"PRO" Cycling Discussion

Questions about bike hire abroad and everything light bike related. No off-topic chat please

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mentok
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by mentok

belkin: can we all just agree that there's no such thing as a good looking cycle jersey? especially not in the pro peleton where even the best design has to be coated in sponsors thus destroying the original design. there is such a thing as OK looking jerseys, but they are few and far between and they will never really get much of a reaction above "meh".

exceptions apply to classic jersey designs, but then again they only look good now because they are classics - back in the day i'm sure we all would have criticized them for looking rubbish too.

now, cue all the people posting good looking jerseys... :D

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prendrefeu
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by prendrefeu

I respectfully disagree with you on the point of "can we all just agree that there's no such thing as a good looking cycle jersey?" I do agree that Belkin's jersey is disappointing, but knowing how little priority that company places on actual graphic design, I'm not surprised that they put little effort behind getting a proper jersey put together after investing that much money into marketing their company.

AG2R's jersey is quite amazing (and, to be frank, the closest any pro peloton jersey has ever gotten to be relatively in-step with current haute fashion trends at the same time).
Xacobea had a great kit, but they no longer exist. Europcar is well thought out and understated. It works surprisingly well. Leopard-Trek's original jersey had 'instant classic' fame to it even though it was a rip-off of a previous 'anonymous/non-team' design. Optum-Kelly Benefits is good, particularly their framing of the Optum logo on the back.
Specialized-Lululemon kit is without a doubt one of the best ever, however only available for women.

Other recently great design, without going "classic" ? Cervelo test team.

Yes, many of those 'classic' jerseys that so many people think of being great design were actually pretty terrible in their day. They became 'classic' and 'beautiful' out of retrospect and the rose-tinted, often selective, hyperbole-driven memory that people tend to generate when looking at the past, particularly eras in which they were young and impressionable.
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airwise
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by airwise

With all respect, those of us old enough to remember wool don't consider any jersey to be "classic" if it's made of some crappy modern man made material that allows it to be printed all over with logos.

Simple is classic. The designs mentioned are, IMHO "adventurous" :wink:

maquisard
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by maquisard

Think I'd rather cycle in the heat in some crappy modern man made material than wool, even taking into account the nonsense hype about merino wool.

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Kjetil
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by Kjetil

Castelli has mostly got it right with Cervelo TT and the various Garmin incarnations. They've even perfected it so much now that when they make changes to it people don't notice.

I prefer modern fabrics to the ancient ones, but I'm of course a patriotic supporter of the Norwegian oil industry rather than the Australian wool industry, so there's a bias.
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airwise
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by airwise

Allen,

see below exchange and guess the interviewee

Unfortunately
1. jerseys with short zips are crap for cooling.

A medium-length zip is all that's required. Full-length zips are
deprecated because they encourage unwise cyclists to expose their
bodies to public view, an alarming and ghastly sight that should be
discouraged. And full-length zips are very non-aero, so they must be
bad by today's thinking, right? However, there is a reason for
full-length, flapping non-aero jerseys - they need to be opened when
climbing in heat, because very little air penetrates these jerseys
compared with knitted jerseys, which do not need full length zips.
There is a reason pre-petrochem jerseys did not have full-length zips,
and it's not because the world lacked a sufficient supply of long
zips.

2. merino wool jerseys are too hot in hot weather.

See above re penetrability. Depends on grade of merino. Ibis make
summer jerseys that are extremely fine and light. My preferred cure
for hot weather is to keep out of it.


:wink:

hansonator69
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by hansonator69

Image

Bell Air Attack...
Slam your stem.

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Kjetil
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by Kjetil

I like the leaders jerseys at the Ster SLM. No enormous square for the team logos. Like Hinault.
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Rob81
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by Rob81

hansonator69 wrote:
Bell Air Attack...


good find! is it a real new model or a Bell Faction?

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stella-azzurra
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by stella-azzurra

prendrefeu wrote:AG2R's jersey is quite amazing (and, to be frank, the closest any pro peloton jersey has ever gotten to be relatively in-step with current haute fashion trends at the same time).


Were you high when you made this statement? :lol: :lol:

Tell me that the colors brown, white and light blue somehow work together. :mrgreen:

Here is the deal: cycling jerseys and cycling clothes in general only look good on pro cyclists no matter what the colors are. :smartass:
I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

petepeterson
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by petepeterson

I am not high at the moment and I completely agree with prendrefeu regarding Ag2R's kit and have stated this in the past on here. It is a departure from the worst things rampant in cycling clothing. Brown and blue is a very nice combination in my opinion. But what do I know I'm only a silly designer.

Imaking20
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by Imaking20

I don't think I'll ever understand how people find the AG2R kit appealing.


The Specialized Lululemon kit is very slick though. My wife has been lusting after one for awhile.

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micky
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by micky

Rob81 wrote:
hansonator69 wrote:
Bell Air Attack...


good find! is it a real new model or a Bell Faction?


New model; appeared 1 or 2 weeks ago.

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stella-azzurra
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by stella-azzurra

petepeterson wrote:I am not high at the moment and I completely agree with prendrefeu regarding Ag2R's kit and have stated this in the past on here. It is a departure from the worst things rampant in cycling clothing. Brown and blue is a very nice combination in my opinion. But what do I know I'm only a silly designer.



I tried to convince myself that brown would be the new black but can't seem to do it. Hmm brown hasn't taken off yet.
It's been a few years don't you think?
I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

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prendrefeu
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by prendrefeu

stella-azzurra wrote:I tried to convince myself that brown would be the new black but can't seem to do it. Hmm brown hasn't taken off yet.
It's been a few years don't you think?


First, brown has actually been in fashion for a while. Black has rarely gone out of fashion, and in the fashion world actually referencing black as a fashion trend is a bit moot.
But then again, and no offense here, I've never taken you to be interested in the design fields beyond being a casual consumer, so I don't hold anything against you and your opinion.

Second, you're clearly focusing too much on the colours and ignoring the design. Colours of a jersey are largely determined by the sponsor: brown and blue are AG2R's corporate colors. The design itself, which is what I am discussing, is very well executed and, as I stated before, the closest any pro peloton jersey has ever gotten to be relatively in-step with current haute fashion trends at the same time. As Pete mentioned, blue & brown also happen to be an excellent (and relatively recent) combination trend, so having AG2R's colors in a well executed design is a win-win.

Third, there's no accounting for the bitter gripes that come with people aging as the world passes them by with changing social norms, technologies, and expectations. No one on this earth is removed from being blown by the winds of change and time, some choose to move with it, some choose to grumble against it - and wilt in the erosion. This was not directed at you, stella, but everyone (myself included). Reading various threads and comments on this forum show a few folks to be of one type or the other. Coincidentally - and with complete irony - the very change that they are grumbling against now is the same was what they claim to yearn for. They're pointing at the past to things that, in that time, were 'innovative' and 'adventurous' while shunning the same qualities in what is happening now and adding adjectives to past concepts as 'reliable', 'classic', 'perfect' and so forth.

It's easy to tell who is in the creative fields and who isn't by language used. In a similar vein, it's easy to tell who is in the HVAC industry and who isn't by the language used. In either situation, one experienced person may claim the other, non-experienced person's viewpoint is lacking. Such is the way of the world, no? Each person has their expertise (which can also be plural).

edit: added quote for pagination.
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