I use NO AD 30 SPF... I don't ever sun burn, but I do want to protect my skin. NO AD seems to work, is water/sweatproof, and very cheap.

Regardless of what kind of sunscreen you have (well most sunscreens), you should reapply it every two hours or so.

Sorry... double post

No sunscreen here in Kansas. Getting my farmer's tan early April. Unless you are amelenotic, go for it. If you have white-pasty skin, or are getting out late, bullfrog or zinc-oxide may be in order.

Not to hijack the thread, but does anyone use light cotton arm and leg sleeves to act as protection from the sun? Essentially, the same deal as arm/leg warmers but much lighter/cooler. Something like that would potentially work very well for those of us that live/ride in the tropics.

V.

Years ago I read about a study from a non-profit org called Environmental Working Group. It looked intensively at the effectiveness of a wide variety of sunscreens and potential health risks associated with their usage.
Long-story-short: if you aren't using a screen with either Zi or Ti oxide, According to them, you might as well not even bother.
In addition, many creams have chemicals which are considered hormone disruptors. One such chem can cause male fish to develop ovaries and such.

Here's a link to the EWG sunscreen ranking which, I'm disappointed to see now, has links to products on Amazon.:notamused: I still think their info and research is probably sound.

Important: Many of the top rated Zi and Ti sunscreens can be a bit greasy, and can give your skin a bit of a whitish cast. Read the reviews. And if showing off a better complexion today while riding is more important to you than long term skin health, don't follow the offered advice.

Thanks for the info. My skin already has a bright white cast, hence the need for protection :-)

I guess my Banana Boat Sport SPF 30 is going to kill me. Oh well. Maybe my lily white skin will keep me from being hit by a car. Almost as shocking as my yellow rain jacket! ;)

Dicks sporting carries an Underarmour hotwear long sheeve tshirt. It provides SPF 30, vs sfp 2 for normal shirts/jerseys. It barely warms you up and beats having holes cut out of the back of your arms.

If the whiteness of Ti sunscreens is an issue, they can be colorized with liquid makeups to not be so apparent. The only major issue with one's like neutragena sensitive skin is it rolls off with sweat when it's hot.

Dicks sporting carries an Underarmour hotwear long sheeve tshirt. It provides SPF 30, vs sfp 2 for normal shirts, jerseys. It barely warms you up and beats having holes cut out of the back of your arms.

If the whiteness of Ti sunscreens is an issue, they can be colorized with liquid makeups to not be so apparent. The only major issue with one's like neutragena sensitive skin is it rolls off with sweat when it's hot.

I was diagnosed a year and a half ago with malignant melanoma at age 27, so these days I'm very careful about sun protection. I encourage everyone to take precautions to protect themselves so that they don't have to go through what I did.


I bought a couple of pairs of "sun sleeves" made by Pearl Izumi that have UPF of 50. They look like white arm warmers. So far this year the temps here have only gotten up to the low 90's, but I have been very happy with the sleeves. I get no sun on my arms, and I think they actually keep me cooler than having bare arms. It probably has to do with the moisture being wicked away. I haven't been able to find any sort of tights with UPF for warm weather though.

Thanks for all the good advise. This weekend I rode 33 miles on a bright sunny day in the 80s. I used Coppertone Sport spf 50 and a wicking head band made from an old jersey. The copperone worked great on my already pink legs, arms, neck, ears and face. The headband made from an old performance century jersey kept the sun off my forehead and the sweat out of my eyes.

+1 No stinging in the eyes, no need to reapply even with lots of sweating.

But it DOES stain/yellow white clothing. But I'd suspect if this one does, many others do as well. Still my favorite.

Thanks for mentioning the arm coolers and leg coolers. I saw the ads for them this week and was wondering how they worked. Be really curious when temps get above 90

Coppertone Ultra Sport 50 spf or better, or Banana Boat Sport 50 spf or better. I apply at least 30-45mins before ride time (usually before I leave the house for the group rides, which is at least 30mins prior to roll time), or as soon as I get home if I'm headed out for an evening ride. Also been using one of these: http://www.sweatgutr.com/sports-sweatband.html to prevent sweat/sunscreen from getting in the eyes as much. I get most of my riding in before noon or after 6pm, and usually reapply if I'm going to be out longer than 3-4 hrs.

btw, regardless of how careful y'all are with the sunscreen, I would still suggest yearly scans by a dermatologist, especially if you have fair skin and/or a high number of moles on your skin. I've got both, and one mole already tried to kill me. I've since had nearly a dozen "pre-cancerous" moles removed.

-- cuda2k, melanoma survivor at age 18.

I use REI titanium dioxide (50 spf) sunscreen on my face, ears, neck and legs. I've been wearing UPF shirts, Under Armor heatgear, and specialized solar arm covers, for my arms. I've developed some crazy bracelet tans from the gaps between my gloves and the sleeves, but other than that they seem to work great.

I too feel almost cooler with the sleeves, whether it's the bright whiteness, or the wicking properties I dunno. Could also be just that I feel better when I'm not getting copious amounts of sun, as I used to not apply the sunscreen often enough.

I use the same stuff, and have for a very long time, never had a problem with it.

I just took delivery of my pearl izumi sun sleeves - they feel really nice and fit very well. Hope they live up to first impressions!

Who does decent leg coolers apart from de soto?

Pick up a pair of wrist sweat bands from the local sporting goods store to solve that problem.

Boure has SPF jerseys, and leg coolers:

http://www.boure.com/