Custom cycling gilets are gilets (vests) made in your club, team or company's colours and logo — fully sublimated, built on the same gilets DTR sells at retail, with a windproof front, a breathable back and a packable build that lives in a jersey pocket. For a club, the gilet is quietly the most valuable piece in the range: it's worn over the jersey, so it's the layer people actually see, and the chest panel is the single most visible sponsor surface a club owns. From five pieces per design, with free design support and a typical six-to-eight-week turnaround.
Why the gilet is the sponsor's piece
Think about where a club's kit is seen. On a cold or breezy day — which is most of the year in most places — riders pull a gilet on over the jersey, and it stays on for the ride. That means the gilet, not the jersey, is what's visible in the group photo, at the café stop, and in every shot from the front.
It's also a large, uninterrupted chest panel with no pockets breaking it up — the cleanest sponsor surface in the range. If a club has one sponsor to please, the gilet is where you put them.
What a custom gilet is built from
A gilet is a simple piece with two jobs, and both are in the fabric:
- A windproof (or water-resistant) front that blocks the wind chill on your chest — where nearly all the cold comes from on a descent or into a headwind.
- A breathable, often mesh, back panel that lets heat escape so you don't overheat climbing with it on.
- A packable build that stuffs into a jersey pocket when you don't need it.
- A cut that sits close over a jersey without flapping — a flapping gilet is noisy and slow.
Thermal gilets swap the light front for an insulated one, for colder riding. Both can carry the same club design.
What you can order
- Windproof gilets — the year-round club staple, packable and worn most of the season.
- Thermal gilets — for winter riding, with the same design.
- Water-resistant gilets — for wet climates and shoulder seasons.
- Men's and women's cuts, with mixed sizing across a single order.
Most clubs order the gilet in the same design as the jersey, so it reads as one kit whether the gilet's on or off.
Designing a gilet
The gilet is the easiest piece in the range to design well, because you have a big, clean canvas.
Put your primary sponsor or club mark on the chest — it's the highest-visibility surface you own, and there are no pockets to work around. The back panel is often mesh, so keep it simple there; fine detail is lost in a mesh weave. Shoulders and side panels carry secondary marks well.
Because it's fully sublimated, colour can run edge to edge rather than sitting in a printed block, and it won't crack or peel where the fabric flexes. For the full colour and logo process, see our guide on how to design custom cycling kit for your club.
How the process works
Share a brief — colours, logo files, sponsor marks. DTR's team builds two to three design routes on real gilet templates, you review, and most orders are approved in a couple of rounds. Nothing goes to production until you sign off, and the design is saved on file so reorders need no redesign.
Production runs in the same factory as the retail line, invoicing is on agreed terms, and shipping goes worldwide — to one address or split across members.
Minimum order, turnaround and pricing
The minimum is five pieces per design — five of the same gilet design across a mix of sizes meets it. Turnaround is typically six to eight weeks from approved design to delivery, varying by season, so confirm the current lead time when you enquire. Pricing is quote-based, built around the styles, quantities and finish you choose.
FAQ
What is a custom cycling gilet? A gilet (vest) made in your own colours and logo, fully sublimated so the design is dyed into the fabric. At DTR it's built on the retail gilets, with a windproof front, breathable back and a packable build.
Why order gilets as well as jerseys? Because the gilet is worn over the jersey, it's often the layer that's actually visible — and its clean chest panel, with no pockets, is the best sponsor surface a club has. It's the piece sponsors notice.
Can we get thermal and windproof gilets in the same design? Yes — windproof, thermal and water-resistant gilets can all carry the same club design, so the kit stays consistent from spring through winter.
Does a custom gilet pack into a jersey pocket? Yes — the windproof and water-resistant gilets are packable, so riders can carry one and pull it on for descents or when the weather turns. Thermal gilets are bulkier by design.
What's the minimum order for custom gilets? Five pieces per design across a mix of sizes, which keeps custom gilets workable for a small club.
The bottom line
The gilet is the quiet workhorse of a club order: worn over the jersey for much of the year, and carrying the cleanest, most visible sponsor panel in the range. DTR's custom gilets are the same windproof, breathable, packable gilets it sells at retail — just in your colours. Windproof, thermal and water-resistant options, men's and women's, from five pieces per design. Request a custom quote and DTR will take it from your brief.
—
DTR — performance cycling and triathlon apparel, designed and developed in Ukraine.
Leave a comment
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.