Cycling Gilet Manufacturer: Windproof Race Vests Fit-Signed Over Each Jersey in Your Set
We develop and sample the cycling gilet as the sleeveless outer layer of your race kit: a windproof laminate front, a mesh back in our starting proposal, a full-length front zip in one-way or two-way, and a pattern drafted on the riding-position block of the jerseys it goes over.
We work with product leads at performance cycling brands, technical directors at national and regional cycling federations, and technical leads at race teams and club race squads. The jersey underneath can be one we develop with you, or one you already race.
We fit-check it over each jersey your brief pairs it with and hand you the signed results with a spec pack your own line can produce from.
Send the garment list, size chart and the temperature bands you race in. Within 48 hours of a complete brief, the development manager replies with the feasibility review: which jerseys the gilet is checked over, the laminate and back panel proposal, and the next sampling steps.
What every cycling gilet we develop comes with:
- One fit sign-off row for each jersey in your set the gilet is worn over, signed by the pattern maker.
- A pack check: the gilet sample rolled into the rear pocket of the named jersey, marked pass or return.
- Sponsor and team marks placed from your jersey's placement sheet.
- Laminate matched to your colour standard under D65 on its own signed colour card.
- Fabrics certified to OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100; development run under ISO 9001:2015.
Cycling Gilet for Two Temperature Bands: Carried for Descents at 16–22 °C, Worn Over the Jersey at 10–16 °C
The gilet is the one outer layer in our range that serves two temperature bands, over a different jersey in each.
At 16–22 °C:
- Underneath: the short sleeve race jersey in mid-weight stretch main body.
- How riders use it: the gilet rides in the jersey's rear pocket on the climbs and goes on for the descents.
- Alternative in the same band: arm warmers in place of the gilet, if your brief prefers them.
At 10–16 °C:
- The gilet is part of the standard layer, worn from the start.
- Underneath: the jersey your brief names for this band. That is a long sleeve race jersey, the thermal jersey, or a short sleeve jersey with arm and leg warmers.
Below 10 °C the set moves to the windproof jacket. Where the gilet, the jacket and the thermal jersey each sit in a cold-weather set is laid out on our windproof cycling jacket page.
Brands use the gilet to add a windproof chest to an existing race line. Federations and race teams use it for:
- Spring and autumn road races and criteriums with cold descents.
- Early-morning starts and cold warm-ups.
In the feasibility review the development manager writes down every jersey your gilet will be worn over, band by band.
That list decides the jersey samples we cut, the fit sign-off rows the gilet gets and the jersey whose rear pocket it is packed into. The drafting on the jerseys' riding block is described on our race cycling apparel range page.
One Fit Sign-Off Row for Each Jersey the Gilet Is Raced Over
The gilet's fit is signed in its own measurement report, in a fit sign-off column with one row for each jersey in your brief: two jerseys, two rows.
Every jersey on that list is a sample from your project, cut on the same riding block as the gilet. For each row the rider puts on that jersey sample in the sample size, any warmers your brief pairs with it, and the gilet over the stack.
The check runs in race position on the bike. For each row the pattern maker works through five items:
- The hem stays down when the rider is low on the bike.
- The collar sits clear of the throat, with the gilet collar over the jersey collar.
- The sleeve end of the jersey underneath sits flat on the upper arm.
- The shoulders move freely, with the gilet armhole sitting over the jersey sleeve head.
- In race position, the rider reaches the opening of the jersey's rear pocket with one hand, from below the gilet hem. With a two-way zip, the rider can also open the gilet from the bottom.
The first four are the race fit points from our race fit cycling jersey check; the fifth is the jersey's pocket reach, run with the gilet on.
A typical two-band brief fills the column like this:
| Row | Jersey underneath | Warmers worn | Items checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Short sleeve race jersey, style and size named | As named in your brief | Four race fit points, pocket reach |
| 2 | Thermal jersey, or long sleeve or short sleeve jersey, style and size named | Arm and leg warmers if the 10–16 °C set uses them | Four race fit points, pocket reach |
| Pack | The jersey whose rear pocket takes the gilet, same size | — | Pack check |
The 10–16 °C row with arm warmers. When your brief pairs the gilet with a short sleeve jersey and arm warmers, the rider wears all three for that row. The sleeve end check reads the jersey sleeve over the warmer's silicone gripper band with the gilet on top. The shoulder check reads the gilet armhole over the jersey sleeve head while the rider reaches to the hoods. The 10–16 °C stack is signed as it will be raced.
