mcours2006

Neither of those activities involve sitting on an upright and magical dutch bike.

rec

haha yes.

Bike Gremlin

I often commute about 10 kilometres on flat land. My metabolism is such I sweat more than most people.

If I'm taking it slow, say below 25 km/h, I find that I do sweat less when riding more upright. My guess is the wind does more cooling, while at speeds below 25 km/h it doesn't increase drag as much.

The longer the distance, the more I prefer a more leaned, "faster" posture (and a road bike), while for shorter distances, especially in stop and go city traffic, I prefer a more upright bicycle for both better view over the traffic, and slightly less sweating.

Most distances in my city are under 5 km one way and it's flat, so upright, single speed bicycles have always been popular and widely used - I'd say they are the most sensible option in terms of price, practicality and ease of maintenance.

KD5NRH

Saturday it was 90F and 80% humidity. I was sweating from laying in a hammock under a shade tarp. Rode the bike to get some lunch, came back, started to get in the shower, and out of curiosity, grabbed the scrubbie and soap, and lathered up quite well just from the sweat still dripping off of me.

Yes, I completely started over in the shower. Not that it mattered much as I started sweating again when I went out to take the hammock down.

mcours2006

Ugh!

noglider 

I think it's not that the upright position eliminates sweating. I think his theory is that upright riding discourages you from pedaling hard enough to sweat. But I'm just guessing.

Bike Gremlin

Like I said, from my experience, making a conscious effort not to ride hard and sweat on the way to work, more upright = (slightly but noticeably) less sweaty.

You could easily test it yourself. With a speedo on a bike, on flat ground, using the same gear ratio and not pushing hard in either riding position.

noglider 

Right, it's easy to test. Someone else can do it, because it's not that important to me. I ride drop bars because I like them better. People who like upright bars should ride those. I manage my sweat well enough, and I any advice I have for others might not work. I'm a low sweating person most of the time. It means my problem is that I have to make sure not to get too hot.

Bryan88

Skimmed through all the posts so apologies if this has been mentioned already. Is there a public swimming pool near work? That way you stop there for a shower. I know logistically its a bit more difficult, but it could be worth considering. In SA the entrance fees to pools are pretty cheap.

mcours2006

Good suggestion. Around here community center change rooms often have showers that no one uses.

CrankyOne

To add a datapoint. We just got back from lunch. 4 miles there and 4 back. 86f, 44% humidity, in full direct sun the entire way except for one tree. We averaged 10.1 mph for the trip but were often riding about 12 MPH. I was wearing jeans and a short sleeve polo. No sweat either way.

mcours2006

SHBR

How much do you weigh?

I can believe this if you have a build that is mostly skin and bones, however if you have an abundance of soft tissue this isn't possible.

In Shanghai many people ride upright bikes, most of them are rental bikes, in worse weather conditions than you describe, (and don't sweat very much) however almost none of them go farther than 3km.

CrankyOne

Good point about weight. I'm 5'11" and 174 lbs. Slightly overweight according to my doc but not by much. He says he'd like me to be about 160-165.

There are genetic bits that play a role in sweating and I believe that Asians do also tend to sweat less than average. A friend from Turkey once told me that Turks sweat more than average. I'd done some quick searches about this a bit ago but didn't find much.

PatrickGSR94

Damn, that makes me sad because I'm 5'11 and 215, and have been trying for years just to get under 190. I got close a few years ago but then it crept back up to my current 215 weight.

mcours2006

Are we going with the theory that 'heavier' people tend to sweat more? I suppose there may be some credence to that idea. Something to do with surface area to volume and the dissipation of heat.

Well, I'm 5'9" and 145 and I am a moderate perspirator.

TenSpeedV2

You are very lucky then. I think that in 86° weather, riding a bike 4 miles in jeans would have most people sweating. Maybe you are a freak of nature or something?

PatrickGSR94

The lower humidity helps, but still, I've ridden to lunch in jeans and with just 1 mile there and 1 mile back I'm just starting to sweat when I get back to the office. I usually turn on my fan under the desk for a bit as soon as I get back.

My grocery trips are about 4 miles there and back, and I'm always drenched in the summer.

CliffordK

I've gotten beyond caring if I sweat a little

You could bring a change of clothes with you (or leave them in the office when you have a chance).

Then when you get into the office, do a pit-scrub, and wipe down with a moist rag, then change.

CrankyOne

I think I admitted above to my (and most Dutch, Danes, Finns, Swedes, and Norhoochans in general, Scots, and a few others) being unsweating freaks of nature. :-)

Some people do sweat more or less than others doing the exact same thing in the exact same conditions so there is a bit of that variability. I do though think that most people would not have sweated any more than me if they were doing the same thing in the same way—five of us all riding to lunch together on the same bikes at the same speed in the same 86f sunny weather. However if one person chose to wear a helmet then they would likely have sweated quite a bit more. Or if someone had chosen to ride a hybrid then they'd likely have sweated more. Or maybe someone rode 17 MPH instead of 13?

So two of us arrive with little or no sweat to be greeted by our sweaty friend who's already sitting there enjoying a beer while another pulls off their sweaty helmet and another gets off their hybrid with a bit of sweat showing on their shirt.

:-)

fietsbob

Its like getting another job .. I lost a paid job when that unpaid one got me there too late in the morning.

Bikewolf

That’s a great tip.

I wonder... if you could wrap a towel around your back to absorb any sweat, and just release / pull off that towel once you arrive?

Bikewolf

In the near future my commute will be longer too. That is why I’m eying an ebike, or as I say: “A new adventure” :-)

noglider 

I thought of this thread today, because I had to be dressed up and ride in the heat. I got a gig substituting a paid church choir position. I get these from time to time. I live in Manhattan, and the church is in Short Hills, NJ. I didn't want to drive my wife's car, and the commuter train schedule didn't fit my need. I rode my bike downtown to the World Trade Center PATH train station. The PATH is a subway system by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, separate from the NYC subway system. I rode that subway from Manhattan to Newark. Then I got back on the bike and rode 10 miles to Short Hills, wearing dress trousers and a wool t-shirt. When I got to the church, I put a dress shirt and tie on over my wool shirt. By then it might have been 75º or 80º. I wasn't sweaty above my waist, and I think my sweaty legs didn't show. I washed my face in the mens room. After the service, it was over 90º, and I kept my dress shirt and tie on. I was thinking the wool t-shirt would keep sweat off my dress shirt, and waddyaknow, it did. I think I should get more of these Smartwool™ t-shirts. They're very thin and comfy, and they don't need daily washing. What they do is magical. Of course, I did the whole trip again in the opposite direction. I was a bit sweaty when I got home, but for one thing, it didn't matter, and for another thing, if it mattered, I didn't look ridiculous.

shinybike

e-bike all the way!!!