I start riding a bike as a fun way to exercise myself and loose weight. Right now I'm using casual cotton t-shirts and baggy shorts. I sweat a lot and it feels very uncomfortable, mostly between legs, causing my lot of soreness and irritation in that area. Getting into one of those tight lycra shorts doesn't appeal to me. I don't want to show of my butt and rolls of fat!

Do you know of clothing suitable for cycling that helps to keep you "dry"? Where can I get it?

It sounds stupid but I think that is better to stop riding the bike and wait until I loose some more pounds with diet.

Matt

Hi,
I was 290 when I started riding, I now weigh 260.My opinion is that you should be aiming for a healthy way of life; and bicycling is perfect for that. If you want to keep at it,
you have some choices. Most bikes come with crap saddles. Try a WTB Speed V, not the big comfort one. It takes a week or two to get used to a new saddle, so give it time. Saturday I rode on mine about 32 miles.The next thing is that lycra is the way to go. Get a
tube of skin lotion from a drugstore (lotion without alcohol in it) and use it before you go out riding. Lastly, Performance makes a nice 3X cycling shirt, and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
https://www.performancebike.com/shop/....cfm?SKU=16342

this is the short I use

https://www.performancebike.com/shop/....cfm?SKU=14591

Matt,
First off great plan to shed some weight, I weighed 260 last year now I'm down to 190 and I love life so much more I'm thankful for my changes. I didn't start biking until this year, so I didn't have to buy bike clothing when I was heavier, my suggestions however would be to go with maybe a mtb short or a normal bike short and wear a pair of basketball shorts over them it's what I did when I started riding becuase I wasn't going to be one of thoughs weirdo's wearing spandex all around town, I think I even told my family I'd kick my own @$$ if I wore just spandex. But after awhile it just happend and now to me it's normal to walk around with the world to see my bulge, the neighbors still look at me weird but oh well. Anyway that's my advice normal bike shorts with basketball shorts over them, and they make a coolmax kinda t-shirt but I'm not sure on this one I perfer to wear the most out there jerseys avaible.

I would check out some baggy MTB shorts. You get the benefit of Spandex and padding without, well...looking like you're wearing spandex. These will help with and you should notice a big improvement over just regular shorts. You can find companies that make these shorts in the larger sizes. Like Superman said, normal spandex bike shorts with a pair of athletic shorts over them is another option. You might also want to get some Chamois Butter or something similiar to cut down on chafing/irritation. If you don't like any of the cycling shorts ideas, you could look into some kind of athletic apparel that breathes well.

-Moab

Here is a company that has "Clydesdale" specific clothing at reasonable prices. I have a pair of these and they are of "good" quality. Not quite as comfy as my Pearl Izumi Microsensor shorts, but also 1/3 the price.

Borah Plus

BTW, I'm a Rhino Ryder (250+), beyond Clydesdale!

L8R

I've gotten quite satisfactory xxxxl bib shorts on eBay, Polish manufactured (insert obvious jokes here) sold by GearLink in Florida.

For shirts, I've found that even the big sizes are designed for an NFL outside linebacker, not an "American cut" body, and so I find that fan-replica sports jerseys are made out of the same material that helps with drawing the perspiration off, and are bright colors the drivers see.

For cool weather, I wear and recommend soccer goalkeeper's jerseys, as they're longsleeve and thicker (for warmth) and even have padded elbows (for those low speed tumbles when you're learning how to get out of clipless pedals!!)

i'm not skinny... not very fat either.




i just wear nike athletic shorts and a T-shirt.. its comfortable for me, possibly because i've been doing heavy athletics in those sort of clothes for so long.

I did very nicely with bibs and a jersey from longscycles.com (the grabbagg ones which list at $35, and I got 20% off during a sale). I weigh 275 (down from 285 last month) wear 44x32 pants and bought their xxxl size, although I saw some products with yet one more x (XXXXL, a very lengthy way of writing ten in roman numerals). They are comfortable but very snug around the bottoms of my thighs (I have no problem doing one leg extensions with 250 lbs at the gym).

Now if I could just figure out a simple way to take a leak with bibs and jersey.

I'm 239 (down from 278) and have had really good luck finding "big" clothes at Nashbar (nashbar.com). Our local Wal-Mart is currently carrying jersey-like shirts that work really well on top.

You can get cycling underwear, which you can wear under a pair of ordinary shorts. Most camping shops sell T shirts in wicking materials. They are usually a bit looser fit than stretchy cycling jerseys.
I do a lot of riding in fairly standard hiking gear. The material work as well as cycling gear, but Id feel a bit stupid riding to the library or shops in my shorts and yellow jersey.

Performance clothing, I've never had a problem with the fit of their stuff.

I've gone from 290ish to 218 since last christmas.

My 3x performance jerseys now fit like short skirts (don't ask), I'd let 'em go cheap...

as far as shorts go, get over the fear of lycra. It's simply THE only way to be comfortable on a bike seat. who cares what it looks like, it's your comfort, not theirs.

Gotta agree, Performance.com Good larger sizes without killing your wallet. Also, just my 2 cents, pass on the baggies. If you are going to be a cyclist, then be a cyclist. You really wont want your shorts blooming out behind creating a parachute.

Yep, 230 at years end, 185 now. You can skimp on shirts and jerseys and just get cool-max or the like in t-shirts/sports shirts. Bike shorts are the way to go for comfort, especially when you are large (more soft tissue). Go to the above links and ge the shorts and also make sure the saddle you are using is right for you. Spandex will give a little after the first few wearings so if they are too small to start give it a few rides and they will loosen up.

I am not a large person but I sometimes find the combination of compression shorts and a pair of baggy nylon soccer shorts more comfortable than cycling shorts.

The soccer shorts have no liner and are pretty much worn for modesty's sake. The compression shorts are lycra/spandex and keep everything cool and in the right place.

Coolmax makes a big difference. Dump the cotton shirts.

Dan

Wow!

Thanks for all the good ideas. Now I see that I have a lot of alternatives. Stop riding my bike is not one of them!