Best custom cycling kit brands: a guide to choosing the right supplier to produce a bespoke team kit

Whether it’s for your local club, a high-performance race team, a charity ride, or you and a few buddies have an idea for a unique kit, organizing custom cycling clothing is easier than ever.

Most companies will allow you to design the look of your jersey and bibs, including logos and graphics, and some will go as far as letting you customize everything from stitching, to leg and arm length.

The size of your order will also influence which supplier you choose, with some outfits having firm minimum order sizes, while others will design and manufacture you a single kit.

There are literally hundreds of brands out there that will make you a bespoke kit, and every brand has strengths and weaknesses, not only in the quality of the final product but also the ordering process, pricing and level of customer service.

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Our pick of the best custom clothing brands

We’ve picked these specific brands not only for the quality of the kit itself but also for the ordering experience. Some brands have a polished order process, while others make it a complicated and sometimes confusing process — you won't find the latter here.

**A note on pricing: the pricing structures between brands are far from uniform, so we’ve done our best to compare apples to apples where possible. All of the pricing listed will be the mid-level kit at the lowest minimum order, unless otherwise stated. For brands that have no minimum order size, we will list the cost of a single custom garment, and at the first discount threshold.

Castelli

Turn around time: 4-6 weeks Minimum order: 5-per-item Order deposit: 50% Design charge: US 3 hours free, $100 per hour after UKfree over £4k order or up to £200. Team Store: Yes Pricing: UK 5x Squadra jersey £52.50, 5x Competozione bib shorts £59.99, US 5x Podio Jersey $100, 5x Team Bibshort $135 (UK/ US range differs).

See the range at castelli-custom.com

Want your team to have the same marginal gains that are available to the likes of Ineos Grenadiers? While you may not be able to provide the multi-million-dollar service course, you can have the same clothing made in your team colors through Castelli’s custom program. Yes, you too can have the same Aero Race 6.0 Jersey, Free Aero Race bibs, and Body Paint Speed suit as the likes of Egan Bernal, Geraint Thomas and Rohan Dennis.

Castelli pairs you with a territory manager and custom team manager to shepherd you through the process from start to finish and ensure the designs are up to scratch, and everything gets delivered on time. Fit kits are available to make sure each rider gets the right size, and Castelli includes three hours with its in-house design team in the cost.

Read more: all of our Castelli reviews

Champion Systems

Turn around time: Four to six weeks Minimum order: 1 item Order deposit: 50% Design charge: Included in price Team Store: Yes Pricing: 10x Performance+ jersey $88/ £64, 10x Performance bibs $102 / £70

See the range at Champ-sys.com / Champsys.uk

Champion Systems doesn’t quite have the name ID of some of the other brands in our roundup, however they have been providing clothing to the UAE Team Emirates going as far back as when they were Lampre Merida, so you know it’s good stuff.

Champion Systems technically don’t have a minimum order number (though they won't make you a single kit); however, they operate based on economies of scale using a ‘unit’ based system. According to the brand, things like jerseys, shorts, and jackets, are classified as main items and are considered one unit, while accessories like socks, caps, and arm warmers ordered in blocks of five are considered one unit. So, under this system, one jersey, one pair of bibs, and five pairs of socks would equate to three ‘units.’

The brand then breaks its discounting structure into four thresholds: CS1 which covers orders of one to four units; CS5 which ranges from five to nine units; CS10 applies to 10 units and above; and accessory only orders, which must be at least 10 units of accessories. As you move up in order size, the cost per item drops dramatically. The pricing includes artwork and access to Champion Systems in-house designers.

Santini

Turn around time: 6-8 weeks Minimum order: 5 across size of a product Order deposit: 50% deposit pre-production 50% prior to delivery Design charge: None Team store: Yes Pricing: For 10 jerseys Pricing starts from £47.70 and 10 bib shorts £58.51 ex import vat but inc delivery UK

See the range: santinicustom.it/en/

Santini kit is lovingly made in Italy, and the brand makes around 7,000 items a day. The brand is also the official manufacturer of the UCI champions racewear, so you can bet it knows how to make good kit.

Once you've got a quote from Santini, the brand will set you up with a designer who can help flesh out your plans and get the kit looking sharp. The design service is free of charge. 

Standard production time is 60 days, and Santini offers a Santini Club Shop set up, free of charge, to help the club's kit secretary with the job of organising payments and delivery. Members will also enjoy online discounts on other Santini products. 

