Does anyone know where to buy plus sized jerseys? I'm a size 14 on the bottom, and size 10-12 on the top. I also am having trouble finding size 36DD sport bras.

That's an interesting question. My experience is that cycling sizes are quite different from other clothing sizes. I wear a jersey 2 sizes bigger than in street clothing. I would check bikenashbar, performance cycle, colorado cyclist, and probikekit.com.....they all seem to have a good selection of ladies clothing. As for the bra.....hmmmmm...a gal I dated was around that size, and she wore Champion bras..she got them on line at the Hanes site. by the way, I'm a guy...but, I get loads of bike catalogs......good luck

HellonWheels, please let me know if you find anything good on the plus size pants. Up to this point I've had to us guys shorts so they will fit.

I've completely given up on finding plus sized cycling gear and necessity being the mother of invention, have taken to sewing my own. It's not hard if you have a home serger, which I do. Most decent fabric stores carry Lycra/Spandex and in more than just black if you're very daring -- check the swimsuit fabric section. I've never bought fabric "online" because I like to feel the drape before I buy, so I can't attest to that option.

Mountain Equipment Co-op (www.mec.ca) sells "replacement" chamois for about $6 Cdn, although it might be one of the articles they won't ship outside Canada. Check the website.

Don't sew? Find a competent and slightly wierd seamstress who likes to take on the different projects. Be prepared to sacrifice an old pair of shorts and jersey for her/him to tear apart for a sloper. It doesn't have to be ones that are your size. Anyone with semi-good pattern drafting skills can adjust since cycling clothes are built with "negative ease". If a friend will donate a set that are worn to threads, that'll do. The seamstress just needs to see seam placement and ratios of length front to back etc. Once that's aced, get some really "cheapo butt ugly material on sale for a reason because I wouldn't be caught dead in it" for the first pair because they won't work right. The Mark II version is usually perfect. It's an easy job -- a pair of shorts takes about 3/4 hr from "I need new shorts" to "Yup, these fit." including coffee breaks. There's nothing friggy or complicated in these designs.

I haven't tackled the sports bra issue yet -- one of my pet peeves since I'm large busted and can't ever get one that's long enough to do the job without tearing my shoulders to shreds.

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Insanity has its price -- Please have exact change.

OK, here is where I FINALLY found nice 36DD sport bras:

http://www.biggerbras.com

And they were on sale too, for 15 dollars each!

As for bike shorts, I have only been able to find them at http://www.roamans.com in my size (US size 14, which is a plus size Medium). Kmart has them too pretty cheap, but I need to buy their womens XL size (I think the brand is Athletic Works).

But as for jerseys? Havent found anything.

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"He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior"--Confucius

Check out www.teamestrogen.com -- they have a variety of plus sized jerseys, shorts, sports bras.

Mountain Equipment Co-op (www.mec.ca) sells "replacement" chamois for about $6 Cdn, although it might be one of the articles they won't ship outside Canada. Check the website.

I have found a website here in the US that sells chamois replacement: basic pad for $15 and deluxe pad for $25. www.hiddenbaysports.com

I also found that there are a couple of patterns that can be used for the shorts, but they would need to be modified to include more panels. I did find a pattern for men's biking jersey that is very similiar to what I wear.

Once that's aced, get some really "cheapo butt ugly material on sale for a reason because I wouldn't be caught dead in it" for the first pair because they won't work right. The Mark II version is usually perfect.


I have one question, when I make up the "trial" copy, can I make that up in muslin with no ease allowed, or do I need to make the practice one with the 2 way stretch material?

Because cycling shorts and tights are designed with negative ease -- that is they are cut smaller than their final size because they are to stretch to fit tightly -- using muslin wouldn't work in my mind. You'd just end up with a mock up that was at least a size too small.

Jerseys? Hmmmmmmmm.....a little more ease in the design so you might get away with it but it would be one snug fit across the bust/chest and through the shoulders. I suspect the first go with 2 way stretch would still be a little wonky because the hand of lyrcra vs muslin is so different. Personally, I'd stick with a similar stretch material for the mockup.

Bonus points right now that it's fall in this region, my local fabric store is practically giving away "bathing suit" material. Last check was just over $1/m. No, I really don't want a cycling jersey in the putrid and gaudy colour I just bought but for price, I can afford to experiment, namely with this little ditty....

One thing I did see on the web recently that was brilliant (and I've forgotten the website, sorry) was custom designed cycling jerseys with a neat-o improvement. Instead of fastening the sleeves in the traditional manner, they've rotated the sleeve cap in the armscythe so the sleeve opening is rotated forward. Once the cycling position is adopted, there would be no bunching or straining of fabric to accomodate the arms forward posture. Bloody brilliant idea. Wish I'd thought of it!

About those shorts patterns: could you post the name and pattern number for me if it's a national pattern brand (Simplicity, McCalls etc)...I'd like to take a look at them.

Thanks,

K

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Insanity has its price -- Please have exact change.

This is a problem for me also, I'm large on top and can't find a "real" biking jersey to fit. They all run small and don't even seem to come in the larger sizes. Do the companies think that only tiny people like to bike ride?

Terrybikes.com makes lots of stuff for plus sizes - great tops and bottoms, great colors and they really fit! You could also try title9sports.com for many different sports bras in many sizes - also great for us DD girls!

Sorry it took so long, but I do have some patterns and websites for you to look at. The first one may be the best one. It is from The Green Pepper Co. http://www.thegreenpepper.com/adults.html
#401 & #402 are bicycle racing jerseys, one for men's and one for women's. I bought the men's one because that is all they had at the store and I had not yet found their website. What you can't see on the website is that the jerseys do have the 3 pockets on the back like the store bought ones.

Stretch and Sew also has patterns for shorts...#313 https://www.gmidesign.com/stretch/313.htm

And #304 https://www.gmidesign.com/stretch/304.htm

You should not have any problems getting any of these patterns, you may even find them at your local fabric stores.

In terms of design, I have a mountain bike shirt that has a gusset under the arm, so there is no seam there. I really like that, and will modify any pattern that I use to be that way. I have yet to see a shirt with the armscythe moved forward. I am not sure I would want the sleeve "twisted" forward like that.

I hope that this helps you. I know that I now have many ideas to try out with winter. Thanks for your ideas.

Debi

I found a jersey on sale at Sierra Trading Post - at www.sierratradingpost.com -- item#25167 in L (14-16) and XL (18-20) for $22.36. They look like nice jerseys - normal retail price was $90.00.