Men’s Cycling Jerseys Essentials: Don’t Shop Without Knowing These 5 Features

This is part 1 of a two part post about mens cycling jerseys.

Being a bit of a noob I haven’t really had cause to buy many jerseys, and the last one I bought (days cycles) wore out a few years ago.  So when I decided that I wanted a new one it took only a little work to discover that not all jerseys are created equally.  So for other noobs out there looking for their first mens cycling jersey, this is for you.

The key part of the top is to keep you warm, or cool, and dry.  The second function is to carry any clobber that won’t actually fit on the frame of the bike or in the saddle bag, whatever shape or size you go for.  So look out for these key features:

Wicking

The wicking comes from a combination of being next to the skin – essentially tight – the materials, and how they are woven.  The technology is designed to absorb the sweat from your body and by capillary action get it to the surface where it evaporates. The cheaper options of giordana cycling jerseys, for example, use 100% polyester, whilst more expensive models use mixed fibre, or even wool.

You can get a few now which have an anti-bacterial agent built into the fabric to reduce smell, and this is activated when it is washed and/or through body heat.

Keeping you warm

The back is long purposefully, and this is why it is a good idea to try before you buy, and adopt a leaning over angle.  If you wear bib shorts then you will have a good high back anyway, and this provides an even better layer. One of the problems of leaning over is a cold back, and it’s not just a comfort thing either.  Cycling puts a great deal of strain on the lower back muscles, and if they get cold you could end up with problems.

Keeping you cool

The wicking has been mentioned, but one thing I found tricky was the zip!  Make sure there is a long tag on it, and the zipper is quite strong.  It must glide easily up and down though as you will often have to do this one handed.  Also, how low do you want to be able to drag it downwards to keep you cool?  In even the cooler weathers when the air is still I am grateful for being able to drop the zip to navel point on the hills, but then get it back up again on the decent.

The back pocket

I got caught out on my mens cycling jersey because it was smaller than I thought, and had a zip.  Admittedly the zip keeps my phone safe, and I can just about squeeze in an apple and some glucose tabs alongside.  However I wish that I had paid attention and gotten a much bigger pocket!  It’s useful for carrying extra supplies, even a spare inner tube!  Also, when you are wearing it, make sure that when you are leaning over road bike cycling it will fit comfortably and your stored items will sit where you want them.  This is often slightly below tail bone point, but everyone is different.

Finally, don’t just be cool, look cool.

My favourite of men’s cycle jersey I came across is designed as the Seuss character, cat in the hat.  It’s straight to the present list!

When you go cycle clothes hunting, what do you think is the most important aspect?  Warmth?  Dryness?  Or looking good?  Is there a particular manufacturer or sponsor design you go for, or do you have a local club ‘look’?

Link: http://icyclelite.com/mens-cycling-jerseys/

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Tags: giordana cycling jerseys, mens cycle jersey, mens cycle jerseys, mens cycling jersey, mens cycling jerseys

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 at 11:30 am and is filed under Cyclewear. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.