Each item is marked pass or return. A return names the gilet panel it goes back to: the collar line, the armhole, the hem or the back panel. The change is entered in the revision log before the next gilet sample. The jersey's own fit signature stays as it was.
Each row is signed by the pattern maker, on the sample size.
What you hold: the gilet report with one signed row per jersey, and every jersey and the gilet in the sample set. Your riders can put on the same combinations and repeat each row themselves, including the pack check.Gilet Construction Zone by Zone, With the Options You Choose: Two-Way Zip, Mesh Back, Own Pocket, Hem Gripper
Every zone of the gilet is drawn on its cutting diagram, over your jersey's riding block.
Front
Left and right front panels in windproof laminate, the starting proposal
Set byPattern maker proposes, you confirm on the fabric-by-panel sheet
Front zip
Full length; one-way or two-way
Set byYou choose; zip position drawn on the cutting diagram
Collar
Drafted to sit over the jersey's dropped front collar line; height and finish per your brief
Set byPattern maker, drawn on the cutting diagram
Armholes
Cut to sit over the jersey sleeve head
Set byPattern maker, on the jersey block
Back
Mesh in the starting proposal; mid-weight stretch main body as the alternative
Set byPattern maker proposes, you confirm on the fabric-by-panel sheet
Gilet's own rear pocket
Included or left off; no fixed number
Set byYou confirm per your brief
Hem
Silicone gripper, optional
Set byYou choose; position on the placement sheet
Seams
Flatlock on contact zones; four-thread overlock on main body joins
Set byListed by type in the seam description
The two-way zip.
A full-length zip that opens from the top and from the bottom. Riders open the gilet from the bottom to reach a jersey pocket without taking the gilet off. A one-way zip keeps the front simpler. The choice is yours and is drawn on the cutting diagram.
The gilet's own pocket.
With the gilet's own rear pocket, riders carry food or a phone in the outer layer. Without it, the gilet back stays a single panel and everything is carried in the jersey pockets underneath, reached from below the hem. Either way, the pocket reach check in each fit row is made to the jersey pocket.
Men's and women's versions.
Each version is drafted on its own jersey base block and graded to your size chart.
Pack Check and Pocket Reach: The Gilet Rolled Into Your Jersey's Rear Pocket, the Jersey Pocket Reached With the Gilet On
At 16–22 °C a rider carries the gilet in the jersey's rear pocket on the climbs and pulls it on for the descent. We check both halves of that on the samples, and each result is a row you can read.
The pack check.
This check is ours, added for the gilet:
- The gilet sample is rolled up and put into the rear pocket of the jersey sample from your project, in the same size.
- The row names that jersey by style and size.
- The result is marked pass or return in the gilet's fit sign-off column.
- A return names where it goes back to: a gilet panel on the cutting diagram, or a base fabric on the fabric-by-panel sheet, such as the back panel moved from main body to mesh.
The change is logged in the revision log with the garment, the panel or fabric, and the reason. The next gilet sample is packed into the same jersey pocket again.
The pocket is the one the pattern maker drew on that jersey's back panel, so the result applies to the jersey your riders race in.
Pocket reach with the gilet on.
The gilet covers the jersey pockets, so every fit row includes the one-hand reach described above.
Three things decide that reach, and each sits in a file:
- The gilet hem line and back length,on the gilet cutting diagram.
- The jersey's pocket opening line,on the jersey back panel.
- The zip, one-way or two-way,on the gilet cutting diagram.
A failed reach returns to the gilet back panel or hem, and the change is logged.
What you hold:
- The pack check row and the pocket reach result in every fit row, in one signed column.
- The gilet and the jersey in the sample set.
Your riders roll the gilet into the same jersey pocket and reach the pockets with the gilet on, before production. This is what "packable" means on a gilet we develop: a signed result against a named jersey.
