As has happened with several other sports, cycling has evolved to the point where even the clothes you wear need to be improved to let you attain maximum performance, while keeping high comfort levels at the same time. Cycling clothing, as a general term, usually consists of the following items: cycling jerseys, shorts, gloves, socks and footwear. Everything else you use while cycling, including your helmet, wrist watch or protection pads are placed in another drawer, namely the one labeled “cycling equipment”.
While cycling equipment mainly focuses on giving you a better protection (helmet, pads) or performance (again, helmet and several other items), the goal of cycling clothing is to make you feel comfortable while you ride so that you can focus on more important things. Let’s take each item piece by piece and see what it does and how to choose the one that’s the most fit for you.
The cycling jersey can be either a loose or a form-fitting one, which one you use is mainly a matter of preference. The form-fitting ones offer you a better moisture absorption, but some feel uncomfortable in the tight, although elastic, material. The loose models on the other hand, are less absorbent but offer a better ventilation. Regardless of which model you choose, make sure it is waterproof and that the fabric it’s made of can wick moisture away. Also, make sure it’s warm enough to ride on a windy day but not so much as to not allow your skin to breathe on hot ones.
Another important piece of cycling clothing, the shorts, are crucial for your comfort on the bike. It’s really a case of fitting here, there’s no one that can say “these are the best cycling shorts” pointing to a specific model of a specific brand. What some people considered the best possible short model from some popular brand, others have thought of it as uncomfortable. So it’s really a case of finding the right model for your own body. However, some common features that all shorts should have, include the protective rear pad that should allow you to ride in the saddle without feeling any pains and soreness afterwards. The fabric they are made of is also extremely important, since it should be elastic enough as to not hinder your cycling movement, but also provide a good cold protection.
Next up are cycling gloves, a piece of cycling clothing that’s important for road cycling, but extremely important for mountain biking. These gloves have 3 main roles: to provide protection against hand soreness caused by long cycling hours, to be shock-absorbent if you’re riding on bumpy terrain (especially important for MTB) and to provide your palms with protection in case you fall off your bike, since your hands will most likely hit the ground first. Apart from that, a good cycling glove will have a powerful ventilation so that your hand is kept cool and fresh at all times. In mountain biking, it’s important that you have a good grip on your handle, so some cycling gloves are specifically designed for this. Last but not least, a great feature that most newer glove models have, is a piece of absorbing fabric on the back of the hand, which allows you to wipe the sweat off your face with it, without causing damage to the glove’s main fabric.
Last but not least, the final section of each cycling clothing wardrobe: footwear. Footwear includes both the socks you use and the shoes you wear, each having its own important aspects. Cycling socks are usually made out of two types of fabric or more, one used on the sole, a thicker and more shock-resistant fabric that can take the pressure of pedaling off your foot and a waterproof fabric for the rest of the foot, which is meant to wick away every type of moisture it finds and give you a proper foot ventilation.
Cycling shoes are considered by many the most important aspect of the entirety of cycling clothing items. This is because acting like a buffer between your feet and the pedals, cycling shoes are responsible for the power transfer from your body to the tires. Cycling footwear has a rigid but thin sole (hence the extra thickness on the sole of the sock) meant to give you full control over the pedals, while keeping you comfortable at all times. A good ventilation also has a huge word to say about your comfort and the weight of the shoes is extremely important. Think of the fact that you’ll be doing thousands of circles with your feet, up and down the pedals…every extra weight on your feet will get you tired quicker.
Now that we covered all aspects of cycling clothing, it’s up to you to choose the brands and models that you see fit. As we stated above, what others thought as superb design and comfort from one model, could prove annoying and painful for you to wear. Similarly, something that might go as crap between the “pros” could be fit for you. The only way to see what’s best for you is experience different cycling clothing items for yourself and settle in for the ones you feel more comfortable in.
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