After a hiatus from cycling, I discovered that black jerseys for hot-weather riding seem to be A Thing, and not just for New Zealanders. Further reading informs me that this is even called "coldblack."

My question is: is there anything to this? Do these black jerseys manage to keep you cool—or at least not make you any hotter than a light-colored jersey? Because they just look like an exercise in masochism.

What there is to it, it seems to me, is caring too much about not looking like one cares too much about what ones jersey looks like - or wanting it to match ones shorts.

Seriously, dark clothes strengthen their reputation for being hot by tending to be more dense; but you can get knits just as fine in black as you can in white or other colors, and when they are very light weight - practically sheer in some cases - the color makes no difference at all. I've found this to be the case with a couple of "climbers" jerseys I have - one mostly white, the other mostly black, both extremely fine knit and lightweight - sort of gauzy in parts, actually. How well they work as "air conditioners" (breathe and remove moisture) seems to be more important than how well they work to reflect energy from the sun or whatever.

if youre in texas the color doesnt make as much of a different as much as thickness, weave, etc. and in the texas summer none of it makes a difference

Here's an interesting test of the coldblack tech:

https://www.runnersworld.com/running...k-does-it-work
TL/DR: summary is that this treatment works on colored clothing - reducing temperature vs. non-treated clothing of the same color by 7-10 degrees. That said, white clothing still performs better. However other benefit of cold black treatment seems to be UV blocking. It's not clear to me if you can have cold black clothing that's white?
https://www.schoeller-textiles.com/e...gies/coldblack

There's a study out there on feathers (yeah, really) that shows that black feathers dissipate heat better than white when they're fluffed up a (so that air can pass through) little and when there's a bit of a breeze. The extension of this is that breathable black jerseys, with a breeze provided by the cyclist moving through the air, should dissipate heat better than white. I don't have any black jerseys so I can't say that I've experienced/confirmed this for myself, but if I catch a good SAS sale, I'll probably pick one up.

I don't have any black jerseys but when I wear black T shirts the sun quickly adds heat. Maybe that's just mostly due to living mile high in CO... My black car is always hotter than my wife's silver one. Ins't this just a matter of black absorbing rays and lighter colors reflecting the rays?

I own one mostly black jersey with coldblack fabric. It has been fine in Texas heat in the dead of summer. I think a big factor, as mentioned earlier, is the weight of the fabric. I also have a Castelli climber's jersey with a lot of black on it that feels fine in the heat. However, that will not have as much UV protection as light goes straight through the mesh-like pattern. I have a few jerseys that are fully relegated to cool to cold weather use because they are thick enough to be miserable in full heat.

I've never noticed any difference between any of my jerseys in regards to how hot or cold they are compared to each other.

Maybe something to do with living in Minnesota?

How so? We get into the 90s regularly in the summer months and being the land of 10,000 lakes it gets extremely humid.

Coming from someone who grew up in Southern MN, that one flew over your head.

How many days in a row have you seen highs in the triple digits?

Oh, I get that his comment was likely tongue in cheek. It just wasn't funny enough to acknowledge as such.

Let me consult the Excel spreadsheet I created for daily temperature readings.

Fabric weight/thickness and construction matter, color is basically irrelevant. I have jerseys in a range of colors, and some breathe better than others, so those are cooler.

Also, if you think 90ş is hot, you live somewhere that it doesn't get hot.

I'm not saying 90+ isn't hot but I have jerseys that are fine at 70 degrees, not fun at 85-90 (not that 85-90 is fun at all), but would feel suffocating at 100 degrees. From the low 90's on up, it can make a big difference.

I thought it was pretty funny.

Temperatures can feel a lot different depending on the humidity levels. When you sweat and it does not go anywhere and you can't wear your glasses because they're fogged up it feels hotter. That said, I don't mind heat and ride into the triple digits without a second thought.

I'm sorry.

I think it could be a mental thing for me. I have worn black and other dark color jerseys here in Tennessee where it can get over 100 and high humidity. I prefer white and light colors during the summer and do the best I can for the temps. And yes, fabric type and weave plays a major part as to how cool it will keep you, no matter the color. I basically think black draws sun light and makes things hotter. (Think black cars) They are like an oven inside after sitting out in the sun for a few hours!

For me, high visibility is more important than any potential slight heat difference. So I stick to bright colors.

For the record, it was absolutely not supposed to be funny. Just stating the fact that doing the HTFU thing for that one really hot month in MN is different from 2-3 months of brutal summers in other parts of the country. I could wear the same jersey from 50 degrees to triple digits, but it's kind of nice to have a couple that make the brutal months that much less brutal. (says the guy that didn't even ride this summer )

I have several black jerseys and one brown jersey I wear through most of the summer in rotation with lighter color jerseys (white, light blue, highlighter yellow). I also rotate between three helmets (white, blue and white, and dark grey and green) Most summers, it doesn't get too hot here in Wisconsin, maybe into the high 80s in mid July through mid August. But just as often, it is more like low 80s or even upper 70s near Lake Michigan, so jersey and helmet color usually isn't too great a concern. That said, on days where the temps go above 90 degrees, I usually go with a light colored jersey and the white helmet. Probably just a mental thing, though.

I think it is more that black kit is supposed to make you look cool- more important for some

than comfort or function.

Same with black cars.

As a person with both a black car and several black jerseys I resemble this remark.