Cycling Gilet Specification
- Garment
- Sleeveless outer layer, worn over the race jersey
- Temperature bands
- 16–22 °C, carried and worn on descents; 10–16 °C, worn as part of the standard layer
- Pattern
- Riding-position block of the jerseys in your project, with layering ease set by the pattern maker
- Front
- Windproof laminate on left and right front panels, starting proposal
- Back
- Mesh, starting proposal; mid-weight stretch main body as the alternative
- Fabrics
- Binary nylon-spandex, 88/12, 90/10 or 91/9; OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100
- Front zip
- Full length, one-way or two-way
- Collar
- Height and finish set by the pattern maker against your brief
- Armholes
- Over the jersey sleeve head
- Rear pocket on the gilet
- Optional, per your brief
- Hem
- Silicone gripper, optional
- Seams
- Flatlock on contact zones; four-thread overlock on main body joins
- Decoration
- Full sublimation, heat transfer, reflective print or strip, silicone embossing
- Sizing
- Your size chart and size range; men's and women's versions on separate base blocks
- Fit check
- One row per jersey underneath: four race fit points and jersey pocket reach
- Pack check
- Rolled into the rear pocket of the named jersey, same size
- Measurement
- Chest and back length beside the same size of the jersey underneath
- Colour
- Laminate on its own card if new to your set; mesh and main body use cards already signed
Laminate Front and Mesh Back Set Panel by Panel, With the Laminate on Its Own Colour Card
Which gilet panel takes which base fabric is decided before the first sample and signed by you.
The starting proposal.
From your brief, the pattern maker proposes laminate on the left and right front panels and lightweight summer mesh on the back. Mid-weight stretch main body is the alternative for the back. The pattern maker proposes, and you confirm or change it on the fabric-by-panel sheet.
The sheet.
Every gilet panel is listed with its base fabric. You sign it before cutting. A change after signing opens a new sampling round and is written into the revision log.
The joins.
Where the laminate front meets the back at the side seams and shoulders, the seam is listed by type in the seam description: flatlock on contact zones, four-thread overlock on main body joins.
The fibre.
Every base fabric is binary nylon-spandex, 88/12, 90/10 or 91/9. The laminate's base fabric is the same binary blend, so it takes sublimation the same way as the mesh and main body. All are certified to OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 at fabric level.
Colour cards.
We count them by base fabric:
- The laminate is a base fabric of its own. If your set already holds a signed laminate card, from a windproof jacket for example, the gilet uses it. If not, the colour and print technician prints a laminate strike-off, matches it to your colour standard under D65, and you sign its card.
- The mesh or main-body back uses the card already signed for your jersey.
A gilet added to a jersey set usually adds one card: the laminate. No gilet sample is cut until that card is signed. The front, the back and the jersey underneath then come out on the colour standard you signed.
What you hold: the signed fabric-by-panel sheet, the cutting diagram with laminate panels and joins drawn, and the laminate card with its colour parameters in the spec pack.
Sponsor and Team Marks on the Gilet, Placed From Your Jersey's Placement Sheet
On the descents at 16–22 °C, and all day at 10–16 °C, the gilet is the garment on the outside. We place your sponsor and team marks on it from the jersey's placement sheet.
The gilet's placement sheet is drawn against the placement sheet of the jersey in your project. The two sheets sit side by side, front to front and back to back.
You decide, on the gilet's placement sheet:
- Which sponsor positions and team crests on the jersey are carried onto the gilet front and back panels.
- Where each one sits on the gilet.
- Which decoration is used for each.
The gilet panel layout follows the jersey's, so seams and decoration on the two garments line up. Marks carried over from the jersey are placed on the gilet panels, around the zip and the laminate joins.
Decoration options, all from our standard set:
- Full sublimation across the laminate front and the back.
- Heat transfer for logos and lettering.
- Reflective print or reflective strip, positions on the placement sheet.
- Silicone embossing.
Marks on the laminate front are matched on the laminate strike-off under D65.
How you check it:
- Lay the jersey and gilet placement sheets side by side and compare each position you confirmed.
- Put the gilet sample on over the jersey sample and read the marks from the front and the back.
What you hold: both placement sheets in one spec pack, and both samples in the sample set. For a brand or a federation, the sponsor positions you agreed for the jersey are carried onto the gilet, signed on a sheet your production line works from.
Send the Jerseys Your Gilet Goes Over
Send the jerseys your gilet goes over, as a spec pack or a size chart, with the temperature bands in your race calendar. The development manager replies with the fit sign-off rows your gilet will get and the colour cards your set needs.
Adding a Gilet to a Jersey You Already Race
Many briefs start with a jersey line already racing and a gilet to add. The gilet is drafted on a jersey block and checked over jersey samples, so we start with your jersey.
The path, when your current jersey was not developed with us:
- You send its size chart and a reference garment. You can post the reference garment to our studio, or send photos and the existing specification first.
