Summer cycling gear

Whilst it may not always feel like it, we are currently in the summer. This means a very different set of cycling gear. For casual cyclists this is the perfect time to don the t-shirt and shorts or skirt look. For those who like their cycling gear then it’s the season when the cycling jerseys and vests come into their own.

After a quick look on any online cycling gear retailer, such as Primera-sports, you’ll quickly discover there’s a fairly bedazzling range of options. Let’s start at the bottom.

Cycling underwear

For those that don’t want to don the Tour de France style throughout but like benefiting from the padded comfort then padded cycling undershorts are a good idea. This DHB undershort is a prime example and is available at a good price of £16.99.

The advantage is that on longer rides you feel more comfortable. Thanks to the material, breathability and padding in the design of the short.

Summer jersey

Whilst this is really heading into Tour de France territory, especially if you choose a team design, you can see the advantage of the short sleeve summer jersey on long rides. It keeps you cooler for longer, fits more tightly to your skin and often has storage pockets to keep those bits you need quick access to.

Shorts

There’s two styles to road cycling shorts. The bib fitting or the standard elasticated waist. Bib obviously is better at keeping the shorts in place. The advantage for the summer is in the breathable material used and the close fitting design that prevents chafing. Assos clothing have a good range of designs.

Summer cycling cap

Light summer cycling caps are good at keeping the sweat at bay. After all, helmets do seem to be a place for much heat concentration. Typically, the short flap at the front characterises a cycling cap. Although, any hat as long as it fits comfortably under your helmet and isn’t made of too thick material will be fine.

Summer cycling socks

Another piece of important summer cycling gear is the feet. This important contact point between the rider and the bicycle can get very uncomfortable as the temperatures rise. Thin summer socks keep the sweat at bay and allow as much air as possible to reach the feet.

Gloves

By providing extra padding to reduce vibration and bumps at the handlebars, gloves are an essential for many cyclists. The long fingered versions are likely to soon get pretty hot. Thinner, summer versions with the fingerless design mean you can still benefit from the padding but not have to put up with sweaty hands.

What’s the most important item of summer cycling gear?

You may be looking at all these and thinking: There’s no way I can invest in all that stuff. You really don’t have to. As I said in the beginning of this post, professional cycling gear isn’t for everyone and you can just as easily pedal in your typical shorts and t-shirt. The best thing to do, is think about which parts of your body are most uncomfortable. For example if you are getting painful wrists then some padded summer cycling gloves could be the solution. This should help you get only the cycling gear you really need.

I’ve not yet mentioned cycling glasses and will be covering these in a later post.