The most astute of followers have noticed over the course of the year I’ve been trialing some new DC Rainmaker branded cycling and running gear. It’s been a number of years since the last cycling kit was available, and plenty of you have been asking for something to be available again. Not only that, but also a running technical shirt as well!
We partnered with CIOVITA for these kits, which makes high-end cycling and running kits for many teams, as well as also events like the famed Cape Epic race in Cape Town, South Africa, and more. The company is based in Cape Town as well, though the kits ship globally with customs pre-paid ahead of time. I’ve been testing kits since back in January, in some cases literally beating the crap out of them to ensure the quality is what I want. We made the kits first available at the DCR Open House back in July, and then expanded it to DCR Supporters shortly after that. Since then many of them have posted to Strava and elsewhere sporting the new goodness!
In short, the first collection includes (both men’s and women’s variants):
– Cycling jersey
– Cycling bibs (regular)
– Cycling cargo bibs
– Cycling gilet
– Cycling socks
– Running technical shirt
I say ‘collection’, because we’re going to launch some other limited-run styles throughout the year, but this kit is the main DC Rainmaker kit. As well, we hope to add a few cold weather options coming up this fall.
On the cycling side, the kits are available in a wide range of sizing. Do check the sizing charts listed at the bottom of each page, because as always, it varies by exact product. For example, my wife is wearing a small cycling bib, and a S cycling jersey (seen below) arguably she needs an XS in this style. You can mix and match. Meanwhile, I’m wearing XL of both.
Of course, my favorite part of the new kit is probably the cycling cargo short bib. That’s been amazeballs for me and carrying cameras, drones, and even just nutrition. It’s become my defacto place for both action cams and drones, but on the nutrition front, I find having it there serves as a better reminder.
Finally, over on the running side, the technical shirt is incredibly lightweight. It was a requirement for me to have something for the runners this go around, as many people requested it over the years (heck, including myself).
Also, when you cannonball in the water post-run, it dries out really quickly in the sun. I mean, just in case that’s a factor in your purchasing decision. I can confirm it’s cannonball-certified.
Lastly, in terms of logistics, the best part is there are no pre-orders or such. It’s just instantly available, at least until initial stock runs out. Ciovita ships globally, and any applicable customs taxes/duties are pre-included in the final price you see. Through all the help of DCR Supporters and those who came to the Open House, we’ve been ensuring no snags in the shipping to many countries around the world. All shipments are done via FedEx or DHL, and typically take 2-3 days to arrive.
Again, this is a huge difference from the past where you had to pre-order and wait some weeks. This time around, we’ve pre-stocked everything, so you can have instant gratification (well, at least until the first lot sells out – so…ya know, act quick!), but we will continue to re-stock as long as you continue to buy!
Shop the DC Rainmaker Collection here!!!
Thanks again to everyone who’s given feedback on the designs in testing over the last 6-8 months, as well as those who’ve already purchased the kits. Definitely tag me on social media or Strava if you’re wearing one, so I can share it out!
Have a great weekend all!
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Dang. Was hoping for one of those hats from your TDF reports…..lol
Ahh, we have those for sale at the DCR Open Houses! We haven’t quite figured out a good way to distribute them otherwise.
Easy to see that this apparel is “made by cyclist/runners”, for cyclist and runners “. Kudos deluxe!
Thanks!!!
No blue? 😢💙
(Eheh I know it didn’t sell)
Blue is definitely top of the list for some of the one-off limited edition type designs we’re working on. Trust me, I’m a big fan of blue!
Got my running shirt quickly and had a bunch of compliments on it at my group run club! It feels great and dries quickly, can’t wait for more gear to come out!
Awesome – thanks Stephen!!!!
Ordered cycling kit! Limited quantities left!
Sweet, thanks Mike for the support!
Love how thorough your reviews are and between cycling, running, hiking and diving it feels like you’ve built a sweet life. Congrats!
It’s hard to complain!
Awesome stuff — any chance of a non-race-fit jersey at some point (ideally with a zip pocket!) for those of us who winter well (all year round…)?
Yeah, we toyed with it. For the first run, we kinda wanted to judge exact demand, and then have some other options we can expand into down the road for sure.
The washing instructing’s for the running shirt say “hand wash only” any experience in sticking it into a washer?
Much to Ciovita’s chagrin, I have 100% ignored those instructions. I throw it into our all-in-one European wash and bake unit (washer/dryer combo) every single time, and have been doing it almost every day. I had a pre-prod shirt (a blue one actually) that I wear constantly (still) from sometime I think round February. And then the DCR red one from sometime this spring. They both look great still, despite my attempts at killing them.
Obviously, Ciovita would prefer I didn’t do that. But, I’m just being real that it all looks great thus far. Admittedly, if you did that for 3-4 years, it might not look so great.
The only thing that slightly impacted one jersey is that on a ride I did into the mountains for a few days, I wore a CamelBak that had some loose velcro across the chest I didn’t notice, which pulled on the fabric a bit (they were 8-10hr days). But definitely not from the constant washing/drying.
Hand wash only seems like a miss, I was on board to that point. Love the site, I’ll catch the kits the next time around.
Hey Ray, any chance of some basic T-shirts with DCR on them? Possibly like a lot of readers I’m very particular about what I wear on the bike, but love to support people with off bike t-shirts or other casual wear.
Yup! I’ve been testing out some of their different fabric options in regular shirts and sweat shirts. I think we’re close there.
If possible, can the cycling kit come in non-race fit versions?
Thanks Marc, we’re definitely looking at that!
Cargo bibs. Yay! That’s all I buy anymore and wear ’em road riding, gravel biking, and mtb. It’s just so handy to have those pockets, and there’s no downside.
These look great
Will you be creating a matching Zwift kit?
I don’t honestly know if Zwift is still doing custom kits in-game. They stopped for a while. I’ll need to poke.
Doh, I missed the cargo shorts when I ordered, that would have been nice. I’ll wait for some of the special runs to see if I order again. I can vouch delivery was pretty fast, especially for international (I’m in the US). I very much like the cycling jersey. I’m not a huge fan of the running shirt, the sleeves are a bit long for my taste. But thats a personal preference, not anything against the shirt, a singlet would maybe be more to my liking. The thing I like best is supporting DCR. Ray you do a GREAT job on reviews and helping the community I love, thank you! ordering some gear to have people ask me what is DCR is my way to spread the word. Note I still have the previous kit from the other vendor, I like that one too!
Awesome, looks great though!
I hadn’t thought about the sleeve length, I guess it seemed normal to me. 😂 Maybe I’m just tall! I thought about a singlet, as Bobbie prefers that greatly (though inversely, I mostly dislike wearing them).
Thanks for the support, and glad to hear it came quickly!