On a whim, I bought an old wool jersey. It is a short sleeve, short zip, thin wool jersey in a cool French blue with "Cycles Catieau" on the chest and "au Tour de France" on the shoulders.

On a further whim, I pulled it on when we left the house to do a quick errand. It is about 85 F here so I wanted something short sleeved and cool.

OMG. I'm dying. How did people ride bikes in hot weather with wool jerseys? I'm feeling overheated just driving in the car. And the zip only opens up, it feels like, a half inch.

Seriously - are wool jerseys just for cool weather riding? Or do they magically become refreshing and airy when you're pegging your heartrate during a hot day on the bike. Because I think I'd have to pull this off and ride nekkid if I wasn't, well, merely driving among errands.

The problem for you is you are not riding and do not get the wicking effect. I ride wool exclusively with a wicking undershirt. I am never hot when riding. Once I stop, I can get warm, but while riding I am comfortable.

I can't talk bike jerseys but I can talk fashion. Wool, in various weight knits, is an excellent moisture wicking textile and it doesn't hold odor. As moisture is moved from skin you cool. Light knit wool in summer is lovely.

Indeed, the cooling effect while riding is significant. I once rode wearing a very spiffy, glitzy, artificial fabric shirt for a sponsor. I was overheating the duration of the event, and then froze (in June) afterwards. I'd be curious to know the suitability of polarfleece type material.

A wicking base layer does indeed help. I like Capilene One. Best stuff ever.

Silk is nice too, as in thermal base layer type items (thermal underwear layers). I doubt anyone makes any silk jerseys. Well...maybe they do but I don't wear jerseys, so I wouldn't really know. Maybe Prada?

Ah, yes, those are called camisoles . . .

In 55F to 70F weather I love my long-sleeve wool jersey.
But you couldn't pay me to wear it in 80F+ weather.

can't do bike jerseys, Gucci and Louis Vuitton for clothing and louboutin loafers in caged pedals only. and the odd time i rock the presidential on the wrist. Yea i got swag..

I wear wool in all temperatures. Its all I own. Works fine.

[MENTION=56904]Maple[/MENTION]leaves-13 - nice taste.

moisture + no significant air movement = overheating

Moisture + air movement = evaporation or cooling

Take a metal water bottle. Fill it with water and measure the temp. Place in your bottle cage. Wrap a wash cloth around it and secure with some rubber bands. Douse the wash cloth with rubbing alcohol and ride until the cloth is dry or nearly so. Measure the water's temp. Enjoy a cooler, refreshing drink!

Okay, I got it - wear it for actual riding, not posing :-)

I wear wool jerseys. I have lots of them, and love them. But when it gets that warm, I'm usually just in a Capilene 1 layer.

[MENTION=63590]jyl[/MENTION]- I think our C & V participants should be encouraged to wear wool! Especially if it's going to be this hot!

My thinking exactly. Here is the offending article



I wanted a wool jersey to wear on our Portland C&V ride . . . and we'll be starting early enough that we should beat most of whatever heat there is.

This being Portland, though, it will probably be raining . . .

Hey how about a C&V BF wool jersey order of all of us!

It's been tried before, but we could never agree on a design. Got an idea?

Not really, keeping it simple and straight forward works for me as it would not be too difficult and would have the largest acceptance with some level of curiosity for those not in the know. I am an engineer so don't have the artistic genes, just simple requirements.

Polarfleece is a great insulator, but retains too much sweat in heavy activity. On cold rides, I wore a silk base layer, then polarfleece vest and a regular synthetic long sleeve jersey over it. That worked well to keep the heat in my torso while the day warmed up. The silk kept me dry, and enough wind passed through the jersey to evaporate off excess sweat collected by the polarfleece.

I tried a polarfleece lined water resistant shell jacket and it turned into a sweat lodge inside. I was wetter than the slight rain could have gotten me during a ride.

Portland Cyclewear - highest quality & best prices on merino wool cycling jerseys

I've always liked the look of these. If we had 20 orders, they'd be $53/$58 each for short/long sleeve, plus $12 for embroidery on the chest and $9 for any arm embroidery, so call it $65 to $79 per jersey.