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What cycling cooling shirt do you guys recommend?

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brainhulk

brainhulk

Diamond Member
I was mountain biking over the weekend and it was extremely hot. I even started @ 0700 instead of my usual 0800 and i still ended up getting torched.

I was trying to look on amazon for those cooling shirts where you soak them in water. Anybody try/use them for hot weather?

My bike rides are usually 2-3 hours long. I believe this weekend it got above 90 degrees.

I might resort to having to do night rides instead, but the trails that are open is very limited at night.
 
I'd say go for a simple low-tech solution:
Plenty of water, sponges under the shirt, if you have to, and plenty of water.
Also helps to get a white (sun-proof) jersey.
Did I mention plenty of water? Don't hesitate to bring 3 or 4 bottles along, and just up-end half one over your head, if you feel like you need extra cooling. Usually you should be able to control body temperature just by sweating though.
Depending on how much protective gear you wear (full-face helmet, chest/back-plate and shin-straps?) nothing might really help, except starting at 0600, and being home by 9.

Usually if you keep hydrated (with both water and isotonic beverage), sweat should be your main mode of temperature exchange. I don't think any cooling shirt can reasonably provide more than 20-30 minutes of relief, if you're riding hard.

Starting that early may actually be a slight impediment, as you can't pre-hydrate properly. In the morning your body usually should be quite dehydrated, after a night of not drinking anything, so that might also influence the effectiveness of sweating.

If you're out in the sun a lot, I would recommend getting a white roadie spandex kit, with separate sleeves and a zippered jersey, to minimize surface heating.

But if you're really interested, try the sponges. Soak em in water from the bottle every 30 minutes or so, and shove them down your jersey. Works best with tight, zippered jerseys, would be my guess.
 
i carry a water backpack and i put ice cubes in my water. so drinking it actually helped cool me down. But for some reason my stomach doesn't do well with drinking lots of water while i'm riding (it starts cramping)

i'll try the sponges though
 
Yeah, drinking cold is actually quite counterproductive, as it will sap energy, to keep your body temperature up.

Also, I started not drinking only water quite a while ago, for long rides, and having one bottle of (very) diluted juice (banana based, very little acid) and one or two bottles of water. Adding some sugar makes it easier for the stomach to deal with it, if otherwise you're putting just water in. Isotonic powder based drinks (again, avoid acid stuff) should also work, if you dilute them down to a level where you can easily chug it down. Also helps combat the loss of salt etc. through sweating.
And as you don't want it to be cold (I'd say aim for between 10 and 22 deg C - fresh water to medium setting fridge cool when you fill it, then it warms up) make sure you can bear the taste when warm.



And on another note, i also have a problem when it's hot outside, and I'm up against a climb. While I don't feel spectacularly hot, I do sweat intensely, and without the breeze (at 5-10% I'm waaaay too slow) I just have rivers of sweat running into my nose (sucks for breathing) and into my eyes (sucks for seeing, and burns quite badly after a while).

So, hi-jacking this thread, as it's kinda on topic - any idea for keeping sweat out of my eyes? With the helmet and glasses, it's not like I can just wipe my forehead every so often...
 
Just to add to the suggestions, since you are riding under intense sun, look for a jersey with built in sun protection with a UPF 50+ rating.
 
don't forget about chainlove.com

They have things like this at times deeply discounted.

It's like woot for bike riders.
 
Mursilis said:
How is that an issue if it's 90 degrees outside, like he said?
Click to expand...

Because your stomach suddenly cools down, which triggers a rise in body temperature, irrespective of outside temperature, as the body tries to keep its core at the appropriate temperature.

The stomach really is happiest when at 36.6 degrees.
 
_Rick_ said:
Because your stomach suddenly cools down, which triggers a rise in body temperature, irrespective of outside temperature, as the body tries to keep its core at the appropriate temperature.

The stomach really is happiest when at 36.6 degrees.
Click to expand...

Your already overheated, which is why you're sweating. Feel free to drink cold water. Just not all at once. (otherwise you'll get those cramps you mentioned)
 
jaedaliu said:
Your already overheated, which is why you're sweating. Feel free to drink cold water. Just not all at once. (otherwise you'll get those cramps you mentioned)
Click to expand...

Overheated? Sweating is the body's natural temperature regulation system. To say one is overheated makes it sound like sweating = heat stroke or severe dehydration.
 
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