A wife and husband tag-team turned global cycling brand, Cycology offers striking, design-led cycling kit that doesn’t compromise on technical performance.
What started as a design project for a fashion brand headed up by a keen cyclist has evolved over the past decade, and is now the choice of many style-conscious riders around the world.
A decade of Cycology
From humble beginnings in 2012 with a dozen T-shirt designs, growing customer pleas led Cycology into producing technical cycling kit.
Cycology aligned itself from the start with a factory team that the brand still uses today – a team that were so excited about Cycology’s proposition that they offered small product runs as a passion project to get them started.
Fast forward a decade and there’s a huge range of Cycology kit available, from road cycling apparel to printed handlebar tape, saddle bags and mountain biking clothing, all featuring its proudly original designs. The brand is now distributed internationally beyond its home in Australia to Europe and North America.
From canvas to kit
Cycology
Endurance cyclist, runner, triathlete and former commercial artist Sarina Tomchin is the person behind the unique designs that set Cycology apart from other kit brands.
“I find inspiration everywhere,” Sarina explains. “When riding my bike, there’s constant stimulation and ideas. Due to Covid, I was riding a lot on my own, and there’s plenty of time to think about how cycling makes you feel: happy, joyous, fit, healthy and motivated.”
Group rides often yield conversations that lead to ideas for Sarina, as does listening to music and enjoying poetry, art, books and newspaper headlines. Designs have even originated from customer requests, with the brand’s loyal fan base offering up some novel concepts.
“I’ve done artwork recently for a David Bowie, a Led Zeppelin and a Motown jersey,” Sarina reveals. “At my studio, I have a big artwork on paper nearly finished that is based on poetry, graffiti and sketches from one of my many notebooks in lead and red pencil.”
Sarina and her husband Michael launched Cycology to share the thoughts, emotions and feelings that cyclists, runners and triathletes experience. “Through the artwork,” Sarina explains, “we try to portray these thoughts, emotions and the mantras we live by, hoping they’ll resonate with our potential customers.”
Where most modern kits are designed digitally, Sarina takes to paper and canvas with her ideas, with a true multimedia approach including pencil, paint and oils.
Once complete, Sarina’s hand-drawn designs are then photographed and laid onto digital garment templates in Adobe Photoshop. The large-format files are then sent to Cycology’s factory to produce a run of samples.
The sample kit is then worn and laundered by a team of wear testers to make sure they live up to the brand’s high standards, and any tweaks are made before final production.
Fashion and function
Besides creating the original artwork, Sarina puts her background in textiles and pattern-making to good use during the design process.
“The fabrics and tech [Cycology uses] have always been super-important to me and we try extremely hard to get our fabrics to feel so good you don’t necessarily ‘feel’ them while wearing them,” says Sarina.
“We want soft, light, sweat-wicking, stretchy-in-every-direction fabrics and we’ve also been trying wherever possible to be environmentally friendly.”
Besides the material choice, safety features are also paramount for Sarina, with high visibility and reflective elements woven into the design of each product, and bright, fluoro colours featuring heavily throughout the range.
“I want to be seen for miles when I’m on my bike, whether it’s dark or light,” Sarina says.
“Too many friends have been hit, maimed or killed by motorists, which was the reason I painted ‘See Me’ with tears. I never intended to make it into a kit, but a customer asked us to make the artwork into a jersey.
“At the time, I didn’t think it could work, but it has. I love wearing it, and it is one of our best sellers. Pure emotion, pure colour.”
Cycology offers an extensive range of kit and designs for men and women, with artwork and cuts tailored for each. The goal? To make cycling a more comfortable, and more fashionable sport, encouraging more women who want to look and feel good on bikes.
Sustainability is also a key factor in the design, with the team sourcing recycled fabrics as well as recycling as much as possible in-house.
“Personally, we also do as much as possible, we only eat plants, we recycle madly, mend, fix, compost, reuse,” says Sarina. “Every little thing we can do helps the planet we love and we ride whenever, wherever we can.”
Cycology range overview
From complete road cycling kits to more trail-oriented pieces, a whole raft of accessories and casual wear, there’s plenty to feast your eyes on with the Cycology range.
Frida short-finger gloves
- £20 / €24.90 / $24.95 / AU$34.95
Who said matchy-matchy has to stop at accessories? Available in an impressive range of designs, Cycology’s short-finger cycling gloves feature foam-padded palms with a grippy silicone finish to give you both comfort and control on the bike.
For cooler weather, consider the fleece-lined and windproof winter full-finger cycling gloves also on offer.
Road cycling jerseys
- From £70 / €84.90 / $99.95 / AU$129.95
Choose between the standard performance fit, figure-fitting aerodynamic race fit and more casual relaxed-fit jerseys on offer from Cycology, with myriad designs for men’s and women’s cuts.
There are also long-sleeve and winter windproof jerseys to keep you cycling in comfort throughout the winter months.
Cycling socks
- £15 / €16.90 / $16.95 / AU$24.95
We cyclists love a fun pair of socks, and there are both printed, reflective and more plain options from Cycology. All measure 18cm from the ankle, a popular length among riders, and the printed socks use a light compression fit to keep them in place while you ride.
Mountain bike jerseys
- From £40 / €44.90 / $49.95 / AU$69.95
Why save the fun kit just for the road? Cycology has recently branched out into looser-fit, off-road jerseys, with both short-sleeve and long-sleeve options for your favourite MTB and gravel rides.
A sweat-wicking, lightweight mesh material is used for the mountain biking jerseys to keep you cool and fresh while shredding, whether that’s a local cross-country loop, enduro race or simply hitting the trails with friends.
Casual T-shirts
- £22 / €26.90 / $24.95 / AU$39.95
Share your love for all things bike with Cycology’s line-up of soft combed cotton T-shirts featuring original artwork. Road, mountain bike or triathlon: there’s something for everyone.