Cycle clothing brand Vulpine is "insolvent" and enters administration

Shame, liked a lot of their products and my Hoy winter (long) tights are great.  I do try and do the 'bike to office' clothes approach but, to be honest, I don't see many others doing it so the market is pretty small.

Sadly said before but:

I ordered a load of stuff in their last sale - was very keen on getting a nice smart jacket, and loved the look of the merino jerseys. Also ordered some capri trousers and shorts.

The capris and shorts are a perfect fit, and great for cycling to the pub and still looking great. I was wearing the padded merino boy shorts under my jeans while out on the piss last night. I'm after the trousers too. 

However, nothing for my upper body fitted - there was no room for boobage at all. Female friends reported the same. It's sad, as the jacket and jerseys were lovely. This appears to have been the case for years and years - I tried on a friend's jacket about five years ago when I was so skinny, I was flat chested, and it still had no boob room. Other female friends had the same experience.

If they had sorted out the boob issue years ago, perhaps it would have made a difference? 

They were great about the returns though.

Yes, certainly a shame when companies like this go under.  I had a few items (merino hoodie, primaloft gilet, winter cap (matches the gilet) and softshell gloves).  All are great quality, all were too expensive at RRP so all were bought in theIreland numerous sales at massive discounts.  I do like the fact that all the items are truly dual purpose  (i. e. Work very well on and off the bike).  Have been eyeing up a Deluge waterproof jacket in Dutch orange for ages,  again due to looking good for multi-use, so may now end getting one in a future fire sale.  It will be a real shame if their designs totally disappear as for the most part they worked well....very sad.

I'm very sorry to hear this.  An interesting company, which Nick has put his heart and soul into.  I have some of their merino stuff and a couple of jackets, their stuff is good and customer service excellent.

In the end I'm a Roady, so I don't really need urban cycling stuff, which is maybe a niche to far.  Their is plenty of disposable income for Roady gear, and maybe Hoy-Vulpne wasn't compelling enough against the likes of Castelli.

Still a great shame, and I wish them all the very best

I've only bought one Vulpine item (a cap) cos most of it is too expensive for my pay packet, but I had to arrange to replace it for a different size (my mistake, not theirs). Their customer service was absolutely great and totally beyond reproach. I guess great customer service just doesn't pay the bills...

Shame. Decent guys and doing something genuinely different (and really good quality).

Guess being the interesting outsider is always a risk though.

Think it's a real shame they've gone under - and from the info in the article - looks like the vultures are circling.  I have lots of their kit - been buying it since the start (near enough) - and I really love it ... although I always bought it in their sales as the standard pricing was high.  I remember when I got my first jacket and showed it to "the purchasing committe chairwoman" she approved and said "it doesnt look like a cycling jacket, it looks really good". I liked Vulpine's overall commitment to cycling which I do think was genuine. The designs vary, some are really excellent IMHO ( I'm not in Shoreditch - but in the North of Scotland and my commute is a 46 mile round trip on A roads - and for rain, the Vulpine jacket is my jacket of choice). Had some minor quality issues and had one pocket stitching come loose and a hole come through on an Alpine Jersey ( and I got the "overloaded pockets" line - and no it was never overloaded ).  Also had dissapointing buying experience when I bought a cycling jacket online for my wife (who was delighted) ... then a couple of days later I got told they didn't have it and that was that (so why take the order ?) so the Mrs wasn't well pleased   I did check out the crowdfunding thing last year but didn't like the content of the prospectus as it seemed to focus on an exit strategy of selling the brand to Adidas or someone like that and going just for high end market.  Was surprised to get that "Vulpine advert mag" a few weeks back - although it was nice enough I really thought what a waste of money this is ... this is a tiny marketplace ... I also thought it strange that it tried to push their own high-end custom-ish bikes.  Anyway, real shame in my opinion. I wish Nick and all at Vulpine the very best for the future.  

I know Nick was a regular reader of Road.cc so I wish him the best of luck with whatever he chooses to do in the future.

Guess they just didn't turn over goods fast enough, so they had this sale with about 2/3 off. Made me wondering who would buy at full price. Value was ok while on sale otherwise - 105 quid for a jersey with nothing special - apart from the Hoy name?

