This article was taken from the April 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
Cycling's gains are made in the margins. After winning the Tour de France last year, Team Sky is finding those extra one percents in a new specialism: clothes. "Bicycle weights are limited by Union Cycliste Internationale, so significant gains can be made on the rider's kit," says Graeme Raeburn, lead product designer at cyclewear company Rapha, which is outfitting Team Sky riders for the next four years.
Raeburn and his team in North London interviewed the staff and riders -- including Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome -- to find out how they used kit and "how we could innovate accordingly". They designed more than 700 items, fitted to each rider. "The majority of the work is fabric sourcing, testing and development, and in some cases building fabrics from scratch,"
Raeburn says. "That's where we can really innovate."
The basic racing jersey is made from a denier-gradient construction with a higher surface area on the inside than the outside: "The physics of it will draw moisture to the outer side." The outside of the black jersey is treated with Coldblack, which reflects 80 percent of heat and is 9°C cooler than non-treated black fabrics -- as cool as pale clothing. "A lot of the marginal gains are to do with conserving energy and making [an athlete] as efficient as possible," Raeburn says. "Sweating and drinking less allows a rider to put that energy to propelling themselves faster. And the fabric is 85g per metre squared -- that's about 30g lighter for the entire jersey. People spend a lot of money to save that weight on a bike component." The onesie speedsuit version for climbing has a perforated pad for the saddle, saving another few grams, and the race cape, worn for short periods during downpours, gets a reboot: "It keeps riders warm and dry, and prevents them gaining weight through water saturation." New kitbags save seconds in giving riders access to their gear. "It's tiny, but that's where we can make a difference."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
