BikeBiz

Tailor-made product

Buff The launch of the 2008/2009 collection of Buff Headwear will feature several cartoon characters from popular kids’ programmes.

The Junior Buff collection will include designs featuring Mickey Mouse and his friends Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy. Designs also include Hello Kitty, children’s TV shows Les Tres Bessones and Lazy Town, plus cult classics Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the gang, and in Baby Buff, Winnie the Pooh.

With headwear now highly recommended as sun protection for school kids in the summer, a Buff featuring a favourite cartoon character is bound to be more appealing to a younger crowd and therefore more likely to be worn.

An adult’s version of the Spiderman Buff will be available soon.

Wildoo Produced and printed by EU-Bottle, Wildoo's bottles have become popular with cyclists due to the non-leak, screw-on cap and special soft pulling spout.

Sizes range from 550ml to 1000ml and are available with a low minimum order quantity of a mere 150 pieces. There’s also a comprehensive choice of bottle and cap colours to choose from to create a uniquely customised product. From preparation or artwork all the way through to delivery, Wildoo offers a simple and efficient service.

Of the company's other custom services, Wildoo specialises in working with high-end IBDs to source and develop a range of ‘own brand’ framesets and complementary components. Through its comprehensive network of suppliers in Taiwan Wildoo can deliver a strong range of components and accessories to market.

For 2009 Wildoo has extended the range and is now offering high-end carbon road, track and TT framesets from XPACE. Frames can be supplied from the firm either raw or fully painted with the dealer’s very own paint design and decals.  

Ison Ison’s in-house brand offer total custom options for riders to colour match their bikes from the hubs upwards.

Sales and marketing manager Matt Andrews tells BikeBiz: “The new Gusset Alloy axle nuts are a good example of our colour compatibility. We wanted something to stand out from the crowd and add that little bit of colour to our bikes without breaking the bank. With a retail price of only £7.50 per pair (including colour-matched washers) these are proving to be very popular.”

The axle nuts are available in purple, blue, black, red or gold and in 3/8” or 14mm axle thread sizes.

Provision Clothing Provision Clothing is a custom jersey specialist with a wide portfolio of existing clients, including Kona, Giant, Litespeed and Merlin.

The company charges no set-up fee and prints in any colour choice requested. Delivery times are said to be quick with materials are sourced from Europe. Staff members working for Provision Clothing include experienced sales people with a background in manufacturing and ex-professional racing cyclists, athletes and a first rate design and graphics team.

A brochure is available at www.provisionclothing.co.uk.

Impsport One of the best-known short-run club kit specialists in the UK is Lincoln’s Impsport.

Now in its 27th year in business, it was founded by Ian Emmerson and Colin Ellmore, but is now run by Ellmore’s son, Dan. He bought out his father Emmerson and another director three years ago and is now the sole director. He has seen the company double in size under his stewardship and reduced its lead times.

Formerly a first cat roadie, Ellmore now devotes most of his time to Impsport and even codes the company website. He said: “I really like cycling, so when the opportunity came up to join the company I jumped at it because it was a chance to talk cycling all week.”

Impsport has previously produced the team kit for the Team GB cycling squad and Ellmore mixes with more elite cyclists than most bike trade company directors.

And this love for the sport is transferred to the company’s products. “We use the best fabrics and we have really improved the product over the last three years. Once we started to snowball a little bit, the growth came from word of mouth.”

When the company started it used flock-style felt lettering and patterns. The introduction of sublimation printing in the mid-1980s transformed the design potential for team strips. Impsport’s first sublimated print jerseys were made for the Raleigh MTB team, while current clients include the Evans race team, and team kit for Science in Sport and Trek.

There are 45 items in the brochure, including women-specific designs. The minimum order is just 12-pieces and that can be made up of a mix of garments, such as jerseys, shorts, winter jackets or tights. Cotton caps, track mitts and socks have to be ordered in higher minimums, ten for caps, and 24 for mitts and socks.

At peak times, product turnaround is eight weeks, which drops to four weeks in winter. Ellmore employs an in-house team of graphics professionals and these Mac operators can take rough designs to sparkling finished artwork. Impsport, like other custom jersey companies, also speaks highly of Roger Morgan at DesignMyJersey.co.uk.

2pure 2Pure has long offered Lizard Skins’ range of chainstay protectors with custom detailing. New for 2009, the distributor has expanded its range of custom products with both Lizard Skins and Nema.

Lizard Skins Lock-On Grips are now available with custom etched detail on the lock rings, which has been seen previously on the Peaty Lock-on grip. 2Pure also offers free engraving for 30 pairs of grips and you can even choose from any combination of an impressive 19 different SKUs.

2Pure can also print on the Carbon Leather chainstay protectors as well as the traditional standard, jumbo or super jumbo neoprene chainstay protectors. All it takes is an order of 50 units.

Also available via 2Pure, Nema Brand International, the inventor of the mountain bike specific baggy short, can offer custom printing on three of their jerseys, the Podium (DH), Vee and Vee Long Sleeve (minimum of 20 jerseys.) 2Pure can assist in design if needed.

2Pure's latest gear can be seen at CoreBike, where dealers can have a look at all existing custom products.