently bought some bike UV sports jerseys from Mountain Warehouse, £10 and £15 without stupid logos.

I've got both troylee and decathlon shorts. The troylee are a bit nicer and not too many logos.

Gloves are worth paying for I think.

Your main problem will be the stretch of the material, it's not going to be like making a suit

TJ, we need pictures of this, please. 🙏🏻😂

Not a problem No beer - I am sure I will look suave and sophisticated as usual

Have to agree with cycling kit being overpriced. Some companies must be making a fortune.

Not just on the cycling kit but also on the bikes. Compared to the cost of motorbikes cycling is ridiculous

Perhaps we could summon flashy north to design the footwear? 🤔

Sbtouring, it's not really the same, riding a motorbike is a completely static activity, like sitting on powered couch.

Nobeer, I get that. But motorbike kit is there to protect you in the event of an accident. And protect you from the weather.

Cycling kit, I get it wicks away moisture and is classed as technical fabric. It has to fit to your body while cycling, but I still see it as overpriced for what it is. I know there is the r&d cost, but after that it will be made in some Chinese sweatshop for next to nothing.

I was just thinking why are all flat pedal shoes £100+ must be an opportunity for decathlon. If only I was clued up enough.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/SHFLRAFX/on-one-vulcan-shoe

Plenty of good value places to buy cycling clothes eg

PlanetX
Decathlon
Alpkit
Aldi / Lidl (whichever one does the Crane stuff)

Tis a bizarre market, most of my cycling Jerseys cost £50-£70, yet I wouldn't dream of spending more than £25 on a cotton shirt, which has 5x the amount of fabric in it...

I’ve not and I can’t use a sewing machine (I’m not even very competent with scissors), but I’d like to be able to. I have an idea for a jacket/jersey. It’s not a particularly original idea, but It’s what I want.

I found a place in Colorado that does outdoor fabrics. Not particularly handy if you live in the east of Scotland, though.

TJ, when making any kit you might need a special sewing machine to do the flat stitching that you find on most kit, it has a proper name, but can't remember what it is called. Most home sewing machines can't do that, or at least that is what my wife tells me when I've asked her to repair any of my kit when the stitching has come away. And she is pretty handy with the sewing machine.

Pennine Outdoor have some fabric. https://www.pennineoutdoor.co.uk/

Or Extrem Textil. https://www.extremtextil.de/en/

To me cycling specific stuff is hideous or expensive or often both.

Doesn't have to be, there's plenty of places where you can find cheap stuff, you just need to look for it. Amazon, Ebay whatever. Doesn't even really need to bit cycling specific does it?

There are some useful tips on this website for sewing shorts and jerseys and shows a commercial sewing pattern you can buy:
http://specialtyoutdoors.com/make-a-bike-jersey/

Also look in bikepacking.com u see their MYOBG hashtag for a cap pattern for beginners:
https://bikepacking.com/tag/myobg/

Also the Dill Pickle Project has a cap and other gear patterns:
https://www.dillpicklegear.com/news-links-and-rides/

For fabric try Pennine Outdoor, Point North or eBay.

I'm just starting some bits. Made the kids wallets so far, now trying a tool pouch. Starting easy and slow. Hope you manage to make that dream jersey design.

Thanks for the tips folk

Mrs TJ can do the fancy stitching. I have a bunch of aldi and lidl stuff - most of it utterly hideous. I stick by my view that most cycling kit is designed by a blind 4 year old.

Fancy flat stitching is probably from an overlocker machine - my wife is also a seamstress and has one - allows her to make stretchy items (dresses etc).

TJ - depends on your wife's experience, but something my wife does is makes patterns from previous clothes to make new ones - has made me shirts and other people dresses. You could take to bits the old clothes you have (carefully) and add seam allowance to make patterns etc. If you or your wife want more detail, my wife had done online courses that might help.

Material wise - we've bought ripstop from a place called abakhan - mainly in the Northwest, but also in Estonia where my wife is from.

I've made all sorts of stuff over the years - chalk bags, Pertex wind shirts, a Buffalo type pile and pertex copy, bike packing bags, neck warmers and a bike bivy/tent sheet thing. All made with a second hand standard sewing machine and no pattern, so all custom made to fit my lard arse body.

