The Hype on Hyperthreads

A few months ago I had the opportunity to get the low-down and suit up in some Hyperthreads clothing for a few hours. Just last weekend, during the Sea Otter Classic, I had a follow up appointment with the Hyperthreads crew to get the skinny one more time.The first pass by their booth, I had to circle around due to the large volume of people checking out their threads. To tell you the truth, it was like this nearly every time I passed by. They clearly had a nice thing going and a lot of folks were quite interested in what they had to offer.Once I got in there, I was given a tour of their latest summer creation. The Pro S Bib and Pro C top. Now, before I get into the technical details of the garment, I'd like to offer my thoughts of when I initially slipped this kit on. I was inside a cramped and crowded bathroom at the Sea Otter venue. Trying not to touch anything but the soles of my shoes while slipping into this super suite. I was worried that the line of potty-dancing men behind me were going to be upset as I wasn't really using the facilities as everyone else. I managed to make a pretty quick change though, and upon exiting the bathroom, now dressed from head to toe in a custom Hyperthreads kit, I felt a bit like Clark Kent, emerging from a phone booth as Superman. Dang this kit felt good. It was light, conforming and stretched perfectly. I never thought I'd be so stoked on spandex, but when you spend as much time in it as we all do, why not love the way it fits and feels.I headed out on the trail with Hayden Sampson for some hot laps, hills and a quick photoshoot. Hayden was also sporting the same kit and the first thing he mentioned was how well it fit. The kit really fit and felt better than just about any kit I've every worn. Within the first 10 minutes of the ride, I was totally sold. BUT, how many of us ride for only 10 minutes? We pedaled around for about an hour, shot some photos then back to the hotel. The next day, after a quick cleaning, I tossed on the kit again, as I'd be on the bike for a few hours. A much more in depth test of comfort and longevity. After the second round, I was still convinced that was my favorite kit I've ever worn.So let's get into the technical info:The bibs have flat stitching for comfort and durability. They lay flat and give enough snug in all the right places. The shoulder straps were wide, light weight and super stretchy. The bottom cuff is an 8cm band with a silicon lining. The chamois is Hyperthreads "Peloton" chamois that was developed in house. It's a duel density, perfect fit that's said to be excellent for 5-6 hours. I put in about 4-5 in one sitting on day two and they were still feeling great.The jersey is a super smooth fabric with a European cut, with four way stretch that keeps it close to the body yet very light weigh. There are multiple types of fabric on the jersey. They're built with a larger mesh fabric in the armpits as well as a smaller, breathable side panel and back mesh. It the perfect summer jersey as it breathes very well and conforms to your body with ease. Standard 3 Rear pockets that are reinforced behind the jersey for durability. And a full length YKK locking zipper.Both Bibs and Jersey feature Italian, 4 way stretch fabric that are breathable, moisture wicking and very light weight.The kit I received is a unisex fit, but Hyperthreads makes a womens specific bib or short with that uses a different chamois and length in the leg.Retail on the Top/Bottoms are $115/each. Hyperthreads offers it as a custom product with no minimums (retail price), but the price can come down significantly (~$85) per at any sort of quantity above 5. Turn around times are 4 weeks. They have in house designers to do artwork from scratch for a small fee. Oh and this is another thing that seems like a no brainer... they can do a team store to eliminate the team manager headaches of collecting sizes, money, and distribution, all a free of charge. Brilliant!What I like the most:The clothing felt feather weight light, and just seemed to move extremely well with the body. On hot summer days, this kit would be the best and top choice in the closet as it seemed to breathe so well. The banding on the bottom of the short was perfect. As the silicone lined cuffs are becoming more an more popular, I've tried on a number of pair that just cant seem to get this right. Hyperthreads nailed it.As a designer, I'm planning on throwing a number of kit designs together and hopefully opening my own "team" store in conjunction with Hyperthreads, because who wouldn't want to take advantage of the prices and no minimums offer. I was very impressed by the products, service and willingness to spit out all the details to me. Spencer and his crew are out to do big things with this clothing and I'm very excited to join their efforts.Just as a side note: The shots above of Hayden Sampson and myself, were not taken during either of our xc races at Sea Otter. It was a small formality that we kept our number plates on for the shoot. Just an FYI ;)