Cycle-clothing.co.uk

Cycle-clothing.co.uk is a website that, as its name suggests, sells cycle gear.
The site is divided in to three separate tabs that are cycle wear, eyewear and custom designs. Whilst the first two tabs are self-explanatory the third one isn’t. With a heading of custom designs you may think that it is ‘custom’ clothing, i.e. items specific and unique to Cycle-clothing.co.uk. This is not the case.

The custom section allows customers to send in their designs and Cycle-clothing will endeavour to produce it, for a price. This is the place where cycling clubs can get their team kit made, or an individual can get a personalised jersey made. The tab gives very broad brush prices but if you want something made then you need to contact Cycle-clothing.co.uk direct to discuss specific requirements, which are then priced up. I have not used this service and cannot comment on how good (or not as the case may be) it is.

The website is attractive, neat and nice to use. The site is very quick to use and there are no time delays whilst waiting for the pages to load up. Whilst this sounds very impressive in reality it is not that great since the website is small and the amount of products limited, therefore it should be a super quick site. If it were slow then there would be some serious design flaw somewhere.

The search engine is very good but considering the limited amount of products available it should be. In my opinion a search engine is not required since it is easy to see all the products available in a very short space of time.

Ordering

This website is like almost every online shopping site in that to make an order you have to create an account and log in. Creating a user account gives online companies all your details and opens you up to copious amounts of spam emails until such a time you unsubscribe. The worst thing about this is I find most of the spam emails come from ‘associated’ companies selling products that are of no interest. I can’t recall any emails from associated companies of Cycle-clothing.co.uk.

I am not going to bother going through the detail of ordering since we have all done it hundreds of times before and I don’t think it would add anything to this review. I will say that ordering is quick, very easy (anyone can do it) and you are guided through the process on a step-by-step basis. I have never encountered any problems, been timed out or had the site crash on me whilst ordering.

If you do not want to order online then you can actually call the retailer and speak to someone. I have never purchased from Cycle-clothing.co.uk this way so I am unable to comment on how easy this process is and how smoothly it runs.

Paying

Cycle-clothing.co.uk accepts all major credit cards, except for American Express, as well as Paypal. I used to have an American Express card and found there are many retailers that just don’t accept it so I can’t mark the website down because of this. Just remember you won’t be earning any Nectar points on purchases here. The only advice I can offer here is to do what I did and change from Amex to Visa, Mastercard or some other popular card.

The checkout goes through a fully encrypted security system and it is very safe, so this should alleviate any fears that some people may have about online shopping.

Delivery

I have noticed a significant increase in delivery charges recently, as I am sure many of you have as well. With companies hiking their delivery charges up (be it due to Royal Mail increases or fuel increases or what ever else) to extortionate levels Cycle-clothing.co.uk have managed to keep theirs very low.

Standard delivery is £2.95, next working day delivery is £5.95 and Saturday delivery is £7.95. I think it is disgraceful charging significantly more for Saturday delivery but all companies do it so, once again, I can’t mark Cycle-clothing.co.uk down for this.

Standard delivery is stated as 2 – 3 working days, but I have always found items are delivered well within these time limits. I placed an order one lunchtime, and the following day I arrived home to find a delivery card. Now that is what I call service and £2.95 well spent. If you spend over £50 then UK customers qualify for free delivery. Whilst you’d expect free delivery to be standard second class you’d be wrong and the package will still be sent first class signed for as if you had paid for it.

World wide delivery is a meagre £4.95 which is excellent, especially given that there are many companies that charge UK customers more than this for delivering small items first class only.

Returns and after sales service

As with all companies Cycle-clothing.co.uk has a well publicised returns policy and a dedicated team of after sales assistants and advisors. I have never had any reason to return any products (the products have always arrived on time, the correct items have always been sent in the correct style/colour and size, the quality has always been perfect and I have never had a reason to complain. Because of this I cannot comment on the after sales or returns aspects of this company.

Many of my cycling buddies have started using this company and none of them have ever had any problems either. Cycle-clothing.co.uk have been great with every single transaction.

Products

This website only sells it’s own brand items (although there aren’t too many of these) and Speg clothing. If you are after Specialized, Assos, Maddison or any other brand then this website is not for you. Whilst Speg is known in the cycling world it has not yet captured the imagination of many cyclists, and as such it does not have a very big following.

