AliceCuriouse

Hello,

I am a fairly new commuter and I bike about five miles to work. I have started taking my work blouse with me and wearing a cotton tank top so that my clothes are not sweaty when I start work. However, the cotton absorbs my sweat and I don't want to wear it again for my next morning's commute. But, I also don't want to launder five shirts a week just for my bike rides.

I have thought about the bike tops, but I feel kind of silly as a commuter wearing clothes that look like a road-bike racer would wear. I am just curious what kind of shirt I can wear that will not absorb all my sweat so that I only have to launder it once a week or so?

Thanks!

HardyWeinberg

smartwool!!

MichaelW

The only material that doesnt get stinky is merino wool. It is also more comfortable than synthetics, very soft and not at all itchy.
You can get merino/polyester mix but I prefer 100% merino in superfine grade.
I use a simple T-shirt style from here.

whatsmyname

For the price of one $70 merino top, you could get 8-10 wicking sports t-shirts from Wal-Mart/Target. Obviously, you pay for quality and they're great shirts, but for the sake of not laundering something for a quick commuting ride...

HardyWeinberg

You can also get 2 $35 merino shirts for the price of a $70 one but yeah it's all a matter of prioritizing.

chiefhoser

You'd also be paying 1000 kids 1 penny a piece for those shirts. Not to mention fattening the coffers of the electric/gas company for the extra washing and drying you'd be doing.

dipy911

There are cheap wicking shirt in the mens department of Wal-Mart. Also, there are bicycle shirts that don't look like . Besides, it's the shorts and shoes that nail you as a road-bike racer.

chipcom 

Any cheap polyester shirt from x-mart will do, merino wool is better yet, but please, wash them more than weekly, even if it's just rinsing off and hang drying.

ottawa_adam

+1 on merino wool. That's all I use now. And when I need to clean them, I do a quick handwash in the bathtub and they're dry in no time. Anything synthetic will accumulate bacteria and start to sweat after awhile unless you clean them promptly.

sean000

I agree that merino wool is fantastic... and it's comfortable in a wide range of temperatures. There are some short-sleeve lightweight merino wool cycling jerseys, but they do cost a bit and will still have a "roadie" look (although a more classic one). Smartwool has a good variety of options. I also highly recommend the smartwool hats for wearing under a helmet in cold temperatures (but you probably don't have that issue in SoCal).

Wool can develop a mild stink, but it generally takes repeated wearings and washes clean easily. I also find that loose fitting cotton or synthetic shirts are also nice, but it depends on how hot your commute is and how much you sweat. I can get to work pretty easily without sweating much...even in hot weather. Of course it helps that the temperature here in the Pacific Northwest rarely rises above 75 degrees... even in Summer. I have lived in very hot and humid climates though (Arkansas, Washington, DC, St. Louis). Some of the best Summer commuting shirts I've worn are casual button down short-sleeved shirts from REI. Most are a cotton and synthetic blend, and some are just a very lightweight cotton that breathes really well. A more stylish option would be a quality linen shirt. I bicycle in linen shirts sometimes and it's really comfortable unless you sweat enough to soak the fabric. Cotton gets pretty worthless once it's wet. If I'm planning to ride longer after work, I'll bring a t-shirt or cycling jersey. REI and other places sell some inexpensive synthetic t-shirts that are great on hot days, but I think these actually require more frequent washings than cotton. For some reason synthetics start to stink faster, and are harder to get really clean.

It's also a good idea to avoid wearing a backpack or messenger bag...which will always make your back sweaty, and use a pannier instead.

Sean

Torrilin

You're in Southern CA. It is being hotter than usual. This means extra laundry. There isn't much of a way around it when temps are breaking the 90s on the waterfront already, and you're as far inland as Pasadena. Even if you go for a more performance oriented fabric, you'll still have extra laundry.

You can skip extra dryer loads pretty easily with a drying rack. That will cut laundry costs a fair bit, and works well with both wool and wicking fabrics. Cotton will dry fine, but will be slower than the performance oriented fabrics. If you have a large-ish sink in your apartment, it would be easy to do small hand wash loads for further cost cutting.

545h4

So far, I've been having good luck with the synthetics that have silver woven into the thread. I know EMS makes them, not sure who else does. I'll agree that merino is the most versatile. But I wouldn't over look some of the 'smarter' synthetics that are out there.

If you do go with synthetics, pick up some WIN or NIKWAX for washing. It will preserve the lifespan of your clothing...! (So, in response to the post about cost, merino, even at $70, still wins out!)

no motor?

Some vinegar in the washing machine/soaking in the sink will cut down on the odors too.

chingon77

I have a pair of REI merino wool socks. I can vouch for merino wool socks not being stinky. I forget to wash these socks because they don't stink. I think i'm going on 2 weeks. I'm interested in some morino wool shirts. Are there any other places in the US that carry them?

Bekologist

another vote for merino as being the only reliable nonstinky tops you can get.

good deals at sierratradingpost sometimes, also Smartwool store online and Ibex online. Naturally, you geet better deals on summer weight clothing in the fall, not early summer, but hey. Icebreaker also makes some incredibly fine and lightweight wool garments.

There are some quite flattering and dare i say sexy tops from both smartwool and icebreaker if you like that type of thing.

I've ridden in a single wool jersey for five days at a time, touring in 100 plus heat..... a fine guage merino will not be too hot in summertime, it has a curious phenomenon of making you feel COOLER when you put on a LW merino shirt.

Mr. Underbridge

Are ya not doing laundry anyway? I realize that people vary, but there's no *way* I could re-use any of my shirts after one day (two rides), be they cotton or synthetic. I'll admit I haven't tried the Merino, but with your run of the mill fabrics, no way.

With those 90-100F temps you are or will soon be seeing, I'd get a few cheap, synthetic shirts.

timdoug

Places to buy wool.
swobo.com bike stuff wool jerseys very normal non-flashy I have 2 jerseys
ibexwear.com nice normal wool clothes both bike stuff and non-bike stuff
www.rapha.cc (walmart dude, take that) really pricey bike stuff that I don't own, but will make the cheapskates feel very superior for not buying.

There are many others. Google this: (woolen,wool,smartwool) (bicycle,bike,cycling) (jersey,jerseys) -review

Buglady

Cotton is icky I never like putting it back on even for the ride home the same day! I like Coolmax (or other quick dry polyester) t-shirts, and I have some Smartwool yardage that I swear I will eventually get around to making jerseys with... it just has to age in my fabric stash for a while longer... heh.

I vote for doing the extra laundry, though - hang things to dry, that will offset the extra energy use, and consider other clothes as re-wear candidates instead of the shirts you ride in.

cyclezealot

My experience with bike jersey . Those synthetic material rinses out easily, the smell goes away and they dry quickly. Just a dab of woolite and the stink is gone. And they are dry by the next morning. They can be found in plain colors without the three pockets on their backside. I wore plain jerseys to work . I'd rinse them in the sink when i got to work and they 'd be dry eight hours later.

Highcyclist

Icebreaker merino wool! It's what I wear on the bike 95% of the time. Wool is naturally antimocrobial, and the odor resistance is astounding.

zeytoun

For cheap merino wool try Marshalls, Ross, and the thrift store.

I often find long sleeve merino pullovers at Marshalls for $15-20
And at the thrift store for $5