{"id":655108,"date":"2026-05-07T08:20:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T08:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/655108\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T08:20:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T08:20:22","slug":"these-riders-never-wore-these-kits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/655108\/","title":{"rendered":"These riders never wore these kits"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"These<\/p>\n

Culture<\/a><\/p>\n

Deepfaked athletes, copied designs, and the blurry future of cycling apparel.<\/p>\n

\"Iain<\/p>\n

Chapter 1: Intro\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s popped up in your social media feeds too: a glitchy little video of a cyclist riding in colourful kit, fast cuts, eye-catching modern production. At some point it twigs \u2013 the EF helmet is a giveaway\u00a0\u2013 that the rider is Lachlan Morton. Same face, same scraggly beard. The kit brand is new to you, and there\u2019s no branding on it anywhere. A logo card flashes up at the end of the video: RockBros Clothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maybe you click on the ad, or maybe you don\u2019t. But something about it lodges in your brain. Perhaps you wonder whether Morton has a new endorsement deal, or EF Education-Easypost has switched kit suppliers (it has, but from Rapha to Assos). What you probably don\u2019t immediately expect is that Morton never wore this kit at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Barely a day passes without something raising fresh alarm about the rapid advances in artificial intelligence. Today, it has come for cycling clothing.<\/p>\n

Chapter 2: A bit of backstory<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s rewind a bit, to 2010. Per RockBros\u2019 version of its company history, the brand \u2013\u00a0then known as Zhejiang ROCKBROS Sports Goods Co. Ltd.\u00a0\u2013 was founded in 2010 by two cycling enthusiasts in Yiwu, China, a couple of hundred kilometres southwest of Shanghai. Their vision, based on the realisation that \u201cthere was hardly any high-quality, affordable equipment on the market\u201d was a simple one: \u201cto enable more cycling enthusiasts to enjoy affordable cycling equipment\u201d.<\/p>\n

Much of the company\u2019s early growth was in China and Asia, but 2013-14 was when they first landed on the radar of many western consumers (or mine, at least). Spurcycle \u2013\u00a0manufacturers of a US-made bell that is still widely regarded as the pinnacle of its niche\u00a0\u2013 began seeing RockBros-branded copies of their products appearing on Amazon and other marketplaces, like AliExpress. These were, seemingly, backward-engineered replicas of the Spurcycle bell, right down to similarities in the packaging and presentation. A patent law loophole meant that by the time Spurcycle realised what had happened, it was too late; the bird had flown the coop.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A tale of two bells: Spurcycle vs. the counterfeiters | CyclingTips<\/p>\n

Spurcycle launched its bicycle bell in August 2013 as so many companies do these days: via the crowdfunding web site, Kickstarter. When the campaign ended, the company had 8000 orders on hand \u2014 16 times what was originally forecast \u2014 all thanks to the bell\u2019s distinctive design, small-batch artisan construction, and one hell of a \u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Today, a Spurcycle bell retails for US$60, but faces competition from the visually-identical RockBros bell (US$15); there are even cheaper non-branded copies on AliExpress for just a couple of dollars. They\u2019re not as good, obviously, but for a broad swathe of consumers, the economics make sense, IP be damned.<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo: RockBros.<\/p>\n

Over the years since, RockBros\u2019 growth has continued. The company is now a group of five sub-brands, with a product line that \u201cspans various categories, including complete bicycles, cycling apparel, cycling accessories, cycling components, outdoor sports equipment, and smart sports devices\u201d. It has increasingly been seen as a legitimate alternative to mainstream western brands, and has physical stores in several countries, including Australia, the US, Japan, and Germany. The company claims that \u201cevery product we create is carefully designed, ensuring continuous innovation and refinement\u201d, but it is debatable how much design they actually do: one industry source I spoke to suggested that many of their products are rebadged versions of products licensed from third party OEM manufacturers, a practice that is not uncommon even among western brands.<\/p>\n

And then \u2013\u00a0well, then there\u2019s the clothing.<\/p>\n

\"\"The New Jersey address listed as the HQ of RockBros Clothing. Chapter 3: Visual doping<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s apparel side-brand, RockBros Clothing, is ostensibly based in New Jersey, rather than China, and has an ambition to \u201cdisrupt the peloton. We combine gallery-worthy aesthetics with podium-level performance\u2026. Our kits are not for the shy. They are for the rule-breakers, the weekend warriors, and the artists of the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Visual Doping: when you look fast and feel bold, you ride harder.”<\/p>\n

Across the designs currently listed on their website, there are models available for both men and women, with inspiration drawn \u201cfrom nature\u2019s chaos\u2014blooming florals, abstract glitches, and kinetic strokes.\u201d Some items are in the company\u2019s core range, and others, in the \u2018Artist Lab\u2019 series are produced on demand in limited runs; RockBros claims that these are \u201ca collaborative project between RockBrosClothing and visionary graphic artists from around the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Screenshot: RockBros Clothing website. Remember that floral design – we’ll come back to that later.<\/p>\n

The design that was never worn by Lachlan Morton (despite appearances) falls into this category. Last week, when I was first tipped off to this apparent instance of AI trickery, it felt clear that a line had been crossed: Morton is paid to ride for the sponsors that pay his salary, and has built a substantial following for his continent-crossing, record-breaking rides over a number of years. For his likeness to be used to market a cycling kit brand \u2013\u00a0in fact, not just a likeness; it is him, just with a change of outfit \u2013\u00a0felt like a calculated move to boost RockBros\u2019 credibility. <\/p>\n

In the most charitable interpretation, this seemed deeply deceptive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It got worse. Clicking around to other designs showed that this was not an isolated incident: the \u2018Men\u2019s Quantum Grid Optical-Illusion Pro Jersey\u2019 featured another famous face; Mathieu van der Poel, again pictured riding in a kit that he never wore. Remco Evenepoel in RockBros clothing, saluting the crowd after winning gold at the Paris Olympics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Left: photo Cor Vos. Right: RockBros clearly encourages the use of gloves.<\/p>\n

Several clothing models in the women\u2019s range felt suspicious, too: I recognised the Girona-based influencer\/content creator, German athlete Alina J\u00e4ger (@clippedinandfree<\/a>), who has 250,000 followers on Instagram. There was also an appearance<\/a> by the Swiss mountain bike rider and 2020 Olympic champion, Jolanda Neff.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Did we do a good job with this story?<\/p>\n

\n \ud83d\udc4dYep
\n \ud83d\udc4eNope\n <\/p>\n

\n Culture<\/a>
\n Rockbros<\/a>
\n Lachlan Morton<\/a>
\n Mathieu van der Poel<\/a>
\n AI<\/a>
\n apparel<\/a>
\n Tech features<\/a>\n <\/p>\n