How to choose cycling clothing

How to choose cycling clothing

Cycling clothing will make riding a bicycle more comfortable, enjoyable and will allow you to cover longer distances. Cycle to/from work, around the city, on a highway or in a forest at a peaceful pace or in a sporty mode – regardless of that, the cycling clothing will make your cycling more comfortable.

In our stores the new cycling clothing collection offers a very wide range of clothes.

Find the most suitable clothing

You do not need cycling clothing for athletes with a variety of logos of sponsors and supporters to cycle to the store or the beach. The choice of cycling clothing is not limited to models available for athletes. At present, we have a very good selection to choose from and everyone can find the most suitable clothing which meets the taste requirements.

Put on a flimsy cycling shirt in the winter and you will be freezing! Put on a thick jersey in the summer and you will get overheated. To find the right balance. You should need to find the right balance.

You have to find yourself a suitable cut, so that the clothes would not be too skin-tight or too loose. You need to understand whether you want aerodynamic cycling clothing for competition or loose-fitting casual wear.

To find the suitable cycling clothing, we recommend following these three steps:

1. Find a cut that suits you
2. Choose a cycling clothing appropriate for the particular weather
3. Find the colours and designs that you prefer.

Cycling jerseys and tops

It is important to find the most suitable cut for a bicycle top. Everyone has different preferences and body shapes, as well as sizes. Everything is very simple – there are more loose tops, which will be comfortable for all day long use, and there are tops that are suitable for active trainings and competitions. Both types of tops are available in various sizes for both big and small cyclists.

Tops, which are slightly more loose and suitable for all day long use, are more loose, but not completely loose compared to running tops. These tops are aerodynamical, but also very comfortable, with them you can safely go on long journeys, on the way making is also a stop for coffee. These tops have more loose shoulder and waist part so that you would not be too squeezed into it.

Bodyfit or very well-fitting cycling tops are suitable for active trainings and competitions. Usually such tops are used by ambitious amateurs and professional cyclists to achieve maximum result. These shirts are very aerodynamical and their front part is much shorter than the back. When trying this top on in the store and standing in front of a mirror you will look unusual to yourself, but when you will get on the bicycle and take the right posture, everything will be exactly as you need it.

When you have found the most appropriate cut for a shirt, it is necessary to choose the right top for the particular weather conditions. There are different models available, with a thinner or thicker material, with short or long sleeves, with full or partial zipper, highly breathable or windproof cycling tops.

For warm, hot, dry weather conditions we recommend cycling tops with short sleeves. These tops have high breathability and they wick the moisture away. For very hot weather we recommend to choose a particularly flimsy cycling top.

For changing weather conditions we recommend cycling tops with long sleeves. On days when it is dry, but cool, wear a shirt, which that blocks wind on the front, so that the body would not too cool too much. On rainy days a shirt from Sportful NoRain collection might come in handy, which also holds the moisture.

When you have chosen a shirt according to the weather conditions, do not forget about the colour and design. Yes, this is not the most important factor, but will you wear a shirt that you do not like? No! Make sure that you like the chosen colour and design and wear the shirt with joy.

Cycling shorts and pants

Cycling shorts and/or pants, and certainly the most important cycling clothing unit, as they should not only fit well, be comfortable and look good, but they must also ensure that we can sit on the bicycle seat for a long time. The so-called bicycle nappy or the padding is of great importance, we suggest you to spare no resources for cycling shorts or pants and buy a pair of shorts or pants of really good quality with which it will be a pleasure to ride.

We choose cycling shorts for the warm period of year, but pants for the end of the autumn, winter and beginning of spring.

When choosing a pair of shorts and pants, take into account the following factors:

• Loose or slim-fitting?Mostly there are fitting cycling shorts, but more and more popular become loose bicycle shorts as well, because they are used for daily, leisure and tourism trips. Loose shorts are available with and without padding.
• With or without braces?Tight cycling shorts for men are mainly used with braces, but the ladies are more likely to choose shorts without braces. There are available shorts without braces for men as well. Loose-fitting shorts usually are without braces.
• Padding. We recommend you to choose a pair of shorts with quality padding, because exactly padding is the thing that determines whether your ride with a bicycle will be enjoyable. The paddings are available in different thicknesses. The thickest paddings are designed for longer trips and cyclists who ride the bicycle rarely and whose buttocks have not yet become accustomed to the bicycle seat. Once you cycle enough kilometres, you will not feel the need for the thickest padding anymore.
• Material. We recommend choosing cycling shorts of quality material which are highly breathable and wick the excess moisture away. You will not feel comfortable sitting on a bicycle seat, if shorts become wet very quickly. For autumn and spring season there are available Noraini cycling shorts which have a warm lining and which holds the moisture.
• For beginners. Beginners often do not want to buy bike shorts because they feel uncomfortable in them. In such case, we recommend you cycling underpants, which are also padded and which can be worn under any shorts.

Cycling jackets

Cycling jackets in Latvian climate are topical from mid-autumn until mid-spring. Usually choosing a jacket raises two questions: whether it will be warm enough and whether it will be breathable. Some jackets provide both functions, but take into account the following:

• How warm is warm enough? The thickness of a jacket depends on the weather conditions under which you want to use it. There is a big difference between cycling at +5 degrees or at -3 degrees. We recommend you to buy a jacket that is warm, holds the wind and wicks the moisture so that you would be protected from external influences. We recommend regulating your internal microclimate with the bottom layer. In warmer weather conditions it is better to wear a thinner thermal shirt, but in colder weather – thicker one or even two.
• Will the jacket detain moisture? All winter cycling jackets hold the wind, but all jackets, which prevent wind, wick away moisture as well (do not retain 100%). There are available also NoRain jackets, which hold moisture very well. Jackets, which are called rain jackets, are usually thin and intended only for preventing water penetration.

Accessories        

Arm and leg warmers will come in handy on cooler days. They are easy to put in and take out from pocket of the cycling shirt, as well as easy to put on and put off. Arm and leg warmers provide with extra warmth, some models hold the wind and moisture. Choose Sportful, Gore or Castelli arm and leg warmers.

Cycling gloves are necessary both in winter and summer. For cold months of the year choose any gloves of the autumn/winter glove collection which are very warm and block the wind. Summer cycling gloves are thinner.
For summer you can choose long or short cycling gloves from Sportful and Silvinit.

Cycling hats will come in handy in the autumn, winter and spring, when body is in need of extra warmth. The hat should be worn under the helmet.

 

Dress in layers

It is very important to wear clothes in several layers to ensure maximum comfort. During summer seasons for the upper part of the body usually undershirt, shirt, vest and hand shields are used, but for the bottom part – shorts and foot shields or knee pads. Then depending on the weather conditions you can put something on or take it off. In cold season of the year, on the upper part cyclists usually wear a jacket and put on thermal underwear under it, but for the bottom part warm pants are enough.

We hope these recommendations will help you to choose the appropriate cycling clothing from our wide offer.

If you want to learn more and find the most appropriate item, feel free to come to any of our stores in Riga – we will explain and help you to find cycling clothes that fit you best.