However I've never made 'light' duty stuff as (like others have said) Mountain warehouse etc supply functional stuff that costs less than the material from the likes of Point North. Check out the 'iso-cool' stuff from MW.

The best things to make are stuff that is very specific to your needs. Frame bags would be a good example.

Hth

When Decathlon or Aldi/Lidl can do you a very decent wicking tshirt for £3.99 (see this week's Lidl special buys) you have to value your time very, very cheaply and your skill super amazing to even think this is a good idea.

There is a bit of a modern cult for thrifty home made over elaborate shite so this would be right on trend with that.

Its also about making them as a hobby - hopefully she can make them less garish than the aldi / lidl stuff and cheaper than decathlon stuff - and of course fitted properly with the features wanted

You won't make it cheaper. The factories can buy the fabric far cheaper than you can and they have more choice - technical fabrics are hard to get as a consumer.

As for cycling kit being expensive - jerseys abound for £15, likewise shorts. I don't think you've looked very hard. Also as above, for non-cycling specific technical tshirts and other clothes, go to Mountain Warehouse. They used to be cheap crap, but in the last few years they've managed to create some really great clothes. I've got MTB t-shirts from there that are by far the best I've had in terms of wicking and keeping dry in hot weather, and I paid like £8-10. They are labelled iso-cool, and in particular a hot weather t-shirt that weighs nothing and wicks amazingly.

My wife sews a lot, but sewing stretchy fabrics is really difficult and the kind of machines that they use in these factories are in a different league to what you use at home. So unless your partner is highly skilled and experienced AND has great kit, I don't think you should lump this on her!

This sounds weird but in the old days sewing blackout lining was tricky, even on an industrial sewing machine, so I used to sew through strips of tissue paper over the top. This might help when sewing jacket weight fabrics.

^^ I've also heard that for sewing stretchy fabrics. Also I've had plenty of gear with what looks like tissue paper on the seams that I've had to remove.

I stick by my view that most cycling kit is designed by a blind 4 year old.

So what would you like your kit to look like? Give us an idea in terms of cut, patterns, colour, style, etc. We may be able to find some readymade stuff for you.

Molgrips - someone suggestted decathlon - £30 a shirt. tech fabric can be had for £3 a metre

Anyway its not about cost - its about making a hobby that produces something useful and also to get the features we want

Lunge

Long back, no rubbery strip round the hem, secure pockets but not many of them but a key pocket as well.
Edit - ie they are for walking as well - and I often wear two layers - so do not want back pockets on both and of course no back pockets for walking stuff

colours - single plain colours that are not garish ( but perhaps contrast panels) No stripes, no spotty designs, no pink flowery stuff for her and most importantly we do not want to match!. NO LOGOS. No zips at the neck, raglan sleeves, Variety of weights and some with the long back but no back pockets Not full length sleeves but not too short.
Turquoise, jade are two good colours. Perhaps royal blue.

But as I said its not about the cost - its about having a hobby that produces something we like

Tis a bizarre market, most of my cycling Jerseys cost £50-£70, yet I wouldn’t dream of spending more than £25 on a cotton shirt, which has 5x the amount of fabric in it…

A bit like housebuilding the cost is in the corners. The volume of material doesn't really matter so much as the time taken to put the bits together. Otherwise different sizes of the same garment would be different prices.  Cycling kit tends to be made of more panels than more conventional clothes so theres a lot more labour in putting all those bits together.

The t-shirt I'm wearing is made of 4 panels of fabric - first cycling jersey I pull out of the drawer for comparison is made of 14 panels and doesn't have a single straight seam on it. And as mentioned above - sewing stuff that is stretchy is difficult  - not only in getting everything  and in register as you sew, but if the and method of stitching is wrong the garment will just unstitch itself again.

I owned an outdoor apparel company, let’s just say there’s not a lot of money in it ! I can dig out all the patterns for bike shirts, shorts and gilets.

that would be brilliant NZCol. IIRC you moved to Edinburgh as well did you not?

