Blog - Page 28 of 28 - Carvalho Custom

Our cycling chamois

We have a new chamois for our shorts, which we think is the very best you will find. We have tried a large number out with the pro riders who test our kit for us and of course by the team at Fernando Carvalho and this was the very best.

So what should you look for in a good chamois? You will read all sorts of rubbish written in technical language about chamoises, but we would like to speak more plainly about it. What we think is important is that it gives support in the right places, it does not rub, it moves with the shorts as you pedal, it wicks sweat away (that is it does not soak up moisture) and it is hygienic (so it has properties that prevent bacteria from flourishing).

Our chamois is contoured so that it is thicker on the seat bones and has less support on the front of the saddle so that it does not bulk up (the density we use is 80kg/m3 for any chamois anoraks out there).

It is made from 82% microfibre and 18% elastane (a version of Lycra). This means that it will stretch in all directions to accompany the movement of your legs and because it is made in microfibre, it will wick away the sweat. (Microfibre just means that it is made of microscopically small fibres that will not absorb moisture, but rather allow it to pass straight through.)

Our chamois does not have any seams to reduce the possibility of any rubbing and by using a particularly soft and smooth microfibre finish, it reduces friction to an absolute minimum.

Finally, it has an antibacterial treatment to keep things as hygienic as possible.

So we have a great fitting chamois that is made with cutting edge fabrics all designed to make riding a bike as comfortable as possible. And we don’t believe in trying to impress our customers by blinding them with a choice of chamoises – we just offer the best and it is the same we supply to pro teams as to a first time rider.

Wheelworx tri- leading Irish team

We are very proud to supply some of the leading triathlon teams in europe – in Ireland we have supplied the kit for a few years now to Wheelworx, which sponsors leading athletes such as Ailen Morrison, Elena Maslova, Fernando Fuentes, Katharina Baldinger and Kim Visby.

Congratulations to Kim who just finished 11th in the Lanzarote Ironman and congratulations to Katharina for making our tri-suits look so great.

We have supplied a full range of kit to Wheelworx, including cycling and triathlon kit and it is available for sale in their shop. Find out more about them at www.wheelworxbikes.com and if you are in Dublin then you should definitely pay them a visit for service from people who are passionate about their sport.

New custom cycling cap

We have added an old style cycling cap to our range – we use microfibre for the main body of the cycling cap to wick away sweat, a felt sweat band to fit snugly round the head and a traditional stiff peak that can be worn in the up or down position.

We use the same sublimation printing technology for our custom cycling caps as for the rest of our custom kit so you can print exactly what you want and where you want it on the cycling cap.

At 6.85 euros it is very competitively priced for a sublimation printed cap, continuing our tradition of offering pro quality kit with excellent value for money.

Help for heroes jerseys

We have just supplied 600 jerseys for the Help for Heroes charity ride – http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/ – they are doing a ride sponsored by Halfords to raise money for injured soldiers. We are pleased to say that we delivered the jerseys in 4 weeks (two days early in fact!).

We were also very proud to supply a jersey for the Help for Heroes mascot (known as ‘Hero’ to his friends).

We are always happy to produce custom cycling jerseys and other kit for charity rides and have already supplied clothing for many events.

Client feedback from Nenagh Tri

Here is what Nenagh Tri had to say about their kit:

Hi Charlie,

Here is a snapshot of some of the lads before they lined out for the Joey
Hannon memorial triathlon last week (the little lad on the right won it).

I spent 5 1/2 hours in my gear the previous week at a 1/2 ironman and it was never less than comfortable. I thought the bulky zip would cause a problem under the wetsuit but it was fine. Thanks again for a great job.

Rgds

Joe Cantwell
Nenagh Tri

Andover Tri Client Feedback

Here is what Andover Tri had to say about the order we delivered in Spring 2008:

hi Charlie,

Just to let you know that the kit you sent arrived safe & sound on monday afternoon. We spent last night unpacking it and cross checking the orders….everything seems fine i’m pleased to report.

