I mentioned in my last post that a coworker has recently taken up cycling. We were talking about it the other day, and the subject of cycling attire came up. I had noticed that he was wearing a T-shirt and blue jean shorts to ride in, and wondered if it might get uncomfortable. I guess it did.
You can wear just about anything when riding a bicycle, but if you decide to spend much time in the saddle, the wrong clothing can make things downright unpleasant. The selection of cycling attire is wider even than the types of bikes on the market, and the amount of money you can spend gets daunting real fast. It can be much simpler though.
Basics Of Cycling Attire
If you’re going to ride more than a few miles a week, the most important thing for comfort is to have something that fits close to your skin, wicks moisture away, and doesn’t have big seams (like blue jeans). Moisture and seams will lead to heat rash and chafing, both of which are very uncomfortable. Beyond the basics, you can begin to match your clothing to the type of riding you’re doing. If you’re planning to ride fast over long distances, close fitting clothing that offers aerodynamic efficiency is generally the preferred choice. Mountain bikers seem prefer specially designed shorts with a wicking base layer built into the material, and a moisture wicking T-shirt. Any of these options will work just fine. Just make certain the base layer is in direct contact with your skin. Otherwise, moisture will be trapped against the skin and will not function properly.
As you can imagine, buying technical gear can get expensive real fast. I prefer to keep things simple and to be as efficient with my cash as possible. My choice was to buy some Underarmor base layers to wear underneath running shorts. This eliminates the seams, gives me a close-fitting base layer that manages moisture, and it works for most forms of exercise.
