sqharaway

So, what's the deal with base layers? Do you guys use them? If so, why? Is me not using them a noob mistake similar to me wearing whitie tighties under my cycling shorts for the first 2 months of riding?

Nachoman

So what's the deal with jumbo shrimp?

AngryScientist 

i often wear a base layer, but i would hardly say they are required gear.

in hot weather they can be nice, but definitely not in humid conditions. there are a few cycle specific base layers that are very good, i like the craft ones myself.

NealH

I don't like base layers when the temperature is over 80 degrees. There is absolutely no way I stay cooler by wearing one under a jersey. I can only speak for myself though so, your mileage may vary. I will say that, if bib straps bother you then wear a thin open mesh base layer. I think Craft sells one. And wear a very lightweight full zip jersey.

enjoi07

personal preference. i always do.

Roadierookie

Always wear base layers. Helps evaporate sweat to cool when hot and insulates when conditions are colder. Also, feels nicer to me than having the jersey against my torso.

Nachoman

The only time I don't wear a base layer is when I cycle in Hawaii in the summer.

umd

Just to clarify, the effectiveness of base layers has more to do with the humidity than the termperature. Here it is a dry heat, and I always wear a base layer, even in 100+ weather. It seems on the east coast it tends to me more humid.

Also, base layers are useful for protection in a crash.

BarryJo

Here in New England it gets pretty humid in the summer, on those really hot humid days the baselayer seems to hold the moisture making them uselss for me.
I think a baselayer would help you if riding in Colorado.

ptle

I don't wear a base layer in the summer, but only in the winter.

I wear one in the winter to keep warm and wick sweat away. I only have a long sleeve base layer I bought from Target, and it works fine in the winter down to 35*F.

Anyways the point of a base layer is to wick sweat away and keep you dry (I think). I feel like the wind along with a tighter fitting jersey is enough to keep me dry.

BarryJo

Winter baselayers are a necessity, especially up north.
Nothing as fine as a wool base with sever layers over it.
A summer baselayer will help keep you cool in warmer, dryer climates.

colombo357

Nice question to ask 3 days from June!

acaurora

I've only tried one baselayer - Craft ProZero Extreme I think it was. Wore it for a week on rides, and it didn't really work for me. Returned it.

umd

If you were wearing that in warm weather, you picked the wrong one.

acaurora

I was wearing it in 40F weather... didn't make me feel any different than without it

botto 

get a better base layer.

curtwally

Personally I like base layers in most conditions from cold, cool, to hot. The Descente mesh is a really nice product.

coasting 

on cold days, the base layer takes the moisture away from my skin.

i only just got a base layer this year and i've only worn it 3 times. before that i wore layers of t-shirts to keep warm and i used to get totally drenched in sweat and then freeze.

cyclezealot

Can't beat an effective winter base layer when it's cold out.. Quite often they will allow you to not need wear a winter jacket and not have to carry the bulk..

Joe Road

A lot of riders don't like base layers, except in severe cold. Guess you just have to try some out and see how they work for you.

I use base layers year round. In the fall, winter and spring, I wear rapha wool base layers. Very comfortable from 50 to 80 degrees. On the coldest days of winter, ICEBREAKER wool base layers do a great job keeping me warm. When it's hot and humid in my area, the Castelli mesh base layer keeps me pretty comfortable. Does a good job of wicking moisture and prevents the sticky jersey syndrome.

botto 

"a lot of riders" don't have a clue.

FLvector

+1

The base layer improves ventilation and drying, wicking moisture away from and cooling the body. I always thought the more arid areas of Western US would be the choice for base layers. Certainly not Florida and other hot and humid areas.

Layering to stay warm is another issue.

icyclist 

My common sense tells me more insulation means slower dispersion of heat. Therefore, when it's warm, I open the zipper on my jersey to help me stay cooler and more comfortable, rather than wear a base layer.

Googling around to see if anything academic exists on the subject , I found an abstract for this paper: "Physiological and comfort effects of commercial “wicking” clothing under a bulletproof vest."

Subjects wore bulletproof vests and exercised for a couple of hours. Underneath, they wore a high tech shirt that wicked away moisture, or they wore a t-shirt. Temperature differences on various parts of the body were measured.

Money quote: "Results suggest that EC [Under Armour] offers no advantage in cooling the wearer over CT [a cotten t-shirt]. So much for wicking away moisture.

Interestingly, "trends were observed with EC being perceived as being more comfortable," although there was no evidence to suggest this was anything other than a subjective feeling.

Admittedly, if cyclists think they are more comfortable in a base layer, I suppose they are, but I don't think the evidence bears out a measureable physiological advantage.

However, if a base layer could truly make one cooler in warm weather, then why not a second "baser" layer, and a third "basest" layer?

What about sleeping bags when it's warm at night? Do we add a base layer to stay comfortable/cool? No, we just unzip some or all of the bag, to reduce, rather than increase, the amount of insulation.

While I'm willing to stand corrected, I'd like to see something that is more than just conjecture based on subjective experience.

BarryJo

No offense, I'm impressed you were able to dig up a study on this.
But I'd trust other cyclist opinions bfore an acacemic study on baselayers.
I'm going to try something a little better than the Dick's $10 wicking tee.
Besidfes, aren't there better uses of reseach $$$, like trying to figure out how to stop an oil gusher a mile under the sea.
Or something like that?

umd

The problem is that the primary purpose isn't temperature control so much as it is to take the moisture away so that you are not sitting in it. Less moisture on the skin = more confortable.