One kit, two kits, black kit, blue kit?

[Paul C.]

OK ,Baby Blue Boys[& Girls] and Black knight People...... its My turn.........
I have some of both outfits...and I like having two outfits for ease of doing laundry and I like to have lots of cycling clothing .....and having a choice,
However ,for ease of ordering and logistics [and also the club was stocking jersies] I could be happy with reordering either. If I had to pick one it would be the newer Black,blue,silver[without "racing team" on it]
I would suggest at this point, that the executive,who we elected at the AGM to make decisions like this,collectivly make a decision on color, etc. and lets place an order starting
about February 14[ a day of love!!!] or say March 1, and we get on with our training and racing and coffee drinking in our argyle outfits.
cheers Paul C.

[Curran]

Baby blue; great to be able to recognize Trippleshoters in a crowd and on the road.

[Andrew]

I favor one kit with a strong baby blue and argyle influence. I prefer the look of the black kit and own this nearly exclusively but find it very generic the moment you get into a crowd. I loved seeing the baby blues stand out on the Whistler granfondo. I have long thought a hybrid would be best, something with a bit more contrast (may) stick out more in traffic. doing a bit of a hybrid may bring all the kit together.

Maybe we could have a pub night and have a 'TSC Idol kit competition' where we get to vote kit off the road? Would be a fun way to get the club together in the early spring. I would be in for putting forward a design. We could have a minimum elements criteria for submitting for the competition to be vetted prior by the executive. We could also compete/propose and pole online. I think the exec should have veto power though.

Just an idea if we go for a hybrid.

[norman marcy]

With full Seuss and P.D. Eastman inspiration from 1961. Yes, I still have the books!

One kit, two kits, black kit, blue kit?

One kit, two kits
Do you have one kit?
Yes I have one kit
Do you have two kits?
Yes I have two kits
Do you have three kits or four kits?
Yes, some 3shot riders have three or four kits
One kit or four kits
Red kit, gray, kit blue, kit black kit?
One kit, two kits, black kit, blue kit?

One kit, two kits?
One kit does not mix with two kit or three kit or four kit
Mixing kit is practical, but not fashionable
Oh the faux pas, oh the derision
Do I need one kit or two kits three kits or more kits?
I need more cycling bits, but not more cycling kits (designs)
One kit ensures fashion, function and fit
One kit, two kits, black kit, blue kit?

One kit, two kits?
Do you like my one kit?
I do like your one kit
One kit is simple
One kit is unifying
One kit is distinguishing
One kit can build design continuity
One kit is cost effective
I do like one kit
Do you like two kits
I do not like two kits
One kit, two kits, black kit, blue kit?

Black kit, blue kit?
Do you have a black kit or blue kit?
I do have both kits, yes I do
I don’t like the black kit, I prefer the blue
The blue kit is bright and visible for me and for you
Keep the main colours and patterns do
Simplify the club identity for sponsors and members too

[EricS]

If we are thinking of a new kit design, perhaps we should work some of these into the mix:

http://www.retronaut.co/2012/02/mens-jump-suits-1970s/

make sure to read the descriptions.

[norman marcy]

ERIC ! that is just not a good idea

[4827north]

The juniors who have the black kit would need to get new kit anyway to reflect their new sponsors.

Unlike protour teams, club race kit has a longer life than one season, as most of the discussion suggests. Sponsors know this when they sign on too. Older kit (even w old sponsors) works well as back up for racing. Racing kit is more likely to receive rough use, from crashes to bad weather conditions ('cross, stage races), so racers need more of the same colour.

hi Lister, I haven't read the entire thread, and to be honest I'm not really sure where you were going with your lengthy summation, but I can emphatically tell you, as a team sponsor, that organizations view the logo on the jersey as an advertising campaign, and often, as I do, stipulate in the contract that current year clothing must be worn in all events. It's the sponsor's money and it comes to the club with terms. You've been in this sport long enough to know this is a business deal, pure and simple, not a charity.

Josh made that point clearly as teams must expect to provide value to their sponsors annually. But a club, if any sponsoring is done, may have differing terms and differing expectations. The idea of the separate kit was to provide a canvas to sell space on annually to sponsors in return for cash and/ or merchandise that can support what the riders wish to do. I think you know all this, but you come off like you're on a witch hunt to cast blame as to why the club considered the difference between club and team. I see it as a benefit so that club members aren't financing racers when they have no interest in racing or supporting those that do.

[4827north]

Having pontificated over this jersey dilemma, let me further provide some free take it or leave it advice. When I was team president at Atomic racing in the mid1990s, we had these exact same discussions, and it was finally resolved this way:

If you race, you must buy at minimum one new club jersey for the year you race. And that first jersey is sold at cost. And you must wear that jersey when racing. End of story. In our case annual fee was $20 + $35 for the mandatory jersey. Simple. Transparent, and no room for argument.

This provided many benefits, the most important being that it opened up the opportunity to attract new sponsors annually and to provide value to them. And it considered the reality that most kit wears out, gets ripped or stained after one season, anyways. It also allowed the members that didn't race to still ride in team kit, with a nominal annual membership fee.

[John D]

I've kept out of the dialogue (diatribe?) 'til now, but would like to contribute my own two cents.

TS is, first and foremost, a cycling club, not a race team. Thus, there should be one TS kit...and baby blue all the way, baby!!! If there's still a desire for a separate race kit, then the racers should organize it amongst themselves. DavidB offered a compelling argument for why we should NOT merge the two existing kits. Arguments regarding the cost of buying new/extra kit are moot - most of us TS clothes-horses already ride carbon steeds that cost 1000s of $$$. Well, except for Lister's bronze-age bikes, which are at least of archaeological value.

Two cents doesn't buy much these days, does it?
J.

[JohnT]

I agree with you John that one kit is best and I also happen to like the baby blue, but the needs of the 'race team' shouldn't be ignored. Brad might prefer to sponsor the race team because he is more likely to sell high-end wheels to racers. Peter's law firm might prefer to sponsor the race team because Peter races. So with your independent race team kit suggestion, the race team and the club are in competition for sponsors. Furthermore, club sponsors might not like the idea that those in the club that race won't be wearing club kit. It will be hard to get them excited about the 'exposure' they'll get at 6 am.

I think the solution is to focus on one design (incl colour), but just accept that there might be a new edition (e.g., because the race team gets, or looses, a sponsor) of that one design each year.

JT

[4827north]

.

I think the solution is to focus on one design (incl colour), but just accept that there might be a new edition (e.g., because the race team gets, or looses, a sponsor) of that one design each year.

JT

+1. The design, including colour may change annually. Think of last year's two jerseys as two seasons combined. Going forward, make it one look (for the year), but also make it mandatory to race in the new kit - whenever practicable. That policy demonstrates a commitment to your sponsors.