Custom Cycling Kit Manufacturer for Clubs & Teams

How a cycling club orders kit from ZipaSports

A cycling club orders from ZipaSports by sending its colours, club badge, sponsor logos and a rider size list; the design studio at our factory in Sialkot, Pakistan returns a free digital mockup within 24 hours and revises it without limit until the committee signs it off. Cycling kit is almost entirely sublimated, so the whole design, including every sponsor panel, is printed into the fabric before cutting rather than added afterwards.

The minimum order is 20–25 pieces per design, lower on request, and each garment counts separately: a jersey and a bib short are two designs, not one kit. A club of thirty riders therefore meets the minimum on jerseys and bib shorts comfortably, and can add a gilet or arm warmers as the third and fourth designs.

Bulk production takes 15–25 business days after approval, express production 7–12 days at additional cost, and DHL, FedEx or UPS delivers to the UK, Europe, USA, Canada or Australia in 5–10 days. The catalogue for this discipline is at custom cycling teamwear, and the general process is explained in the team kit buying guide for clubs.

The club kit list: what cycling clubs actually order

Most clubs run a core order of short-sleeve jersey and bib shorts, then add layers for the seasons their riders actually face. The table below is the order list we see from clubs in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Australia and North America, grouped by how the garment is used.

Gravel and MTB sections order trail jerseys and baggy shorts from the same catalogue, in the same club colours, on the same order.

Fabrics and GSM for cycling kit

Cycling jerseys are made in 100% polyester with a moisture-wicking finish, and the two constructions clubs choose between are interlock and mesh. Options for the jersey body sit in the 140–180 GSM range: a lighter mesh or pin-dot mesh for summer club runs and racing, a heavier interlock where the club wants more opacity and a longer season out of one jersey. Side panels and sleeves can be specified in mesh with an interlock front, which is the most common request from UK and Canadian clubs whose season runs into cool months.

Bib shorts, skinsuits, tights and warmers use 4-way stretch polyester-spandex or nylon-spandex, the same fabric family as our compression garments, and they are printed only in the polyester-spandex versions because sublimation dye bonds to polyester fibre, not nylon. Elastane content in these fabrics runs 12–20%. Bib shorts are finished with a chamois pad, silicone leg grippers and mesh bib uppers; the pad options and gripper style are confirmed on the spec sheet before sampling.

Thermal gilets, jackets and long-sleeve jerseys use a brushed-back polyester-elastane for warmth, and rain capes and wind vests use a lightweight woven polyester shell. Recycled GRS-certified polyester is available on request for clubs with a sustainability line in their sponsorship deck. Fabric detail is on polyester-spandex and polyester mesh.

Sublimation, embroidery and heat transfer: where each belongs

Sublimation is the decoration method for almost every on-bike garment a cycling club orders, because the print is dyed into the polyester fibre and does not crack, peel or add weight, and because a cycling jersey carries more logos than any other team garment. Sponsor panels on the chest, back, rear pockets, sleeves, side panels and bib-short thighs are all part of one printed file, so a jersey carrying twelve sponsor panels is printed in the same single pass as a jersey carrying one.

Embroidery belongs on off-bike wear: the club crest on a hoodie or presentation jacket, and on caps. Embroidery is not used on jerseys or bibs because the stitched backing sits against the skin and stiffens stretch fabric.

Heat transfer is used where a woven shell cannot be sublimated, such as a coated rain jacket, and DTF suits cotton-blend leisure tees for a club social. The three methods are compared in sublimation vs DTF vs embroidery, and the process itself is on dye sublimation. At ZipaSports all of these run in-house in Sialkot, so a club order with a sublimated jersey, an embroidered hoodie and a heat-transfer rain jacket is one order with one delivery.