The range includes;

i) Gloves

There are six different types of gloves available ranging from thin and fingerless gloves to thicker and full-fingered winter riding gloves. All of the gloves on offer are made by Speg and as such the styles and colours are very limited although you will find waterproof, windproof and gel shock gloves (which are designed to provide the ultimate in comfort).

Prices range from £6.99 for the fingerless summer gloves to £18.99 for the full fingered winter gloves that are windproof and waterproof.

ii) Ladies wear

The ladies wear is extremely limited and consists of 7 jerseys and a single pair of shorts to choose from. There is a hi-viz yellow jersey (available in long or short sleeved), an orange jersey (available in long or short sleeved) and a red, blue or white jersey, all of which are only available in short sleeved.

Sizes range from XS (UK size 6 - 8) right up to 3XL (UK size 18 – 20), so there is a size to fit all ladies.

Getting hold of ladies’ cycling clothing is always a chore and (according to my other half) it is always much more expensive and there is always less choice. Obviously this does not affect me but it does tend to wind my other half up some what, especially when I can get some really nice and stylish kit and she is left with an uninspiring collection.

Prices range from £12.99 to £19.99 for the jerseys and the shorts retail at £19.99.

iii) Jackets

There are 5 different styles of jackets to choose from and only two colours available, including hi-viz yellow and black. Sizes range from XS (32 – 34) right through to 3XL (44 – 46), so there is a size to suit all body types and shapes.

All jackets are slightly longer at the back, which enables you to be a bit hunched over, i.e. in the riding position, without the jacket riding up and exposing your lower back to the elements.

The jackets are not specific to ladies, although they are unisex so would be appropriate for women, providing they do not have too much of an hour glass figure or too much of a bust.

Prices range from £18.99 for the lightweight foldable jacket to £36.99 for the more durable waterproof and windproof version.

iv) Jerseys

There are 16 different jerseys available, 4 long-sleeve and the remaining 12 short-sleeve, in a variety of different, if somewhat unusual colour schemes. Whilst the range is much larger than that of other pieces of cycling apparel it is very small and limited when compared to other clothing manufacturers.

There is a hi-viz neon yellow jersey that is available in both long and short sleeved, which is good since this is the best colour to have whilst cycling, in my opinion. I agree that you do stick out like a sore thumb but since owning my hi-viz jerseys I have noticed that passing cars give you a lot more room and can see you a lot earlier than if you were wearing dark clothing, all of which is good.

The sizes range from XS (32 – 34) right through to 3XL (44 – 46) in every jersey that is sold.

Prices vary from £9.99 to £24.99 for the short-sleeved shirts and £14.99 to £22.99 for the long-sleeved.

v) Shorts

There are 6 different pairs of shorts available, all of which are padded and contain a hygienic coolmax pad to prevent saddle soreness. 4 pairs of the shorts are the traditional style and the other 2 are bib and brace shorts (i.e. those that look a bit like a leotard).

All the shorts are black in colour, which doesn’t really bother me since I prefer to be a bit understated on my bike, but those cyclists who prefer the garish colour schemes, or team colours schemes will not find any such shorts here.

Prices vary from £13.99 to £19.99 for the traditional styled shorts with the bib shorts costing £22.99.

vi) Tights

There are 4 types of tights available including a pair that is ¾ length, 2 full length pairs and a pair of bib tights (i.e. like a leotard). All are fully padded and include a coolmax insert to prevent saddle soreness.

Sizes range from XS (28 –30) to 3XL (40 – 42) so all body shapes and sizes are catered for.

Like all Speg clothing there is limited choice when it comes to colours since all pairs of tights are black.

Prices range from £22.99 for the ¾ length to £34.99 for the full bib tights.

vii) Accessories and warmers

I’m sure you’re getting the general picture here but I feel I should also stress that there is a limited range of accessories which includes one type arm warmers, one type of leg warmers, one type of over shoes and an ear/head warmer all of which are made by Speg, and all of which is available in black only.

In addition there is one type of arm warmers, one type of leg warmers and an ear/head warmer all of which is Cycle-Clothing.co.uk own brand, and all of which is only available in black.

