Bio-Racer Cycling Apparel: Approved by Champions

No doubt you’ve already seen it... maybe you’ve even worn Bio-Racer apparel. That’s possible because worldwide countless amateurs, pros and world champions wear Bio-Racer cycling apparel. Several national cycling teams (road, track and cyclo-cross riders) wear the apparel produced by this Belgian company.

Bio-Racer was founded in 1984 by Raymond Verstraelen, who was a cyclist and coach of top cyclists for many years. He wanted to use his experience and technical knowledge to realize his vision: developing cycling equipment and apparel that is literally made to measure. Increasing the comfort for the cyclists is his ongoing passion. The first challenge he undertook was to improve the posture of racers on a bike. Verstraelen developed a measuring system that takes physical height, shoulder width and length of the feet, legs and arms into account. This Bike Fitting System immediately proved its worth and became a standard measuring system in the world of cycling.

Improving the cyclist’s comfort on the bike is just one aspect of Bio-Racer’s mission. The company kept looking for solutions for other comfort problems that cyclists have to face and began working to produce a line of cycling apparel that is completely in tune with the wishes and needs of cyclists. Some of the company’s well-known innovations in this field are the use of Lycra, the invention of a seamless chamois and the development of new fabrics.

“The advantages of this technique are huge: the ability to cost-effectively produce small runs, the number of colors we can print in one production run, the small space required for the machines, and the practically unlimited design possibilities.”

The Bio-Racer innovations are renowned in the world of cycling. Through the years, the company became the market leader in cycling apparel in the Benelux countries, and its products are highly regarded in many other countries as well. Several national teams wear Bio-Racer sportswear at world and European championships and the Olympic games. Recently, the American cycling team began wearing Bio-Racer sportswear.

Bio-Racer had been using screen printing for the production of its designs, but in the last couple of years, the company has added digital printers to its production environment. Koen Vekemans, a former professional cyclist who now works for Bio-Racer, explains: “We were looking for a technique to print smaller jobs. With screen printing, you need to print at least 50 pieces in order for the run to be cost effective. For digital printing, on the other hand, the number of pieces doesn’t matter. At the moment, we use two Roland DG sublimation printers and print about 40% of our orders digitally. We are convinced that this amount will increase even more in the future. The advantages of this technique are huge: the ability to cost-effectively produce small runs, the number of colors we can print in one production run, the small space required for the machines, and the practically unlimited design possibilities. Moreover, digital printing is a fast production method. We once did the test: the time you need to print 200 pieces digitally in six colors is shorter than when you print the same amount using a semi-automatic screen printer.”

Bio-Racer is the only West European company with cycling apparel production all under one roof. The building in Tessenderlo houses everything from design, printing and sublimation to production, packaging and shipping of the apparel. To keep up with the increasing demand, the company has set up additional production facilities in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Tunisia.

Today, Bio-Racer also develops apparel for ice skaters, athletes and triathletes. Accessories, breathable patches (called ReSkin) and leisure wear complete the product line. For more information about Bio-Racer, please visit www.bioracer.com or www.reskin.eu.