Cycling Clothing Guide: What to Wear on a Bike Ride

Cycling apparel provides comfort, style and protection from the elements.

Bicycle clothing

Cycling apparel is readily available so that you can be comfortable in all seasons and riding conditions. There is a huge selection of bike shorts, jerseys and T-shirts for your warm weather cycling as well as a generous selection of hooded sweatshirts, leg warmers, knickers, wool jerseys and winter cycling jackets for those colder times of the year or for your cold-weather cycling trips.

Biking Shoes

Biking shoes are designed for either mountain biking or road biking. Mountain biking shoes are made with good traction and durability for off-road traveling while road shoes are designed to be very light-weight for those long hauls.

When looking for a new pair of shoes, take a look at the latest selections by quality companies that include DMT, Nike, Sidi, Shimano, Carnac and Adidas. These companies offer quality shoes for all your cycling needs.

Cycling Sunglasses

Your cycling apparel should also consist of quality sunglasses to protect your eyes not only from the sun but from the wind and dirt that also attacks your eyes. Look for a fog free, wrap around style for the best overall protection.

Many quality sunglasses come with interchangeable lenses. They usually have a clear lens for night and overcast days, a tinted lens for sunny conditions and a lens for low-level light enhancement.

The proper cycling apparel will make your ride much more comfortable and pleasurable.

Bicycle Helmets

Bicycle helmets are obviously designed to protect heads in the event of mishaps. Whether you mountain bike, dirt track bike or are looking for youth protection, a helmet is designed to absorb the crushing blows from the head hitting a hard surface. But a helmet won’t do much good if it isn’t worn properly and it won’t be worn properly if it’s uncomfortable. The main thing is to make sure the helmet is strapped securely to the head so that it remains level.

Adjust the way the helmet fits around the top of the head. If a helmet employs a fitting pad, then add and/or remove padding to make the helmet fit snugly over the head. If the helmet uses a fitting ring, just adjust it for that same snug fit.

Now adjust the straps that hold the helmet on. With the helmet level, adjust the straps so that the “Y” fitting lands just below the ears.

After making your adjustments, the helmet should be snug and comfortable. By tugging on it, you should not be able to move the helmet more than an inch in any direction and the forehead should not be exposed.

When you’re in the market for a new helmet, take a look at the “one-size-fits-all” helmets. An advantage is that these helmets can be adjusted for a good fit quite easily. A disadvantage is that some riders have found that these ring fit systems don’t adapt to their heads comfortably – with the fitting ring snug enough to secure the helmet it can be uncomfortable and when it’s set up to be comfortable the helmet can fit too loosely.