frustrated - jerseys

Ok, I couldn't find any jerseys when it was warm out but then I didn't look that hard--I was still trying to recover from paying for the bike itself.

But now it's getting COLD, and I've made do with a fleece vest, thermal cotton ls shirt possibly under another ls shirt. But even pulling my tights up high, cold air still blows up under this getup. I've gone to 3 bike shops and tried on everything in the store.

One PI windbreaker jacket fit, sort of, in medium, but it's not form fitting at the bottom and not fleeced on the inside. So not a priority. But I ought to wear a S jersey, but my torso is way too tall (even for how high up my bottoms hit), and my shoulders way too wide. So even with raglan sleeves, there's weird pulling going on at the shoulders. If I size up, these problems aren't much better, and the body is huge, making it still uncomfortable and no improvement on the non-cycling clothes I own (except for pockets).

The only men's S jersey I could find was a mesh, summertime team-cut velo jersey and a cannondale baselayer. The base layers were ok, but surprisingly still tight in the shoulders and baggy at the belly. The velo jersey was a much much better fit, but it's so light, it'd be like wearing nothing. I need warmth for upcoming rides. :eek:

The problem is that no one carries men's small, size charts are all over the place, and I obviously need to try stuff on while not paying a million dollars to UPS. I've got no chest (32-32.5 over the widest), but monster shoulders, smallish waist (26-27), and not small hips, but so far I haven't had an issue with shirts being too tight there. The bottoms of the smaller women's jerseys are too tight at the bottom, mostly because they've ridden up somewhere north of my belly button and are just clingy.

Please help me figure out what might be a good place to start so I can minimize the trial and error part with mail ordering.

CAll the good people at TE. They are incredibly helpful. World class customer service. You need to call them because they don't read these threads as they're too busy being helpful. Did I mention how willing they are to help solve your problem?

Craft cold weather base layers can become a girl's best friend. They are cut long so you can tuck them in your pants and they almost certainly won't ride up. They are superb at wicking and keeping you warm. Since they are lightweight, tight & stretchy, they make a very nice layer under your jersey & jacket.

Patagonia Capilene also comes pretty long and they may have some in their web specials.

V.

i buy small mens kit,purley as its long in the back,always wear my summer mesh vest,then a long sleeved thermal top i got from a builders merchants,vvvv thin,like a helly hanson but so much cheaper and ive just got a new spuik top,which is brilliant,i thought as it was cheaper than the better known brands it wouldnt be up to much,its fab,its their winter one.last yuear when it got to 5'c i wore a padded bra,sounds daft but it helped a lot!


mittens ,not finger gloves and shoes that are too big,seem to keep me warmer.and HAT HAT HAT.

I second the Patagonia Capilene. It comes as 4 different thicknesses (weights). You might be able to find the '05 product on sale which comes as "silk weight", "light weight", "mid weight" and "expedition weight". If you have to get this year's product, it will be labeled Cap 1, Cap 2, Cap 3 or Cap 4 (1 being the lightest to 4 being the thickest). This is a great product to layer under other items since it will wick the moisture away from your body and still keep you warm. My oldest son is leaving here in a few minutes for a scout campout with a layer under his uniform. My youngest uses it under his football uniform since the UnderArmour product is "too scratchy" for him.

http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/prod...ON=PBL_LANDING

I have some capilene tanks that I wear as jerseys in the summer and as undershirts in the winter.

V.

Oh - forgot to add a nice feature for this year's Capilene. It has been defunked. In the past, Capilene was known for holding odors. Now it no longer will keep your funk.

Yeah, I have to agree~ try the Patagonia Capilene. I wear it rowing, cycling, running, fly fishing, etc., etc.. It's great for travel, too. I'm addicted to the stuff! And you can often times find it on sale.
Teresa :D

aicabsolut

Since you are in DC, you should visit here:

I am a huge Under Armour fan. I have their Heat Gear, Cold Gear, and one All Season Gear. The compression tops are awesome!

Are you looking for a jersey, or a jacket?

If air is rushing up b/t the tights and the top....
have you tried wearing bibs?
If you can't get a top that goes low enough, maybe a bottom that comes up higher would help.

