Which clothing manufacturers do properly small sizes?

[MajorMantra]

I've been shopping for various bits of cycling kit for the past couple of months and over and over I'm running up against problems with sizing. Thing is, although I'm average height (about 5'8.5") I have a 33ish in chest a 27ish in waist. Most manufacturers seem to start their sizing around a 30-32" waist and a 36" chest which for most garments is too big for me.

I have some De Marchi shorts that fit well and some Altura bibs that fit ok. My small dhb jerseys are perfectly comfortable but a little baggier than they're supposed to be. At the moment I'm after a decent lightweight breathable windproof like the Montane Featherlite Velo or the Campag Heritage Ultralight (which is really cool looking by the way) but both would be too big. The Montane is theoretically available in XS which might work but nobody seems to carry it.

Any suggestions for other places to look?

Cheers,
Matthew

 

[Joe]

I'm a similar size (5ft9, 34" chest, 29ish waist) and have had similar problems.
For jerseys I now almost exclusively wear Santini team jerseys in S from Prendas. These are for 34-36 inch chests and fit me perfectly. They also do an XS for 32-34.

For bibs I wear Assos in S. They are quite tight vertically and shorter in the leg than I would like but on the bike they are amazingly comfy and don't move around atall. I also have some Santini's in XS (Prendas again) which are a very similar fit (though the pad is nowhere near as nice!).

I actually have a Montane featherlite something or other (water but not wind proof I think) in XS and it's not bad. Quite slim but I find it rides up high at the back which is why I switched to a Gore packlite with a "tail". The Gore fits perfectly btw but other things I've had of theirs in S are massive!

Hope thats useful. Have a good nose around Prendas as they give accurate sizes for all their clothes and stock the xs stuff.

 

[MajorMantra]

Thanks Joe, that's a useful suggestion, some of their jerseys and bibs look really good. By the way looking back at a previous thread of mine I see that you recommended their arm warmers and they turned out to be perfect for me - cheers for that.

Prendas don't however seem to have what I want in the way of windproofs. I want something stuffable (i.e. which can be folded into a small pouch) that's nice and close fitting. Come to think of it I'd quite like a gilet that meets those criteria as well.

Matthew

EDIT: It looks as thought the Santini ICE Klear jacket might fit the bill, though they don't list XS as in stock. Might enquire...

 

[MajorMantra]

Am waiting on a reply from Prendas. In the meantime, anyone else? There have got to be more than 2 skinny cyclists on CC.

Matthew

 

[jimboalee]

Try this lot....

http://www.childrenscycleclothing.co.uk/index.htm

 

[MajorMantra]

Try this lot....

http://www.childrenscycleclothing.co.uk/index.htm

I'm not too proud to consider wearing kids clothes but it doesn't actually work - they always end up being way too short in sleeve/leg/body. Plus the selection in kids stuff is very limited and not generally very good quality.

Matthew

 

[Ben M]

I hear that ASDA do a good selection that will fit your needs.

Pies and cakes should do the job

 

[HLaB]

You could always go to another country I got a really good fitting XS top in Australia.

 

[jimboalee]

Solihull CC get their stuff from Giordana 'Custom made'.

The smallest MEN'S size is XS, or size 1 Italian which is a 34" chest measurement.

It would be lucky to find this size on a LBS rack.

There are these as well,

http://www.aerotechdesigns.com/bikejersey.htm

I bought a couple of 'budget' jerseys from aerotechdesigns. They were VERY lightweight, nee, almost see-through.

 

[jimboalee]

I've bought from these as well..

http://www.velowear.com/help.aspx#sizing


Note, their sizing is more 'snug' that other brands.

I wear L Giordana ( 40" chest ), but I needed XL from Velowear for the same Armpit - Armpit dimension.

Velowear's XS might fit a 31 - 33" chest

 

[redjedi]

A lot of the Italian brands are smaller than they should be.

I've got a Briko XL jersey, which is a snug fit (I'm 6ft 44" chest). I recently bought another Briko one but it was far too tight in XL.
My Pearl Izumi jersey is a Large and is a lot looser.

Or as Ben suggests, eat more and buy normal clothes

 

[MajorMantra]

Or as Ben suggests, eat more and buy normal clothes

I eat whatever I want, whenever I want. My weight never changes. Anyway, I rather like my natural hill-climb advantage.

Matthew