TEN THINGS ABOUT CUSTOM-SUBLIMATED MOTOCROSS GEAR
Today at 03:12 PM
Josh Mosiman needed a new jersey in a hurry, so FXR let him loose in their clothing department. Believe it or not, it turned out great and Josh raced a Canadian 450 National in it.
(1) Concept. Like all cool products in our sport, custom-sublimated gear started as a factory-only item. It took several years since it first was seen on the pros at the highest level, and now everyone can buy their own custom-sublimated jersey. Most of the time you see the top pros wearing a design from the budget-friendly aisle, because the price-point design has been sublimated onto the high-end pants and jersey chassis.
(2) Options. FXR and O’Neal are the only major brands that offer this previously unobtainable product to the public. Canvas is a smaller gear manufacturer with a different strategy. They specialize in completely custom apparel, most notably pants and jerseys.
(3) Heat transfers. The traditional way to get logos on a jersey has been to screen print the jersey by pressing a variety of colors of ink through a silk screen. However, for riders in a rush, iron-on transfers can put any logo, name or number on a jersey by using heat and a press to transfer the desired logo on the jersey. This is been the norm for decades. Although you look cool with your name, number and sometimes sponsor logos on your gear, you’ll notice the heat-transfer logos don’t allow airflow, they are thick and they also stop your jersey from stretching. This isn’t a problem for most riders, only the top pros because they have jerseys covered in logos, would ever feel a difference on the track.
Josh Mosiman prepping for a Canadian 450 National in the jersey he made at FXR the day before.
(4) Benefits. Have you ever tried wearing skinny jeans? Or putting on an old pair of pants that shrunk? Now try swinging a leg over your bike and riding in it. It’s hard enough to ride with the proper technique, you don’t want to waste your energy fighting against restrictive pants to get into the right position in the corners. The modern trend of flexible, skintight gear is built to make you feel cool, comfortable and confident. You want your body to move without restriction. The two performance-related selling points for sublimated gear is that it allows for better airflow and mobility than gear that has heat-transfer logos on it.
(5) FXR. FXR is the only major manufacturer that offers custom pants and jerseys. Currently, only select gear sets are available to be customized. With FXR, you can get your name and number on the back and include logos on the front of the jersey. As for pants, you can get a logo down the back side of each leg. Jersey pricing ranges from $89.99 to $129.99 and the custom pants go for $249.99.
(6) O’Neal. For a few years now, O’Neal has been offering factory-sublimated jerseys. Although they don’t offer a spot for logo sublimation, they do incorporate your number into the shoulders on the sleeves. The sublimated O’Neal jerseys are made in the USA and retail anywhere from $79.99 to $109.99.
Ryan Villopoto raced in custom-made Canvas gear from 2020 until he signed with Fasthouse earlier this year. Ryan raced in Canvas gear to help his brother-in-law, Michael Leib, get added publicity.
(7) Canvas. A few years ago Michael Leib was a top privateer looking for a sponsor to support his racing. He started racing in his all-white gear until he found a sponsor willing to pay him to wear their gear. Today, he runs the industry’s first custom gear company—Canvas MX—offering complete customization of the pants and jersey with no limits on colors or designs. You literally can print your face on a jersey. It’s $76.99 for a jersey and $204.99 for the pants.
The design is printed upside down and then matched up with blank pieces of jersey fabric. From there the ink is heat transfered into the fabric before being cutout and sewn together.
(8) Printing process. The design must be printed upside down on a transfer paper, which is then matched up with a blank piece of jersey fabric and then loaded into a heat-controlled press. The heat from the press transfers the upside-down ink and designs off of the paper, and into the fabric right side up. The design is then cut out of the fabric with a laser cutter into about 10 different pieces, which have to be sewn together.
(9) Durability. Because the gear is created in a cut-and-sew, all-over dye-sublimation process, the design isn’t merely on top of the jersey; it is fully transferred onto the previously blank fabric. This means it will not peel, crack or fade. This process also won’t leave wrinkles or creases, and there is no leftover texture from the design.
(10) Style factor. While it’s true the quality of the sublimated FXR, O’Neal and Canvas gear is superior to the same gear with traditional heat-transfer logos, it’s also true that most riders won’t feel a difference on the track and their lap times won’t improve. The only reason to pay extra for a sublimated jersey is for the style factor. There’s nothing cooler than wearing a jersey with your name or logo sublimated onto the fabric.
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