Road Bike Clothing: What to Wear and How to Choose

While riding your bike through the roads there is something you need to take care of really well apart from your safety. It’s how you look while riding which primarily points to your clothing. Bikers are understandably more cautious of their looks as they cannot hide behind a driving seat wearing any casual clothing.

For professional bikers, it is even more important to have a perfect riding outfit as it indeed supports their performance especially for longer distances. The design specifications can vary according to the need of the rider and hence these outfits can be slightly expensive. However, they provide with the much needed results i.e. a better riding experience.

So what is it that makes a perfect riding outfit? You will find the answers here in this article.

Concern: What Road Cycling Clothes Do I Need?

Generally our clothing has to comply with the weather conditions. With the innovation in technology, the modern outfits comply with almost all weather conditions: Rain, Extreme Heat, Cold or Storm. These outfits have the answers to all questions the weather can throw at them.

• Jerseys

Bike Jerseys are most widely used tops for bikers. A large variety in designs and fabric suit bikers of all ages. Top brands such as Lycra are most widely used by bikers because of their comfortable fit, stylish designs that give a real feel of main stream biking as well as cost effectivity.

• Shorts

Biking shorts have to adjust perfectly to ensure bikers with comfort as well as support for limb extension. Stretchable fabric is best to ensure the aforementioned. Shorts with padded liner for crotch comfort along with longer cut legs will provide you with the ultimate comfort during your bike ride.

So what makes these clothes so wanted? The answer to that is present below.

What to Consider

We shall see some major aspects while choosing your biking clothes are as follows:

1. Fabric

Fabric is the key to an enjoyable biking experience. The clothing material can considerably affect the performance of a rider. These fabrics are technologically advanced and can withstand weather conditions of all sorts. The fabrics are stretchable and hence ensure comfortable limb movement and forward leaning. One good quality of these fabrics is that they are waterproof and pass heat through so that the body keeps cool while riding.

2. Design

Another important aspect of your clothing design. It matters as much as the fabric. There are some key considerations while choosing a design for jerseys and shorts. Keeping them in mind will help you decide what road cycling clothes you need.

A good design should ensure easy movement, proper ventilation, and a comfortable fit. It should provide back and waist support as well as comfort for your thighs.

Proper ventilation can be guaranteed by collars. Round neck collars may not allow as effective ventilation and hence the body can heat up and you might feel exhausted too soon.

Riding is all about efficient and quick limb movements and hence the designs that support free movement of your limbs are ideal for your ride. Wide shoulders and short sleeve designs allow better arm extension.

3. Comfort

Bikers can face a rough time while riding especially in case they fall on rough surfaces. A bikers dress should therefore cater to the need of safety of important body parts. Padding is a suitable option for most dresses. Bikers can take a fall any time so it is better to keep the shoulders, back and crotch padded with soft material. In addition to safety, these padding also work as anti-bacterial and avoid wicks moisture.

The latest designs accommodate space for these padding within the jersey and the shorts so there is no extra clothing required for the bikers.

Some of the padding technologies include multi density foam liners which work well for long rides. Lower cost liners include closed cell technology while open cell padding technology is most suitable for mountain rides especially at higher temperatures.

Conclusion

So next time when you ask yourself “what road cycling clothing do I need?” make sure you research well about what suits you best keeping the above considerations in mind. You will definitely feel a difference in your biking experience once you feel comfortable while riding.