Rapha

Turn around time: 8 weeks Minimum order: 5-per-item Order deposit: Paid in full Design charge: Included in price Team store: Yes Pricing: 5x Classic Flyweight Jersey $155 / £110 per 5x Club Bibs $115 / £89

See the range Rapha.cc

British brand Rapha is one of the more recent additions to the surprisingly crowded custom clothing market, launching this offer in March 2019. Using its pro team, classic, and core range as the blank canvas, the user-friendly design portal allows you to choose layouts, colors, designs, logos and the like, but doesn’t allow quite as much freedom, nor does Rapha provide access to its in-house design team.

Once you’ve finished tinkering in the design studio, the minimum for each product is five garments, although if you want truly bespoke team kit designed with the assistance of a Rapha designer you'll be looking at fifty units, all with an eight week turnaround time. Should a few of your teammates miss out on the first round of orders, re-orders can be placed through the design portal, and Rapha will lock in the discounted price of the large initial order for up to 13-months — you will still have to hit the five/ fifty garment minimum again though.

Read more: all of our Rapha reviews here

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Endura

Turn around time: Four weeks Minimum order: 5-per-item Order deposit: 100% Design charge: £75 (+VAT) free on orders over £2000 Team Store: Yes Pricing: 5x FS260-PRO SS Jersey: £43 per 5x FS260-PRO bib short £49.00

See the range at custom.endurasport.com

The Scottish brand produces custom clothing and kit, ranging from professional aero suits to team bags. The brand works with the club to get the best design, starting from a rough design all the way to end product for a flat rate fee, which is waved with orders over £2k, or if it's a super simple design.

On line ordering allows team members to orders and pay directly, with the admin controlled by the nominated account manager. Once minimal orders have been met, the account manager can confirm the order for it to be processed.

There's a range of clothing on kit on offer, including the PRO SL garments worn by Team Movistar and Cervelo Bigla. There are single item options for the QDC Drag2zero tri suit and the D2Z encapsulator suits, and even jerseys and shorts, where you can create your own artwork and order single items via the specific Endura.me site.

Shipping is free to the UK mainland (if sending directly to individual team members then there is a surcharge) with all other shipping sent at cost.

Read more: all of our Endura reviews

BioRacer

Turn around time: Six to eight weeks Minimum order: One Order deposit: TBC Design charge: Included in price Team Store: No Pricing: Price on asking

See the range at BioRacer.com

The original custom house, Belgium brand BioRacer are veterans at designing and developing bespoke team kit. There are three ways of custom designing your Bioracer kit, by designing it all yourself, working with on of the 20 in house designers or using a Bioracer template.

Bioracer is probably the most customizable options on the market, with everything from how many pockets to adding reflective details available. With no minimum order, so the cost is entirely worked out with the brand directly once you have discussed your needs and order requirements, although from experience it's much more affordable than the POA alludes.

Read more: The best skinsuits for cycling: aero tested

Pactimo

Turn around time: Eight weeks Minimum order: 5-per-item Order deposit: 50-percent for bulk order, $200 for team store Design charge: Included in price Team Store: Yes Pricing: 5x Ascent Jersey: $90 / £63 per 5x Ascent full print bib short $125 / £90

See the range at Pactimo-custom.com

Hailing from Denver, Colorado, Pactimo produces custom cycling and casual clothing for riders, teams, and clubs at all levels, most notably with professional outfit Rally Cycling. When you start your order with Pactimo, they assign you an account manager who will hold your hand through the entire process and still be there to help should you decide to re-up. Part of the reason the brand can offer this level of customer service is that they own the manufacturing facility where all of their kit is made.

The brand includes full design services in the price and will take that picture you scratched onto a bar napkin and turn around design proofs within a week. Pactimo has a vast range of kits to choose from with everything from sub $100 / £65 jerseys to top of the range bibs with an ultra high tech chamois. Order minimums are five garments, and Pactimo does offer some customization like extra-long leg bands, reflective trim, and pockets on things like skinsuits for a small additional fee per garment.

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Capo (US only)

Turn around time: Eight weeks Minimum order: 5-per-item Order deposit: 50% for bulk order, Design charge: -hours free, $100 per hour after Team Store: No Pricing: 10x Super Corsa jersey $86.90. 10x Super Corsa Power bib $100.10

See the range at capo.com

Best known for its bright and colorful off the rack kits, Capo offers fully custom jobs too. To start the process, you’ll need to give them a phone call, or an email so a brand rep can talk you through the process and provide you with a quote. The brand is currently offering custom clothing from its Corsa (standard fit) Super Corsa, Super Corsa LR, and Leggero RACE(race fit) ranges for both men and women, with order minimums set at 10-pieces for everything except socks.

