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arm coolers

Old 04-26-20, 09:45 AM
  #1  
HiYoSilver
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arm coolers

Thought I'd start a separate post as a member shared using arm coolers. I wanted to keep those comments in one spot.

So what has your experience been with this gear?
-- is it really cooler?
-- any difficulties with them?
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Old 04-26-20, 11:38 AM
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You talking about sun sleeves? Well, they are certainly not "arm coolers." As long as you're moving and not climbing at 8 mph with a 8 mph tailwind, sweat dripping off your nose onto your top tube, they're no hotter than bare arms. The big deal is no sunscreen on the arms. That's pretty nice. If you are in that tailwind condition, easy to pull them down and back up for the descent. I wear them whenever there will or might be sun, all non-winter temperatures. In spring, I often wear them under my arm warmers so I can pull the arm warmers down and not need sun protection. I don't use them on my legs.

That BS about "Cool Black" is BS. Black is not cool no matter what they say. I use Voler or Pearl Izumi sun sleeves. They're both very good.
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Old 04-26-20, 11:54 AM
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I use them. Some are cooler than others. Are they are cooler than nothing at all? Probably not and with many caveats. Their main purpose IMO is to keep the UV off you without having to slather sunscreen all over your arms. At least that's why I use them.

Here is some more opinion based on the inexpensive brands I've used... Pearl Izumi and Nike.

Cooling is a variable factor two things. How fast you are going and how much sweat keeps them moist. Though even when first put on and dry, the Pearl Izumi pair seems to feel cooler when moving.

If I'm going 16 mph or better and sweating, they work great. However so do bare arms, but then there is that UV/skin cancer vs lotion you might not like some aspect off.

When I slow down on hills, there are times that when speed drops below 10 maybe 12 mph that they can be noticeably working against your bodies efforts to stay cool. Have not had to do it, but I've considered pulling them down just till at speed again.

If I stop for any period of time when it's hot out, say 95° F or better then I'm pulling them down for cooling. As well I remove my helmet.

For me they work well, I've never been one to enjoy putting sunscreen on every exposed surface of my body. And these let me avoid that. I just put a little sunscreen on my ears and between my knee to my shorts which is about the only other place I seem to get sun when riding.
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Old 04-27-20, 12:41 PM
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I wear light colored sleeves on hot days, not cooler but I prefer them to sunscreen, and they offer more material to wipe sweat as an added bonus
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Old 04-27-20, 02:47 PM
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The Specialized are my favorite (softest), followed very closely be De Soto. They're definitely not as comfortable as nothing, but it does cut down on the sunblock usage.
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Old 04-28-20, 06:54 AM
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Light colored sleeves are better in hot sunny days.
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Old 04-29-20, 10:44 PM
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Thanks. I found in old bike equipment a pair of solbari arm sleeves. But there material simply does not breath well enough for me.

I have a ton of short sleeve jerseys that were my go to attire before more and more skin spots started showing up. yesterday I cheated and used a long sleeve bourne jersey and that was most comfortable with no need for lotion.
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Old 04-30-20, 11:45 AM
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I used sun sleeves for several years and they work quite well. However, the past few years most of my warm weather riding has been in either the morning or evening so I haven't used them in a while.
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