Replica Kit, Yay or Nay?

There’s a school of thought in cycling that says one shouldn’t wear replica team kit. The reasons are probably good in some cases (interclub racing; or Cipollini's infamous skinsuits) but others seem less valid (appropriating jerseys hard-earned by the pros is apparently frowned upon by some, but does Vingegaard really care?). 

We thought of this when somebody commented on our current marketing video, stating “you too can be a moving advertisement”, ironically overlooking the fact that pro cyclists are exactly that.

Perhaps the rules change with time. In 1970 your replica jersey advertising a salami company may have made you an advertisement on wheels, but wear it today and you’re commemorating Eddy Merckx in his Molteni years. Some of the jerseys of yore have become better known than the riders who raced in them – the Ferretti kitchen company and the San Pellegrino mineral water company have definitely got their money’s worth since their 1960’s team sponsorships.

Plus of course, with our custom jersey service, you can choose to advertise whoever you like – we make many custom-designed jerseys for bike shops, charities, clubs, events and more.

Then again, if you want to go all Naomi Klein ‘No logo’ about it, you can even get a completely blank jersey. Surprisingly we get quite a few orders for these, people who love the comfort of our jerseys so much they want to wear them off the bike, often without the pockets. Hikers, campers, rowers and skiers often buy our jerseys, and who are we to reject such requests?

So if you’ve been thinking that you have enough Soigneur jerseys, think again – the n+1 formula applies to jerseys as well as bikes!