Commuting to work by bike doesn’t mean starting your day sweaty, dishevelled and smelling of body odour. If you select the right clothing, you can turn up looking sharp and fresh-faced instead.

Cycling to work is becoming more popular and with the decrease in public transport post coronavirus, more and more commuters are opting for the safer and more healthy option of commuting by bike to work. One of the main deterrents when it comes to cycling to work is the thought of working up a sweat and turning up to the office looking like they have just completed a stage of the Tour de France.

By selecting the best cycling clothing that use fibres that aid your comfort and reduce creasing and sweating makes your commute by bike more enjoyable and simple to build into your daily routine.
SELECT THE RIGHT FIBRE
The fibres your cycling clothes are made from will determine their performance and how you feel riding in them. Choose the cycle clothes that use the best fibres for cycling and you will remain cool and fresh. This is the most important part of selecting the right types of apparel for your commute.
COTTON
Cotton absorbs sweat fast, however, it retains it and dries much slower than merino or synthetics. It also creases very easily and holds onto bacteria, meaning you could end up smelling a little throughout the day.
POLYESTER
This is a fast wicking, fast-drying fibre, used on most of the pro cycling clothes, however, there are several disadvantages to polyester. While it dries fast, it does heat you up, meaning you will sweat far more than if you were wearing merino wool or cotton.
Polyester also attracts and breeds bacteria and will smell of body odour within a couple of wears and in some cases, hours of use.
MERINO

This is the ideal fibre to cycle to work in. It has several benefits that will keep you feeling fresh on the bike and smart when you arrive in the office.
Merino wool regulates your temperature, keeping you cool when you push hard and it dries fast.
Merino has some natural stretch allowing you to ride more comfortably and is also naturally UV resistant, keeping you protected from harmful UV rays in summer.
The real bonus of wearing merino wool is it never smells. Merino wool hates bacteria which is the stuff cotton and synthetic fibres love to breed and creates those nasty smells.

LAYERING
If the weather is warm, chances are you will be fine in 1 layer, be it a shirt and chino or polo and jeans.

When the weather gets colder, it's important you start to layer up to keep warm. Always leave the house feeling slightly underdressed and thinking you will get cold. Within minutes, this feeling will disappear as you start to generate heat as you peddle.

We recommend you invest in a merino T-shirt or baselayer. It's great at wicking sweat away from your body and it won’t smell.

Over this, you could wear a merino shirt, again, great at wicking sweat and keeping you cool, but also crease-resistant, meaning you arrive at the office looking sharp.

If you need to wear a smart Jacket, we recommend a merino blend jacket OR, leave the jacket in the office. This reduces the layers you need to wear on the bike and keeps them smart and crease-free.

Trousers are less of an issue as tops as you tend to sweat less further away from the heart. We suggest a crease-free trouser to eliminate those unsightly creases behind the knee and something durable to withstand the hours of riding you will be doing every week.

Perhaps a smart, crease-free cotton/poly chino or if you need to wear something smarter, look for a merino or merino blend suiting.

If it’s raining, then we suggest you invest in some quality waterproofs. Be less influenced by hydrostatic waterproof results and focus more on the breathability rate. Invest in something brightly coloured as the conditions could be much darker than that if you were cycling to work on a hot summers day. Perhaps look for reflective detailing too.

Seams need to be sealed to make it 100% waterproof and don’t buy a jacket with a hood. You will be wearing a helmet and still need to see and hear traffic and pedestrians. Instead, buy a waterproof cycling cap that fits snuggly under your helmet.

Follow this simple guide and you should feel much more comfortable when riding to work but also look and smell 100% fresher too.