In this guide we show you all the clothing you need for a successful cycling adventure. We answer questions such as: how can you identify quality cycling clothing? When do cycling shorts fit perfectly? Are there any differences for men and women? And what clothing should you wear at which temperature? We’ll answer all your questions in this comprehensive cycling clothing guide.

• Why should you use cycling clothing?
• How can you identify quality cycling clothing?
• How does cycling clothing fit?
• What should you pay attention to when buying cycling clothing?
• Which cycling clothing do you need?
• Which cycling clothing at which temperature?
• How should you wash cycling clothing?

WHY SHOULD YOU USE CYCLING CLOTHING?

Whether you’re cycling, riding gravel or mountain biking, the first question most newcomers ask is: why should you wear cycling clothing? The simple answer: comfort. The biggest difference with normal sportswear is the chamois in the pants. The chamois ensures that you sit comfortably on your saddle. This prevents chafing and that prevents saddle soreness. Read our article on how to prevent saddle soreness for more practical tips.

In addition, bike wear is generally tighter than an everyday shirt or sports shorts. Mountain bikers sometimes wear their clothes 'baggy', but close-fitting clothes are more comfortable on a racing bike. It prevents your clothes from flapping in the wind and therefore contributes to your speed.

How can you identify quality cycling clothing?

What makes cycling clothing good? There is quite a difference in budget of each cyclist, but also in the quality of bike clothing. Whatever your budget, the fit has to be right. The clothing should not be too loose, but also not too tight. You won't know until you wear it. Be sure to try on multiple outfits and sizes to see which fit best suits your body.

Cycling clothing must also be able to wick away moisture well and keep out wind and rain in cold and wet conditions. In other words, the combination of clothing must have breathability. Well-breathable bike clothing ensures that your body temperature remains at the right level, so that you can save energy. Which combination suits which temperature? We will discuss this in detail further up the article.

HOW DOES BIKE WEAR FIT?

For starters, there is a distinction between slim fit, regular and baggy fit, especially with upper body wear. Slim fit fits like a second skin, and is aimed at offering as little air resistance as possible; especially suitable for cyclists who want to perform. With a regular fit, the shirt is also made along the contours of your body, but is slightly looser and more comfortable. Baggy is mainly seen in mountain biking and is nice and spacious for optimal freedom of movement and comfort; you also have baggy pants.

The size of a garment may differ per brand or model. Also, every human body has a different size. How cycling clothing fits depends on your physique and which clothing you choose. Especially when you buy online, it is sometimes difficult to determine which size is suitable. Fortunately, we have developed an AGU size chart. This gives an indication of your suitable size. All you need is a measuring tape and our size chart.

Clearly men and women are built differently. Women's bike wear is therefore different from men's bike wear. The hips and upper body in particular make women's clothing fit differently. Cycling shirts and pants for men are therefore very different than for women.

WHAT BIKE WEAR DO YOU NEED?

Now that you know how bike wear fits and what to look for when you buy it, we can move on to an overview of clothing items you need.

LONG BIKE PANTS VS. SHORT

If you are looking for suitable cycling trousers, you will come across terms such as bib tights and bib shorts. Bib shorts are short cycling pants, bib tights are long cycling pants. It needs no explanation that you wear bib shorts during warm days and bib tights during winter conditions. If you’ll go cycling in slightly colder temperatures, you can combine bib shorts with leg warmers.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WOMEN'S AND MEN'S BIKE PANTS

Men and women are built differently. Women's cycling trousers, therefore, look different from those of men. The main difference is the chamois. This is shaped differently for women because of the position of the pelvis. For this reason, most men also ride with bibs or suspenders. These ensure that your short or tight stays in place better. Suspenders are not always necessary for women because they naturally have wider hips. Having said that, the majority of our women's shorts and tights have a bib and suspenders. An added advantage is that your lower back is well covered against draft or cold.

Whether you go cycling in the summer or winter, an undershirt always comes in handy. This baselayer ensures that your sweat is wicked away so that you maintain the right temperature. You wear your cycling jersey on top of the base layer. These are specially designed for cycling. The front is shorter and has a zipper. The back is longer and always has pockets where you can store bars, gels or accessories such as keys or bank cards.

Both the outside temperature and your effort determine which type of shirt you should wear. During summer, a shirt with short sleeves should do. Will you be cycling in cold, dry conditions? Then choose a windproof jacket with insulating effect. Wear waterproof jackets if you go cycling in frosty and rainy conditions. You can also choose to wear a rain jacket over your midlayer. You can read all about how to cycle best using layers in this blog.

When purchasing a rain jacket, always look at breathability and waterproofing. Some jackets are water resistant, others are waterproof.

In changeable weather, a water-repellent rain jacket will suffice. Do you even brave storms on your bike? Then choose a water- and windproof raincoat. Almost all jackets can be folded into small packages. That way you can easily put them in the back of your jersey.

GLOVES

Cycling gloves are not only nice in the winter, but they also come in handy during summer rides. Winter or summer, most gloves have extra padding to prevent your hands from feeling numb. In any case, make sure that your winter gloves are wind and waterproof to prevent cold fingers. To find the right glove size you can use our AGU size chart. An additional advantage, if you fall off your bike, you’ll be glad that you are wearing gloves at that time.

