Body odour...

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SonofSid

Active Member
Wore a cycling jersey for the first time at the weekend. It was hot and Brumjim and McWobble dragged me up some decent hills in Clent, so obviously very sweaty at the end but very impressed at the wicking/cooling properties of the shirt, that i thought might have been sales B.S. What I wasn't impressed by was the smell from my armpits! Never had that before when out wearing cotton t-shirts, although they are wringing wet, they don't smell.
Any thoughts - is it the material or is it me? Does the moisture evaporate and leave the aroma?
 

Madcyclist

New Member
Location
Bucks
If I had an issue like that, I wouldn't go public with it, you smelly .....

Only joking.
 
I don't sweat much but I can't wear these wicking polyester things. They make me smell and wick it through the whole shirt ;)

Mr Savagehoutkop can wear the polyester things -he does sweat a lot but it's not normally smelly sweat - but the shirts do go smelly after a few days in normal commuting.

what you want is Merino... you can wear the same merino shirt all week without smelliness! :biggrin:
 

benb

Evidence based cyclist
Location
Epsom
I really like bamboo tops, like this. They're naturally antibacterial apparently, and also wick moisture away from the body.

A bit pricey, but really soft and comfortable.
 

BrumJim

Forum Stalwart (won't take the hint and leave...)
General feeling is that most (All?) man-made wicking material does suffer from smelliness. Bacteria sticks nicely to the smooth fibres and feeds on your sweat and dead skin, producing a lovely complimentary perfume as a thank-you gift (OK, not lovely to you or I, but how do you tell bacteria that it has got in wrong).

Merino is natural, doesn't have smooth fibres, and therefore doesn't suffer the problem to the same degree. I wear a merino top for 5 consecutive days of furious peddling (although 6 miles only, each way), and is (just about) bearable/wearable at the end. Some people claim that it doesn't wick as well, but all material has a limit as to how much sweat it can handle.

There was a full merino thread on Equipment and Accessories. Worth a read. The more you spend, the better it is. Can't help but recommend Howies for both fit and quality.
 

Banjo

Fuelled with Jelly Babies
Location
South Wales
trustysteed said:
did you put any deoderant on before you rode?

Personally i dont use deodarant when cycling or any form of exercise. I think its interfering with your natural body system for cooling you down.

It only takes two minutes to rinse out a cycling top and they dry quickly.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Use a roll on ?

TBH, any base layer or cycling top needs washing every ride/day. If commuting, make sure you dry them quickly after the morning's ride so that they are OK for the evening. - i.e. get some air flow over them. Stops the smell.

My wife has made me a number of bamboo base layers - bit thicker than poly fabrics, but good in hot conditions against odours
 

Speicher

Vice Admiral
Moderator
Where does she buy the fabric from? Could you please ask her.
 

longers

Legendary Member
I've had some tops and t shirts that give me BO almost instantly it seems and others are fine. All of them are clean, must just be the fabric in some of them.
I've got two bamboo l/s tops for winter riding and they are good, nice soft fabric too.
 

BearPear

Veteran
Location
God's Own County
Mr BP's kit always stinks (he's either on the bike or at spinning sessions).

However, I recently complained about the pong in the wash-basket but he was away - the smell was our daughter's socks!! Her feet are rank, I'm sorry to say!
 

Bandini

Guest
Banjo said:
Personally i dont use deodarant when cycling or any form of exercise. I think its interfering with your natural body system for cooling you down.

Not practical if you have a pub stop! I think deodorant is not too bad - the anti-perspirant is 'against nature'.

I got a merino/sportswool top not long ago. Wore it for 70 mile ride on Sunday in 27 degree sun and smelt fresh at the end. They are not cheap, but are nice to ride in, look nice and smell nice. Shutt VR are a Yorkshire company and they have some really nice tops.
 

Philk

Well-Known Member
Location
Coventry
SonofSid said:
Wore a cycling jersey for the first time at the weekend. It was hot and Brumjim and McWobble dragged me up some decent hills in Clent, so obviously very sweaty at the end but very impressed at the wicking/cooling properties of the shirt, that i thought might have been sales B.S. What I wasn't impressed by was the smell from my armpits! Never had that before when out wearing cotton t-shirts, although they are wringing wet, they don't smell.
Any thoughts - is it the material or is it me? Does the moisture evaporate and leave the aroma?


I wouldnt be worried how I smelt if I could go as fast as you lot were :wacko:
 
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