November 2009 UPDATE: My race team (O2 Racing) just received our new batch of kit ordered from Champion Systems. Let me tell you, it’s improved significantly without any price increases. As per our previous experiences, Champ-Sys was easy to deal with and we got our clothing ahead of schedule.
The armwarmer/kneewarmer/legwarmer complaints in the review below have been improved upon and the knicks are significantly better quality. I’m very impressed!
The team I ride with changed our clothing supplier to Champion-System about 8 months ago. I have to admit, I was skeptical at first. The price points were too good to be true as were the manufacturing lead-times. I strongly felt that when it came to cycling clothing, you get what you pay for. I wanted nothing less than Assos just because of this reason. However, now that I’ve had the chance to ride over 15,000kms in our summer kit I can’t say that I have any complaints. In fact, I’m pretty darn happy with it. If you don’t notice your cycling clothing, that means it’s doing a great job.
When it came time for my team to order winter clothing, I remained skeptical that the affordable prices weren’t going to provide the quality I wanted. If there’s one time of the year that I want to be 100% comfortable, it’s Melbourne winter. I have a few pieces of Assos winter kit that I’ve mortgaged my house to get and I told everyone I’d never wear anything else. Champion-System generously sent me over a mountain of winter clothing in my team colors to try out and review. Now that I’ve put a couple thousand km’s in my Champion-Systems winter kit, I’m proven wrong once again. It’s pretty darn good!
Champion-Sys offers absolutely everything you could imagine for kit. They offer accessories like booties, undershirts, caps, armwarmers, kneewarmers, legwarmers, vests, all sorts of jersey variations…you name it, they got it, and can customize it however you want. I wanted to go as far as the team tracksuits but I got called a wanker too many times to push ahead with it.
I highly recommend considering Champion-System clothing for any team or club looking to gear-up. We’ve certainly had a positive experience with their clothing and customer service. If we didn’t like them, we wouldn’t have placed multiple orders. The team I’m on is fondly known as “Team Has-been”. We have former pro riders who have reached the podium in races we only read about in cyclingnews. These spoiled brats have been around the block and have seen some of the best equipment money can buy. If anyone would complain about this kit, it would be this mob.
I solicited comments from the others and here’s some of the positive feedback I’ve received:
Best value for money due to no middle man (doesn’t go through a distributor) and no nonsense. Everything is possible, ie no difference in price for 1 color or 10. The other manufacturers try to charge for full zip and race radio pockets, Champion-Sys don’t. Low minimum order as well. Quite timely in comparison to all other manufacturers. We got our Bay series kit rushed over in under 2 weeks. Also, all artwork is hosted and approved online.
Overall package is very good for competitively priced clothing. I have had kit supplied from many manufacturers over the years, this has been one of the better experiences both for timeliness of supply and quality of product
Love the two way zips (this comment is echoed by everyone I talk to)
Love the fit of the long sleeve jerseys
I like the elasticized arm holes of the wind vest. Stops the annoying flapping noises a vest can make in the wind
Overall I’m very impressed with the clothing – the race jersey fits really well (i.e like a quality race jersey should fit). The long zip is spot on, the shorts good and have very good elastic on the legs, the chamois could be a little bigger, but i think its just my butt!!
There’s very few cycling products on earth that would please everyone and I thought I’d raise some of the consistent complaints about the Champion-System clothing to keep this balanced an unbiased. It would be a crime for me not to mention this as I feel these comments are valid where improvements could be made.
Material for legs warmers, arm warmers and knees lacks the stretchiness and softness that the long fleece tights and bib knicks come with (my two favorite items so far).
The material for the leg, knee and arm warmers lacks the elasticity of many other good quality ones and they seem to stretch after a while. If these were more elastic they would also fit better.
Photoshoot
Fleece Cap - keeps the head warm, sweat off your face, and the sun out of your eyes. Good for below 10 degrees on those winter days when the sun is low.
Neoprene Booties – these will get you through those wet cold mornings below 8 degrees.
Winter Gloves – warm and fuzzy on the inside and windstopper on the outside. Rubber grip on the palm. Good for 0- 10 degrees C.
Dual Zipper Vest- everyone’s favorite feature to easily get stuff out of the rear pockets of jersey and you don’t need to fiddle with getting it zipped back up. Brilliant! Warm too. Best from 8-15 degrees C.
Knee Warmers – customize all your accessories however you want. Best from 8-15 degrees C.
The complete kit and my pathetic trackstand. Vest, cap, undershirt, 3/4 knicks, jearsy and armwarmers. Perfect for a 8-15C winter day.
Special thanks for Veeral Patel for his sensational photography and help with this.
