Smelly cycling tops-washing when

[lph]

Sounds to me like you've just got your clothing really dialed to the temperatures you ride in :-) I hate getting overheated, so I'm really anal about wearing *just* enough to stay comfortably "slightly warm" and dry(ish). If I do this right I don't have to change my tops very often, even when I'm not wearing wool.

When it's cold out this is pretty easy, once the weather turns damp it's harder. In cold dry weather I can wear the same stuff for 3-4-5 days, after one day (2 commutes of 15-20 km each) in wet weather my clothes can stink to high heaven. Seems like the smell sets in a lot faster if I don't manage to partially dry out what I'm wearing as I go. Some microbiologist could probably tell me more than I really want to know about this process

[Blueberry]

Lisa-

I'm just the opposite of your friends.

I do wear deodorant, but it's the Tom's of Maine stuff, so pretty mild. However, I'm hyper sensitive to underarm smell. I think the polyester stuff does make it worse. But it comes other times too (even when wearing clean wool). I've asked (close) friends if they can smell anything, and it seems to be just me that notices. Still...makes me paranoid. I tried the crystal, and it didn't work....

Ah well...just goes to show we're all different.

[Grog]

I have no opinion on whether you smell or not (!!), only a sniff test will do , but shall I recommend that you buy your next sports top at MEC [for other readers: that's the Canadian REI, and not far from ShootingStar's home I think] in the merino wool section? They are much less expensive than Smartwool or Ibex or Icebreaker. The quality is a bit less than Ibex but not very different from Icebreaker, I think, and they are MUCH cheaper. (My Smartwool pieces are very thin and don't really compare to the MEC stuff, so I don't know about that.) And they do not itch. At all. I wear their wool t-shirts all the time in the summer, I find them for long trips. The bike jerseys tend to be more expensive (as jerseys are) but they have a zip top and a crew neck.

I also love wool socks. I can wear them for running two or three days in a row, saves me from doing more laundry. I also love the Smartwool wool socks, which I wear more than once (not for exercise) now and then, especially on trips where bag space is limited.

But, I have to candidly admit, never 10 times. Often 3 though.

This is one of my MEC top (I don't like this colour though - mine is grey with pink sleeves that make it very visible):

[Bad JuJu]

Even here in Florida, I wear wool tops for much of my winter cycling and occasionally my Ibex wool knickers. When the temps rise, though, I generally wear something like this:
Cotton Fitness Tee
I know cotton is the devil in most cyclists' eyes, but this shirt is so lightweight and does such a good job of wicking perspiration, compared to the average cotton T-shirt, that I wear one of them on my rides well into June (I have three). I like that I can keep my forearms protected from the sun, too.

July and August are a different story--some days, even at 6 in the morning, it's already hot and humid. I'm still looking for a satisfactory alternative to synthetic fabrics for cycling during that time of year. Any suggestions are welcome!

[Tuckervill]

I would just make one comment in addition- I have known some people who don't use deodorant in order to be 'natural' and they bathe every day. But they sweat and they do smell. They smell from 2 feet away and it's not the most pleasant thing to talk with them. But- they do not smell themselves- they have become accustomed to their own underarm smell and do not think it is noticeable by others. I know this because I have heard them state that they don't use deodorant and they don't smell. But they do smell. Mind you, I don't think a healthy underarm odor is anything bad per se, a mild clean underarm odor can be appealing in fact...[snip]

ahem....hear, hear!

Karen

[Skierchickie]

I wonder if oily/dry skin is involved? I have relatively oily skin (NEVER wear lotion - I just feel greasy then) and my sweat does stink (and I do smell it - perhaps more than other people do, since DH never smells it). I don't wash my ski stuff every time, but I did notice that it smelled yesterday (and washed it last night, wore it again today and it still smelled a little). My DH has very dry skin (claims when he was a kid the doctor said he didn't have any oil glands, which I find to be somewhat farfetched), but he never smells. He uses lotion daily. He doesn't have to shower every day. I am pretty jealous.

I used regular deodorant/antiperspirant until last summer, when I changed to the crystal stuff. I still sweat, but it really does help with the smell. The regular stuff just smells like chemicals to me (harder and harder to find unscented anything), and when I'm really sweaty, the mixture of smells is awful. But then, department store perfume departments smell like insect repellant to me, so maybe it's my nose. Actually, I avoid anything scented, because it seems like it doesn't work with my body chemistry, or something.

Anyway, in the summer I can't really get away with not washing my workout clothes frequently. I do shower daily (well, if I'm going to be around anybody, or go anywhere). And my wool stuff does start to smell, sometimes the first day, sometimes after 3 or 4.

Wow - the information we share here!

[shootingstar]

I My DH has very dry skin (claims when he was a kid the doctor said he didn't have any oil glands, which I find to be somewhat farfetched), but he never smells. He uses lotion daily. He doesn't have to shower every day. I am pretty jealous.

Amazing..I always perceived men as just sweating and smelling alot more from activity.

Do I plan to wear deodorant after this..doubtful. No one has avoided me....I have jobs which require people to approach me for help which means them finding me, sitting and standing right beside me while I demonstrate or instruct them. If after all these past few decades, I have managed to keep groups of people overtime for almost 2 hrs..in a small rm...and they don't want to leave a course that I'm teaching...

Maybe think about washing my cycling more often. After all, I don't sit in enclosed rm. in the office with cycling gear on.

Grog, thanks for remarks. I've walked right by those clothing line displays at MEC. maybe I'll try something from that line....one day...I need to replace a broken pair of clear cycling glasses anyway. Not sure I can spend more moolah on cycling gear...after REI blowout purchases last fall.

[Dianyla]

Amazing..I always perceived men as just sweating and smelling alot more from activity.

Not necessarily. One of my boyfriends is full Chinese and he can go backpacking for days wearing synthetic polypro underwear and still not have any BO. He sweats a lot, too, but doesn't generate stink. Amazing!

[mimitabby]

um, how do you use the baking soda?