If you’ve been tasked with the job of organising new custom cycling jerseys and kit for your club/team/group, this article is for you.
We speak to Shaun who is in charge of Custom Kit at Stolen Goat. He shares the 9 things you need to check before ordering your new bespoke cycle kit.
Note: while this is an interview with Stolen Goat, these are the questions you should be asking whichever custom cycling kit designer you decide to go with!
1. Is it good quality?
This is probably the most important thing to check before investing in custom apparel.
Is the quality right?
After all, who wants to pay for new kit that feels a bit cheap? Or feels okay but goes baggy after a year of use?
Quality cycling clothing can look like so many things, but it starts with fabrics and print. Making sure you know what the quality will look and feel like before you order is really important.
We work with Bioracer (who make Team Ineos’ kit
Here at Stolen Goat our bespoke kit is made by the same suppliers that make the rest of our award-winning kit: Bioracer. They supply kit for professional teams including Team Ineos and the Belgium, German, and Netherlands national cycling teams. This means our customers access quality kit that will perform.
You can find our kit stocked in shops around the UK (and a few further afield too) – theres a list of stockists here. Or we can send you samples (more on that below).
Our kit comes with a lifetime guarantee and our crash replacement policy too.
“Our race team cycles in the Epic jerseys and bib shorts and they are all really happy with the quality. Some members were new to Stolen Goat but they all love the design, style and quality of the jersey. They also think it is really good value for money.” Cowley Road Condors
2. How does the custom design service work?
One of the big draws of customisable cycling jerseys and bespoke kit is the fact you end up with a design that’s personal to you/your group.
But what if you’re not at all creative and have no idea what will look amazing?! Will you have to supply the cycling kit design or will there be graphic designers to help you?
And what if you want tweaks to the design? Will the designer incorporate those or will they charge?
We will hold your hand
For us, custom kit is all about designing your own kit, giving you the freedom to wear whatever you want and to feel awesome in the design you chose. We want to bring your vision to life and provide custom cycling apparel that pairs “hey, where did you get your club kit from?” good looks, with superb performance.
With us, the design process starts with a consultation with me, Shaun, via video call, phone call or even at our offices if you like! In this consultation you can discuss any design ideas, colours and logos you’d like to use.
This allows you to refine your ideas and truly build a custom kit that represents exactly what you want.
Once you’re happy with the design concept, our in-house design team will build up the custom design on a template, to show you what it’ll look like.
We offer all our clients two rounds of amendments, which allows for any necessary tweaks.
Find more information on the design process on the Stolen Goat website.
Chimney Fire Coffee said: “We wanted something that would not only represent our brand, but also be an attractive stand-alone jersey. We love the striking green design, the quality and fit is really good, and the process from design to receiving them at our roastery was seamless.”
Chimney Fire Coffee’s bespoke kit
3. What range of cycling kit can be customised?
Being able to customise a wide range of kit can be very important for those wanting custom kit. As cyclists, often we don’t just want to design a custom bike jersey, we want all of our kit to match, including socks, mitts, bibs and jerseys.
Make sure you ask your prospective custom cycling kit supplier what kit they offer. And make sure you’re happy that the quality is great across the range – not just the items you’re ordering in your first order.
We have a huge range of kit you can bespoke
We get that need for a matching vibe and so have an extensive range of products you can customise. From custom bike jerseys to custom cycling caps to custom cycling socks! We can customise our:
Paul Conroy from SJ&C said “Shaun worked with us tirelessly with the design, colours, fonts; the different types of jerseys and bib shorts, and the questions/queries from our group. Patience is the only word I can say for Shaun with the relentless queries! The whole process was very straightforward and we are now really looking forward to seeing our kit in the next couple of weeks.”
4. How much does custom cycling kit cost?
Cost plays a vital part in choosing your custom kit supplier.
You want to be able to provide the option for everyone involved to be able to buy kit at a reasonable cost.
You also want to offer various windows for ordering, because not everyone will have the funds available at the same time, to order their custom cycling kit.
We are affordable and kit can be ordered online at any time
We offer affordable prices.
Budget is one of the first things we discuss after you’ve got in touch regarding a custom cycling kit design. This gives you the option to weigh up costs and check they work for everyone before committing to purchasing anything. After you’ve decided what you would like to order, an invoice will be generated and once this is paid in full your order will go into production.
There’s no fee for our design work (assuming you stick to one design with two sets of amendments).
We create private web pages for your group on stolengoat.com so individual club members can order their own kit, wherever they are in the world. This also means they can order whenever they want (after that first order for the product has been placed).
Be aware of additional costs that might creep in. For example, it’s worth mentioning that we offer free postage and packing around the world. The final price you see on our website is the final price you’ll pay (so no unexpected import taxes to pay for example!). This takes the hassle out of you having to distribute kit ordered by other group members.
Find more custom kit pricing information on the Stolen Goat website.
