underwear

Moving on from gloves, which I have ordered now thanks, I am wondering about what you wear under your gear in COLD weather. It has been below 10 deg C (top) here for a fortnight and I am cooooooold on the 'bike.

I purchased some so called 'thermal underlayer' tights and long-sleeve top for under the usual woolen jumper and leather gear. Bugger me, I was COLDER in it than without. It is like that compression gear athletes wear. I came to the conclusion this thermal stuff might work for swimmers or runners that shave down, lol, but for normally hairy blokes like me, it compresses the body hair and you feel colder! I used to find this same thing with Damart (brand) thermal layers years ago when working as a roofer in winter and was better off in my GF's woolen tights and a woolen 'grandad' vest ...

So I have gone back to a loose cotton under layer and feel OK but would like some toasty gear for longer trips. I know all about layers and the importance of breaking wind (stet) but want to know if any of you have found good, working thermal underwear. Apart from feeling luvverly on your bare skin is silk as good as it is said to be? I think the climbing gear I used to wear decades ago when I could actually pull up my own weight on my finger tips was silk, that was good stuff. I have found a NZ company that makes it but don't want to spend without advice.

Looking forward to your stories, not sure we need pics :lol8: ....

hahaha, mate will forgo the pics :lol8: but if there are any female riders, by all means... :taz:
as for riding in winter, aside from the rain/ice/snow... for me it is one of the better times of the year for riding. I prefer it to the heat of summer. As for riding gear this where the synthetic riding gear does stand out from leather. Take my gear that I ride with here in China. It's the Gortex type of fabric and both my jacket and trousers have zipped inners. Means I can zip em in or out to my liking, and with the inners zipped in and wearing thermal underwear is about all I need to feel comfortable even in real cold conditions. If it's real cold I might add a woollen jumper, and a balaclava. The caviet here is I'm not referring to Tjbet or Arctic conditions.

That being said, I find that it's the hands that need and suffer the most from the cold usually, so that's where those handlebar mits come in real handy. They make a significant difference. Again like I wrote before while the mits are great for keeping the elements at bay in the winter the downside is they tend to be a little too small and there's not a lot of rooms inside when wearing thicker gloves. I also tend to like a more naked or direct feel of the grips and switch gear, rather than feeling like I got paws instead of hands. Still that's the sacrifice in winter.

So you actually find thermal u/wear works for you? Of the close-fitting type? Does it say what the fibre is? The stuff I bought is just a fine weave of polyester and has no thermal properties I can work out. I haven't bought such stuff for years and was disappointed.

When I used to spend a few days at a time out in the cold weather years ago the best thermal wear was always loose to the skin and in light layers, ie silk glove and sock liners, lambswool fine weave socks, waterproof oiled wool over the top and then a wind-breaking layer. I could lie out overnight at below freezing temperatures in that. And balaclavas, waist bands and wrist bands did a lot too. I have some synthetic fibre gear that is warm enough as a garment, still not as good as wool/leather I think except that it is not as heavy, but I am talking specifically about close fitting thermal u/wear in this thread. Not that I object to other ideas and stories.

Hey Mikko, what do you lot wear? Don't tell me you just rub goose grease on each other after a sauna ...

Actually, I'd be interested to hear the summertime side of this thread -- i.e., what's the best undergarment to wear in hot/humid weather under your riding suit. In a cotton t-shirt, i'm usually drenched to the bone even before hitting the ignition switch, but don't much mind this since the evaporation of sweat during the ride sucks heat from your body, just as nature intended it to. but this still leaves my arms rubbing against the nylon insides of my jacket and pants, which is not that comfortable. long-sleeve cotton? This also begs the question of what to do with your sweat-drenched tshirts at night so you have something not too disgusting to put on the next morning. i've tried wearing a polyester long-sleeve t-shirt over a cotton short-sleeved tshirt, and this works okay. the poly shirt dries very quickly after an evening rinse, but this does not solve the problem of the wet cotton....

