Dressed to impress

High-end bikes crowd the streets, spilling over into sidewalks and doorways. Carbon fiber, titanium, aluminum, steel — it's all on display in the streets of my town. Ask the owners of these bikes what the most important component of efficient cycling is and they'll talk about shifters and debate trick materials. The word"Shimano" will pass countless lips, as will the term "aero."

Few cyclists, if any, will mention the most important component (besides proper nutrition and hydration): their clothes. Take the best cyclist and dress him in ill-fitting clothing that traps moisture and fails to maintain body temperature and you have a cyclist sitting on the side of the road, gasping for breath.

Why Clothing Is Key

Besides mere comfort, cycling clothing serves some very specific purposes: protecting the cyclist from the elements, supporting muscles, providing moisture transfer, and enabling the body to operate at its limited peak temperatures.

Ill-fitting jerseys and shorts rub terribly and cause nasty irritations and blisters. With so much to do, it's no wonder that cycling clothing costs so much. Good clothing is available from any number of companies, but so too is some poorly made clothing. To make matters worse, a garment that fits perfectly on one rider may chafe another terribly in some rather private places.

Selecting clothing is part detective work, part trial and error. Many cyclists find a brand that fits and stay with it, while others experiment, relegating the least comfortable products to shorter rides.

Quality construction, proper fit, and a technical fabric with wicking properties and a suitable weight for the riding conditions are all hallmarks of a good piece of clothing. While major labels such as Cannondale, Pearl Izumi, Canari, and others make some great clothes, no garment is "one style fits all." Experimentation is the key.

Move on to Shorts

Return to Top

David Schloss founded and was editor in chief of GearHead.com, the award-winning bicycle Web site that blazed trails online and off. Schloss, a full-time sport and technology journalist, writes for more than a dozen magazines and Web sites, and spends as much time on his bike and in his kayak as possible. He his written for GORP about bike racks for cars, bike locks, bike helmets, and cycling computers.

RELATED GORP LINKS
GORP Biking
GORPgear
GORPtravel