Summer weather is here, and that means hot here in Dallas. On a recent weekend ride, my Wahoo bike computer registered 100 degrees cruising over the pavement — and the weather app on my phone showed only a few degrees cooler.
When the temperatures go up, the right gear can make a difference in keeping you cool and safe. Here are a few items that I have used on high temperature rides.
Insulated Water Bottles
Polar 24 ounce insulated water bottle. Ever been out in the hot sun riding for a couple of hours and take a swig from your water bottle that is so warm it’s like tepid soup?
Fill up one of these bottles with ice before you hit the road and it will keep your water chilled through the beginning part of your ride, and cool for a few hours after that.
Camelbak makes a competing bottle that also does a good job and holds 25 ounces, if you don’t like Polar.
Halo II Headband
I wear prescription cycling sunglasses, and there’s nothing worse for me than when sweat drips down my forehead into the inside of my sunglass lenses. Or even worse, into my eyes where the salty stinging forces me to squint or close one eye so I can’t safely see where I’m going. The beauty of the Halo II headband is that it has a “sweat seal channel” that sends any sweat that does soak through the band behind your face. It fits great under your helmet so that you can barely tell you’re wearing it.
Tailwind Stickpack Drink Mix
I am both calorie conscious and cheap when it comes to using drink mix on rides. Unless I’m going more than 40 miles, I generally don’t like to consume any calories at all. I hate the idea of mixing up a drink that I might not use, so I often carry one of these stickpacks when I ride. If I start to bonk or worry about cramping because I’ve been sweating a lot, I can just open up one of these packets and dump it into my water bottle and I’m all set. Tailwind is an RBR sponsor, so it makes me happy that I can recommend their products will full confidence. Think I’m biased? Check out their Amazon reviews.
Pearl Izumi Sun Sleeves
When I rode the Dirty Kanza 200 mile gravel grinder a few years back, I was in the hot Kansas sun for an entire day. I knew I’d sweat off my sunscreen, so I opted to try out white sun sleeves from Pearl Izumi. They really worked and kept my arms from getting burned, and were not noticeably hotter than bare arms. I will be the first to admit that I haven’t worn mine since that race, because I’m sensitive to being ridiculed about the way they look. But if I were going to spend that many hours in the sun again, I’d wear them.
Giordana Fusion Jersey
I wear a lot of white jerseys, which are both visible in traffic and good at reflecting away the sun’s heat. I went into my jersey drawer and thumbed through my collection of white jerseys from Craft, Pearl Izumi, Giordana, Capo to see which ones were still current and available for sale, as most of the manufacturers change or rename their collections every year or two. I saw that the reasonably priced Giordana Fusion is still available in white, with a suggested retail of around $85. The Fusion features fabrics that are good at wicking away sweat, along with built-in UV protection. (It comes in other colors too.) I particularly like the slightly oversized, high quality zipper that zips all the way down, which has held up well over time.
Did I miss anything? Which gear do you reach for when the weather gets hot?
I use to ride in the Mojave Desert of Southern California with temps breaching 100 degrees. A insulated plastic water bottle won’t last several hours with just a chilled drink, maybe a hour in those temps. So what I would do is make up a pitcher of my drink and chilled in the refrig, I would also fill a insulated bottle with drink and put it in the freezer along with two empty bottles overnight so the one would freeze solid and the others would get cold; the next day I would fill one bottle chuck full of as much ice I could get in and fill it with the chilled drink from the pitcher, I would take another bottle and fill it with about a third of ice and fill it with the drink. As I rode I would drink from the bottle with the least ice first followed by the full bottle of ice followed by the frozen one. How long did these drinks stay cold inquiring minds want to know? The third filled ice bottle would last about a 3/4th s of an hour before the drink got warm, the full of ice one would be cold for about another 3/4th s of an hour past that, and the frozen one would last about 2 to 2 1/4 hours into the ride. Remember that’s with temps hovering at 100 degrees, so that’s only about 2 hours of ride time in hot weather. On longer rides I took a 50 ounce Camebak and filled it chuck full of ice and poured in ice cold water, the coolness of the ice on your back actually felt good and the bladder stayed cold for up 3 to 3 1/2 hours except the water in the tube would get hot so I had to remember to blow the liquid back into the bladder when I was done drinking. Newer stainless steel insulated bottles work a lot better than any plastic insulated bottle on the market, so if you really want ice cold drink go to those instead; and cheap way to buy those instead of getting bike specific steel bottles is to take a bottle cage down to Walmart and find one that fits your cage! Stainless bottles are bit heavier but the insulating value is worth the weight. Stainless insulated bottles with just ice and not frozen solid will remain cold for about twice as long as plastic insulated bottles, and they will hold more liquid if you get the taller ones, and if get them to fit snug they won’t rattle unless you hit a large bump then sometimes you may here something. Of course the Walmart ones won’t have a indentation for the cage to hold on to but I have yet to have a ejected bottle or even had to push one back into the cage, and they don’t have a pull up nipple but I can flip the top open with one hand and still drink without stopping.
