Originally Posted by cyclezealot
Foehn...Are all fleece pullover's the same..They all are made of wicking properties. When I think fleece, I think cotton..To me, cotton does not wick?
As others have suggested, I am talking about polyester fleece, Polartec or similar.
A couple of years ago, just at the tail end of a polyester-fleece fasion fad cycle, I picked up at a yard sale two pullover polyester fleece shirts, each with about a 9" zipper in the front from. I think they were originally sold by Target. One is red and the other blue and their back panels are "drop tail", that is they are longer in the back than in the front. I can go out in one of those on a cooler day (50-60° F) and they wick quite well and are just enough to keep the chill off, especially when I have to stop at lights and stuff. The red one is quite bright and the drop-tails cover my hips, which I appreciate when it is cold. The best thing? I am still wearing them, they still have alot of life left and I only paid 5$ for the pair!
I have a Wind-stopper Polartec Fleece Jacket I use when it gets colder. It is bright, pure yellow and is really nice to ride in. I paid quite a bit more for this than the shirts above, but I don't think it wicks any better, but it is nice when I am out when it is colder.
Do not get the cotton "athletic" fleece, or even the cotton/poly athletic fleece. They will just soak stuff up and stay wet. I went out today in a cheap, big ol' hooded sweat-shirt, 50/50 cotton poly, and it was pretty comfortable, but it was cool enough out to keep me from sweating too much. I got plenty of looks in it as it is High-Visibility Dayglo Chartreuse (lime yellow-green); I bought is because of the color and it was only 10 bucks--hey, what can I say, I am frugal. If I am out and it gets to the point that I am sweating and getting soaked, I am not riding in this shirt--it'll be tied onto my rack trunk.
I think a decent fleece overshirt/jacket combined with a good wicking jersey or wicking t-shirt is the only way to go in the relatively mild cold we have here and if it gets colder use more layers--didn't you know that our 40-60º winters are killers?