cheers

Summer is when the polyester come into its own JK, especially the 'wicking' weaves, but you need to wear it under something with mesh panels or light goretex, for evaporation which is what actually cools you down. A few times last summer I wore a long-sleeve poly top under just the fox armour (which is mesh constructed) and was nice and cool even on hottest days as it evaporated sweat very well and the breeze from riding even felt frigid at times. But I never felt properly protected and went back to cotton under leather, lifting my leg up to force a breeze up the trousers a few times. The smell? Well I just rinsed it all (because it was very dusty too) and hung it over a line, it was dry next day. Take two on a trip and swap around? My niece rides road trips a lot, on an Aprilia with full perforated leathers and BMW designed summer under-garments and says it is cool and comfortable. She says decent helmet ventilation does a lot as it cools the head, she was a paramedic and has seen it all and so she has spent out on the best gear all round.

I still use my 12 years old enduro driving suit. It have a jacket and trousers, the trousers are "long" and thick model meaning they go up to my chest and are designed for colder weather. The suit is actually well past its prime condition, it used to be really waterproof and windproof but is not anymore. I just can't get rid of it, however someday I may have to replace it. Depending on weather I put more or less clothes under the suit, anything I can find at home, but if I want to be warm and comfortable I wear at least one heavy woolen long sleeved shirt and something under it. I don't like to go cheap with equipment, but for sure I don't want to pay ridiculous prices either. So I keep looking for excellent bargains. During winter the shops sell old models quite cheaply, and they are as good as the "new" models next year. The Finns used to craft the best all weather driving gear years ago (foreign stuff was shit), novadays I think foreign manufactures have catched up and some maybe even went ahead of some Finnish brands. It was simple back in time, just buy the best Rukka, Yoko, MP-asu, Hanx, or Sinisalo and stop bothering. Well it is not much more complicated novadays except that if you buy Yoko you buy actually China gear and it appears to be shitty :eek2: etc. Also the model line of the brands has become more diverse with many specializations, and because I like to optimize stuff it is quite a helluva mess to study all the options and try to figure what is the best for my needs.

I have said this before and I say it again. Get some enduro class all weather driving suit oriented more or less for tarmac depending on your needs. It is great in cold and wet weather, and it is great in warm weather too if you bought the right thing. Leather simply is not an option for cold and wet weather. Leather is great in moderate dry weather, but if it gets hot then thick leather begins to be pain. If you don't do RR speeds in tarmac then quality (street oriented) enduro equipment is seriously all you need. You can still keep using leather when you want, but you can also wear that enduro suit for comfort if it gets wet and cold. Based on what I have understood of the weather in Oz (what's the story behind the word Oz by the way xD ) during winter I would not even consider any other than quality enduro suit because I know it would be the best.

Had I enough money to spend on experimenting I would try Rukka waterproof leather xD what people have praised, the only thing is that those are ridiculously expensive :rolleyes1:


EDIT: Oops, I just realized you were talking about underwear xD Oh well, it is an interesting topic which I have plans to study because all kind of fancy underwear advertisement has caught my eye. I am just not that much bothered because in my opinion the outer layer makes the biggest difference, and if it is fine then it usually doesn't matter much what you wear under it xD At least I have been fine without space technology underwear. But yes, it can be optimized too and there is differences worth to study.

That Rukka site was an eye-opener for me. You know, I haven't been in a motorcycle shop for many years, apart from the local chainsaw shop which services jap dirtbikes as well as chainsaws etc.!

I think the technologies have changed so much that I need to take a trip to the city and have a good look at what is now possible. And save up a few thousand dollars. Meanwhile I am glad I kept my old leathers.

Yeah go take a look and check what they craft novadays, it is some impressive stuff. Be warned though that a lot of equipment can look good but is crap in real. Zippers fail after one week or just gets jammed easily, waterproof is just a word without any connection to reality etc.

Hot or cold, this stuff rocks. I have a lot of different riding suits, but only one kind of undergarment.

http://www.ldcomfort.com/

Cheers!
ChinaV

I was a bit worried about clicking on your link mate, after your assless chaps suggestion .... expected black lacy gear with red rosebuds embroidered on it, but this stuff looks good, thanks.

Seems no-one has felt the colder effect of crushed body hair with mantights but me.

Cheapest solution: Wear the rain gear