VIDEO: I tour the ALร Bikewear factory in Italy to see first hand how they make a custom jersey and bibshorts right before my eyes. I explain the entire Custom Kit process from design and ordering to following each production step from cutting fabric, to printing and sublimation, through each intricate stage of sewing to create Pro Tour level cycling kit โ all in a custom design just for PEZ.
When I first started cycling in the 80โs, โcustomโ cycling kit didnโt really exist โ definitely not like it does today.ย The closest we came was a buddyโs mom who sewed us a couple of jerseys with a basic polyester material she found at the local fabric store.
Click PLAY to see my video on how custom kit is made, as I follow the whole process at Aleโs Italian factoryโฆ
Since then sublimation โ the transfer of dyes to from paper to fabric, and the digital revolution, has created an industry that we could only image a few years ago.
The finished product โ brand new kit to ride the Ale la Merckx gran fondo.
When I started PEZ, one of the loosely imagined goals I had was to get our own custom cycling kit.ย It was a dream Iโve shared with many a rider, anyone who preferred to create their own look instead of wearing โ and promoting โ someone elseโsโ brand.ย With custom kit, everyone gets to be their own brand.ย I like that.
Sublimated fabric coming out of the printer.
Weโve been reviewing and wearing Ale kit here for years now, and have visited their Italian headquarters and factory a couple of times โ but this is the first time weโve worked together to create a custom kit just for PEZ.
Reviewing preliminary designs โ all part of the process.
Our process started in the Spring, with a few emails and then a face-to-face call with their designers, to discuss concepts and ideas for how this kit should look.ย A couple of weeks later they came back to me with a few different designs, and we refined from there.
The production file looks like this โ and details the design across all sizes.
Once Iโd signed off on the design, they took over and made it.ย That meant creating production files from our original design, so that the kit would look the same whether sized XS, or XXL โ ie: logos and color lines need to line up across a big range of sizes.
When I visited in June, after the Ale La Merckx gran fondo, I got to follow the actual production process all the way from the computer drawings to finished product โ including seeing just how a pro folds and jersey and bibs to fit so perfectly into the bag.
Pieces for each kit are sewn together by hand โ by highly skilled staff.
The process is intricate and involved, but theyโve got it down to a science, run by skilled artisans and technicians who know how to blend Italian tailoring and craftsmanship, with the lates production techniques and processes, to that dressing your team, club, or buddies in a look thats all yours is a pretty simple undertaking.
Personally, I love the process of creating new kit, so I distilled the process down to a 20 minute video so you can see exactly what happens each step of the way, but the best part is actually riding it.
โข Get more AleBikewear Custom Kit info here.
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