I feel sorry that a company with commuter oriented cyclewear has shut down. But even more sorry that there aren't many if any commuter cyclewear companies with reasonably priced products. Yes the lycra lovers have sports direct, aldi etc but if you want a low cost waterproof breathable jacket that will not reveal your taste in boxers and not look like a MAMiL, you are out of options.

yep agreed it will be a shame if they go completely,as theyve always displayed a passion and willingness to support cycling and especially promote womens cycling equally, I certainly never had any issues with the quality of the kit I bought, though Id freely hold my hand up and admit Ive not bought anything of theirs for a few years now, partly due to the cost & partly theres been nothing in their range thats really grabbed me design wise.

I'm not from Shoreditch but I do have a beard and I cycle. A lot. I paid £50 for one of their merino t-shirts about 4 years ago. I have never had it off my back, including cycle touring in France and Spain, and it is still in as good condition as when I bought it. They even darned it free of charge. I have another coupe of items, too, and the quality is outstanding. £50 is exensive for a t-shirt but it's all relative, I'd rather pay for a quality item, that lasts, than keep buy cheap crap, that doesn't.

I can't belive that I am genuinely shocked about this, I follow Vulpine and Nick Hussey on Twitter and he/they are a refreshing change and something a bit different. A shame.

What a pity, let's hope they sort it out. All the stuff I've had from them has been top notch, I always wear it when I'm out around town on my Guvnor. Tough business, they've produced some really good clothing,, let's hope they get the help they need with the business side. Reading some of the pieces recently about Rapha, they've had some tight squeezes too, every business does. The difference between success and failure​ can just be a tiny amount of luck, good or bad, at just the right/wrong time

Good luck Vulpiners, you deserve it

Bought one of their buff/ snood type things which is class and about the same price as a genuine buff. Might buy another if they are going cheap

As for the rest of the gear I have a beer gut that rules me out of most top end cycling gear fitting and I am a tight bastard, but it looked nice in the photos.

Sad. I feel for Nick and his team. No matter what you think about the kit itself they've been putting their heart and soul into the brand since its inception.

Very sad to hear this. Nick Hussey put heart and soul into this . Having said that, the quality of their stuff was very hit and miss, and after buying some of their stuff on their inception I stopped buying given the quality issues. 

Their website is still up and running - £50 for a tee shirt? Crazy.

The cycling in brogues market is only so big.

Only bought one Jersey off them but it was pants. Too thin for purpose and too skinny of sleeve. Wouldn't have bought again. Always a shame to see a business fail though.

Agree with Leviathan, too many boutique brands.

A few too many companies over-estimating the 'high end' cycling market.

This is sad but not unexpected. I was caught out in 2 sales shambles the second of which left me very angry. I have. A jacket and shorts from them . But I would t buy any more from them, not just because of the sales shambles but because they were constantly having sales suggesting they didn't believe in the value of what they sold. I am sure they did and I hope they can rise from the ashes in some way but whatever they become will have to invest in after sales  before I could be confident enough to buy from them in future.

That aside I do wonder if this will be the first of many cycling related business collapses. I get the impression the boutique cycling market is contracting. Loads of commuters in London but not many spending  on Vulpine etc or perhaps too many suppliers?

This is a massive shame.

I own a few of their products, the 'epic cotton' rain trousers are genuinely one of my best ever purchases. I've used them constantly and they still work well and look good.

Really sorry to hear of this outcome. This is a small company that backed what they believed in and produced some great gear. I suspect they were just a few years too soon as mass market non vehicular cycling is (hopefully) not too far away and their kit is ideal for this.
Pricing was perhaps an issue as sales/discounts were regular and perhaps full price was too much

Love vulpine stuff, and I found their customer service was utterly amazing. I can unfortunately understand how this has happened though as I have never bought something at full price, usually getting huge discounts in clearance sales or special offers. My wife is a non cyclist, but she loves her vulpine stuff as well. Pity. 

I'm genuinely gutted by this. Vulpine became one of my favourite labels over the last few years. Not just on the bike but off it too. Their attention to design and the ideals they stuck too chimed with my own. I know they had their critics and things didn't always go smoothly but seeing a small business that wanted to achieve something big go under makes me very sad. I hope it's not the last we see of this talented team.