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Why a blog about cycling clothing? Why Gobik?
If I look back, I can appreciate the great change that cycling has taken since I became a fan, back in 1991… Then, everything was simpler, but not better. It was more or less like this: you bought a bicycle at your favorite local store, in my case «Bicicletas Prieto» (Valencia, Spain), and at the same time, you acquired a brand-new cycling kit, a kind of brightly colored alien costume.
The standard outfit used to include:
- A helmet, the one that was, usually 1 model.
- A simple black culotte, strapless of course.
- A maillot with all the advertising that was possible to include in it.
Ahhh the maillot… deserves comment to part. Those of us who were bitten by the cycling bug, we saw on television the Tour, the Giro, the Vuelta a España… Those great teams of professionals, with those jerseys of such striking colors, little design and a lot, a lot of publicity. And we wanted one the same, or at least, of that style.
In those wonderful years, cycling clothing was not specialized, or at least not to the extreme. There was what there was, which was enough… Today, as in almost any aspect of cycling, the offer is overwhelming: designs, materials, technology … everything has evolved in a gigantic way.
This is one of the reasons why I decided to create a blog about cycling equipment. Read real experiences, see detailed photos, that will tell me more than what the manufacturer says.
When it was clear to me to set up this blog, I began to think of a cycling clothing brand that I was passionate about. I had no doubts: Gobik.
Why Gobik?
Gobik began his journey in the world of cycling manufacturing custom clothing for teams and clubs back in 2010. So far everything normal. When I met them in 2014, I thought, well, one more Spanish brand is born, let’s see if they are lucky … There were many others, particularly we had already worked in our club with 3 different ones, creating personalized kits for members. But Gobik was different. From the beginning they bet on three things that I consider essential if you want to last in this world:
- Quality in materials.
- Very careful design.
- 100% Spanish manufacturing.
All the other brands that I knew kept on stumbling, but they, every year, grew and grew. Improving materials, improving designs, maintaining Spanish manufacturing.
It is not necessary to review the recent history of the brand, its international rise, the brutal quality/price ratio that it treasures. But I would like to talk about two other points that many people do not know:
Social responsability
They have known how to take care of and take advantage of their potential as ambassadors to carry out social campaigns:
- HEROES Y CRUZ ROJA ESPAÑOLA -CRISIS COVID19-: a jersey with a special design that served to allocate 100% of the proceeds to CRUZ ROJA ESPAÑOLA and its Red Cross Plan Responds to Coronavirus Emergency.
- MI PRINCESA RETT ASSOCIATION: Special editions that serve as an instrument to obtain funds and give visibility to this rare disease.
- SAVE THE CHILDREN: providing funds with various campaigns for the care of the most vulnerable children, at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
- PELAYO VIDA CHALLENGE: kits that have dressed women on expeditions to remote places to launch a message of hope in the face of breast cancer and disseminate the benefits of a healthy life attached to sports, before and after the disease and its treatment.
Sustainability
When they develop their increasingly durable products, they think not only about the benefits for the user, but also about all the resources that will not be necessary to use tomorrow.
- They work with Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX® certifications that ensure that the threads, fabrics or foams do not contain any element that is harmful to health.
- Also with a supply chain under the bluesign® system where the safety of people (workers and end users) and the minimization of environmental impact are the backbones.
- Meryl® Skinlife, used in the PURE line of socks, is a fabric free of solvent chemicals and ensures zero contamination by microplastics.
- Gobik focuses its activity on a single production center in the Region of Murcia (Spain), with nearby suppliers (regional, national or European) to reduce the emissions derived from the supply logistics.
- Packaging in recycled and recyclable materials to globally deliver more than 50,000 annual orders to Authorized Points of Sale, Gobik Custom Services clients and online buyers at gobik.com.
For all this and much more, Gobik.
