Velominati Kit Redesign: Half Turbine, Half Hazard
Change creeps in slowly, it has a way of taking the seemingly immutable and eroding it over time. It’s inevitable; if the great canyons were carved from the solid rock of Mount Velomis by such a soft thing as water, then it should come as no surprise that the Velominati V-Kit would also change with time. As David St. Hubbins says, “The more it stays the same, the less it changes.”
It was time for a reworking of the V-Kit; it had gone unchanged since we introduced it in 2010. Our Guns are one part turbine and one part road hazard warning, after all; we’re laying down the V and you had better look out. The V-Bibs were redesigned accordingly. We also made the decision to discontinue what has been confusingly called the Zwarte V-Bib; in solidarity with Rule #14, we have done away with the option for white side-panels and are going Spinal Tap Black.
The Zwarte V-Jersey took a cue from the Witte V-Jersey and gone pure Zwarte; it has lost the white side panels of the original design along with the black-to-gray gradient. Both jersey designs incorporate the turbine/hazard signs on the sleeves and pockets, which are an adaptation of the double-slashes we’ve taken to using to delimit items in both the site design and the upcoming book design (scheduled for release June 20). We also love the nod to old-skule Descente.
Then came the question of supplier. It began with Velominati needing more control over the product and more flexibility from the manufacturer. At long last we decided to part ways with our long-time kit vendor, Castelli. It felt like a high school breakup; we love the people at Castelli USA and their products but in the end, it simply wasn’t going to work out. We sent them a note on a sheet of paper – carefully folded into a secret triangle – and pretended to busy ourselves with our locker’s combination so it didn’t look like we were watching them read it.
The Velominati have high expectations. We expect the best from ourselves, and we expect the best from our gear. When we talk about quality, we are looking beyond brands and labels and looking at materials, craftsmanship, passion. When I pick up a piece of kit, I expect to feel the labor of love its maker put into it; I expect their love for the sport to help fuel my own. This is why I love old Campagnolo bits and struggle to find that same love for Shimano.
Cycling kit should last a few seasons. It should be durable. Its color should not fade in the sun. It should be cut from materials that optimize performance. It should be comfortable – so comfortable you hardly know you’re wearing it. It should Look Fantastic in sun, in rain, in snow, in mud.
In searching for a new vendor, we tested every bit of kit you can imagine testing. The fact is, they are all more or less the same. Most custom kit is made in the same factories with slightly different specs; at the end of the line, a different label is stitched on. In the end, you buy a brand; the quality of the product is a matter independent. That isn’t to say the big brands can’t and don’t produce quality. It is only to say big, anonymous factories hardly feel like the path of the Velominati.
In the end, we settled on a tiny, private company called Kallisto based out of Poland. I love the story. The owner is an ex-Pro racer who’s dad was a bespoke kit tailor for Pros around Europe. (As it turns out, the Pros don’t wear off-the-shelf kit just like James Bond doesn’t wear off-the-rack suits.) After retiring from racing, he apprenticed with his dad before he took over the business. Fast-forward a few more years and he decided to break out into custom kit design. The first time we talked, he filled my ears with the nuances of different weight lycra for bib panels to balance durability, weight, and the modern notions of supporting the muscles and promoting blood flow. This chamois or that chamois, jersey stretch versus its wicking properties – he went on and on. This is a man who not only knows his trade; he loves it. He lives it. He breathes it.
Kallisto sources all their materials directly from Italy and has a small factory where they make everything in-house. And custom should be custom. We chose the lycra, the fabric, the cut of the jersey, the placement of the seams – everything is customized and selected by Velominati. And the result is astounding. We’ve been testing the kit and refining the design since January and I’ve found all my other kit starting to collect dust in the drawers. They even took nine days of eating cobblestones on Keepers Tour without so much as a wimper. Well, maybe they did wimper, but if it did, I couldn’t hear its whimpering over my own.
With that, the next V-Kit order will close at midnight on May 10, with delivery expected early to mid June.
Thanks for supporting Velominati. Vive La Vie Velominatus.
@Noel Boyd on the page where you order the gear in the second paragraph there is a hyperling to Contact Us, go take a shufti, it links to an e mail address directly.
@Noel Boyd
I have been sending you regular email updates, but your email address bounces – I also indicated as such in response to your previous post to this effect.
Please provide a working email address or email products@velominati.com, or reply to your email confirmation, or check the notes on your order in the My Account section.
