Sweaty Betty

Hi guys & gals. After some advice on dealing with the whole sweating thing. Been riding nearly 10 months now and pretty much every time I go out on the bike my t-shirt is drenched, my socks are giving me trench foot and my legs feel like i've just stepped out the shower. Being uncomfortably warm is normal daily life for me, I sleep with an Air Con fan unit blowing directly at me throughout the year even when there's snow on the ground outside. On the bright side my central heating bills a pretty low until the other half wins the thermostat battle.

I wear a supposedly all-weather jacket with all the vents open ( https://www.jsaccessories.co.uk/buy/frank-thomas-tornado-jacket-black-white/24571.htm ), and likewise vented trousers with the thermal lining removed ( https://www.jsaccessories.co.uk/buy/frank-thomas-reflector-pants-black/26303.htm ). Underneath it's just a t-shirt on top and boxers on the bottom (I tried 3 quarter trousers underneath once, it felt horrible).

I'm thinking of heading back to J&S and seeing what mesh jackets they have. My mate has an RST mesh jacket that looks much lighter and airier (unfortunately he's a small chap and the jacket won't fit me to try it out) and I noticed they do some mesh stuff in their FT brand if I want to cheap out. I'm hoping i'll also find some lighter trousers whilst i'm there, although I haven't found anything specific like the jacket options.

I've read online some people swear by base layers. Seems counter intuitive to me that putting additional clothing on would result in a net reduction in body temperature. Does anyone here actually suffer from sweating that is fixed by base layers that can attest to this? Oxford sell some cheapish base layers, or there's sports shops that sell the under armour stuff. So i'm willing to try that out.

So does anyone have any tips? Anyone tried base layers to stay cooler? Anyone have a mesh jacket for summer use that they can recommend?

Same issue here. If I get home after a ride everything is damp with sweat.

I tend to wear under armour heat gear under my suit/clothes when I ride as it’s designed to wick away sweat and dry fast, also depends what type of riding you do if it’s a lot of slow speed stuff you tend to sweat more as your not being blasted by the cold wind as you would if you was riding big open roads.

I believe Knox do some outwear jackets that are extensively lightweight but well armoured?

Then of course *insert speak to your GP here* type comment.....

I tend to ride quick enough to keep myself cool, and don't have any experience of base layers

I've read online some people swear by base layers. Seems counter intuitive to me that putting additional clothing on would result in a net reduction in body temperature. Does anyone here actually suffer from sweating that is fixed by base layers that can attest to this? Oxford sell some cheapish base layers, or there's sports shops that sell the under armour stuff. So i'm willing to try that out.

So does anyone have any tips? Anyone tried base layers to stay cooler? Anyone have a mesh jacket for summer use that they can recommend?

Base layers are for retention of body heat.

A have a furygan arrow jacket with the liner removed I don't find it overly sweaty, I have lined jeans but I'm giving serious consideration to the new unlined knox dyneema single layer jeans.

I've read online some people swear by base layers. Seems counter intuitive to me that putting additional clothing on would result in a net reduction in body temperature. Does anyone here actually suffer from sweating that is fixed by base layers that can attest to this? Oxford sell some cheapish base layers, or there's sports shops that sell the under armour stuff. So i'm willing to try that out.

So does anyone have any tips? Anyone tried base layers to stay cooler? Anyone have a mesh jacket for summer use that they can recommend?

 

Base layers are for retention of body heat.

Base layers can also “wick” moisture away from the skin to help keep you dry and cool.

So does anyone have any tips? Anyone tried base layers to stay cooler? Anyone have a mesh jacket for summer use that they can recommend?

Base layers are for retention of body heat.

No, they are not exclusively for retention of heat. they tend to have very low water absorbance and are high wicking.. which means that in the warmer weather as you sweat it evaporates faster and cools you down. in the cold.. we don't sweat so much so that feature isn't apparent. Thermals are not just for the winter. Though in summer i tend to wear the white ones I have for when the jacket comes off.

[mention]Gerontious[/mention] & [mention]JRH[/mention]

Ok thanks, it never occurred to me to put base layers on in the summer.

So does anyone have any tips? Anyone tried base layers to stay cooler? Anyone have a mesh jacket for summer use that they can recommend?

 

Base layers are for retention of body heat.

No, they are not exclusively for retention of heat. they tend to have very low water absorbance and are high wicking.. which means that in the warmer weather as you sweat it evaporates faster and cools you down. in the cold.. we don't sweat so much so that feature isn't apparent. Thermals are not just for the winter. Though in summer i tend to wear the white ones I have for when the jacket comes off.

Thanks for the replies.

I think i'll grab me a set of Under Armour layers whilst it's not yet baking hot and see how I get on. May still have to go buy some mesh gear for summer but it doesn't look like there's much between tarmac and skin with mesh stuff so ideally i'd not be reliant on it too much.

I tend to run on the warm side as well. I do always wear wicking base layers on the bike and they tend to do the trick for me. No need to go super expensive. I have a mix of Helly Hanson, Gore, Lidl, under armour and a few weird tk maxx specials. They all pretty much do the trick. Thinner ones for summer, thicker ones, or merino wool for winter. As I said on another thread, I tend to wear fully length layers (long legs, long arms) rather than shorts and t-shirt style ones. Although it may seem counter intuitive, it stops your skin "sticking" to your bike gear.

Outlast is another "magical" liner available in jackets, gloves, trousers that can help to keep you cool, and warm. I have it in my gloves and it is fantastic. Definitely will be buying a jacket and trousers with it when I come to buying new kit.

Although it may seem counter intuitive, it stops your skin "sticking" to your bike gear.

Outlast is another "magical" liner available in jackets, gloves, trousers that can help to keep you cool, and warm. I have it in my gloves and it is fantastic. Definitely will be buying a jacket and trousers with it when I come to buying new kit.

That's the biggest thing for me. The liner of my trousers wraps my legs like cling film before i've got the bike out the back garden. Glad to hear i'm not the only one!

Sports Direct have some own brand heat gear stuff at about £20 for the set. Or there's Under Armour stuff at £50 for the set. So i'm going to order something from there and see how I go

I got myself a set of these this weekend:

I was boiling on the bike, which reminded me of this thread. So I popped in to Sports Direct and got the set for £28, which is a lot less than I thought I'd have to fork out. I went straight to the changing room, put them on and got back on the bike. The difference is unexplainable!

I got myself a set of these this weekend:

Wow that top is HUGE compared to the trousers.

I got myself a set of these this weekend:

 

Wow that top is HUGE compared to the trousers.

I always skip leg days

I got myself a set of these this weekend:

...

I was boiling on the bike, which reminded me of this thread. So I popped in to Sports Direct and got the set for £28, which is a lot less than I thought I'd have to fork out. I went straight to the changing room, put them on and got back on the bike. The difference is unexplainable!

Thanks for the info. Just ordered me a set of those so i'll see if I have the same result

And don't forget ..... It won't let you down