ensuring that the products we develop meet your expectations is essential for us.
this is why, to develop our first summer road bib shorts , we asked you to give your opinion on the problems to be solved (premature wear, comfort, cut, materials, finishes, style, price, etc.) and the importance of each of the characteristics (priority to comfort, performance, durability, value for money, etc...?).
these consultations help us to adapt the specifications sufficiently in advance and also to detect needs that we would not have thought of.
if you haven't yet given your opinion on the summer road bib shorts (nor the road jerseys for that matter) you can always do so here !
one thing is clear is that bib shorts are less debated than jerseys, 90% of you favor comfort as the No. 1 criterion when choosing your road bib shorts.
and just behind comfort, you cite quality so that it lasts!
how did this influence the specifications for the development of our prototypes?
- the choice of fabric for comfort and durability : we have selected a high-end virgin polyamide from Payen, ultra-light and compressive but above all including:
- the multi-dimensional elasticity makes it possible to accompany the muscular contractions without ever constraining the movement
- the resistance to abrasions is prodigious: it withstands more than 50,000 cycles in the Martindale test
- a top-of-the-range bib or chamois bottom from La Fonte: the Zénith Gold for men and the Bertha Gold for women are both made for long outings and feature foam with a density of 140kg/m3 for only 14mm thick
- suspenders for comfort: you're the one who told us, you prefer your shorts with suspenders:
and yet, there is a lot to say about these suspenders:
they twist,
are too thin and therefore cut at the level of the trapezoids, too short, or too long, etc...
and David sums it up best:
With braces it's boring to pee. Without straps it serves the belly a little and it slips
we therefore opted for shorts with braces for support and to avoid this unpleasant feeling of cutting at the level of the abs... of the belly;)
and for those of you, we are already working on a model with detachable straps to facilitate pit stops.
here are the sketches of the models we are developing:
for the moment the styles are different but in the long term, they will be identical... as with all of our products, only the design and the choice of certain accessories (such as the chamois!) change to take into account the differences in morphology .
you see we opted for an open torso for more versatility depending on the weather conditions, just with a jersey when it's hot and you can add a base-layer on days when you start very early or when the temperatures start to drop .
as far as the leg length is concerned, we have followed you with shorts supposed to reach you at 3/4 thigh, that said, we do not forbid ourselves to shorten them slightly for the women's version to avoid tan marks, do isn't it Cleo?
not enough short version for the summer (and avoid ugly tan lines)
on the choice of colors, it's a mix between conservative and modern!
and a priori, we lean more for color, you will have to get used to it but with sobriety and style, of course!
the idea is that when designing our shorts to match our jerseys, we keep in mind that these shorts can be worn with different jerseys;)
and we end with the puzzle of choosing the size!
how to satisfy all combinations of length and size of thighs? between those who find that it's not tight enough at the bottom or that it goes up too much, those who are still too tight but who cannot take 2 sizes above otherwise the shorts reach below the knee... how do we avoid all these returns or those orders in multiple sizes?
we are considering 2 things:
- as for the swimsuits, we will work with our partner workshop to consider offering for the same size of shorts, different lengths and diameters of thigh
- we are going to give you as much information as possible on the site with photos of the shorts worn and the indications of the models' measurements so that when you pre-order, you put all the chances on our side to put in the bullseye of the 1st shot!
following this questionnaire, we organized focus groups with some and some of you to dig into certain points, understand how you choose a short according to the type of outing, the problems you most often encounter, etc...
We had a lot of fun reading you, seeing you too (in video of course but good) and discussing our respective practices and our common passion: cycling!
this certainly enriched the design of this 1st hypernature collection! but we were also able to measure the expectations on other aspects, which are dear to us: those of doing things with and for cyclists and by trying to provide an answer to the expectations of eco-responsibility that drive you!
thank you again to those who participated, as a reminder it's not too late to do so, we regularly consult the answers and these surveys remain "open", here is the link to give your opinion on road jerseys & bib shorts