I’m really pleased with how the design came out. The kit looks bright & vibrant and reflects the design work we put in accurately.

With regard to the order process i cannot thank you enough. We spent the best part of three years talking about changing the club kit and getting nowhere and in the space of four months including a lengthy christmas break we have looked at samples, chosen a supplier, designed the kit, ordered it and had it all supplied.

The whole process has gone extremely smoothly from start to finish and we are now looking forward to training & competing as a club with an identity.

I cannot thank you enough for the time you have taken to make the ordering process go so smoothly. You’ve responded straight away to any questions asked, been helpful and informative, the prices are competitive and you’ve been a pleasure to do business with.

I hope the kit holds up as well as it looks over the coming seasons and i’m sure we’ll be making other orders in the future…..winter season will be on us in a few months & we’ll need tights / jackets etc to keep us all toastie i’m sure!

Thanks for everything,

Howell Reed,
Andover Triathlon Club

Cycling on Lake Como

In the interest of fully testing our cycling clothing in a range of different environments, Charlie has just spent a week cycling on Lake Como in northern Italy with his slightly slower brother, Tom.

It is an unbelievable place to ride a bike, with great quality roads (most of the time) some monster climbs and unbelievable scenery. One of the major benefits is that the whole area is so stunning, if your other half doesn’t ride s/he will probably be quite happy chilling by the lake and looking at the beautiful people (George Clooney has a place there!).

We stayed in a tiny village called Dorio on the northeast coast, where by unbelievable luck there was a café on the main drag (Elsa Bar) that was owned by a cyclist (Big Lugo) who knew every possible cycling route in the area, spoke good English and was generally a very nice chap. Definitely worth a visit…..

Things to consider when choosing your custom cycling/triathlon kit supplier

We would like to think that you should choose us of course as your supplier, because we believe we offer the best value for money for pro quality kit and the best service. But what are the nuts and bolts you need to consider when choosing your supplier? Here are a few things you may not have thought about….

Will the supplier carry out graphics work as part of the service or will they demand extra money for it or insist that you deliver logos and graphics in a format you may never have heard of?

Will they resize logos and graphics so that they are in proportion to the different sizes that you are ordering? It seems incredible to us that some major suppliers print logos the same size for a size XS custom jersey as for a size XL, which can make designs look horribly disproportionate – all to save a bit of time in the design studio.

Can you extend patterns and lines over seams to get the design effect that you are looking for? It requires a lot of work for the production team to set up the designs so that graphics can cross seams and makes the life of the seamstress much harder. That is why a lot of suppliers refuse to do it.

When you are considering which supplier to go to, will they send you samples at no charge and with no commitment for you to place an order? Will they also send you sizing samples at no charge?

Will your supplier be prepared to make alterations to the cut of the kit to fit unconventionally shaped athletes? Will they lengthen the leg in your tri shorts or offer wide fittings in your training jacket for example?

These are all issues where suppliers can cut corners to save a bit of time and money, but you only find out about it in the small print!

There is a new girl at Fernando Carvalho Ciclismo!

There is a new girl at Fernando Carvalho Ciclismo! She is Nicole, who lived in New York until moving to Portugal to go to University in Braga. She was competing for a place on the US diving team before a car accident stopped her from competing.
Nicole is extremely good at developing designs for new clients, so you can always turn to her for inspiration and guidance for your custom designs – you will have to forgive her New York sense of humour however!

The technical sports garment industry is in a very rapid state of development at the moment, with new fabrics able to contribute an enormous amount to the performance of technical sports clothing; this means we have had to constantly adapt our range to reflect the latest thing available. We have just launched a new chamois for example with better contouring to give padding where it is most needed and a microfibre, anti-bacterial cover to wick away moisture and improve hygiene.

Our company has been growing very rapidly over the last few years, particularly in the custom triathlon kit market – it has meant that we have had to work extremely hard to meet our 4 week lead times and we have had to take on more people, but we are still proud to boast the shortest lead times in the custom cycling and triathlon clothing industry.