Both the CC branded and the Speg branded arm and leg warmers are available in small to Xxlarge. The ear/head warmers are one size fits all.

The arm warmers cost £9.99 and £10.99 for CC and Speg brands respectively. The legwarmers cost £11.99 and £12.99 for CC and Speg brands respectively. The ear/head warmers cost £5.99 for both brands and the Speg overshoes cost £14.99.

viii) Eye wear

There are three types of cycling specific sunglasses available, i.e. those that are slightly larger to ensure that the eyes are fully covered and these cost £16.99 to £19.99

Sizing

Every product on the website (except for the sunglasses and ear/head warmers, obviously) there is a sizing chart that shows both centimetres and inches. This is a very useful feature since there are many websites that have the link to the sizing chart off the home page and if they sell multiple brands there is often more than one sizing chart, which can get very confusing.

These problems are not encountered on this website since it only sells Speg clothing and the sizing chart is located at the bottom of each product page. To access this you click on the ‘more info’ icon next to the item you are interested in, scroll down to the bottom of the page and voila there’s the sizing chart. Brilliant.

Speg clothing is a very tight fit therefore it is advisable that you go up a size if you want something that is a bit more comfortable, or 2 sizes if you want something a little looser. This fact is clearly stated on the website, and I can personally vouch for this.

I must say that I find it very demoralising buying two sizes bigger than I actually am but I can only recommend sucking it up and ordering a larger size since I would have regretted buying my ‘proper’ size.

Prices

As you can see both the CC branded items and the Speg items are very competitively priced and are a lot less than that of its competitors. As I have already mentioned Speg clothing is not that popular in the cycling world and I think it is this that keeps the price so low, i.e. I think that Speg are low-balling in order to attract customers, increase popularity and gain market share. In addition to this the range is very limited and there is no team clothing available and very little scope to buy clothing that is going to match your bike.

All items on the website are sold for less than the RRP. I am a bit sceptical about this since I have not found any other Speg retailers so cannot confirm the RRPs or comment on how accurate these are. Speg clothing is definitely ideal for those on a budget.

Quality

My other half and I have bought some Speg gear and I must admit that we were both surprised by the quality in that it is much higher than we expected. We bought a hi-viz yellow rain jacket each, a hi-viz yellow short-sleeved jersey each (this really is starting to sound like we are a real matching his and hers pair.Lol.) and a pair of tights (for my other half).

Compared to other branded items the quality is very good. We have had no issues with seams splitting, zips leaking (the jackets really are waterproof), zips splitting or panels rubbing through. We have been using Speg gear through the winter months and it really has been given some hard. The clothing has been caked in mud, washed, caked in more mud, washed again and caked in more mud, yet despite this it is still holding together very, very well and I am more than impressed. For the price we paid for the Speg gear I can only say the quality is excellent.

Conclusion

Cycle-clothing.co.uk is a great website that is very user friendly, easy to navigate and easy to order products from. The service is quick, reliable and second to none. All transactions are easy and smooth, just as it should be.

As well as being a great online shopping experience the products available are absolutely fantastic. They are cheap but of a high quality and this, in my opinion, is great value for money.

I admit the range of products is limited but then this doesn’t bother me. The colour schemes are bland and boring, consisting of black (except for the hi-viz stuff of course) but this suits me down to the ground. If you are after a team kit or looking to match your clothing to your bike then I think you are going to be very disappointed in this site.

The ladies range is exceptionally limited but I have found this is the case with most places. Ladies’ cycling clothing is difficult to get hold of and very expensive to boot. This does not really affect me that much, only when I have to buy my other half something, but it really does wind her up for some reason. Hey ho. All of the men's clothing can be worn by ladies but if they have a real hour glass figure, or a big bust, then it may be somewhat uncomfortable.

Some may think that Cycle-clothing.co.uk being the sole distributor of Speg clothing in the UK a disadvantage and if Cycle-clothing.co.uk were poor then I would have to agree. Since Cycle-clothing.co.uk do a great job in getting products out on time, as well as offering a great after sales service then I cannot agree with this comment.

All in all Cycle-clothing.co.uk and Speg are a match made in heaven and each compliments the other perfectly.

(Originally posted on Dooyoo under the name of Yackers1)