General Cycling Discussion - Biking clothes

Hi all:

I have what may seem like a stupid question, so please forgive me, I'm just picking up biking again after many years of getting fat and lazy.

I need suggestions for clothing to wear while riding in warm and hot weather. When it was cooler, I wore sweats, but it's too warm for that now.

I'm a big guy, and there's no way I'm going to wear anything skin-tight. I've got some nice CoolMax t-shirts, which are great, but I'm looking for something for pants. Jeans and normal pants are too hot, though they do provide some protection against road rash. Any ideas? What do you guys wear?

if you don't wanna be hot, wear shorts!

Good for you on getting back on your bike!

My recommendation is this: wear the lycra shorts -and- get yourself some nylon hiking shorts to wear over them.

I like to do cycle tours of rural areas, and one thing I've learned is that some of the townfolk don't cotton to some outsider come in dressed like the man from Mars -- or "Maaahz," if you're in Chepachet, Rhode Island.

So I always have a pair of light nylon hiking shorts in an outside pocket of a pannier to pull on when I want to go into a restaurant or drug store. These are comfortable enough to ride around in, and the worst anyone sees is what looks like baseball sliding shorts sticking out a half inch below the hiking short. (Sliding shorts aka compression shorts are what ballplayers wear to help prevent bruises and muscle pulls when they slide into bases. They're basically lycra shorts, tight fitting, and worn underneath the uniform.)

Get a pair of baggies, they look pretty much like regular shorts but have padding. Some of the mtn bike styles hang pretty low. Another option would be a pair of shorts that you feel comfortable in and get a pair of the padded briefs. I started out with those but gave in to the lycra. Yeah, I wouldnt want to look at me in them, but I dont have too and they keep me cool. I got over the uncomfortalble-ness of the look faster than the uncomfortable-ness of the rear.
I've not seen any long pants that are cool enough for a really hot day.

Welcome to bikeforums!

I just wear ordinary shorts, with ordinary boxers, while riding. I've never been overly uncomfortable with this set-up, but maybe I've just been lucky.

I live in a fairly rough London borough where I'd be lynched for wearing lyrca, now I know I'm pandering to public opinion, but that won't get the noose off from around my neck.

Anyway I'm glad your back on the bike, happy riding, Portent.

As a solitary female cyclist I also steered clear of lycra for a long time. I cut off the legs of some supplex pants at the knees. That left me with fairly modest, casual looking clothes both on and off the bike. However, they tended to "hook" on the nose of my saddle and ultimately I started wearing coolmax/lycra shorts. They are more comfortable on longer rides. I do pack a pair of casual shorts or pants in my trunk if I know I will be stopping at non-cycling locales. I find the double shorts to be too hot.

You can get padded cycling underwear, which you can wear with any shorts.
I like those lightweight polycotton hiking shorts. They have pockets to keep stuff in and zipped ones for your keys.
For cooler weather, long hiking pants are great. Jeans are probably the worst cycling leg-wear. They are heavy, stiff, soak up water, take days to dry, and have a massively thick seam running just where you dont need it.

I'm not as svelte as I might be, and I found that bike shirts are cut athleticly (in plain terms, they won't fit over my gut - even the big ones are designed for an NFL outside linebacker, not a fat guy). You can get safe/loud colors, material that will direct the sweat away and a cut that will fit you with fan-replica sports jerseys.

For longsleeve, I like soccer goalkeeper's jerseys because of the padding for warmth and safety.

I perfer MTB clothing (ride a road bike) due to the looser fit because it's cooler than the tight fitting CoolMax stuff.