Sweat Management
 

I am (IMHO) a 'heavy sweater', although I am not a particularly heavy guy (but maybe SLIGHTLY heavy by cycling standards). I wear eyeglasses if I want to see anything more than 14 inches from my face. When cycling I have always worn some form of "third eye" for rear vision so between that, my glasses, and my cycling helmet, 'wiping my brow' is not really practical. I have always just put a cheap sweat band on over my glasses and under my helmet. That has always been fine from a sweat management perspective on a bike.

I recall one time long ago when I set out on a 'wandering ride' of 2 hours or so. And I forgot the sweat band. About an hour out I started to have real problems. I stopped at a roadside gas station place and was there for at least 20 minutes because my eyes burned so badly from the sweat that I literally could not ride. But the ultracheap solution of an ultracheap headband seems to work.

I curious about other's experiences here. Thx.

dave

I wear a cycling cap under the helmet and I try to carry a handkerchief in my jersey pocket or handlebar bag to wipe my brows. I have looked into caps made of materials other than cotton.
http://www.walzcaps.com/caps_moisturewicking.html
http://www.bdopcycling.com/BDop%20Cl...BDop%20Lid.asp

They make 'higher-tech' sweat bands (like the Halo or PI's Transfer Lite). I wear something similar on most rides and have 5 or more.

This ^

I use a HALO skull cap under my helmet. Really the way to go.
Helmet Beanie & Sweat Skull Cap | Under Helmet Skull Caps

The sweat never really seems to bother me until it drips onto my glasses. Then I'm stuck with blurry lenses the rest of the ride. I hate that.

I sweat a lot, but just tough it out until it's time to refill the water bottles.

Oakley has a product like Rain-X that helps with the lenses, but they still get funked up after a couple of hours.

I have become comfortable riding without my glasses just to eliminate this problem (and rain). I'm near sighted but not blind. This will have to change if I like the mirror I bought.

I couldn't do that. I can see, but I get a headache after awhile without the glasses. I also can't stand the wind in my eyes. I've seen some cycling specific Rx sunglasses that have a sweat barrier along the frame that presses against the face. I'm thinking about getting those next time around. My sunglasses are a prescription behind now so I'll probably replace them next year.

I have a skull cap style head thing. It's synthetic etc and has an elastic around the edge. It says it magically Warms in the winter and Cools in the summer. I though it was BS, but totally cheap and needed to avoid the helmet tan. It ended up working like it advertised. Summers, it gets wet and the helmet air evaporates it nicely. and keeps the drips out of my eyes. In the winter it must insulate at some level, and therefore keeps my head warm... go figure.

I used to wear glasses; a few years back I got ICL and can barely remember what it was like to wear bottle caps.

Halo FTW.

It isn't perfect, but the Halo headband does a pretty good job. If you use sunscreen or a moisturizer w sunscreen around your eyes or forehead, that can end up stinging your eyes like a mother when mixed with sweat.

Also there is the sweat gutr

I use the Halo skull caps, but still get some sweat in the eyes. I wear sweatbands to wipe it away. If it's hot/humid, I don't wear sunglasses. If the headband is working for you, keep going with it. Sweat under the glasses is a pain. Can you wear contacts?

i use halo. on my sunglasses, i put a drop of dishwashing soap and buff it with microfiber. no fog, no sweat on the lens.

I use 2 Halos. Start with one, then stop after it gets soaked and use the fresh one.
I used to try a Halo with a HeadSweats scullcap, but the scullcap didn't allow airflow,
so I sweat even more.
There is no perfect solution, and I'm in Florida, so I know a little about sweating.
I'd even go so far as using a fresh Halo every 10 or 15 miles.
You can wring them out, but nothing's as good as a fresh one.
Good luck!

S

I couldn't stand the sweat dripping into my eyes and stinging. My helmet pads were also drenched very quickly. I shopped around and liked the Halo headband. This is the cats meow! My helmet pads stay dry (less salt crust on the helmet) and no more stinging eyes. Although if you are on a long ride (45-50 miles?) you might want to bring a second headband as they do fill up with sweat after a while.

+1 on the Halo band. It works brilliantly, and I live in one of the most hot and humid places, right on the coast in Mumbai, India. I've also used Sweat Gutr, but I'm not a fan of it. It lets a bit more sweat leak down, and due to its shape, the front part won't stay under the helmet.

Our randonnering club gave away nifty cycling caps for completing brevets. Not only do they look stylish but they surely do deal with the sweat. I HATE sweat stinging my eyes. It kills the ride.

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Actually, I think we still have some of these caps...

I use Halo. Awesome.

Halo works pretty well but today I doubled up the Halo with a bandana made into a triangle which fit under my helmet. Think of how women wore folded bandanas on their heads in the 60s. It was the first time this summer I didn’t have sweat running down my cheeks and off my chin.

The Halo head bands help to direct the sweat to the sides of your face. For those not familiar with Halo bands, there is a flexible plastic sorta strip bonded on the inside @ the brow. While it keeps it out of your eyes, it still drips down the sides of your face.

I sweat easily too and it has nothing to do with how much one weighs, as I'm thin. The only way to deal with it is to literally keep a cloth of some kind in hand to frequently wipe my brow. Wetting it before I ride actually helps. Since I don't wear jerseys with pockets, I simply configure the cloth underneath one finger so as to not effect my grip. I realize it's hard to put that into words, but trust me, you'd figure out.

Then there's even the body cooling aspect to even begin with. I wear an Under Armor heatgear compression top under a polo shirt with bib shorts. I used to just wear a short sleeve jersey, or no shirt at all, when I was young-er and silly-er. I love the sun and the heat, but somehow I realized that wearing more clothes in the heat while cycling(self created breeze) can actually keep you cooler. At first riding I feel really hot, like "what was I thinking ?", but once I begin to sweat and is transferred to the shirt, evaporative cooling happens. Plus, wetting my head and cycling cap(Headsweats Cycle Cap has a sweat band) helps tremendously. I mean it all cools so well that after a bathroom break I can get goosepimples upon starting again even when it's warm. Sweat eventually starts dripping down my face, and that's what the cloth is for, as nothing beats wiping the brow.

I also carry some extra water so I can wet my face and head if need be. This may not seem like much, but it feels surprisingly refreshing in the midst of a ride as it clears all that accumulated sweat off your face.

A piece of clothe like the others said is probably the only thing to do... You could try antiperspirant on your forehead but I am not sure it's a good idea as it will gets in your eyes at some point! :innocent:

Oh the other nice thing about a bandana or skull cap, is that you can soak it in water and get some temporary relief from the heat. Thought the bandana would trap heat but was not the case and no more sweat running down the sides of my face from the Halo - hello!

I agree, nothing is not a preference. almost anything is better than nothing, but I like headsweats of most sorts, & in diff. fabrics