Top to toe Stolen Goat custom cycling kit
Kit for Team Aeonian5. Is there a minimum order requirement for bespoke cycle kit?
Most companies will have minimum quantities for custom clothing. This allows them to cover costs of designing and shipping products.
We have a five item minimum
We have done our absolute best to keep our minimum order requirements as low as possible. We only require a minimum order value of £500+VAT on the first order.
There’s no minimum on the number of products you have to order unless you go for the Epic jersey/Epic bibs; then a five item order minimum applies in addition to the minimum order value due to the increased design time needed for this product.
After that, subsequent orders of the same design have no minimum value, so you can even order a single item if you like.
With a first minimum order so low and no restrictions afterwards, we hope it makes our kit more accessible to those in smaller clubs and groups.
6. What is the turn around time?
When ordering custom kit, turnaround times are something you should pay attention to. Your friends won’t thank you if the kit doesn’t arrive in time to be worn that year!
We have a ten week turn around
We work on an 10 week turnaround time for our kit. Order by December and have your kit with more than enough time to test ride it before race season, or for when summer hits.
Render of Stolen Goat custom cycling kit for Team Aeonian 7. Are there sizing samples?
Most people know how frustrating sizing can be with any clothing, but especially cycling kit. Of course it’s important to know the supplier can offer a range of sizes but there’s also the question of how it will fit.
One size is not standard for every brand, which makes it difficult to purchase kit that fits perfectly. It also makes purchasing custom kit very difficult; if it doesn’t fit, changing sizes can be tricky.
We Can Send Sizing Samples
We try to take that worry away, by offering sample sizes to test before you purchase or submit orders. This allows you to make sure everyone is getting the desired fit from the kit.
You can also visit our stockists to try sizing too.
It’s particularly important to make the most of these sample sizes and get sizing right because we can not offer returns on custom items, unless you’re ordering kit from a cycling club that holds stock with Stolen Goat.
Find more information about our custom kit on our website.
8. What is the ordering process?
This should be the best bit, right? You’ve done the hard work of finalising the design and can now just enjoy the excitement brewing, knowing you’ll soon be rolling around in the most beautiful bespoke kit.
Just make sure the order process doesn’t mean you (or the team administrator) has to chase around getting money from fifty different individuals! Or that you then receive a box of 50 different kits that you need to distribute… Otherwise it will be less excitement and more frustration that you’ll be feeling!
We Keep You In The Loop
Once the design is finalised, you choose a delivery method. Either we can ship it to you in bulk or individuals can place their orders online and you’ll be given an estimated delivery time. You’ll then be advised once it’s ready and shipped.
Tara Lawrence from Boldmere Bullets explained the process they went through for ordering custom kit with Stolen Goat:
“We approached Stolen Goat for our custom Boldmere Bullets club kit because so many of our cyclists already own and love SG kit. Shaun and the Stolen Goat team have made the process of getting our new club kit so easy. They listened to what we wanted, revamped our kit design, and built a page for our members to order. The result is a really easy-to-use process for our members – they order online, and the kit will be delivered directly to them. SG quality kit in our club colours. Perfect!”
9. Is there good customer service?
One of the most important things to consider when dealing with any company – what’s the level of customer service?
How will they respond when there are queries or problems?
We provide amazing customer care
We treat our customers as we would expect to be treated. We want to look after our customers and gain their loyalty. This means we provide top quality customer care before, during and after designing and purchasing the custom kit. Check out our reviews for more.
As already mentioned, we also provide the kit with a lifetime guarantee and crash replacement policy as we’re so confident the kit is the best quality.
We have live chat, email, and a phone number listed on our website to make contacting us as easy as possible.
Find out more about Stolen Goat’s custom kit
For more information on our custom kit, you can visit our website and submit a custom kit request.
We’ll put you in touch with a custom kit manager to go through the process with you. They’ll also answer any questions you have and provide you with any information required.
Our experience of Stolen Goat custom kit design process
A quick note from Clare, founder of Epic Road Rides
We at Epic Road Rides were one of Stolen Goat’s first clients for their customisable cycling jerseys.
As we’ve come to expect, we received outstanding service throughout the entire process.
Design has never been my strong point, but armed with just the required colours and logo, Trevor did a fantastic job of producing our Stolen Goat custom jersey.
Already being familiar with Stolen Goat kit sizes made the order process straightforward and I was impressed by their support with updates on the expected delivery time.
When the kit arrived, I was really pleased with the quality and finish. There’s no way I could have designed such a cool cycling jersey alone!
Having used a no-name bespoke kit provider before, and having been massively underwhelmed by the quality and design I ended up with, it was such a relief to have a jersey I could feel proud to wear!
A big thank you to Shaun for his insights on getting what you want from your custom cycling clothing! Best of luck with your journey to find the best custom cycling jerseys and kit for you. Let us know how it goes in the comments below!
The post Custom cycling kits:<br/> 9 things to check before you buy custom cycling jerseys and kit appeared first on Epic Road Rides.
