I recently collaborated with legendary Italian cycling apparel brand Santini .

I designed two jerseys and a set of bib shorts for the Steel Is Real cycling community on social media . The brand is SIRCC , inspired by the legendary SCIC Italian cycling team , and the Maglia Rosa , in honour of the Giro Italia .

Two other ‘ Warriors ‘ inspired jerseys are also available

Pre order only , once minimum amounts fulfilled , jerseys are custom made in Italy by Santini in 6-8 weeks . Karma Evo Jersey details here ;

KARMA EVO Jersey

Bib shorts ;

KARMA EVO BIB-SHORTS

Size charts here ;

Men

https://www.santinicycling.com/en/content/fit-guide-man-47

Women

https://www.santinicycling.com/en/content/fit-guide-woman-48

World wide shipping available , VAT @ Italian rate of 22% included in price

Order via platform here

https://sircc.bigcartel.com/

I had the amazing good fortune to have been able to meet Legendary London bag designer Ally Capellino back in 2017 when I was a bicycle courier .

I arrived at her Shoreditch shop and atelier , with a delivery for her , and gave it directly to her.

A very nice Lady , who generously gave me time for a chat .

I said I had been to her Soho shop back in the late ‘80’s / early ‘90’s , bought a jersey top and admired her fine bags . We spoke about her doing some stylish bike bags , as I felt they would be brilliant , given her attention to detail and use of high quality materials in manufacture .

I said I had a few creative projects I’m trying to get off the ground , and we kept in contact on social media .

Fast forward to this year , and Ally dropped me a line , saying she has another cycle orientated bag range , and would I like one to test.

Naturally , I said yes , and a few days later , the wonderful Pendle unisex shoulder bag arrived ….

Made with a waterproof Cordura outter , it is robust enough to use daily as a commuter / town bag .

I can fit a D Lock , water bottle , keys , wallet and energy snacks in with ample room ….

The bag has a zipped front pocket with seals , a rear with velcro fastening , a zipped inner pocket and a mesh wall with two pockets . The interior material is rip stop , which is great as it stops any unforeseen tears spreading .

The shoulder strap is made from Duck Cotton , so is soft and non abrasive against thinner material jerseys or skin , and splits in two with a robust clasp

The strap is attached at a 45 degree angle on the bag , so has a pretty much ergonomic fit to the torso .

Ally has named each bag in the Travel and Cycle range after cyclists significant to her. The unisex Pendle shoulder bag is named after British Olympic Hero , Victoria Pendleton .

Ally Capellino has very , very generously given you lucky readers a chance to win your very own Pendle bag , click the link below and enter .

Move as quickly as Victoria , as the competition closes on July 5th.

https://www.allycapellino.co.uk/pages/competition-ally-capellino-x-julian-saarf

In the Travel and Cycle collection is a fabulous ‘tote’ bag , the Saarf , one can only imagine what this Saarf character is like ….

Cycle Bags

I managed to attend this years Eroica Gaiole , thanks to the hospitality of my Danish friend Claus ( aka Velo Claus ) , founder of Team Patelli Denmark and a sponsor of Eroica South Africa .

Our group included Iron Man contestant Sean and Jens , a Team Molteni Denmark founder member .

Patelli is an old established artisan frame builders from Bologna , Claus had an aero model

And Sean had an earlier model , also equipped with Cambio Rina…

Vastly underrated , Cambio Rina was practically the best performing Italian gruppo of it’s era .

I rode a 1985 Colnago Nuovo Mexico , with a 1st gen Campagnolo Rally triple crankset , a 2nd gen Rally rear mech , and the rest 2nd gen Super Record

As I was riding later I managed to face plant , not paying attention to riding , ( easy to be distracted by the beauty around ) , but still finished

Eddy and Champagne, some of the best things in life, total win!

Sadly this this was stolen yesterday outside Kennington post office in south west London…

possibly the only Cinelli The Next Machine in London, with Campagnolo Record OR

if any readers are London/U.K. based and have any information or see it for sale, please, please get in touch @ saarf@live.com

thank you!