Chain Gang

TaYa Chain ⇒ is a Taiwanese company that manufactures chains for sale throughout the world. The varieties available comprise of chains intended for multi-speed bicycles, single-speed bicycles, fitness bikes, and garage door openers.

Bicycle chains are not a product that I associate with any particular brand. I do not recall if I have ever owned a TaYa chain. An investigation into the parts of my bicycle have led to the conclusion that my current bicycle chain was manufactured by a competitor.

For years, I had incorrectly misspelled the name of the company as “Taya”. I based this interpretation off of the shirt alone. It was not until I looked on the company website that I discovered that the the “Y” was capitalized.

Only Built From Metal Links

This shirt is in celebration of a company-sponsored amateur racing team out of Boulder, Colorado. The Horizon Panache Cycling Club ⇒ attests to receiving early sponsorship from TaYa in 1995 ⇒. I have not been able to find any further information about this team.

Peel Sessions

The paint on the design on both sides of this shirt is peeling in an unprecedented manner compared to the rest of the shirts within the Free Shirt Archive. Low quality screening is the most likely culprit. The fabric of this shirt, however, maintains structural integrity which allows for continued wear.

Due the amount of peeling, this is the shirt that inspires some unsolicited comments in real life. None of these concerns are given additional consideration.

Snapshot In The Dark

Amateur photography is an intentional part of the Free Shirt Archive experience. Late 90s collection sites never had competent photography. The snapshots on this particular shirt dossier can be considered to fail on more levels than usual, but there is context of which the reader should be made aware.

Showing identical images would have been a waste of space and the reader’s time. Therefore, I only have one photo when I could have had two with half of the total being redundant.

I intend on placing a picture of the current state of the peeling paint at some point in the future. This shirt is the only shirt with deterioration worth documenting. Having so many shirts means a large rotation that allows for less opportunity for damage to any given shirt.