Tailoring Cycling Kit?

[Gabuyo]

So I am of an unique build. I am a male, 5'5", roughly 105-110lbs, skinny and lanky. Cycling kit, particularly tops like jerseys and vests rarely fit me. Men's XS sizes are often too big even in race cut. Women's XS are too narrow and petite or me. Women's Smalls are usually larger than men's XS in my experience. Very few companies offer a men's XXS so my kit options are very limited.

I live in the Bay Area so a vest is an essential piece of riding kit for me. The only vest that I own that fits me is a Rapha Pro Team rain gilet that is now about 4 or 5 years old and has logged tens-of-thousands of miles. Recently I was able to purchase a new Rapha Pro Team insulated gilet in men's XS as a replacement, but they seemed to have changed the cut and it is again too big. I really would like to keep using this new vest as I enjoy all its ergonomics, but I don't fill it out in the arms and shoulders so when I get up to speed, the arm hole openings catch wind and begin buffeting violently.

Has anyone had pieces of their cycling kit tailored or done so on a regular basis? Good/bad experience?

My build is pretty stagnant, doesn't fluctuate. I've been riding and racing for the better part of a decade and my physique has not really changed throughout.

[Ozz]

I've not done cycling kit specifically, but any good tailor should be able to handle it.

I imagine lycra can be tricky, but just taking in the sides a bit on a vest should be easy.

[flying]

Originally Posted by Gabuyo

Has anyone had pieces of their cycling kit tailored or done so on a regular basis? Good/bad experience?

Yes very often in fact

Very happy that my wife balks at nothing I ask her to modify

I am 5'8" & usually 145-148 lbs so many times I fall between a small & a medium

If small fits no problem but many times I grab a Med to be safe if size chart is close....especially if a Euro order which is hard to return & usually my wife will fix it for me.

She has tightened the legs of cycling bib shorts

Reduced sleeve circumference on many jerseys & even arm warmer/coolers

She has even reduced circumference on vests for me

Never a problem & does not seem to shorten the life of garments at all.

[IJWS]

For a vest, a tailor should be able to help. For next time, Brandt-Sorenson would probably be a good investment. I ordered a long sleeve jersey for my girlfriend and she is really impressed by how well the jersey fits...also looks pretty cool.

[weiwentg]

I'm a bit interested in this also. I am the OP's height, but a few more pounds, so many XS kits do fit me. However, my skinsuit has wrinkles around the shoulders, and Josh Poertner says wrinkles are bad. I'd planned to ask a tailor when it was safe.

[10speedcognitio]

Definitely can be done. I’ve had bin straps cut and shortened before, which is an easy job. Tailoring jerseys will be harder as many new designs use flat lock stitching and glued seams to make things more fitted and aero. Likely a regular tailor won’t have this capability but I have friends who do it regularly and don’t care for the difference in finishings.

Or, if you don’t mind spending and someone will agree to do it, a bespoke tailor could certainly hand sew your items to give the proper fit and with a clean finish.

[weisan]

Don't they have "junior" or youth clothing?

[TheseGoTo11]

I got a sweet wool LS jersey a couple years ago for Christmas, but the sleeves where a little too long and baggy in the forearm area (not a spinach eater).

I had a local tailor shorten and taper the sleeves and the fit is now perfect.

[dsimon]

Originally Posted by Gabuyo

So I am of an unique build. I am a male, 5'5", roughly 105-110lbs, skinny and lanky. Cycling kit, particularly tops like jerseys and vests rarely fit me. Men's XS sizes are often too big even in race cut. Women's XS are too narrow and petite or me. Women's Smalls are usually larger than men's XS in my experience. Very few companies offer a men's XXS so my kit options are very limited.

I live in the Bay Area so a vest is an essential piece of riding kit for me. The only vest that I own that fits me is a Rapha Pro Team rain gilet that is now about 4 or 5 years old and has logged tens-of-thousands of miles. Recently I was able to purchase a new Rapha Pro Team insulated gilet in men's XS as a replacement, but they seemed to have changed the cut and it is again too big. I really would like to keep using this new vest as I enjoy all its ergonomics, but I don't fill it out in the arms and shoulders so when I get up to speed, the arm hole openings catch wind and begin buffeting violently.

Has anyone had pieces of their cycling kit tailored or done so on a regular basis? Good/bad experience?

My build is pretty stagnant, doesn't fluctuate. I've been riding and racing for the better part of a decade and my physique has not really changed throughout.

Eat something.... please do some pushups Crazy who woulda thunk. good luck

[livesadventure]

I know that Young's on Mission does a lot of repair and tailoring for Mission Workshop, so they probably have some experience working with technical materials etc.

[RWL2222]

I was interested in this too, though for slightly different reasons--to sew the pockets in the rear of a a couple of jersies. Lots of people (well, women mostly) get their yoga togs altered, and this led Lululemon put together a list of seamstresses they approve to alter their stuff. My alterations lady told me a couple of years ago that they specify a particular sewing machine (made by Juki) to do the stretchy fabrics up right.

[ERK55]

And here I thought this thread was about having cycling gear let out.

[Upcountry]

I've played around a bunch with my cycling garments over the last several years. I was working at Patagonia, in the repairs department where I sewed for 8 hours a day. Prior to that I had some years of experience making my own gear and tweaking clothing, so none of it was too new. With that said, I was pretty spoiled to have access to the specialty machines that are frequently used in garment fabrication, that most people don't have access to; namely an overlock machine, and a coverstitch/flat-lock machine. With the stretchy and tight fitting fabrics that most cycling related pieces are made of, the nicer stuff is usually flat-lock stitched, to create a sleek, low profile joint in the fabric. You'll see this in bib shorts almost always. This is tougher to alter, as you essentially have to cut the existing joint, and stitch them back together with that specific machine(and setting it up properly for certain material properties is very tedious). Jerseys and vests are pretty straight forward assuming that somewhere on the garment they have a standard seam, where it's stitched from the back side. These can be taken in very easily by turning it inside-out and just running a new stitch next to the existing one. This is typically what I did to my stuff. It can get a little quirky in the arm pit/sleeve zone, but with a bit of finesse you can cheat it pretty well. An overlock machine(which most seamstresses should have) will take care of this, while also removing the bulk of the excess material you have pulled in.
I say do it!!

[Gabuyo]

Just an update. So I inquired a few tailors and each of them concluded that they weren't able to alter the vest without compromising it's quality.

I even went to Young's on Mission per the Mission Workshop recommendation. She gave me the most thorough elucidation. She said she would have to break all the glued/pressed seams and my vest would lose a decent amount of its functional water resistance. Those seams were not something she could, or most other tailors would be able to replicate. The total cost of all the alterations would end up being more than the cost of the vest because it has so many panels and seams that would need to be altered for it to be fitted "properly."

[jasonification]

Originally Posted by Gabuyo

Just an update. So I inquired a few tailors and each of them concluded that they weren't able to alter the vest without compromising it's quality.



I even went to Young's on Mission per the Mission Workshop recommendation. She gave me the most thorough elucidation. She said she would have to break all the glued/pressed seams and my vest would lose a decent amount of its functional water resistance. Those seams were not something she could, or most other tailors would be able to replicate. The total cost of all the alterations would end up being more than the cost of the vest because it has so many panels and seams that would need to be altered for it to be fitted "properly."

Thanks for the update! A bit of a bummer but it also amazes me the labor and tech that goes into a vest!

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