Just because you haven't joined a club, doesn't mean you have to compete in submissively bland apparel. Display your unattached pride and race in this eye-catching kit. The solid scheme defies club convention while the bold, wrap-around type screams that you are going it alone. Yowch, it's hot!

Leave the Pro Kit for the Pros.
Pre-order the Spring 2008 kit and be the unattached rider in your area. The jersey features a tall collar, a full-length zipper, raglan sleeves, and your standard three pockets in the rear. The bib shorts use the sexy 4-Way Stretch chamois, mesh straps, and a radio pocket for your, uhm, iPod*. The caps are artisan-made by Walz in the States , with an embroidered logo, contrast stitching, and a soft bill in case you run into a pole. Race Proud!

á Jerseys are available in XS-XXXL. Specify race, club, or women's cut. $61.
á Bibs are available in XS-XXXL. Specify men's or women's. $72.
á Caps are one size fits most. If it doesn't fit you, join a team. $28.

For further information, refer to this size chart. Prices include Paypal fees and shipping.

Pre-ordering closes on 11.25.07.
We're using Champion Systems for this second batch of uniforms. After some research, they came out on top of half a dozen reputable vendors in terms of cheap. And at this point that is really is all that matters to this unattached rider. Their turnaround is six-to-eight weeks after our group order is placed, but having little experience with them I can't guarantee they won't miss their deadline. Honestly, I would allow them their maximum estimated turnaround.

If you've ordered through a team before then you have a good idea of how this works. I'll take your orders below and your money via Paypal. When pre-ordering ends, I'll place our group order and spend several nail-biting weeks hoping you don't get impatient and take your money back. Upon fulfillment I'll ship out your orders in a nifty Tyvek bag via USPS priority mail.

A note on how Champion Systems works: All we need is a minimum order of ten like items (jerseys) and then we can order as much or as little of any other item we like. Don't see what you like? Need long sleeves? fleece bib tights? a skinsuit? As long as we have our minimum of ten jerseys, then I can mock up anything on Champion Systems' catalog for you.

Lastly, if you have any questions, comments, or any advice in general that would help me in this little endeavor, please contact me through the link below.

Carlos Cabalu
Unattached Rider

*iPods are for Freds. You don't need music to ride your bike and you definitely should not have it on a group ride. And while I'm at it where the hell is your helmet? 

Confuse Your Competition.
"Me? No. I didn't get dropped in the first lap last week. That would be the fat loser in the orange kit. As you can see, I wear a white kit. Totally different person." One of the advantages of being unattached is our unpredictable wardrobe selection. Change kits and deceive your competion. All the kits displayed here are on deck, so to speak. If you can find several people who might be interested, contact me and we'll see about getting a group order started.

Stevie
A little bit of retro, a whole lot of cool. The abundant use of white helps deflect solar beatdown making this kit the ideal summer get up. Weaknesses include chocolate-covered energy bars and fast food stains, while Culver's butter burgers are the perfect post-race meaÑwha-who the hell wrote this copy?!?

Bruce
Show the crowds you can take anything your mud-loaded knobbies dish out. The wide stripe conceals anything from mud to... uhm... mud. Okay, okay. I picked espresso because it's in this season and the scheme ties in nicely with my dinnerware from CB2. You should still wear it though.

Eddie
Make a statement: this racer is not for sale. This blank template displays all the opportunities you took to say no. No to The Man, and no to the commercialization of your effort. It is also a good way to break the ice with that guy who owns the roofing company whom you've been eyeing to sponsor your team, "You see this spot here? It's for you."

A little too cerebral? Perhaps. Will this ever make it to the group order stage? Probably not. Still, I figued I'd post this anyway. Because I can. So shut up.

Frank
Four stars, two bars. Let the locals know you're from the Windy City. Show them what it takes to train without hills. Dazzle them with your Lakefront Path tactics. And if they turn out to be much faster, you can pee on their yard and litter on their driveway. Everyone else does.

Seriously, don't do that. How you present yourself reflects directly on the... uhm... just don't do it.

Sizing Chart
As posted on the Champion Systems website. Please make sure you take the time to measure your favorite-fitting jeresy. For best fit, have someone else take your measurements with a proper tape measure. Ikea gives them out for free. It helps if you don't suck it in while measuring your waist. Seriously, be realistic with what sizes you can fit into.

A brief note on the different cuts: The race cut is based on European fit, a tailored design that tapers in towards the waist. This looks best on racers who look like they could use a sandwich. If you have a roll or two, you're better off getting the club cut. While still form-fitting, this cut goes straight down. Most people are shaped like this. Again, be realistic about what you can fit into. It's not my fault if you have the man-boobs.

The first order is in.
posted on 10.09.07

After a minor hiccup in the proofing process, our very first group order finally went in on the 27th of September. We're hoping for an early November delivery. Now it's just a question of how many inches I can lose by the time the kits come in.

áááá

Samples of the Walz Cycling Caps arrived. Sweet.

 

Here we go.
posted on 09.21.07

With just three days until pre-ordering closes, we've received over twenty kit orders. It's more than I planned on when I first decided to do this, but not overwhelming by any means. What is overwhelming is the enthusiastic support that the concept has generated.

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The idea was born on a whim. I downloaded the Pactimo jersey template to kill time at the local coffee shop. Before long I knew what I was going to race in next season. That night I decided to polled the forums to see how my kit would be received. I put together 3 more designs to serve as contrast for the focus group. Of the four mock-ups, the Wrap concept (my first) came away with 26 votes, with Stripes (now called Stevie) in second with 14. I have to note that 16 people voted for a fifth option, "Just join a team."

The original plan was to enlist a few friends to make the minimum quantity for this custom jersey order. But, as I often do in any endeavor worth pursuing, I got carried away. The next day the domain was registered, that afternoon a parking page went up, and in a few days the site was running with a shopping cart. The concept just took on a life of its own.

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I'd like to thank the others who share my enthusiasm. Former teammate Luke Seemann was one of the first to support and commit to the idea. He was quick to strike a "deal" for advertising on his site, Chicago Bike Racing. He also drilled me on my crappy season and the reason behind the unattached rider kit, placing me among an impressive line-up of CBR interviewees including Tony Cruz and other people who don't get dropped.

Leonard Basobas of Triple Crankset offered to hand out flyers at Interbike. When I told him that I didn't have any at hand, he replied "Can I print out your home page?" Needless to say, I immediately sent him a proper 2-up flyer in PDF format. Later he told me he sent my link to Bicycling Magazine's Style Guy. This man has balls.

And then there's Jeffrey Wat. The last thing he said regarding this endeavor was "How exactly am I supposed to be helping you? Moral support?" He doesn't know what he's gotten himself into.

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One usually ends up unattached as was my case this past season. But racing unattached doesn't have to be an afterthought. Next season, I'm going into it on my own, talking crap, and most importantly in my hot new unattached kit. So I better be fast. Or it'll be sad.

Carlos Cabalu

©2007 Carlos Cabalu á All rights reserved