Originally Posted by tony2v (Post 19894135)

Our team went with Castelli last year, I wear Large in their "regular" race cut, but their aero stuff I had to go to an XL. The Castelli rep told us that was going to happen.

Originally Posted by Juan Foote (Post 19895250)

I used to love Castelli as a kid, when I was thin as a beanpole. I decided to try to get some new gear from them some years back 1)recalling that I liked them, and 2) because I really dig the scorpion logo

The sizing was, as all else have mentioned, a total joke. I couldn't have fit my sack in those pants without going up an octave...much less putting a leg in. I handed the shorts and shirt to my son. He looked at the sizing and made the comment that he couldn't wear "fat man" size. He tried them on and they were even too tight for him.

I still have the brand new jersey and shorts, unworn in a drawer around here somewhere.

Originally Posted by TimothyH (Post 19893877)

Rapha, Assos and 7Mesh XL bibs all fit me fine. Castelli has to be sized way up and 2XL Sorpasso Wind bib tights fit OK.

2XL Nano Flex 2 bib knickers are absurdly small however, smashing my genitals and digging into my shoulders. I'm not fat but the 3XL Nano Flex knickers fit nicely. I understand needing to size up but 3XL? Really? :rolleyes:

The problem is that the 2XL made in Romania are objectively better made than the 3XL which are made in China. Mesh bib fabric on the Romanian made product is noticeably softer and the stitching on the Chinese made product is downright poor quality.

This isn't about products made in China but about a company like Castelli which claims to be on the cutting edge of high-end gear. Given the price I simply expect better than this.

Romanian made on top, Chinese made on bottom...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dnqbbv7mas...ckers.jpg?dl=1

Chinese on the left, Romanian on the right...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/o4qda754r1...s.002.jpg?dl=1


Lower quality materials, rediculous sizing and inconsistent manufacturing all point to a company more interested in cutting cost than living up to their marketing claims.

Back they go.


-Tim-

Originally Posted by joejack951 (Post 19895343)

Why the resistance to just buying the next larger size?

Originally Posted by Sy Reene (Post 19895024)

Sorry, I misunderstood. Thought you were comparing the Sorpassos (which fit fine I think you said) with the Nanos. And Sorpassos cost a good amount more than Nanos. . Price is generally related to quality. For 7Mesh, Assos and Rapha, who you also referenced, one is probably hard pressed to find a set of bib tights from any of these three makers for under $200, while the Castellis are easy to find well under $100. So I would say price is relevant to discussion if thread is about quality comparisons.

Originally Posted by f4rrest (Post 19895357)

I have some XL Castelli shorts with the simple stitching as pictured above, and it started unraveling after a couple months.

I'm suspicious about the authenticity, now that you've shown that they also provide them with better stitching.

Originally Posted by joejack951 (Post 19895343)

Why the resistance to just buying the next larger size?

Originally Posted by Juan Foote (Post 19895444)

WHAT next larger size?

Originally Posted by WhyFi (Post 19895380)

If you can size up, there's no reason not to, but I've found that, particularly with some of the Italian brands, you run out of runway pretty quickly when they size super small. I wear an L in most t-shirts (though an M in some absurdly 'Merican-sized brands) and the largest sizes of some Euro jerseys are too sausage-casing-esque to fit me, even if they're labeled 3XL.

Originally Posted by WhyFi (Post 19895380)

If you can size up, there's no reason not to, but I've found that, particularly with some of the Italian brands, you run out of runway pretty quickly when they size super small. I wear an L in most t-shirts (though an M in some absurdly 'Merican-sized brands) and the largest sizes of some Euro jerseys are too sausage-casing-esque to fit me, even if they're labeled 3XL.

Originally Posted by TimothyH (Post 19895418)

Yeah, I wasn't clear. Sorry about that. Size has little to do with my frustration but the quality of the two when compared side by side. It is like they are completely different products.

As for price, Assos T.Milleshorts_S7 are $159. 7Mesh sold the MK1 bibs for $100 after introducing the MK2. Rapha had a sale not long ago - Classic II bibshorts were $179 IIRC, maybe a bit more.


-Tim-

Originally Posted by tony2v (Post 19894135)

Our team went with Castelli last year, I wear Large in their "regular" race cut, but their aero stuff I had to go to an XL. The Castelli rep told us that was going to happen.

Originally Posted by caloso (Post 19894025)

The thing is not to compare Castelli Euro-Racer sizing with 'Murican sizing. Here's a "large" Castelli jersey vs. a "large" American golf shirt:

Originally Posted by joejack951 (Post 19895343)

Why the resistance to just buying the next larger size? I don't wear *anything* size large these days. My 32" waist pants, which were snug this spring, have a few inches to spare these days. But the Castelli size large shorts fit and were more comfortable than the 4 other styles I tried (all of which were mediums, my typical size for bike shorts). Discounting a product because the size doesn't make sense to you is really odd behavior. Then again, my wife has been known to do the same... (want to see really oddball sizing? go look at some women's clothes)

Originally Posted by Sy Reene (Post 19896529)

Methinks this issue is of course not with people who've tried on the clothing in a physical store, but those who ordered online, following the size charts posted and then have the P.I.T.A. process of having to return/exchange, because Castelli has a bad track record in providing consistent size charts. Making it worse, even if you know your correct size for one model clothing, it may not work for another model.

Originally Posted by TobinHatesYou (Post 19897347)

I still end up buying small jerseys and small bibs for each at 5'10"

Originally Posted by TimothyH (Post 19893877)

Rapha, Assos and 7Mesh XL bibs all fit me fine. Castelli has to be sized way up and 2XL Sorpasso Wind bib tights fit OK.

2XL Nano Flex 2 bib knickers are absurdly small however, smashing my genitals and digging into my shoulders. I'm not fat but the 3XL Nano Flex knickers fit nicely. I understand needing to size up but 3XL? Really? :rolleyes:

The problem is that the 2XL made in Romania are objectively better made than the 3XL which are made in China. Mesh bib fabric on the Romanian made product is noticeably softer and the stitching on the Chinese made product is downright poor quality.

This isn't about products made in China but about a company like Castelli which claims to be on the cutting edge of high-end gear. Given the price I simply expect better than this.

Romanian made on top, Chinese made on bottom...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dnqbbv7mas...ckers.jpg?dl=1

Chinese on the left, Romanian on the right...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/o4qda754r1...s.002.jpg?dl=1


Lower quality materials, rediculous sizing and inconsistent manufacturing all point to a company more interested in cutting cost than living up to their marketing claims.

Back they go.


-Tim-

Originally Posted by redfooj (Post 19899149)

Issue I take umbrage with is size labeling. In the race aero jerseys I wear M. In standard cut I wear Small.

Why can't I order the same apparent-size for both garments and have 1 fit extremely tight as race/aero should be, and 1 moderately tight as performance garment should be ?

Same thing in normal clothing world where manufacturers straight up recommend people to size up or down...if your US11 shoes fit like US12...why not relabel it US12?

Originally Posted by kbarch (Post 19899196)

Umbrage? Sorry to hear that.

Castelli sizing actually makes a bit of sense to me; different designs are sized (range and fit) to correspond the types of cyclists for whom they are designed. Expecting them to include lineman-size for their pro designs is like expecting Riddell to include jockey-size for theirs. Seriously, among pro cyclists, 185 lbs is XL, and not so many of those 185 lbs are in the upper body, so for an average-sized or broad-chested american man to expect a pro jersey to fit is kind of ridiculous. But then they have their recreational designs, and if you consider the sizes of recreational riders, even the largest pro riders would barely be larger than Medium.