Remap might not be the first name you think of when looking for a jersey, but we can guarantee you’ve seen an ever-growing number of their eye-catching tops at the races over the last few years.
Jersey-based and rider-owned, Remap Clothing are making strides towards their goal of perfection. Pete had a chat with Remap co-owner and ardent bicycle racer, Rich Payne to see what Remap is all about.
1.Who is Rich Payne?
A Somerset born and bred mountain biker now living in Jersey still riding, racing and just generally loving life.
2. How did Remap come about?
After looking to buy some new gear I could not find anything I liked, it was either too expensive or boring and so I thought “how hard can it be to make your own?” A conversation with a friend and a few weeks later, Remap was born. As I turns out it’s really hard but we’re chuffed to have made the commitment.
“We put together criteria of what our requirements were and after weeks of research, e-mails, calls, and enough samples to keep us kitted for life we decided on an Italian-based manufacturer.”
3. What’s your background in cycling?
I got into riding and racing at a pretty young age and was lucky enough to have a wicked group of friends around me that also loved the sport and things just progressed as they do. I entered my first race at 12. Since then have had a crack at most style of riding and racing but loving the current enduro movement and having a great time racing EWS and meeting new people.
4. How did you choose the factories to work with?
We put together criteria of what our requirements were and after weeks of research, e-mails, calls, and enough samples to keep us kitted for life we decided on an Italian based manufacturer. We chose them as they have the latest materials and production methods, meaning we could make what we wanted finished to the standard we expected.
5. How many people make up Remap and what do they do?
Two principles, myself Rich Payne and co-founder Mark Evans. However we work together with a designer, and photographer who are also importantly riders and understand what we are about. We also have our enduro team riders, Jake Gilfillan and Toby Luce who are constantly testing our gear and giving valuable feedback.
6. What did you have to sacrifice to get to this stage?
A goat….. No not really that’s weird, as with all new ventures it takes up time and money but nothing that we wouldn’t want to give up to hopefully make something a reality.
7. Did you have day jobs that you had to give up?
We haven’t given up our day jobs, but luckily we’re both self employed so we have the freedom to put the time into Remap. Ultimately we’re both hoping that Remap will be what we focus on solely.
8. Are you working alongside to make ends meet?
Like we said we both still work but this gives us the opportunity to put the money Remap makes back into further product development.
“Having ridden all types of riding, including motocross, we knew what the clothing needed to do and how we wanted it to perform. Translating that to an Italian factory or even knowing the names of the materials we wanted to use was something that’s taking a lot of getting used to.”
9. How make or break is the company for you?
It’s not a question of make or break as that makes it sound like its all or nothing. It’s a passion that we both share to be involved in cycling in as many ways as we can. Remap is our way of giving back and expressing our personal tastes.
10. How did you learn what you needed to know to get your own company off the ground and the clothing in hand?
With both of us being self employed already we’ve both got a good understanding of getting a business off the ground and running one. As far as the clothing side of Remap goes, that’s been the biggest learning curve of all. Having ridden all types of riding including motocross, we knew what the clothing needed to do and how we wanted it to perform. Translating that to an Italian factory or even knowing the names of the materials we wanted to use was something that’s taking a lot of getting used to. We’ve have pretty much nailed that now, that’s not to say were still not learning.
13. How many samples did you have before getting to the production run?
Good question. We’ve had so many samples. It is essential to us that the cut, fit and quality of the materials are excellent and so we try to test as much as possible so we can see what works. One of our primary focuses is on delivering the best gear at a price that is appealing and this means lots of samples and lots of testing.
14. Beyond the samples, what form did your testing take?
Testing is always ongoing, we’re constantly discussing ways to improve our gear, and the majority of testing is done by simply getting out there and putting the miles in. Not to mention customer feedback has been great, the benefits of being a small company is that we can really take on board what people think and implement it into new lines. This is one of the advantages of having an enduro team as they’re using the gear all the time and riding it until it dies.
“One of the things we’ve learnt is to focus on one thing and do that well. So for now we’ll be focusing on our MTB gear and our upcoming summer short sleeve MTB jerseys.”
15. Where next for Remap? How do you plan to go about getting extra helpers etc. etc.?
We’ve learnt a lot already and we’re always striving for perfection. One of the things we’ve learnt is to focus on one thing and do that well. So for now we’ll be focusing on our MTB gear and our upcoming summer short sleeve MTB jerseys. As it stands the team size suits us well but no doubt that will change soon enough with the continued growth we’re seeing.
16. Anybody to thank at this point in the Remap journey? Long suffering spouses/parents/friends?
We’d both like to thank everyone who has been part of the journey so far friends, family partners and most importantly we’d like to thank everyone who has bought some clothing and made Remap possible.
Check out more interviews with the people behind the scenes here. For everything Remap, head to their website, or check out our First Look on their jersey here.
