Sunday, May 1, 2011

Spring Is Here, Time To Dust Down Your Bike.......

By Maria Jones


Spring is appropriately here and it is time to dust off your bike be it road, MTB or a hybrid, dig out the kit from the back with the wardrobe and contemplate the first ride of the season. You keep in mind that Rutland Cycles serviced the bike in the finish of last year so no worries there but your Fox Reside Wire jersey (in spite of your very best efforts) is sweat stained and smells a bit fusty. So now it's time to think about an alternative for the Specialized Factory Team Jersey and whilst looking at this have a take into consideration the addition of a suitable base layer at the identical time.

First off is a new Kona Bikes Altura Element (short sleeve or vest) base layer, many cyclists ignore base layers in the summer as they perceive them to be something to keep you warm where as in fact wearing an Assos Spring Interactive base layer will keep you warm and be effective in moisture management. Wearing your Assos SS Uno jersey on its own is counter-productive to maintaining a steady core temperature as the sweat collects and stays all over the garment particularly when you are working hard and the only way for it to disappear is by evaporation (usually on a descent). If you wear it next to the skin because there is no insulating layer this can quickly lower the core temperature leading to loss of performance and possible chills and even hypothermia.

Even when working hard an Endura Baa Baa Merino wool base layer will assist your performance as it pulls the sweat away from the body allowing your Endura Hummvee SS jersey jersey on the outside to wick sweat away leaving your skin dry rather than suffering the clammyness (and therefore cold) of a perspiration soaked Endura FS260 jersey for the rest of your ride.

It's not just the climbs and descents where a Gore Bike-Wear Base Layer Undershirt is worth using underneath your Gore Oxygen FZ jersey , think about the early morning and evening rides as the sun comes up and goes down the temperature climbs and dips surprisingly quickly as your performance.

To be able to retain your base layer and jerseys overall performance it must be remembered that you should by no means wash at above 30 degrees and never ever ever use a material softener -the chemical substances in them attach themselves to the fibres with the garments leading to a rapid drop off in wicking performance often use NikWax Base Tech or NikWax Wool Tech wash.




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