General issues and shortcomings

[bedampft]

Running a LBS with a clothing section was always tricky, but ever since apparel moved to almost exclusivly being sold online, I had an issue with how brands operate and what kind of information you get. I don't miss selling apparel in the slightest, but as a customer trying to buy stuff for myself, I'm more than annoyed. Over the past year I've been looking for a lot of new clothes, trying out all sorts of brands, in the past 2 months specifically for winter.

And I've had it.

Rapha, PAS, MAAP, Isadore, Ryzon, Gribgrap, Endura, Gore, Ekoi, Alé etc. pp. no matter how expensive or cheap, most if not all just give you the bare minimum of measurement and sizing info: Hip, Waist, Chest. The brands have all the measurements for every size. GIVE THEM TO US!

I want to know how long the arms are, how long the front and back of the jersey. How long the legs and/or inseam, the thigh circumference and so on. I hate asking via Mail, and than not getting an answer at all, or to late. If I feel like shopping for clothes, I don't want to spend hrs of research on Reddit, multiply different shops and brand website, just to find out if there is something not fitting me. I know what I want and if you want to actually sell your product with a low bar, give me the information out front. It costs you nothing. Especially if you want €300,- for a Winter Bib.

For some reason Asian brands are way better with this. I like Monton for example. They just have all the measurements there. Done.

Yes, a lot of brands have size and fitting guides. I just ordered for the 1st time something from Ryzon, a Winter Bib, and the size guide suggested a size smaller than I would usually take. I took the gamble and never had a Bib fitting me this good. But still, the legs are a bit to short for my liking. Same goes for summer Bibs: I want them a bit shorter, and like to have the measurement up front pls.
Also the usual "model is this tall and weighs this amount of Kg" is helping, but if I like to have a short front on the Jersey, I want to know from you (brand) what the actual measurement is.
I hate ordering something, only to find out that it's not fitting, and having the hassle to return it. Especially since it's a waste of C0² emission.

So please, just give us customers the measurements up front. Thank you.

[bmrk]

+1

[jlok]

Well said. I always look for the front full zip length as one of the fit metrics of a jersey.

[Steve Curtis]

I'm al ways buying what I think is my size plus the smaller and larger size just to be sure one will fit.
Unfortunately this means I always have to return items which isn't exactly eco friendly.

I don't have an option if buying from an actual store as they simply don't exist where I live.

[Butcher]

This is why I don't like all this online buying. I would love to support a local store. You could try things on, see if it fits, etc. I also understand there are people that would abuse that feature and buy the product online.

I don't know the answer, but I would love to have the clothing/shoe industry to use the same manican when designing clothing/shoes. A medium should be a medium no matter who you order it from.

[jlok]

Arms, neck, torso... just to name a few, all of us have different ratio between them. I don't mind different brands making M size differently, but pls keep them the same within the brand along the years so I know what to expect from each brand.

[bikeboy1tr]

I am in an area where cycle shops are an hours drive and they dont carry the kit I am after so I have to do the online ordering all the time. I am big 183cm, 107-110 chest with long arms and legs and I have been lucky with getting it right the first time but it tends to keep you to a few brands that you are familiar with. I find I can get away with the chest measurement charts for my kit but its a luck of the draw on how long the legs are on bib shorts although I notice some sites are giving you options on regular or long.
The big thing for me is when clothing companies change their sizing charts and you have to sort out fit all over again and Northwave shoes did this a couple times over the past 10 years and I even emailed them a few times to encourage a chart change. Its even more frustrating when they change up sizing and dont update their charts which is what Northwave. Recently I noticed Solomon changed their charts but their shoe sizing remained the same or at least from the models I purchased. This is where public reviews and feedback are important when trying to sort out actual sizing and making comparisons to clothing charts. For shoes I am relying on actual length in cm or mm and throwing the UK, US, and EU sizing out the window. Its really nice when they add in width for shoes as well but thats rare.

[bedampft]

We're not alone.



3 weeks ago I also asked a lot of high priced brands (Rapha, Ryzon, PAS, MAAP, Assos etc.) whats up with not putting the measuerements on the websites, and if they would do this (in the future):
Only Ryzon answered so far. They told me that no one asks them about it, and that they're not putting them puplic. If I (you) need them, asked them via mail.

I even thrown them a curve ball in the initial Mail about this low hanging fruit and making things easier to buy "out of them moment and spontaneous". Especially with the price tags their products have.

/I also asked Monton Sports if they planned for some more and brighter colours on favorite jersey of mine in the near future. Sadly not, but they replied in less than a day.