Smelly Cycling Jerseys

Chris Fallon has given us his views on synthetic jerseys, we like a bit of criticism every now and again. He doesn’t thing modern clothing isn’t as good as good old wool; we give our excuses and our thoughts on clothing

Question: I have read Samuel Mascarell’s piece about the history of cycling jerseys. My question is what evidence does he have to support his statement that todays plastic jerseys are cooler than wool in warm weather? Scientific and practical evidence abounds that would refute this. It certainly is true that you can print all kinds of cool stuff on a plastic jersey and they are cheaper to make and they are easy to take care of.

But from a performance stand point plastic just does not measure up. Also there is the issue of STINK! One can wear a wool jersey ride after ride between washings with NO odor, a sythetic jersey can clear a room after a single ride. Let alone the issue of does the world need more plastic thrown into our landfills? I suggest Sam should take a look at some of the performance wool apparel available in the sports world including cycling, and the things being said about them from a scientific and performance perspective. I look forward to your reply.
Chris Fallon.

Hi Chris,
Good to hear your views on clothing, yes we agree that in many ways wool is king, but its not the most readily available or the easiest to find at a reasonable price. As you say wool can be cooler in hot weather, but I think you’ll find new synthetic materials have a lighter feel when it is hot, the wicking properties of modern material is not as good as wool, but it does work at an affordable price.

As to the smell you mention, I know what you mean, fully man made fabrics do get a bit “high” but if you wash your clothes after every ride it can take years before they get that whiff! You should be washing your shorts very time you ride as this is the best way to avoid any nasty infections in the riding area and you should be washing your jerseys at the same time.

Synthetic Jerseys

So, yes we agree with you about wool, but as you say synthetic material do have advantages like printing, colours, price, ease of washing and that it doesn’t tend to stretch when you have things in your back pockets. Its 50/50 and up to you what you buy in the end and whither you want to dump them in landfill sites, clothes can be re-cycled, you must have seen all those old Manchester United/ Real Madrid football jerseys with Beckham on the back being worn by people in Asia and Africa?
Thanks for writing in, Chris.