Biking to Work this Friday?
Join ZOIC for a Style Revival and your chance to win FREE gear!

ZOIC & Performance Bike are hosting a Bike to Work Day pit stop on May 17th from 6am-10am. Stop by and YOU may be one of the 3 lucky cyclists, randomly selected to participate in our Style Revival. ZOIC will trade out your old cycling duds for one of our stylish and functinal commuting outfits, FREE OF CHARGE!

The ZOIC pit stop is located at:
11675 Sorrento Valley Rd
San Diego, CA 92121

Pit stops offer fun breaks for new and experienced cyclists on BIKE to Work Day, where riders can rest and pick up a FREE t-shirt, snacks and encouragement.

We hope to see you on Friday!

This Friday May 17th is National Bike to Work Day! Whether you're new to bike commuting or a savvy street cyclist looking to upgrade anything from pedals to panniers to pants, pick up the 2013 Gear Guide from Momentum Magazine, an authority on the subject. As pictured below, the issue highlights ZOIC Grove shorts for men and the Damsel skirt for women, 2 ideal styles for on-the-bike action and off-the-bike adventure in any concrete jungle. Then check out the rest of the urban cycling offerings from ZOIC for Men and Women.

We're thrilled to announce that Abbie Newell has joined our crew as National Sales Leader. Abbie will be the voice of the ZOIC brand with national accounts, key regional accounts and Independent Bicycle Dealers. She will spearhead selling strategy and drive sales initiatives to expand the reach of ZOIC, providing an East Coast presence from her office in West Virginia. Abbie will manage internal sales staff and recruit and develop the independent rep force. Armed with her market insights, especially as they pertain to female cyclists, Abbie will also be integral to the design and development of new products.

Abbie is "...excited about the opportunity to expand my industry experience with such an innovative and energetic company." She joins ZOIC from Terry Precision Bicycles for Women where she advanced from inside salesperson to National Sales Manager during her 7 year tenure. Abbie’s career in the bike business builds on her lifelong passion for cycling that has spanned bike touring with family to team racing.

Complementing Abbie on the marketing front for ZOIC is another recent staff addition, Marketing Specialist Kenna Quiroga Gray. Kenna comes to ZOIC from Vertical Hold, the preeminent rock climbing gym in San Diego, where as manager she expanded and transformed the business through her vision and creativity. More recently Kenna served as social media manager for the gym. She brings to ZOIC a diverse skill set and limitless enthusiasm for engaging both dealers and consumers in conversations that get cyclists to ride more and dress well.

ZOIC strives to create stylish, comfortable, technical clothing that serves you well on and off of the bike. We know what we love about our product, trust us we wear and test its durability and features non-stop! But WE want to know what YOU think about our product, share your experiences, tell us what you love about it and in return we will send you a reward! So follow the directions below to take part in our new Review Rewards Program...

Write a review and reap the rewards!
Save 20% on one item for every review you submit online following these simple steps:

1. Go to the page of the product you want to review at www.zoic.com.
2. In the upper right underneath the rating "flames" click on Post a Review.
3. Make sure you Register or Login to your user account, so we have a valid email address to notify you of your rewards.
4. Enter your comments and follow the steps to save your review.
Note: Your comment will not appear immediately, all comments are reviewed by a moderator.
5. Once your review is live, your special coupon code will be sent via email.

Thank you in advance for participating in ZOIC Review Rewards!

-Ride More, Dress Well

Michael Troy of Twentynineinches.com (aka Grannygear) has been riding the X Shorts and a DNA Jersey for a few months. The bottom line is he loves 'em. Here are excerpts from his review, which can be read in its entirety at their site.

"OK, first of all let me say that I am not a baggy short wearer. If the trail ride is going to be unusually rough or brushy I will man up and put on the bags, or if I want another layer for a cold or windy day…fine. If not, lycra is good with me. I typically find baggies (and I have owned maybe 6 pairs over time) too restrictive or too heavy or too baggy (catch on saddle stuff) or too ‘too’. So it is with no little bit of amazement that I have worn a pair of Zoic X Shorts for almost every ride for the last two months. I may be converted to being a baggy guy if all the other shorts that come along treat me like these do.

I have done at least three 4+ hour rides with lots of sweaty sit-down saddle time. I have done techy trails where I was using them with dropper posts and knee pads, etc, and basically lived in them for many, many hours now. Pretty much love ‘em. Here’s why.

•Light weight, stretchy fabric rides light and feels nice on the skin and does not bind or restrict pedaling.
•No saddle hang-ups, even without a dropper post.
•Enough pockets and zippers to be useful and secure without looking like you are going to camp out of your pants.
•Good color…yeah, fashion and all, but they hide dirt nicely.

