Tag Archives: athlos clothing

Athlos custom cycling clothing: Out of the box review

by John Brown, HaveFunBiking.com

Having been involved with many teams and clubs over the years has given me the opportunity to own many pieces of custom cycling clothing. I have also owned lots of name brand cycling clothing. What I have found, there are some pros and cons to both custom and brand name products. This brings us to a great conversation I had with the guys at Athlos, during the Interbike Show, last fall. Athlos is working to offer riders all the benefits of brand name product in a custom package and making it easy to order as well. Read on to see how they did!

Out of the box custom cycling clothing

I received a medium jersey, large bib short, and medium arm warmers as I requested. All the pieces are part of Athos’ split zero custom cycling clothing collection, which is their top of the line products. Being a top end product, they are a true racer fit. Racer fit doesn’t mean you need to be into racing to enjoy the products benefits, all it means is that the cut of the shorts and jerseys are form (European) fitting. The items I reviewed were made for the ‘Rebel with a Cause’ cycling club. They are in Baltimore and ride to raise money to help feed those in need. All the colors in the kit I received were clean, vibrant from the shorts to the jersey. I was impressed, the consistency is surprising considering the jersey and short were made of different materials.

Fit of the custom cycling clothing

I would love to believe that I am still a medium jersey guy? But, too much food and the relentless assault from father time makes it tough for me to squeeze into the medium jersey. The large shorts on the other hand fit amazingly well. The legs stop just above the knee and have a tall, soft cuff with a grippy material on the inside. The bib is unique in that the back straps are an H strap rather than the standard Y shape. This is a very different approach to a bib short. Immediately I noticed that the short didn’t have the “compressive” feeling over the shoulders that bibs typically do. My fear was that the shorts would feel loose while I was riding, but instead they felt great. They stayed in place well and never felt tight or constrictive.

Function of custom cycling clothing

With our Minnesota winter in full effect, jerseys and shorts get buried under jackets and tights. The added layer usually works against what shorts and jerseys are designed to do. First off, a tight over a short can add to chaffing, because of the two layers rubbing over each other. Additionally, jerseys do a good job of moving moisture (sweat), but require air to evaporate that moisture away. Jackets block that evaporation somewhat. I’m happy to say that even though the test situation wasn’t ideal, the Athlos kit did great. The jersey was comfortable and the short’s chamois felt great.

Ordering something for yourself

Sadly, you can’t just buy the Athlos stuff off a rack but only through their custom program. The process is simple, fill out an information form, receive a quote, and start the design process. If you have a fully baked piece of artwork, that’s great, just submit it and go. If like most of us you have an idea, but not the ability to create the art, Athlos has designers to transfer your ideas into reality. Once you have approved the quote and design, it’s on to ordering.

Athlos

Artwork Proofs of the Riders With a Cause kit.

Artwork is approved by the customer before orders get placed.

 Ordering

Ordering is where Athlos sets themselves apart. Athlos builds you a team store on their site for free and then supplies a link that can be distributed to your group. From there each rider orders their own product and Athlos produces, collates and ships it. Additionally, Athlos sets up “fan pages” where clubs or teams can fund raise by selling their product to supporters at a premium.

Moving forward

With how comfortable the kit is I am excited to see its long term durability. I have had kits in the past that were comfortable, but shredded in no time at all. By contrast, the best kits I own are both really comfortable and nearly bullletproof. Based on the construction quality I’ve seen so far, my guess is the Athlos kit will end up in the latter group. If you want to get your team, club, or group a custom kit use the code “HFB” on Athlos site for a discount.

HaveFunBiking.com has you covered with our gift guide for the very best holiday ideas. These items have been picked by our staff for the rider on your list. 

The HaveFunBiking Holiday Gift Guide for the riders on your list

by John Brown, HaveFunBiking.com

Thanksgiving is over and the panic of holiday gift buying is in full effect. Don’t get too concerned, HaveFunBiking.com has you covered with our picks for the very best holiday gift guide ideas.

A gift guide for lovers of bikes

A bike waiting for you under the tree will be a thrill at any age. Over my 25 years in the cycling industry, I have found that the excitement of a new bike only increases as you get older. Here are a few of our very favorite bikes.

Marin B-17

Marin has packed a ton of value into these bicycles. Their aluminum frame is comprised of highly manipulated tubing and buttery smooth sealed bearing pivots. All together, it’s hard to find a better value.  As a 120mm travel trail bike, it is at home on almost any trail. The 27.5” x 3” tires offer unparalleled confidence even when the trails get rough. With models starting at $2100 that sport fully tunable suspension, a 1×11 speed drivetrain and hydraulic Shimano disc brakes, there’s very little competition.

gift guide

Tern GSD

“Set Stuff Done” is right! The Tern GSD leaves almost nothing to be desired from a utility bike. It can be easily stored upright and out of the way when not in use, loaded to the gills with cargo, or equipped to carry a passenger. In fact, thanks to the Bosch motor and ability to run two batteries, the possibilities for this bike are nearly endless. Hop over to the Tern site and see what there is to offer.