Looking for something else and stubmled across this site that has a pattern for baselayers, including the requested raglan sleeve. Might be worth a go.
https://www.shelbyoutdoor.com/?cPath=405_436
I love all these random projects. If only there was more time ...

TJ - yep I live in Colinton. Had an initial hunt to no avail but will have a more concerted dig later. I can categorically state that the only way to make money in bike stuff like that is get it assembled in China. We looked into it and visited factories and the associated housing etc but elected to shut up ship rather than support that industry. And Icebreaker basically Tesco’d us out of business anyway, that stuff is sh1te, overpriced rubbish.

Cheers - as above its not about the money - its about having a hobby and making stuff to our spec.

Managed to find some patterns in the local sewing shop and a website with a good range of materials. I will be sure to post up the results good, bad or ugly

STW sewing bee!

What's your first project? A jersey? Are you going to try shorts? jackets? gillets?

This is quite exciting. 🙂

Shirts first. We have found a supply of pads for shorts so might have a go. Softshell jackets is a possibility

sweet, can't wait to see the result. Good luck with it

First shirt done as a trial run in tee shirt material. 8 panels in the shirt - really nice fit but something went awry in the neck / collar.

Only in a minimally underachieving way ie cut the feet off Mrs Rider’s old winter overknee-socks and hey-presto perfectly good (rainbow-striped) arm-warmers.

Other prints/designs are available. Stretchy so stay up and are easily adjustable mid-ride from full-length to bundled-up around the wrist where they become an effective sweat-band on hot climbs

I thought an update might be in order.

Mrs TJ decided a new sewing machine was needed to do the fancy stitching and it took a while to arrive. Then we went away so not a huge amount has happened. 3 shirts made now. 2 cycling and one walking. Still very much in the trial / learning stage but we found some very cheap material to practise on but it only came in red.

the last of the shirts is a decent fit so its time for stage 2. get the expensive material and some other colours. Mrs TJ has found some silk / Lycra mix which sounds great for hiking and cycling shirts. Only £50 for a shirts worth!

I don't think cheap is going to happen! Nice fit and look tho is going to happen. Nothing worth a photo really yet.

So, has this made you re-think what expensive is in reality?

So far you've made what? 3 pieces of clothing of which 1 is a go-er, you bought a new sewing machine, and £50.00 has bought you enough material for another shirt, and we've not even started on pricing your time...I know you said this wasn't an attempt at making cheap clothes, rather as a hobby, but has it made you re-evaluate at all?

Sounds like a fun project for something a bit different. I've been tempted to make my own board shorts for riding, because that seems easier than actually trying to find anything the right length.

nickc - they are certainly the most expensive shirts i own 🙂 the silk / lycra mix sounds good to me tho

As above - its about a hobby and getting kit that fits and we like. cost is very secondary.

To me cycling specific stuff is hideous or expensive or often both

Sure, I get that it's a hobby, and it's not about the cost overall, but this was your opening post, Like you I look at the price of clothes (that I'd actually buy) and I think they're expensive, and when I read what you've gone through to get 1 shirt you like, I'm now thinking; hey, these clothes, they're not that expensive after all...I wondered if the process you've been through as made you rethink about what's available on the "high street", and it's cost to you.

I tried it once, wanted a very specific type of bag/rucksack type thing for longer trail runs and had an idea for what I wanted. I made the pattern myself, bought the materials from Pennine and was trying to make it with a borrowed sewing machine, but... Sewing lightweight ripstop is really difficult.

I think I tried twice, went through all my material and then found out that Decathlon did something similar that was marginally smaller, slightly less functional, but cheaper than I had been expecting.

I wondered if the process you’ve been through as made you rethink about what’s available on the “high street”, and it’s cost to you.

I get your point but what i really meant was "expensive and still not what I want" But yes - aldi shirts do look cheap and rapha reasonable in the light of the cost so far. Hopefully tho the end results will be better suited to what i want.

Hopefully tho the end results will be better suited to what i want.

Yep, cut to fit you, to your spec and material, it's going to awesome hopefully. Can't wait to see the finished result

Cut quite the dash I can tell ya.

