Cycle clothing that will wick sweat away? 10 February 2021 at 12:31PM in Public Transport & Cycling 10 replies 161 views

wasty

Halfords says the “important thing is to wear clothing that will wick sweat away, not leave damp fabric close to your body”, but doesn’t give any suggestions for the type of material or products!  Anyone have suggestions?

rdr

All cycling specific clothing does this, it is one of the reasons it is tight fitting.
Decathlon do value for money cycle clothing. Their cheapest stuff is OK, their more expensive stuff is very good. Aldi/Lidl also do some decent stuff.
All this assumes you are riding hard for an hour or more, if you are just doing a couple of miles of utility cycling, dress for the destination and take it easy and you'll be fine.

Norman_Castle

Avoid cotton. Either cycle clothing or sportswear. 

Farfetch

Anything lycra or similar will do this fine (it's not all skin tight race fit), even natural fibres like merino wool do it, just not anything that holds water e.g. cotton, denim etc

sand_hun

Depending on your budget, have a look at look at Rapha CC. It's certainly not the cheapest, but nothing else comes close in terms of quality, fit and style. Failing that get a cheap base layer made of elastane and with a merino sweater on top.

Farfetch

Yeah I like rapha kit but for a new rider it's expensive kit, stuff like DHB does a perfectly good job, I don't use Rapha kit for my day to day kit (except the cheaper Core range) but it's all I would use for a long day in the saddle. That said I have heard good stuff about Assos but yet to try any

Indigo_and_Violet

From an MSE point of view, remember these websites are designed to sell you stuff and you don't necessarily need everything they'll tell you is essential. Cycling also encompasses a big range - what you might need for a day-long sport ride over mountain passes and varied weather conditions is very different from a short commute, especially if you have changing facilities at the end. You might want to try cycling for a bit and see what you think you need - I typically 'run hot' and so will wear a layer or two less than others, but I find my ears really feel it so I'm always always wearing a buff where others aren't fussed.
Products marketed as base layers are generally what you would put next to your skin, either alone in summer or under water/windproof layers in winter. Merino is great but needs careful storage otherwise moths get at it. Some companies are doing good things with recycled fibres. 
As rdr says - Decathlon, Lidl and Aldi all do reasonable starter kit, although Decathlon's women's stuff isn't great. Wiggle has a big range and their own brand DHB stuff is a good intermediate choice. Rapha/Assos etc are really premium products (the equivalent of designer labels) so if you have the cash to spare then go ahead, but you can get similar functionality for a lot lower price elsewhere. 

Farfetch

Indigo_and_Violet said:

From an MSE point of view, remember these websites are designed to sell you stuff and you don't necessarily need everything they'll tell you is essential. Cycling also encompasses a big range - what you might need for a day-long sport ride over mountain passes and varied weather conditions is very different from a short commute, especially if you have changing facilities at the end. You might want to try cycling for a bit and see what you think you need - I typically 'run hot' and so will wear a layer or two less than others, but I find my ears really feel it so I'm always always wearing a buff where others aren't fussed.
Products marketed as base layers are generally what you would put next to your skin, either alone in summer or under water/windproof layers in winter. Merino is great but needs careful storage otherwise moths get at it. Some companies are doing good things with recycled fibres. 
As rdr says - Decathlon, Lidl and Aldi all do reasonable starter kit, although Decathlon's women's stuff isn't great. Wiggle has a big range and their own brand DHB stuff is a good intermediate choice. Rapha/Assos etc are really premium products (the equivalent of designer labels) so if you have the cash to spare then go ahead, but you can get similar functionality for a lot lower price elsewhere. 

Similar function depends on what your use is. For a 30 minute commute, yes these are comparable. For a ride for leisure over an hour, the only "similarity" is they are both cycle clothing - when you've ridden on premium cycle gear, you would never go back to cheap stuff.
Rapha and Assos may be "designer" but comparing paying say £30 at Gap and £300 at Armani for a pair of jeans which are functionally identical (and probably made from the same materials in factories 2 minutes apart) to paying £20 at Aldi and £150 at Rapha for the only protection between your bum and the bike is not a valid comparison

Indigo_and_Violet

Farfetch said:

Rapha and Assos may be "designer" but comparing paying say £30 at Gap and £300 at Armani for a pair of jeans which are functionally identical (and probably made from the same materials in factories 2 minutes apart) to paying £20 at Aldi and £150 at Rapha for the only protection between your bum and the bike is not a valid comparison

Fair. I'll accept that Rapha is significantly better quality than Aldi. Personally, I don't notice the difference (apart from needing several sizes larger) between Rapha and e.g. Endura, Ale, but then the pads on women's kit are so variable that it's a bit more a case of finding what works for your bum. 

Farfetch

Endura are decent enough, I have 2-3 of the FS260 ones with the pad width thing for my sit bones in the right bib size but even then riding on them vs the pro team kit from Rapha is a big difference, more like a sofa vs a cushion on a chair

DUTR

wasty said:

Halfords says the “important thing is to wear clothing that will wick sweat away, not leave damp fabric close to your body”, but doesn’t give any suggestions for the type of material or products!  Anyone have suggestions?

Never mind what Halfords say, right now it's about you.
I've recently purchased some base layers, prior to that I was using some Primark fitness t-shirts (which are excellent)
I then had a track suit top on (cotton inner) then soft shell cycling jacket or rainproof, I got a couple of base layers from sports direct (get a size up as they are that tight they are difficult to take off when you return, the Lidl had some £7, I got one and it's nicer to use than the Sondico ones, as the others have mentioned, unless you are mile munching at pace for a few hours the gear does not have to be expensive just practical and functional, that said I'd like to try merino wool.
That said don't dismiss halfords products just because it's on the high st, the cycle staff many of the ones I've dealt with are themselves keen cyclists.