Gift guide

Focus Bold2

Simply put, this is the best looking E-bike I have seen. It uses a smart component selection that compliments the Shimano XT Motor, making the Bold 2 a dream machine. Ample power will lift you up the hills and the bikes great geometry, Rockshox suspension, and hydraulic disc brakes will allow you to attack the descents with confidence. Buzz over to Focus and read up on this spectacular machine.

Gift guide

Gift guide Accesories

Lupine SL-A7

For the Commuter on your list there is no better or safer gift than the Lupine SL-A7. It’s amazing light output and surgically accurate beam pattern are unparalleled in realm of cycling lights. For more info, take a look at our Out of the box article.

Gift guide

Magicshine Genie in Our Gift Guide

Helmets typically do one thing and one thing only – keep your head safe. MagicShine has infused their expertise in lighting into the helmet to create the very best in safety and visibility. The Genie helmet has a surprisingly bright  350 lumen headlamp, a rear blinker, and remote controlled blinkers. Click here for more info.

Ass Savers fender

I received one of these fenders as a giveaway and never actually though anything about it. That is until one day when I was getting ready to leave for work on my cross bike and it began to rain. Without time to install a complete fender set, I grabbed the “giveaway”, and clipped it to my saddle. While I never thought much about the Ass Saver, the designers sure did. This fender that weighs almost nothing, can be installed in seconds, and packed away easily was an absolute epiphany. As advertised it kept my rear dry and never moved from its place. Buy one for all your friends, there that good.

Manitou suspension

Quietly and persistently, Manitou has been making a name for themselves as a sturdy, efficient, tune-able and high-quality suspension brand. Many don’t consider adjusting their suspension an important feature, and that is because most suspension is not very tune-able. This is not the case with Manitou. In fact they offer more range of tuning adjustment than most brands as well as aftermarket kits to make your suspension fit your needs perfectly. They do this while maintaining one of the most precise steering chassis around.

Lintaman shoes

A lifelong cycling and industry veteran, Chris Lintaman, started the shoe company bearing his name in his new home of Taichung Taiwan. I remember him starting out the brand as a guy with a bag of shoes at Eurobike. Fast forward to today where you can see his shoes under professional cyclists around the world. The reason so many professional riders buy  Lintaman shoes is because they are wildly adjustable for fit, and massively efficient. If you are looking for the most comfortable shoes in the world, look no further than Lintaman.

Sealskinz Socks and gloves

Minnesota winters are tough to say the least. Happily, this winter has been made easier for me by Sealskinz. Starting with there waterproof socks, saving my toes in the fall, and moving into the Halo gloves remarkable warmth into the Icy low teens, Sealskinz has kept me warm time and time again. Check out a few of our reviews for more info, or click to their site to see the whole line.

Vittoria Bomboloni tires

Over the last 25 years, I’ve repeatedly been impressed with Vittoria tires. That same feeling carries into my most recent test of the Vittoria Bomboloni 27+ tires. For your mountain biking gift getter, these tires are awesome!

Tailwind Nutrition

Anyone on your holiday list that rides needs electrolyte replacement at some point. The supplement I would recommend above all else is Tailwind Nutrition. The light flavor and lack of an aftertaste are reason enough to use Tailwind. Now when you couple those reasons with the fact that Tailwind will never leave your belly sour like so many other sports drinks, the choice is easy.

Athlos clothing

What do you get the rider who has everything? Something custom! Athlos is new to the custom clothing game, and are making some serious waves. Custom used to mean you needed to buy huge quantities, and settle for low quality. With Athlos, you can buy one jersey and the quality is on par with the best cycling brands who charge three times the cost. Additionally, Athlos has a team of designers waiting to convert your thoughts and concepts into a real-world design.

Rocky mounts Carlito lock

For students, commuters, or rides who just love to have their bicycles well secured, RockMounts locks are a great gift. Over the past few years, RockyMounts invested heavily into their lock designs and came up with some really cool product. I love their Carlito lock most of all because it is light, tough, and easy to use.

Darn Tough socks

Why not stuff stocking with stockings? Darn tough is a sock company out of Vermont with a lifetime sock warranty. Yes, you read that correctly. Forget an everlasting gobstopper, you can buy someone socks that will last forever! When I met with the sales group at Darn Tough, and pressed them about their warranty, they couldn’t have been any clearer – Lifetime Waranty! “what if I have a air of 15 year old socks?” I asked, “Lifetime warranty” they replied. “What if I wear only one pair of socks through a six month Appalachian Trail hike” I asked, “Lifetime Warrant” they replied. After a few months of wearing the Darn Tough Socks, I must say they are super comfortable, and as tough as the namesake.

AutoRack Tail light

We all need to get our bike from point A to point B. What nobody thinks about is the inherent danger in traveling with your bike on the back of your car. Bikes can obscure the tail lights from other drivers and make it difficult to see when you are stopping. Enter AutoRack to the rescue. This light setup weighs almost nothing and mounts to the last bike on your rack by way of a few straps. This gift is perfect for any rider!

The Auto Rack is a tail light extension system that offers motorist behind a clear view of the operators intentions.