Just a quick update on the happenings and undertakings around the ZOIC headquarters, as we continue to shake off the winter doldrums (or pounds), and get back at what we do best; Design, Manufacture, Distribute, and Support the ZOIC brand. We hope you've had a chance to review the new website. Its still a work in progress, but the new bones are in place, and we'll be updating, tweaking, and making minor changes throughout the season.
We now offer 3 category types of riding, hopefully this helps you in making your apparel choices and streamlines the thought process. Remember these are just guidelines. If you like a style, lets use the Nirvana for example, don't let us tell you its just for Urban use. We've been killing it on our winter rides in this piece, and put it through the paces in multiple settings. The Nirvana's ability to wear commuting, to work, on a downhill ride, or to the pub, puts it in a class by itself. But we had to choose one setting, so Urban it is.
URBAN- For those of us who use the bike for daily activities and utility purposes. The Urban Collection looks stunning on or off the bike, on the train or on the train.
CORE- Our go to items, our best sellers, the items you'll see in every core bike shop you visit. Don't be left without something from this group. You'll ride better we promise.
GRAVITY- Not just for the young at heart, this collection speaks to any freeride, downhill, enduro, or cross country rider who wants to look good. You know the old saying: Look Good/Ride Good.

After posting this photo to our Facebook page, we received some unfavorable feedback about the fact that our products are manufactured in China. I would like to take this opportunity to expand here on our business philosophy for ZOIC in the global marketplace.

ZOIC Clothing is designed and distributed in San Diego, California. We directly and indirectly employ hundreds if not thousands of workers throughout our supply chain and distribution channels, many of whom are US citizens and many of whom are Chinese and other nationalities. All of our products are labeled with the country of origin and we pay a hefty price (~30% of our cost) to the US government in the form of duties for the privilege of importing our products in order to deliver high quality, durable cycling clothing to U.S. consumers at a reasonable price. We are proud of our ethical and fair business practices. We never seek to misrepresent ourselves or mislead our customers and business partners. The ZOIC brand has a 20 year heritage and we are competing in a global economy. We believe strongly in our mission to create quality clothing for cyclists to ride more and dress well. And we welcome educated consumers making informed choices based on their needs and preferences.

Whenever the work gets overwhelming or ideas get a little far-fetched around ZOIC, Eric can be expected to recount the wisdom of his football deity Bill Belichick to "stay in your lane" - maintain your focus and do what you do best. It is a mantra that has served ZOIC well in times of uncertainty and challenge.

Roadies and bike commuters are well aware of the benefits of staying in their lane, but the cycling industry isn't always so consistent. Back in the '80s bike sales exploded when mountain biking went mainstream and ever since then bike manufacturers have been trying to repeat that success, spinning off bike variations labeled comfort, tri/time-trial, downhill, cruiser, 29ers, city bikes and most recently for the mountain crowd 650b. The major bike manufacturers are definitely not staying their lanes, choosing instead to grasp at every trend as a means to eke out incremental growth and convince you the consumer to squeeze yet another bike into your over-stuffed garage. Some avid cyclists are quick to oblige - flash to the episode of Hoarders where the subject is convinced the he will one day get all of the 30+ bikes rusting in his side yard back into peak condition. He is NOT the target ZOIC customer.

ZOIC has signed on to sponsor the 2nd Annual Reach the Peak Trail Race and Mountain Festival hosted by Outdoor Outreach. ZOIC will be the title sponsor of a new enduro-inspired bike race portion of the event. The entire event serves as a fundraiser for Outdoor Outreach, an organization that empowers and educates at-risk youth in California through outdoor activities. The festival is being held in San Diego Saturday, November 3rd from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Hilltop Park and Black Mountain Open Space Park.

The ZOIC Reach the Peak Bike Race includes:
Pedal to the Peak Uphill Time Trial — Racers will start 30 seconds apart and put their pedals to the metal as they climb to the finish located on the peak of Black Mountain.
Kamikaze Downhill — After completing the Uphill Time Trial racers will enjoy a pit stop on the peak before going all downhill from there, letting gravity and guts do the work as they make their way from Black Mountain’s peak to the finish line at Hilltop Park.
Mountain Duathlon — For riders who choose to also run, their times in the bike race and Reach the Peak Trail Race will be combined to determine the duathlon winner.

ZOIC will award winners for both men and women in the following categories: Uphill, Downhill, Combined and Duathlon. An overall winner will also be crowned.

Since the beginning, mountain biking clothing has been designed for function, namely its ability to withstand falls, take on regular mud-spattering and be comfortable. Loose-fitting shirts and drab colored baggy shorts made up a guy’s typical mountain biking wardrobe and at first, women just wore and adapted men’s clothes in smaller sizes. Thank Heaven things have changed! Comfort and performance are still needed, but fashion is making inroads into mountain biking clothing and we are more than happy to put the spotlight on those companies who do it so well.

ZOIC Clothing is one such company which stands out for going that extra mile in bringing together good fit, function and performance and some stylish looks. The result is apparel for the trail that is durable, has the technical performance an active athlete needs and a touch of fashion. ZOIC uses unique fabrics such as plaids and houndstooth, while also adding a few fanciful prints to several pieces in their clothing line. It is just those little touches that help to set a woman apart from looking like just one of the guys. Clothing companies ride a fine line when making women’s clothes to please avid mountain bikers. They want the same high quality features the men’s clothing enjoys, but they don’t want cycling clothing companies to just “shrink it and pink it” (to use a trite saying). They want performance clothing that was made to fit a woman which is stylish yet subtle in its femininity. ZOIC is hitting that mark.