Sponsors, rider names and club colours: the general rules

Sponsor logos go into the sublimation file exactly where the club places them on the mockup, and they are printed with the design in the same pass rather than applied afterwards as separate add-ons. We ask for every sponsor logo in vector format (AI, EPS or PDF) because a jersey back panel is printed large and a low-resolution PNG shows its pixels at that size. Sponsor colours are matched to Pantone references where the sponsor supplies them, which matters when a sponsor's brand team has to approve the mockup.

Rider names on cycling kit are usually printed on the rear pockets or the jersey hem, and national flags or a race-team number sit on the side panel. Because these are sublimated with the rest of the design, each rider's jersey is simply a variant of the same file; the names list is sent with the size list, one line per rider, and covered in names, numbers and sponsor logos.

On colours, the general rule is that most clubs keep one registered club design that riders race in under their federation's licensing rules, so check those rules before changing a design mid-season. Many clubs also order a plainer training variant in the same colours without sponsors. Approved Pantone references and print files stay on record so the design repeats exactly each season.

Mixed sizes, women's cut, junior grading and race fit versus club fit

Any mix of sizes counts towards the 20–25 piece minimum on each design, so a club order can contain men's, women's and junior sizes of the same jersey without separating them into separate minimums. Adult sizes run XS–5XL and women's XS–4XL; junior sizes are graded from the same design, and our junior cycling kits page covers the youth section.

Cycling is unusual among club sports in that fit is a decision, not a given. We cut a race fit (close to the body, shorter front, longer back, intended over a base layer with the jersey zipped) and a club fit (more room through the chest and waist, longer sleeve hem) from the same design, and many clubs order both: race fit for the racing squad and club fit for the Sunday run. Women's jerseys and women's bib shorts use a separate women's block and a women's-specific chamois, not a downsized men's pattern.

Because cycling kit fits close, we recommend a size set or a single fit sample before bulk: a physical sample takes 5–7 days at sample cost, credited against the bulk order. Clubs that pass a size set around at a club night order far fewer wrong sizes, and a size chosen wrongly by the rider is not covered by the guarantee.

Season deadline planning for the kit secretary

Working backwards from the first race or season-opening run, the calendar below uses the standard lead times: free mockup within 24 hours, sample 5–7 days plus courier, bulk 15–25 business days after approval, then 5–10 days by DHL, FedEx or UPS. Express production (7–12 days at additional cost) exists for a club that has missed its deadline, but does not shorten the courier leg.

The production clock starts on the approved mockup plus the final size breakdown and names list; a size list that arrives two weeks late moves delivery by two weeks. UK and European clubs launching in spring typically brief us in December; Australian clubs brief in June.

What the kit secretary sends us

A cycling club order needs more artwork than most team sports because of the sponsor count, so the table below lists what we need and what we can do without. Everything can be sent over WhatsApp or email, and where a file is missing our studio will redraw a badge or a sponsor mark from a photograph, though vector originals always print cleaner.

Payment terms and the full quotation are confirmed with your enquiry; we reply on WhatsApp within 2 hours in business hours and by email within 24 hours.

Reorders, shipping and the Quality Guarantee

Reorders follow the same pattern at most cycling clubs: a full order at season start, then a top-up of a few jerseys and bibs for new members. The minimum is 20–25 pieces per design, lower on request, and for an established club with its files on record we handle small top-up runs on request. Approved sublimation files, Pantone references and size specifications are held on file, so next year's jersey matches this year's within normal dye-lot tolerance.

Shipping is by DHL, FedEx or UPS from Sialkot, 5–10 days to the UK, Ireland, Germany and the rest of Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia, with commercial invoice, packing list and certificate of origin supplied. Import VAT and duty are payable by the club on arrival unless otherwise agreed; see the country pages for the UK, EuropeIrelandNew ZealandUAESaudi Arabia, USA, Canada and Australia explain what to expect at the border.

Quality Guarantee: if any garment arrives with a manufacturing defect, we remake it free of charge; the remake goes into production within 3 days of your report. Send photos and the order reference within 7 days of delivery, and the affected pieces are remade and shipped at no charge, or credited if the club prefers. Full terms are on the quality guarantee page.