Allen began his career on the factory floor, working through pattern-making, sample QA, and production planning at one of Guangdong's larger cycling apparel OEM facilities. That hands-on background shapes how he approaches every brief today: every promise on the spec sheet has to be something the factory can actually deliver, sample after sample, batch after batch.
Over the past decade he has guided cycling brands across Europe, North America, Australia and Southeast Asia through complete OEM/ODM cycles — from tech-pack development and Italian poly-elastane fabric sourcing through dye-sublimation print proofing, fit testing on real riders, and DDP shipping logistics. Allen has personally signed off on more than 1,500 production runs and 200+ private-label launches.
At Run Cycling Apparel, Allen oversees customer briefings and acts as the technical bridge between buyers and the factory. On the blog, he writes about the parts of cycling apparel manufacturing that buyers usually only see when something goes wrong — fabric grade differences, MOQ economics, sampling timelines, and the QA checks that separate a good factory from a mediocre one.
Topics Allen covers in depth, with real production data behind every claim.
Long-form pieces on cycling apparel manufacturing, fabric tech, and sourcing strategy.
Biker shorts women: I tested Velocio, Ruxi (runcyclingapparel.com), Pearl Izumi, Rapha and Baleaf side-by-side over 30 washes — fit, fabric, chafe and squat-proof results.
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