Beyond just the aesthetic, Capo allows you to upgrade from the Elastic Interface D-4 EIT chamois used in the men’s shorts and the Giro HD Carbon EIT in the ladies’ bottoms to an Anatomic 4G Carbon EIT pad and flatlock stitching and fully sublimated lycra bottoms.

Giordana

Turn around time: Four to ten weeks Minimum order: 10-per-item UK / 5-per-item US Order deposit: 30/ 50% for bulk order Design charge: Included Team Store: Yes / No Pricing:5xVero Pro S/S $60/ £41.89, 5x Vero Pro bibs $75 /£56.38

See the range Giodanacustom.com

Producing all of its custom cycling clothing by hand in Italy's Veneto region, Giordana offers either ten or five piece minimums (UK/US), no art or design fees, and can turn kits around in six or or four weeks (UK/US) depending on your order. Offering everything from the same FR-C Pro jerseys bibs and skinsuits the Mitchelton-Scott and Astana riders wear, to wool jerseys, tri suits, and kids kits, the Italian outfit aims to make the process as simple as possible.

Giordana offers the full services of its in-house design team as part of the cost of any order; they will help you dream up the look of your kit, and upload it to their Kit Builder platform to create a team store so the upfront cost doesn’t fall on one person. Once everything is submitted, and in about four weeks, a big box of kit will be on its way to your doorstep.

Read more: all of our Giordana reviews

Verge

Turn around time: 1-3 weeks Minimum order: 5 main items Order deposit: 50% Design charge: Included Team Store: Yes Pricing: 5x Strike SS jersey $95 / £73.52 5x Strike bibs $105 / £81.25

View the range at vergesport.com

Most custom clothing brands offer you an estimated shipping date to cover its back should any delays happen; Verge, on the other hand, provides you an exact shipping date from the moment you start the process — generally one to three weeks after you click submit. This is because Verge owns its manufacturing facility (well, two actually) and takes advantage of technology like 3D-rendered proofs of your kit to streamline the process.

The minimum order is five total main pieces, allowing you to order a jersey, bibs, jacket skinsuit, and vest and meet these criteria. Verge offers its entire Bold and Vento collections to be customized, and will even work with you to add name tags to specific garments or reflective trim to your team kits.

Cuore (US and Europe only)

Turn around time: 25 days plus shipping Minimum order: 1 item Order deposit: 50% Design charge: Included in price Team Store: Yes Price: 1x Silver jersey: $164 / €174 5x Silver jersey: $108 / €116

View the range at Cuore.ch

Cuore means heart in Italian, but the brand itself is actually Swiss and has been in the kit business for over three decades. With a full range of off-the-rack riding gear, their custom kits fall into four levels: gold, silver, bronze, and finisher which encompass everything from speed suits to socks and cargo bibs.

There are no minimum orders on any custom garment in the brand’s range, and Cuore allows for the tailoring of individual kits within a custom order — for only a few extra bucks, you can add 3cm of sleeve length, a zippered pocket, or chop 1cm off the length of the shorts to do your best impression of Pierre Rolland.

Cuore runs its design system based on a flat fee that is included in the price, which also includes access to their in-house art team who will work with you through the whole process to make sure you get exactly what you want.

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What to know

The classic Gary Fisher-ism of ‘light, cheap or strong; pick two,’ applies to just about everything in the bike industry, including custom kit, in a roundabout way. What we mean by this is every outfit, no matter the size or reputation, has strengths and weaknesses; it’s key to work out your key priorities before you start the custom kit ordering process.

Are your graphic design skills up with the best, or will you need the brand of your choice to help you out? Are you ordering five or 500 kits? How quickly do you need these kits delivered, and how much are you willing to spend?

These are only a small selection of the questions you will need to answer before engaging a supplier.

Order size - per item vs. total pieces

Economies of scale mean that the more you buy, the less each individual kit will cost you. Many custom kit suppliers will have a minimum order, while others will make you a single custom kit — don’t expect to get a bargain if this is the route you choose.

The other thing to watch out for is whether the minimum order is total pieces or per piece. Some brands may have a minimum order of 20-pieces, which could mean ten short sleeve jerseys, five pairs of bib shorts, two vests, and three rain jackets; while other brands might have a 20-piece per item minimum, so if you want jerseys and bibs you’ll need to find 20 people who want both.