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Just a tip, I made a sleeve insert for my camelbak bladder out of a cold bag from a grocery store. (The thin, cheap ones, not fabric) It keeps the bladder cold for hours, longer, if I partially freeze it first. Specs liquor store sells a cold bag for a bottle of wine that is about the perfect size for a 2L bladder. I live is south Texas so hot weather is my ride.
I live in the tropics. I wear sun sleeves.
Sun sleeves may not look particularly attractive, but have you seen what a basal cell carcinoma excision scar looks like?
(Speaking from experience).
I am a 40+ years long touring cyclist who discovered Ned Overend’s company, Boure Bicycle Clothing several years ago. He is a champion mountain bike rider who designs and manufactures quality bicycling clothes. I have purchased several long sleeve jerseys with sunscreen in the fabric. They are actually cooler than bare arms. They also look great and are moderately priced at around $110. Company is located in Durango, Colorado. American made by cyclists for cyclists. What could be better?
When I ride my road bike with bottle cages made from stainless steel tubing I put koozies over my insulated Camelbak bottles. I slide one up over the bottom of the bottle and another (with the bottom of it cut out) over the top. These keep the liquid cool for an extra hour depending on the actual outside temperature. By the time I finish the first bottle prepared with cold drink with ice in it (about 1.5 hours into the ride), the second one, prefrozen with about 4 ounces of water added to top it off, is melted or slushy. Freeze the second one for at least two days for maximum results. These results are with about 4/5ths of a scoop of Gatorade plus extra salt in a tall 24 ounce insulated Camelbak bottle when riding in 90 plus degree weather. Adjust the amount of water added to top off the frozen bottle and/or freeze only overnight when the weather is in the 80s. I top off with a bit of water so I don’t end up with an undrinkable chunk of ice. It helps to start the melting process. Just use iced drink for 60s and 70s. Neoprene koozies are better insulators than the cheaper foam ones. It takes some finesse to remove the bottle with the koozie from the cage to drink while riding. I’ve been using this technique for at least three summers now. It’s probably time to get new koozies. I should have sewn up the bottoms of the koozies used on the bottoms of my bottles to keep them from scrunching up in the cages. Unfortunately, rigid bottle cages that don’t expand don’t allow enough room for bottles with koozies.
Actually, you can still fit one over the top half of a tall bottle for some extra insulation even when the bike has rigid bottle cages. Every bit helps.
Agree with previous comments about risk/benefits of sun slerves, skin cancer, “ridiculing by other cyclists”., etc.
Caving in to peer pressure may be understandable for kindergarten or elementary and sometimes even high school kids, but adults generally should have developed a stronger self-esterm and would/should say the heck with what others think! 😉
I have worn sun sleeves for years now and I live in Minnesota. I found one other advantage to sun sleeves that I really appreciate, they soak up the sweat so that my gloves aren’t soaked during a ride. This helps me maintain much better grip too. One other thing; since I’m about the only rider wearing them, it’s easy for other riders to recognize me from a distance!
I have used both arm and leg sun sleeves from Voler for years and a sun hat.. I don’t even have any tan lines. I think they are actually cooler (wrt temperature) since they keep the sun off.
I’ve been riding with sun sleeves for several years since I had a couple melanoma’s cut out of my arms and face. Now I slather on the sun screen. I particularly use Zealios Sun Barrier with zinc oxide and see my dermatologist about every 6 months to keep on top of the stuff.
I use the Halo headband and like them. My first one lasted for several years, but now the challel seems to come loose fairly soon. I glue it back with Gorilla glue, don’t use too much.
Sunscreen needs to be reapplied every 80 minutes, which makes it expensive, is messy, and leaves a black bathtub ring. Sun sleeves reliably protect my skin and are cooler in a dry climate. I have been using sun sleeves for years, the fashion issue notwithstanding.
I prefer the original Halo sweatband, which was tied on, rather than a one-size-fits-all stretch type. The Halo II is way too tight for my head, and often gives me a dull headache.