YEAH,but surely bibs are a pain when you need a piss,when im with the lads by wearing non bibs,whilst they have a slash by the side of the road,i can just squat by them!with bibs its tops off etc etc u get even colder.i can have a piss stop in shorts under 1 min.

I'm looking for a jersey, because I think it'd be more useful. So far though the only thing that has fit is one jacket that I didn't want and a men's small summer mesh jersey.

The stuff I'm wearing is long enough (except for my vest, but it's not bad), but when I wear a looser cotton thermal shirt under stuff, it's still not tight against the body. So when it's really cold and I'm bent over, cool air rushes up the front (the back is low enough), and considering how high I'd pull my tights up (and that I'm not very long waisted, just long-backed), bibs wouldn't help much, unless they're full-front bibs. Since I can't even wear one-piece bathing suits, chances of bibs being tall enough in the torso and narrow enough to stay up on my shoulders seems slim. A compression top would eliminate this problem. Though I would like something (a jersey) to put over it with pockets.

The women's jerseys would be too short in front and back though not loose (unless I size up for a better shoulder fit). And the riding up and binding up near my ribs is not comfortable just standing there in the store..not something I'd want to deal with on the bike.

I'll check out Patagonia here. I thought about it the other day when I went to the bike shops near there but passed--not smart I guess ;).

As for asking TE about the jerseys on this site, I'm afraid that even if I find something long enough, I'll still run into too small shoulders for the best size overall. I really think I need a small men's jersey that's more of a European competition cut in the torso.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I'm with VeloBambina-- the Craft stuff is great. Though I haven't tried Underarmor yet.
Be careful with the men's sizing, since you could end up with a lot of bunching at the waist. If they specify Euro cut vs Regular fit, you can get some clues as to the shape. Hotvelociti (http://www.hotvelociti.com) just came out with their cycling apparel, but they don't have any winter stuff. They did a couple of shapes-- perhaps their contact person could answer those questions.

LC

Why would it bunch at the waist? I've got a really long torso, so part of the problem is coverage. I've got hips, but I've got a really low waist.

So far I'm a fan of UA, but I still need something with pockets. I'll try some Craft...I hope they fit in the shoulders. In case anyone else wants to try UA, I'm a size larger in heatgear than I am in coldgear, and coldgear stuff is longer in the torso by a little bit.

Thanks for the link!

I'm not so sure if the Craft shirts are that great. I bought 2 ls ones last year for x country skiing and winter cycling. I bought smalls instead of x smalls, because Terry recommended this; they run small. When I got them, I discovered they are hugely long on me ! I am 5' 1" and thin and these shirts could have six inches cut off of them. I don't like tucking anything into my tights. It leaves a nasty line, which in addition to your cycling shorts, looks weird. The shirts come down to my thighs. And, they hold odor badly. I wear them, but I think you need to be tall and skinny for them to fit right.

I just bought some Patagonia base layer tops on sale at Sierra Trading Post for 9.99. The fit perfectly and no odor there!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by aicabsolut

Why would it bunch at the waist?

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Because the average woman has wider hips and narrower waist than men do (I sure do). Men's stuff is usually cut to reflect their more straight up and down shape. Thus, when women get a man's item big enough to fit their hips, it will often have a waist that is loose (bunchy). I have had this problem enough times to know that I just can't wear most men's stuff. If you are a woman with small hips however, this is not an issue.

Ok, now I see what you mean. Unless the jersey is REALLY long, I shouldn't run into too much of a hip problem. The main width of my hips is far below my belly button which itself is low on my already long torso. My waist is narrow, but until you get to my hips, I'm very much a triangle. Some size charts I've looked at for men I'd have to size up a little to get the right length (some have height correlations).

But then I looked at others like on the Specialized website (I was ordering other stuff), and even the XS Euro cut is really really really tall (they give you length of jersey in front and back in inches from shoulder seam). And kind of large everywhere.

I haven't made it to the Patagonia store yet, but I'm so far happy with my UA baselayers. Now I need actual jerseys (LS or SS) to wear over them, because I need pockets. The Voler jersey I just ordered for my team won't arrive till maybe mid Jan. So I can't wear it. Plus I need something for practicing to save that for races. I hope it fits. One in my LBS did...a little wide in the body but enough room for a baselayer which I'll definitely wear around here.

Thanks Robyn for your opinion on Craft. Stinky shirts are not good.