How ELEVEN Vélo Became World Leaders in Cycling Wear

Background

Road cycling demands gear that can last hundreds of miles in all conditions, and ELEVEN vélo set out to fill that need with merino wool and a custom e-commerce pipeline built with WooCommerce. Founder Gerard Thomas had already clocked over fifteen years in online retail by the time he turned his attention to cycling apparel. He started with a simple HTML storefront in 1999 before moving to a custom cart solution, then Blog and Cart66, and finally WooCommerce in 2008. From that point, the brand’s identity was clear: top-quality material, hands-on production, and truly unique custom orders.

Designing Custom Merino Kits

ELEVEN vélo’s shift to merino wool was a strategic move. Superfine merino commands a premium, but its controlled supply and flat pricing between small or bulk orders means small producers can compete with large brands on cost. By building kits on demand, ELEVEN vélo lets cyclists select colors, patterns, and cuts within a set of parameters. Each jersey goes through a bespoke workflow, ensuring personal touches land just where customers want them. The production chain spans Sydney sewing shops, Victoria’s merino farms, German threads, and Italian Lycra.

Building the Platform with WooCommerce

Choosing WooCommerce unlocked a world of flexibility. Gerard refined an early jQuery color builder through two major versions before landing on an HTML5 animation tool, Hype, to power a responsive color picker. Integrating that into WooCommerce took effort, but today the builder lets users preview and lock in color choices on desktop and mobile. On the backend, a curated extension list keeps the site lean: coupon bundles, MailChimp sync, Mijireh payments, TablePress for size charts, and WordFence for security.

Personalized Production Emails

With a typical build time of one month, ELEVEN vélo needed a way to keep customers informed. Gerard created a five-step email sequence—Processing, Pipeline, Cutting, Sewing, and Complete—each triggered by status changes in WooCommerce. One highlight is the Cutting email, which includes a link to an Instagram photo of the live project. That glimpse behind the scenes keeps buyers excited and aware, even if a jersey takes weeks to finish.

Marketing and SEO

After testing print, banners, and small-scale blog reviews, the team homed in on SEO and Google Ads in early 2015. They adopted a “sharp and specific” copy style—brief intros, bullet-point features—and trimmed fluff to rank for targeted, educated cyclists. Within six months, organic sessions doubled. A light Yoast setup, paired with well crafted AdWords campaigns, proved much more cost-effective than untargeted banner buys.

Social Media and Content Strategy

ELEVEN vélo’s blog dates back to 2004 and speaks in a consistent voice. They blend tutorials (like taping techniques), cycling culture mashups, and Japanese animation collaborations. On Instagram, Gerard uses Hootsuite to schedule daily bike-focused posts. He’s found that sharing from Instagram to Facebook boosts reach up to 5 times compared to posting natively. They weigh each content hour against marketing spend and only go hard if the ROI makes sense.

Results

By combining a robust WooCommerce build, compelling custom tools, and targeted marketing, ELEVEN vélo carved a defensible niche in cycling high-end apparel. Organic traffic is now twice what it was, social engagement drives more pre-orders, and each month the site hosts hundreds of unique custom creations. Their focus on material provenance, hands-on processes, and concise communication keeps both margins and customer satisfaction high.