It’s also worth double-checking whether or not men’s and women’s specific cuts are seen as one and the same, or separate items, with separate order minimums.This varies from brand to brand, and the only way to find out is to read the fine print, or when in doubt don’t be embarrassed to ask.

Turn around time

In today’s world of buy now and free two-day shipping, the turnaround time on a custom kit has become a major selling point. It takes time to manufacture things, and delays do happen as the majority of the manufacturing happens overseas.

If you are getting a kit made for an event, order early and leave yourself some extra buffer time. It’s also not a bad idea to double-check quoted lead times and get something in writing from the brand you decide to work with.

But it’s not all on the brand. The quoted lead usually doesn't take into account design changes or your buddies umming and ahhing about whether they want one pair of bibs or two. For most companies, the clock starts when the designs are approved, and money has changed hands.

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Quality

Just the same as off the rack cycling kits, quality, technology, and durability of any given garment will differ from piece to piece. What is right for you and your group will depend on, well…you and your group.

Kits for a bunch that rolls out for a coffee ride every Saturday morning probably don’t require ultra slim race cut with fabric made from ground-up unicorn horn that is claimed to be 10x more aero than the air itself. At the same time, a crit team will be left wanting with a relaxed fit kit that prioritizes all-day comfort.

Most brands will offer different tiers of clothing at various price points, and so regardless of the level, check out the chamois. Is it a brand designed pad or something generic? If it’s a generic chamois, is it made by a reputable manufacturer like Cy-tech or Elastic Interface, or is it a nondescript noname pad.

Given that you’ll be sitting on said chamois for hours at a time, it is arguably the most important thing to look out for when ordering kits, because if you choose a bad one, your friends will be less than impressed.

Sample/fit kit

There are no exchanges or returns with the custom kit, so if you order a small instead of a medium, you’d better get used to the extra aero fit. To avoid this awkward and uncomfortable situation, most custom outfits will offer the sample or fit kit.

This allows you to get a kit that you can touch and feel to get an idea of the quality and cut, providing something for you and your team to touch, feel and try on.

Speaking of cut and sizing, make sure that everyone who is planning to make an order tries on everything they plan to order — just because you wear a medium jersey, doesn’t mean you also wear a medium jacket.

The cost of these fit kits will vary, some brands don’t charge to send one out (though they’ll usually require a credit card number) while others do. This isn’t just a free kit for you to try and then keep; brands will usually request them back after about two weeks.

Design — DIY or pro

The main reason you will be looking is to create a unique kit for a group of people to wear, and you’d hate to go through the process and end up with something that looks like it was stitched together by a two-year-old — unless that’s the look you’re going for, of course.

Just about every brand has an in-house team that will help you design the kit of your dreams, but the process and price of utilizing this design team will vary from supplier to supplier. Some will charge an hourly rate for their designer’s time, while others will simply include it in the cost.

Some brands like Rapha and Verge have nifty 3D interfaces that allow you to choose colors and upload logos. If you have a team logo or sponsor logos that need to go on the jersey, make sure you have high-resolution vector files to prevent the graphics from becoming distorted or pixelated.

Ordering process

There was a time when orders had to be compiled into an Excel spreadsheet, the person in charge of putting together a custom order had to call or email in an order form specifying exactly how many of each item, in each size.

Thanks to the age of the interweb, most kit suppliers have moved into the 21st century, and everything can be done online. An increasing number are moving towards the ‘Team Shop’ model whereby once your designs are locked and loaded; the brand will set up what amounts to a personalized storefront with a unique URL, so each rider can order and pay for precisely what they want — eliminating the need for one person to front the cost on their credit card, and then have to chase down the serial late payers.

Customer service

The online-ification of ordering custom kits has also made the process feel somewhat anonymous and intimidating, especially if you have questions. Most brands will have live customer service reps to help you through the process — some even 24 hours a day to answer your questions.Others even go as far as assigning you a real person that will serve as your order manager through the entire process.

Cost

When it comes to cycling kit, you usually get what you pay for; more expensive clothing will be made from higher quality materials, usually more durable stitching, and may have extra features like zippered pockets and the like. However, the more you order, the price will per garment go down substantially.

But, before you hit submit on a kit order, make sure you know and understand where the costs are coming from, and if there are any additional costs. Things like the number of design revisions included in the price, or does the brand charge to send a sample kit? What about discounts if the brand doesn't deliver on time?

These are all questions to ask before you pull the trigger on a team order.