Technical Shirts for Riding in Humid Weather

[Lovetoclimb]

Anyone experimented with a looser fitting tech shirt during the dog days of summer? After some hot and humid riding this weekend, I am ready to try some offerings from Rapha or Kitsbow. However I am sure most of what is made for running is equally passable ...

Any converts with wisdom to share?

[belopsky]

Anyone experimented with a looser fitting tech shirt during the dog days of summer? After some hot and humid riding this weekend, I am ready to try some offerings from Rapha or Kitsbow. However I am sure most of what is made for running is equally passable ...

Any converts with wisdom to share?

I ride in Wool & Prince t shirts

Im over jerseys

[19wisconsin64]

Long sleeve white summer jerseys from Performance bike.

Night and day difference in keeping your internal temps down. They are a loose fit too. You can usually get them on sale for about $40.

It would be interesting to hear what some seasoned summer time riders who ride the more expensive summer gear suggest. Personally I rarely ride in the heat, but when I do long sleeve white gear is my friend.

[Mike Bryant]

I remember reading a few years back about cyclists riding in the desert wearing long sleeved cotton seersucker shirts and them being very efficient in keeping them cool. May not be as effective in the humid Deep South where I am though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JAGI410]

Long sleeve Champion C9 tech shirts....from Target. They work great for this.

[belopsky]

https://www.aerotechdesigns.com/meloslcoje.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5-TXBRCHARIsANLixNwna6RKGp8aHhBOKP2Gia6j88e3AwVaT9YY G6iVdN9EZZ6xerqny7gaAieMEALw_wcB

[HenryA]

What you seek is called a “bicycle jersey”. Find a nice light summer one, light colored, and then if its really sunny out add some arm protection. I like that better than a long sleeve jersey, although the one piece design of a bike jersey with long sleeves is pretty hard to beat.

Like the ones shown in the post above!

[ptourkin]

I bikepack in a Columbia long sleeve button down with sun protection etc... In the last few months I've worn it in Death Valley and the Anza Borrego desert with a lot of comfort.

[charliedid]

Yes

I now always wear a Patagonia long sleeve sun shirt on tour and even on some regular road rides. I do find some of the super lightweight jerseys with UPF rating to be rather good as well.

Been wearing sleeves a lot with jerseys and have been looking at the Boure long sleeve ones as well.

Great in the dry but honestly nothing is great when very humid. I just want the protection due to skin cancer I deal with.

[BobbyJones]

I spent most of the summer season last year riding in an ems techwick T. I also rode in regular shorts and my torso is on the longish side, so the only downfall was that I felt the shirt could've been a little longer- it wasn't revealing but it was close. Something to look out for.

Personally, I think the club fit stuff from Performance is a great value and works very well. If you're label conscious, my Performance jerseys all had the logos crack and peel, and the rest scrapes off with a thumbnail.

That AeroTech above looks great. I think I'm going to try one out!

[mainstreetexile]

Long sleeve Champion C9 tech shirts....from Target. They work great for this.

+1 on these. Cheap, get the job done.

Although, I am a sucker for a nice light tri-blend tshirt for general riding.

[marciero]

I sometimes use running t-shirts and also Patagonia capilene when touring or camping for a nice once-in-a-while change-up.

[BikeNY]

I'm in NY, where we have very humid weather for few months every summer. Honestly, when it's that humid and you are working hard, there's no way to stay dry. When on the road it's a little better, as your speed is higher, but when the air is that humid, sweat just doesn't evaporate well. When mountain biking in the summer, my shirt always ends up completely soaked through no matter what I'm wearing.

So I'm completely anti-bit kit these days, so keep that in mind. I just can't understand riding in a sausage casing adorned as a billboard! I've settled on wool shirts for almost all of riding. I have different weight shirts for different times of year, mostly from Ibex(RIP) and Icebreaker. I've also picked up a couple of closeout jerseys recently from Giro Ride line, wool and wool blends, and they're really nice. I like loose fitting, which generally results in the shirts being long enough in the back.

I rode in plastic shirts for years, but I just can't take the smell they develop, which in the summer, happens very quickly!

And what works in the desert and Death Valley will NOT work on the humid East Coast!

[staggerwing]

Long sleeve Champion C9 tech shirts....from Target. They work great for this.

I do those in the fluoro-green, short sleeve version.

Inexpensive, the XL fits my somewhat dumpy build with a little extra room, great fabric, and no weird seams or irritation points. They just work.

Modern micro fine synthetic yarns do a great job of wicking, but also hold dirt well, which doesn't look so great on the high viz tops I wear for playing in traffic. At Target pricing, I'm not going to loose any sleep over tossing 1 or 2 a season.

Will say, if I had the extra bucks, I would do wool, even in summer. I'm nor sure it wicks any better than current tech fabrics, but for darned sure, it doesn't hold the stink.

[Hakkalugi]

I picked up a couple of fly-fishing shirts. Both have vents around the backs of the shoulders and silk-weight fabric which drys quickly. My intent was to use them for gravel and mtb rides but I realized I keep grabbing them for every ride. Sure, they flap in the breeze, but I realized I was fresh out of rat’s asses to give.