There is a young man called Boyd
who’s anger you’d do well to avoid
His kit’s gone astray
which has caused much dismay
and now he’s very annoyed.
( sorry…slow day at work)
@Ron
My trick is that on the first sunny day of the season when I’m likely to get a tan, I wear the jersey that has the shortest sleeves and the bibs with the shortest inseam. Then on subsequent rides I just make sure the sleeves or legs of the kit I’m wearing are pulled up as necessary to maintain Rule #7 compliance. In a perfect world of course we’d all just have a full wardrobe of custom tailored V-kit.
@VeloVita I lineup the lines between kits too. But now that I am pro (if you can’t make the team, make up a team) so other than the Witte jersey on the occasional ride (hill repeats & HITT intervals seems appropriate) I will be in my sponsor’s jersey. Of course, my sponsor was smart and while the jersey is also Witte, the shorts are a proper Zwarte.
@paolo
Golf clap for that, since we all know cycling is the new golf (they say)…
@mcsqueak
middle aged men dressed inappropriately…seems about right.
At first I was disappointed that I’ll no longer have the up to date V-kit (which I like alot) but I just realised that now I have the retro V-kit. Now I only need to figure out what happened to my Black Order badge and I will attain Velominati Satori.
There was a young man called snoov
of the new kit he did so approve
his own kit seemd so old but now he’s been told
it’s retro, so now it’s all gold.
( ok I’ll stop now)
@paolo Why stop now? You are on a roll.
@snoov Looks pretty black to me.
@paolo Paolo is the V Poet In Residence now.
@Noel Boyd
Noel and I have made contact! Woo-hoo!
@frank
rare stunning spring day
in gloomy rainy Northwest
rescued by Frank’s news
As worn by Davis Phinney, also with diagonal stripes:
@G’rilla
It even has a V on each sleeve. It was all preordained.
@frank Hah! I didn’t notice that.
I’ll be drinking Coors tonight.
Any chance the jersey can be customized with rider name on the back of the collar like The Pros have? Hmmm?
Any sizing reference? I’ve googled around and can’t find any frame of reference just the general note that it is a bit looser than castelli kit previously. I am 5,10 and about 148lbs (32 waist) and was curious about sizing. I am a medium in both jersey and bibs on the old velo kit.
anyone have the new kit (keepers? what are your sizes) to give us a frame of reference?
@Brian
How tight is your current V-Kit? In general I would say stay with the same sizing with the new kit, but if your kit is already on the loose side, then I would suggest going down a size in that garment.
Last chance to get in on the V-Kit order!
I’m a bit ahead of schedule with organizing the order, so I can accept orders through the weekend.
Got some photos of it during my ride today. Sorry for taking a photo of my own ass.
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Just caught @MrsEngine heading for the gym wearing a pair of my sacred socks.
@the Engine You’ll have to start hiding them.
@the Engine
Does that mean the saying for Velominati is now “Just who wears the socks in the family?”.
Almost Delgadod on the kit order.
Getting different numbers when measuring my other jerseys, and none of them match up to the sizes on Kallisto’s chart.
Any guys out there with 101.6cm (40″) chest and who are about 178cm (5’10”) tall have the new kit?
If so, what size jersey are you?
@prestachuck
Is that 40″ circumference or diameter? Assuming the latter, I’m 41″ and very happy in my Large, though I opt for a Medium when I’m trying to go extra-special fast.
Also, if you’re like me, the gut might be a more meaningful measure!
Thanks Frank.
That’s a tight measuring tape at 40″. I do have a Size L Hincapie jersey that fits, and their chart says 42.
I’m not really heavy, but I don’t have washboard abs yet either. lol
I’ll go Large. Thanks for the good data.
When is the next order due in for the kit?
How do you get a reply on an order inquiry? Money taken, but ne goods for months!
When will the kit be available again , I want the style to go with my new steed
I noticed in May that the V-kit appeared in “the Gear” again with the info that “a pre-order of the V-Kit towards the beginning of June” would be arranged. I have monitored “the Gear” regularly since, but every item of the V-kit seems to be listed as out-of-stock still. How will the pre-order be arranged? How delayed is the pre-order expected to be? How do I make sure I do not miss the earliest opportunity to get this tasteful outfit?
BR
Richard
Wasn’t sure where else to post this so thought this thread would work. Interesting design…. I see a familiar theme….
Hi if a group of Velominati disciples were interested in resurrecting the kit would that be possible?