- The pattern maker drafts that jersey's riding-position block from your size chart and reference garment.
- We sample the jersey on that block and check it on the bike: hem, collar, sleeve end and shoulders, plus the one-hand reach to its rear pocket. The pattern maker signs its fit.
- The gilet is drafted on the same block, with layering ease.
- The gilet is fit-checked over that jersey sample, one row per jersey in your brief, and packed into its rear pocket.
If your brief pairs the gilet with more than one jersey, each of them is drafted on the same block and sampled, so every fit row is made over a sample from your project.
What this adds for you: a full set of jersey files alongside the gilet's.
- Jersey cutting diagram and graded pattern.
- Fabric-by-panel sheet, placement sheet, size chart and seam description.
- The jersey colour cards, and the jersey sample in the sample set.
Those files are yours. Your next jersey order can run from them, and any garment you add later starts from the same block.
Gilet Measurement Report With Chest and Back Length Beside the Jersey Underneath
The gilet is measured against the same size chart as the jerseys it goes over.
The sample technician measures the gilet sample point by point against your size chart. Two points are then listed beside the same size of the jersey underneath:
More than one jersey.
A gilet paired with a short sleeve jersey and a thermal jersey is listed beside each, so you read the room it leaves over both.
Signatures.
The sample technician signs size. The pattern maker signs the fit rows in the same report.
Sample size and graded sizes.
Fit is checked on the sample size. The other sizes are graded from the block to your size chart, and the graded pattern is part of the spec pack.
When the report does not pass.
A failed measurement report stops the gilet sample at the studio. It goes back to the pattern maker, the panel is changed, and the change is logged with the garment, the panel and the reason. You receive the gilet sample only with a signed report.
Checking it yourself:
- Lay the gilet and jersey samples flat.
- Measure chest and back length on each.
- Compare your readings with the two columns.
Gilet Files Added to Your Spec Pack, Sample Set and Handoff to Production
The gilet's files go into the same spec pack as your jerseys. For the gilet, the pack gains:
- Cutting diagram, on the jersey block, with zip, collar, armholes, hem line and laminate panels drawn.
- Graded pattern across your size range.
- Fabric-by-panel sheet: laminate, mesh or main body for every panel.
- Placement sheet, drawn against the jersey's, with sponsor positions, reflective detail and any hem gripper.
- Size chart.
- Seam description.
- Measurement report, with one fit row per jersey and the pack check row.
- The gilet sample in the sample set, beside the jersey samples it was checked over.
A colour card is added only for a base fabric new to your set, usually the laminate. Each revision log entry starts with the garment name, so gilet changes and jersey changes stay apart in one log.
The first gilet sample is ready in 5–7 days, with no extra sampling fee on the first 2 revision rounds.
Files, colour parameters and revision log are yours at handoff. Your own line produces from the pack, or the development manager passes it to cyclingapparelfactory.com, our sister site for bulk production.
Gilet Brief: The Garments, Bands and Choices to Send Us
Three items start the 48-hour clock:
- Garment list: the gilet and every jersey it goes over, with any arm or leg warmers.
- Size chart and size range.
- Race formats or temperature bands: 16–22 °C, 10–16 °C, or both.
Add what you have:
- The jerseys' spec pack, if we developed them; otherwise their size chart and a reference garment.
- Men's and women's versions.
- Front zip: one-way or two-way.
- Back panel: mesh, main body, or leave the proposal to the pattern maker.
- Own rear pocket on the gilet: yes or no.
- Hem gripper: yes or no.
- Colour standard, artwork, and the jersey sponsor positions to carry onto the gilet.
- NDA, if you want one signed before development starts.
You get a first reply within 24 hours on working days. If a starting item is missing, that reply lists everything still needed at once.
Jerseys, Jackets and Warmers That Go With the Gilet
Race fit cycling jersey
the riding block and on-bike check the gilet is drafted and checked on.
Thermal cycling jersey
the brushed-back jersey for 10–16 °C that the gilet often goes over.
Windproof cycling jacket
the sleeved outer layer for 5–10 °C, sharing the laminate card with the gilet.
Race cycling apparel range
every garment by temperature band, including arm and leg warmers and the cycling cap.
Request a Cycling Gilet Feasibility Review
Tell us which jerseys your riders race in and which descents they carry a gilet for. The development manager replies with the jersey the gilet is drafted on, its fit rows, and the laminate and back panel proposal. Request a feasibility review.