[zap]

I used to live in metro D.C. and now live in NC.

Humid is the summer norm and I'm ok riding up to 100F with high humidity.

I wear Assos and it does a fairly decent job wicking moisture away from the torso.

Slick arms and legs are a plus..........if you crash you slid better.

I do struggle with the downpour from the lid which gets onto my glasses. Still trying to find a solution for that.

Drink plenty and most importantly keep the house temp 80F......or higher.

[rnhood]

Whatever you decide on, add one of the Champion C9 shirts as mentioned above so you can experience just how good they are, and they are inexpensive.

[charliedid]

Remember

There is no perfect solution to any of this. I have tried every possible combo of clothing over the last 40 years and I can say that like many other things it depends....

It depends where and how you ride. It depends how high quality your (plastic) clothing is. I currently have a couple super lightweight Rapha jersey's that if washed immediately never hold a stink. Same with a couple Chapeau that I recently got. On wool, I have toured and commuted in it for a couple decades and it was the first kit I ever owned back in the mid 70's Again, it depends. If it's 80 and 75% + humidity....good luck. On tour or casual ride/commute fine but if you are riding with any intensity I have given up on it and really only do road rides in Assos bibs and plastic jerseys. Wear it and wash it. If you let it sit too long that's gross and does not help. In the arid high desert lightweight wool can be great. In the winter here with less humidity wool can be great. I've probably owned 2 dozen pieces of wool cycling clothing over the years and holding onto sweat/water and long term durability are by biggest gripes. Even Sportwool and other combo's will stink in certain scenarios. I'd say one of the worst is the original classic Rapha jersey. Love it but it stinks worse than the ultralight stuff by a mile.

With respect to cheaper alternatives of tech. clothing YMMV but I find a direct correlation between cost and stink. Those cheap shirts you get at the local 5 or 10K run stink almost instantly in my experience and hold on to it. I hate the idea of disposable clothing so I don't buy it. I need 4-5 years out of an article of clothing at min. On tour in summer I am likely just wearing Ex Officio underwear and Patagonia technical shorts and shirts. Weighs nothing, easy to pack, keeps the sun off and washes and dries in a jiffy with little stink. Wool....not so much. Although I do still love the Ibex wool blend t-shirts.

It would be so much easier to deal with in San Diego than here in the upper mid-west.

Edit: I love these shirts even on the bike.

http://www.patagonia.com/product/mens-bandito-shirt/54025.html?dwvar_54025_color=BOFC&cgid=mens-shirts#tile-15=&start=1&sz=36

http://www.patagonia.com/product/mens-long-sleeved-sun-stretch-shirt/52197.html?dwvar_52197_color=WWRA&cgid=mens-shirts#tile-30=&start=1&sz=48

[C40_guy]

Long sleeve white summer jerseys from Performance bike.


I've been wearing one of these for many years. Love the UV protection built into the fabric (although at this point I'd guess it's been washed out...)

Here's a link to the Performance (https://www.performancebike.com/shop/cycling-clothing/mens-cycling-clothing/long-sleeve-jerseys/performance-sun-pro-ii-long-sleeve-jersey-11-0705) shirt. Onsale now, sizes limited.

Looks like Bellwether has a similar jersey, available with UV 40+ protection, in both white and yellow.

[jonbek]

...and most importantly keep the house temp 80F......or higher.



@zap plz explain.

[fmradio516]

I really have a huge problem riding to work 25 mins in the summertime and getting there SOAKING wet from sweat. I always need to bring extra shirts. Definitely ditching the backpack this year as the back is the worst.

[chiasticon]

rapha super lightweight for me when it's 70 or above. I run hot and once it hits 80F with 90% humidity or more, I'm dying (and it gets hotter and more humid here). they're the best I've found.

cheap is awesome too, but fwiw, the C9 stuff didn't work for me in high humidity. very quickly 100% soaked through with sweat and then just held it, didn't wick away at all. which is gross and heavy-feeling to ride with.

[sandyrs]

I like the 7mesh Desperado Henley for warm MTB rides. I'm sure it would be great for commuting too but my commute is short enough that I do it in street clothes.

[staggerwing]

@zap plz explain.

Likely, he is suggesting it is a heck of a lot easier to accommodate 100F temps if the lowest you are used to is 80F. That moist furnace blast when you open the door is far more intimidating if you spend most of your time in 68F.

[Bob Ross]

nothing is great when very humid.

qft

[speedevil]

I use these now, on amazon for about $40:

Coolibar UPF 50+ Men's Long Sleeve T-Shirt - Sun Protective

I much prefer the sun shirt over sunscreen, and just squirt your sleeves and around your neck with water and it will help you stay cooler. I never used those pockets on the back of jerseys anyway. I have a couple of these in yellow and the color is very visible, another plus.

[zap]

Likely, he is suggesting it is a heck of a lot easier to accommodate 100F temps if the lowest you are used to is 80F. That moist furnace blast when you open the door is far more intimidating if you spend most of your time in 68F.

This.