Can't wait for these pics!

Did you get anywhere with this TJ? I've not gone as far as making clothing yet but have made a duffle bag (out of cordura) as a practise for making some bike packing bags. Also been modifying and repairing some cycling gear. Next up is making a pair of long johns for camping, once I work out what fabric I'm meant to use and get my hands on a sewing machine which does zigzag stitch... (anyone want to recommend me a decent machine I can buy second hand with metal internals? Maybe a Singer 401?)

As a designer doing my own thing often rattles around in my brain so would be excited to see what you done tjagain.

Single plain colours that are not garish ( but perhaps contrast panels) No stripes, no spotty designs, no pink flowery stuff for her and most importantly we do not want to match!. NO LOGOS. No zips at the neck, raglan sleeves, Variety of weights and some with the long back but no back pockets Not full length sleeves but not too short.

I think this is a fair comment, there are a few brands that stop you looking like a power ranger but the problem is they are all expensive. No logos is a little unrealistic though what brand wont put some form or logo on something. As for back pockets though I can't think of the last mountain bike jersey I got that had back pockets.

Ok guys - I'll take some pics.

We got some very cheap "technical" material for Mrs TJ to practice with in a variety of colours. A lot of difficulty getting the necklines right. Half a dozen shirts done and she is getting there.

She has now bought some knitted silk and silk / lycra mix which is too expensive to experiment with but will make lovely shirts that wick but don't stink

MrsTJ bought a new machine - a janome 2200xt which does all she wants and so far is reliable. does all sorts of fancy stiching including stretch stitch and double row and zig zag

I took in my walking trousers very successfully the other day. To be honest they are still suitable for walking too, they are just a more modern cut, but now the calves and ankles don't flap and get caught in the chain. My next task is to add a splash panel on the shins.

I'm more interested in the needlecraft required to modify existing gear, because it often fits in one place and not another. I've a Lidl top that is cut really poorly but could be significantly improved.

Three differnt stypoes of shirt made. t shirt style, cycling style ( with the extra panels) and cycling style with 2 back pockets and one front secure pocket

This one is probably the best of the pocket ones
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These are mine - all in the cheapo material. You can see the different styles tried. I like the navy / royal blue combo and the bottle green
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50694611982_3ac2d3ca8a_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50694611982_3ac2d3ca8a_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2keH8Yb ]20201208_100249[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/25846484@N04/ ]TandemJeremy[/url], on Flickr
A detail of the three pocket one. this is intended for warm weather when its the only top I have on so the front secure pocket is for my phone, the two rear for snacks and stuff
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[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50693783203_90b493e7f4_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50693783203_90b493e7f4_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2keCTAT ]20201208_100042[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/25846484@N04/ ]TandemJeremy[/url], on Flickr
Mrs TJs selection. The pink one is in the knitted silk - £30 in material but a top of similar quality bought is £130+
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50694603562_41c7b2a0f7_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50694603562_41c7b2a0f7_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2keH6t1 ]20201208_095918[1][/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/25846484@N04/ ]TandemJeremy[/url], on Flickr
Rear pocket detail on the silk one
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And before you start - I have bedhead, I couldn't be arsed tidying up for you plebs and I need a haircut!

Looking good TJ, some lovely work there from the back seat driver. Aside from when I've got a stretchy roadie top on, and can put it centrally on my back, I've largely given up on on carrying my phone in my shirt or mid-layer. They're too big these days and everything gets dragged out of shape by the weight. If I'm not in lycra shorts, I'll have a secure pocket somewhere.

I don't really know what to do with the phone. the shorts i wear over lycra either do not have big enough pockets or the pocket is on the outside of the thigh and it slaps about as you pedal - but the front pocket does not work well either as it goes all saggy and baggy around it

No offence buddy but can't see the CEOs of Assos and Rapha panicking about those efforts 😉

Those look great TJ. Did Mrs TJ just prior experience to figure out patterns or follow specific ones? I'm still at the stage where I'm much more comfortable following a pattern...

She found patterns to follow

good job dude! Extra deep front pocket is nice with the size of phones these days.