ABD Voler Try-On Party - Orders Due 11/8 and a Quick Review of the new DX Bibs [update]

The ABD 2009 Voler Try-On and Pre-Order party is Saturday, November 1st, 5pm at President Farrell’s house! Larry Lorenz is bringing all his 2009 Voler Clothing samples so that club members can try them on before they order.

At the party we’ll have order forms, beverages and hors d’oeuvres. Feel free to bring an app to pass!

Winter Voler Orders will be due next Saturday, November 8th! Forms will be are now available for download later today from www.ABDcycling.com . Just go to Members/Forms>Clothing Forms in the menu. We are again offering the credit card option via PayPal for anyone who’d prefer it.

Sizing/Fabric/Chamois Updates:
1) After going with a slightly longer jersey design in 2008 Voler has returned to the shorter jersey design for 2009.

2) Voler has developed a new DX high-end short model that we’re hoping they make in blue! More details coming soon and you can read my early take on the DX short below. Larry will also have a few pairs to try on at the party.

3) The default chamois for our clothing order is the ION chamois. The Torino is still available but please make a note of it if you’re prefer this one (and it is $5 cheaper).
(Also, for those who haven’t ordered new bibs in a year or so, the sizes went bigger. Most people have moved down a size, so that people who wore smalls now wear XS, people who wore mediums wear smalls, and so on.)

Style/Color/Design Updates:
None- you all look great!

So speaking of those DX shorts...
I had the pleasure of receiving a pair of “test” DX bibs that I was able to try out during my commutes to work this week. And it’s a pretty simple verdict: these shorts feel awesome. The combination of the new fabric and the 10-panel construction just makes the shorts feel more natural in fit and feel than a lot of the other shorts I’ve tried. I’m not sure when or if they are going to be able to sublimate this fabric like their other shorts, but I sure hope they do!

UPDATE: I spoke with the rep at Voler and it looks like they only have the DX Material in black right now, but hope to have it in Navy early next year. This means we should probably be able to get DX spec'ed ABD shorts and bibs in our Spring order. The up-charge will only be $15 a pair.

TEST UPDATE: After watching my tan-lines poke out from under these shorts for a couple days I knew these were coming up short compared to Voler's standard bottoms. The rep confirmed that since the DX fabric is a compression fabric it doesn't stretch as much- so although they use the same pattern to cut the fabric for the shorts, the end result is that when you put them on they aren't going to extend as far down the leg. This translates to about 3/4" on my pair of XS bibs.