At the end of last year, new cycling kit and off-the-bike fashion brand BBUC launched in Vienna, Austria. Yes, the company’s name stands for Brilliant Brilliant Unicorn Cycling and their Spring/Summer 2017 clothing line is titled OutdoorDisco. With naming like that we certainly weren’t expecting much in the way of conservative riding kit, but were pleasantly surprised there’s substance behind the flashy aesthetics as well. Plus, a nice collaboration with Legor Cicli for a custom steel bike in their Fictional Nation team colors…
BBUC is actually the iterative growth of what started out as bunch of cyclists meeting for regular rides in Vienna. They ended up developing a club kit design for their riders, and then realized that by pooling knowledge from their cyclists they had strong opinions on cycling kits, and the actual expertise to make something better. They wanted something that was a bit self-ironic, but still a serious approach to cycling, fashion, and their own subculture.
The result was bringing together design sensibilities, fashion industry connections, and contacts to fabric suppliers & manufacturers that turned a bunch of ideas into real high performing kit. Starting out for SS17 the OutdoorDisco cycling kit is mostly made up of a single technical short sleeve jersey, a pair of premium bib shorts, and a long sleeve skinsuit that pulls the two together.
The flagships of the designs are the Fictional Nation jerseys that create a classic color block design as the flag of an imagined country and applies it as if you are out riding for your nation. The jersey itself grew out of the extremely light & breathable fabric they found after being dissatisfied with kit you could customize. The soft & stretchy Italian microfiber fabric makes for a close fit and one that disappears on your back. The flexibility of the fabric let BBUC limit the number of seams, especially across the shoulder for more comfort riding. The jersey gets a full length zip, silicone gripper at the rear, and a 3+1 pocket layout. The Fictional Nations jerseys come in two color iterations for now, plus a third version as the club team BBURD in gray and fourth with the team unicorn in pink all for 140€. Simple white and black versions are also available for 20€ less.
The 140€ shorts carry over the same idea of lightweight fabrics, minimal look, and a premium seamless chamois pad to make a good road riding option in hot weather. The five panel design is held in place by a set of light mesh bib straps and 3cm elastic grippers at the legs. The 280€ skinsuit kind of pairs the two together, going with full long sleeves for the max aero advantage, whether you are fighting the wind in a cross race or a time trial.
After the basics, BBUC added a few accessories to tie it all together. Using the same light fabric as the jerseys, sets of 30€ arm screens give a bit more versatility to the short sleeve jerseys and offer sun protection in matching colors. BBUC also decided to make their own 45€ mesh polyester baselayer, as they found a fabric that they felt worked well with their jersey fabric and let them provide a complete kit. They even add on some 15€ Purist bottle to represent your Fictional Nation.
Beyond the bike, there are plenty of other extensions of their designs. BBUC has a line of T-shirts that print some contemporary art from some of the premier artists in their circle, as well as some other minimally inspired designs. They also have some pretty expensive and tech-heavy denim and a Schoeller bomber jackets. Each of which takes a pretty classic off the bike design and trims it back with cuts & sleeves that make them double up on the bike as well.
All of the kit is made in Europe, and available direct from Brilliant Brilliant Unicorn.
Legor Cicli
As for the Legor Cicli bike, BBUC worked with Italian custom steel frame builder Mattia Paganotti to craft the team race bike, built around a set of custom finished ENVE wheels. With a modern disc brake, thru-axle cross bike, the BBUC team is rolling in style on custom painted wheels, frame & fork in their Fictional National colors.
Oh yeah, and Space Unicorns and marshmallow lasers, if so desired…
Thanks to Parry Grip that this exists and to Brianne Drouhard for the animation.
