Roadie's Ramblings

Wrong size? Not sure, haven't seen him in the drops.

Cycling apparel is designed to fit correctly when you’re riding your bike. There aren’t many sports, or even activities for that matter, that have specialized clothing designed to fit properly when you’re participating in that sport. Think about baseball — the uniform consists of a pair of pants, a button up jersey, and a hat; all need to be a accommodating for a few different positions that a player may be in while playing baseball. Positions you may see baseball players in while playing baseball: standing in the field, sitting in the dugout, swinging a bat, running on occasions, and spitting sunflower seeds. The apparel for playing baseball, based on probable positions you could find yourself in when playing the sport, aren’t that much different from a person working in coffee shop — minus swinging a bat.   My point is that there isn’t anything specialized about baseball a uniform, or the way it fits, that makes it something you would only wear

when playing baseball. The same goes for basketball, soccer, and a wide range of other sports.

Cycling, however, is completely different. Cycling jerseys, cycling shorts, cycling jackets, etc. — they’re all made specifically for riding a bike, and designed to fit properly when in the saddle. This means a couple of things; a cycling jersey (for example) that fits perfectly when off your bike walking around probably won’t fit perfectly when you’re riding. And vise versa — a jersey that fit’s great when you’re riding will likely be a bit small when you’re not.  If you don’t really care if it fits “properly” then I’d recommend a jersey that is comfortable.   So how do you decide what size of jersey “fits” the best?   That is totally up to, but for myself, if I’m buying a cycling jersey I want it to fit me properly when I’m on my bike. If it looks a little goofy when I’m filling my bottles before the ride, then I guess I’ll look a little goofy.

By no stretch am I trying to offer a fitting guide. It’s more so to understand that cycling apparel is made for being on a bike. So when you’re trying on a jersey or pair of bib shorts, get yourself into the cycling position (picture yourself down in the drops) and feel the difference in fit from standing to being hunched over. You’ll notice a difference, and you should have a better idea of how you want the piece of clothing to fit.