ARM & LEG WARMERS

Arm and leg warmers are ideal for varying temperatures. They come in handy especially when you start a ride on a cold morning. As soon as the temperature rises, you can easily take off your arm warmers while cycling.

CYCLING SOCKS

Cycling socks are often forgotten as a part of your cycling outfit, but they should not be missing from your wardrobe. A good pair of socks ensures that sweat is wicked away so that your feet stay dry and at the right temperature. Quality bike socks keep your feet warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

CAP, HELMET & NECK WARMER

To complete your outfit, add a hat, helmet cap, and neck warmer to your winter cycling clothing. Especially in winter, it is nice to cycle with a hat. Wearing a hat keeps you warm because cold escapes through the head. A turtleneck also called a neck warmer, ensures that you stay nice and warm while cycling.

By the way, you can also wear both a hat and a turtleneck on warm days. With a hat and neck warmer, you protect yourself against the sun in the summer. Choose a thinner version so that you do not overheat. You can even replace the hat with a helmet cap or racing cap.

FIT

Once you have found the shoe type, you can proceed to details such as the shoe size, closure, and sole. When fitting, keep in mind that you have about 1 cm of space left in the tip of the shoe. Furthermore, the shoe should not be too tight, but certainly not too loose. Your feet expand when cycling.

CLOSURE CHOICE

The closure helps to refine the fit. You can choose between velcro, dial closures (ATOP or BOA), or a combination of both. Nowadays you see more and more dial closures because they are less sensitive to mud and dirt. Velcro also remains an excellent option because you can easily adjust the size.

SHOE SOLE

Finally, the material, and thus the stiffness of the sole, plays a crucial role. The stiffer the sole, the more power you can put on the pedals. The stiffest sole is made entirely of carbon. They are more expensive to purchase and therefore more suitable for performance cyclists. If you're just starting out with cycling, you'll be fine with a slightly more flexible, nylon sole.

SHOE COVERS

Cycling in the rain is wonderful as long as you don't get wet feet. Shoe covers offer a solution to keep your feet dry. They keep out wind and rain so that your feet also maintain the right temperature. Shoe covers are almost always equipped with reflective elements, which makes you more noticeable in traffic. For the size, always choose a size larger than your shoe size, then you’ll be sure that the shoe cover fits.

ROAD AND MTB

Like almost all items in your wardrobe, bicycle helmets are available in different shapes and sizes. For example, you have road bike helmets and MTB helmets. The main difference is that an MTB helmet has a cap in the front to keep dirt out of your face. Real road bike helmets take aerodynamics into account more. Of course, you can also cycle on a racing bike with an MTB helmet and vice versa. As long as the fit is right.

FIT

To find the right fit, measure your head circumference. At AGU we use two standards. Size S/M fits a head circumference of 54 to 58 cm, size L/XL fits a circumference of 58 to 61 cm. Once the helmet is on your head, you can adjust it further.

PROTECTION

A helmet only protects when it is properly fitted. A loose helmet will slide if you fall down, and therefore will not provide adequate protection. If your helmet fits properly, the outer shell will provide an initial impact, but the EPS foam in the helmet absorbs the force of that impact. EPS permanently deforms, so it cannot absorb a second impact. So if you've had a fall on your head, you should replace your helmet, even if you don't see any cracks or marks on the outside.

MIPS-SYSTEM

When you fall at speed you almost always have to deal with lateral forces. The MIPS system, 'Multi-directional Impact Protection System' offers even better protection in the event of impact from different angles. This prevents brain injuries even better in the event of a fall. As the name suggests, we have used this system in our Vigarous MIPS road helmet.

LENSES

Many glasses come with different lenses. Every color suits different weather. Clear lenses for bad weather, yellow for cloudy, and a dark lens for sunny conditions. If you don't want to change lenses every time, opt for lenses that change color automatically: photochromatic lenses. When finding your glasses, take a good look at the type of lens and the weather forecast.

FRAME

In addition, check the frame of your glasses. If you opt for a full-frame, you will get sturdy glasses that are generally a bit heavier. There are also half-frame cycling glasses. These are slightly lighter. Finally, there are cycling glasses without a frame. Very lightweight and because the glasses consist almost entirely of 'glass' you have a wide field of view. The Verve HDII is our top model that can be worn with or without a frame.

ANTI-FOG

Apart from the frame or the lenses, it is a good idea to take ventilation into account. There is nothing more annoying than fogged-up glasses. In fact, when your view is obstructed, it can lead to dangerous situations. If your glasses ventilate a little less well, you can always use anti-fog spray.

Make sure you wash your clothes as soon as possible after cycling. This prevents bacteria from sweat or dirt from settling. You can wash your cycling clothing as follows:

1. Before washing, make sure velcro fasteners and zippers are closed. If necessary, put these items in a laundry bag. Bike clothing is made of thin material and can be damaged more quickly;
2. Then turn your clothes inside out to protect the colour;
3. Add detergent. Use powder detergent rather than liquid detergent and remember: it is better to use too little than too much detergent. Never use fabric softener;
4. Set the washing machine to a hand wash or sports wash position. These are set to low temperatures and a low spin speed by default. In any case, do not wash higher than 30°C;
5. Finally, hang your clothes on a drying rack so they can air dry. Lay cycling shorts flat so the suspenders don't stretch.

Read the washing instructions for each item carefully just to see if there are any exceptions. For example, water-repellent fabrics require a different treatment.