we're placing an order for wool short and long sleeve jerseys. the order will be placed in the next few days.
who here wants them? i don't know of the final price yet but it's probably about $120 for long sleeved and maybe $110 for the short sleeve. not sure of the price because it comes down to quantities.
if you know you want a jersey or two please let me know long or short sleeve and size. maybe i'll take deposits too since this order will cost a small fortune. wool aint cheap but worth every penny.
I"m sooo in for one. Probably long sleeve, which is great for SD most of the year (everything except for 90+ Santa Ana). I'll have to look into the sizing. Probably an XL for me, but I'll post here for sure.
For those of you for whom wool sounds too hot for riding in Southern California - good merino wool is about the best, softest thing you can exercise in, hands down. It will keep you warm in the rain, it moderates cool in higher temperatures, it lasts a long time with good care, it doesn't stink, bring moisture away from your body, its an all-natural, renewable resource. I'm making lamb for Easter tomorrow - so the whole animal rules (vegetarians, I beg your pardon)!
This will be at least a 5 year jersey for me in heavy use - probably 10+ years. I'm stoked to represent SD!
yeah, they rule. i have many newer wool jerseys and a whole lotta vintage one's from France and Italy that are super cool too although not nearly as comfortable as todays jerseys.
the jerseys we are getting are made of the top of the line Merino wool from Australia.
I'll take a long sleeve! Are you getting them from Portland Cyclewear? It might be cheaper. It would be cool if it said San Diego on it, maybe? Maybe not.
It's the cheap wool sweaters that make selling merino wool jerseys so hard. It's nothing like that. It's almost as soft as cashmere. Once people try wool they never go back to synthetics and they are more than happy to pay the extra money. One day give it a go, you'll love it.
I'll testify to that. For me, there is nothing off the bike that enhances bicycling as much as a quality wool jersey. Plus, with the wool coming from New Zeland or Australia, and with the good ones sewn in the U.S.A., its dinging the bell for sustainable, fair-wage (well, at least unions are legal here) commerce. Hard to say that about plastic jerseys. But they are indeed cheap.
But you have to know what's worth the money. I saw a Pearl Inzumi "wool" jersey recently that was like 20% wool. WTF?
OK - one more bonus for wool - because it doesn't stink, you can keep it at your work without your co-workers complaining about the stench coming from your cubicle. Wash it every other weekend with a little Kookaburra Woolwash. I usually do a wool wash once a month (caps, smartwool t-shirt, ibex wool knickers). socks and wool skibbies get washed more regularly!
im not sure how it does it but thats why backpackers use wool base layers and wool socks. they say you can use them for two weeks on the trail before you really have to change them. im sure B.O. will make them stink but just plain ol sweat from a ride to work won't. i raced in lycra for 17 years and it was horrible. they stink and they feel nasty compared to soft merino wool.
Wool does not absorb moisture like cotton does, so the odor causing bacteria do not have a good environment to do their thing. Lycra smells awful because, while it does allow moisture to escape, it doesn't allow air to reach the skin very well, so you can get a build up of bacteria on the body side of the material. Wool allows circulation which keeps everything nice and fresh and dry. Wool is a natural bacterial inhibitor.
I use my long sleeve jersey from 35 degrees to about 55 degrees. It starts to get hot around 55 - 60. That's the other amazing thing about wool. It's more comfortable at colder and warmer temps than synthetics (lycra, fleece, etc). Riding at 7:30 - 9am is the perfect time for wool.
I wear regular weave jerseys (Earth, Wind & Rider; Portland Cyclewear, Woolistic, etc) in short or long sleeve up into the 80s. For cold morning rides, I have a Kucharik jersey, which has a very tight weave and is nearly windproof. Regardless, I almost always wear a Smartwool t-shirt underneath. Helps keep out wind in cold, and doesn't seem to make me any warmer in the warm. That t-shirt is one of the best $50 I've ever spent - i take it on trips with me when I want to go on a run or two or three and not have to pack up a stinky t-shirt.
wool as a jersey has so many misconceptions to overcome. in this country we only use wool for cold weather sweaters. a short sleeve wool jersey will be much more comfortable on hot summer days than any synthetic material. thicker wool is fantastic for colder weather too. natural materials like wool just do an amazing job of regulating your body's temp. you'll never see an Eskimo wearing synthetics. ever. in hot temps you can get away with synthetics but it's still better to wear light wool jerseys. you should really get one and just try it out. you'll become a believer too.
i'll have to ask Beard and get back to you. i give all the design projects to him.
oh, and we're going with a totally custom wool jersey with custom embroidery instead of the typical stock designs with your name plastered on it. the cost will be about the same since we found a pretty cool company for this.
it will be similar to the first one but it may have embroidery on the back and on arms. it will still be super classy though. it's just nice to have one thats looks a little different than 90% of the wool jerseys already out there.
How many pre-commitments do you need to go ahead with this, VC? Or are you going to place the order and carry the sales risk yourself? Would it not make sense to offer a discount to pre-committed sales (with deposit!) in order to encourage pre-sales and thus reduce your own financial risk?
for everybody else this is me and Chris (member x0-1.org) on top of a large mountain bike climb. it was a big group thing and up until that point me and Chris had never met but both of us just happened to be wearing classic Bridgestone long sleeve wool jerseys. what are the chances of that??? Chris was on a vintage Moots mountain bike and i was on a vintage Ritchey mountain bike. one of us was sweating a lot more than the other too.
nope, we're still working on it. we found another company that can do fully custom jerseys so we're going with them instead. that means we can design something completely original so Beard is mocking up some designs right now that are based on vintage jerseys. it'll still be classy but now it won't look like nearly every other wool jersey out there.