I love my mesh jersey (La Passione PSN Ultralight, very light and meshy) but I wouldn’t wear it for a 30 hr event. If you can see through it, so can the sun (for the most part). I’d recommend the Specialized SL Air, I actually really like wearing the long sleeve in white for really long summer days (up to 90F). Both short and long sleeve are rated SPF 30
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Also owning the LeCol Mesh jersey I can relate to this. It is super comfortable on hot 30C + days, but you need sunscreen. Don’t ask why I know…
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Texas rider here, I like the Rapha Flyweight jersey. Mesh up front and some UPF on the back. No idea what the rating is, but I have never been burned on the back. I also like the Castelli Climbers Jersey, good UPF protection, too. I do feel the Rapha is just a touch cooler. Now, neither of them stay dry, it’s Texas, humidity is 75% in the D/FW metroplex during the summer. As much as every company claims, wicks away moisture, none of them have tested it in Texas or Florida. During the summer months I can make a small puddle wringing clothes out after a workout.
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Does a white or lighter jersey make any significant cooling difference?
In my experience, yes. I wear bright colors, mainly white, not only for less heat retention, but my hope is I am more noticeable to cars.
Another vote for Castelli Climbers Jersey 3.0. The 3.0 bit is important as they fixed the sunburn issue by improving the SPF of the back fabric.
No sunburn issues. I live in NZ and we have possibly the strongest UV radiation of any inhabited location.
Dramatically cooler on hot days than all my previous clothing. I’d go as far as saying that is well beyond a marginal gain. Call it a substantial gain in performance due to significantly better cooling.
Anyone living in hot climates should own one or the equivalent in your preferred brand.
If you’re dripping sweat, it’s basically wasted energy and non effective cooling.
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i have them, yes it is much cooler. temperature in my country avg 34 degree celsius. i always shop for thinner jersey.
And I also bought this recently but yet to try :
You need to wear base layer !
That seems to defeat the purpose, no? IIRC they discussed this on the podcast and found that the wicking material needed to be exposed air flow.
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base layer itself is mesh. but you dont wear base layer alone, you still have to wear a jersey over it. so does that mean it defeat the purpose of having base layer?
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Only get burned on the shoulders but not bad
I’d say they work but so does a mesh baselayer and another jersey.
What I meant was that, wearing a base layer negates the cooling effect of wearing a lighter weight/mesh jersey. You would be better off wearing a non-mesh jersey with no base layer.
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Lol. We have mixed opinions at the same exact moment.
My take aways from that pod on base layers:
- The farther from the skin that the evaporation occurs, lessens the cooling effect on the body.
- The more airflow over the skin the better the cooling.
- The addition of a base layer, both, moves the point of evaporation away from the body, and also restricts the airflow that reaches the skin.
I just don’t see how wearing 2 pieces of clothing will somehow increase cooling capacity.
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My experience exactly. Mesh base layer under mesh jersey (or any jersey) feels much hotter to me. Moving the point of any evaporation further away from the skin seems like it would be a bad idea. The only upside I could see with an extra layer would be if the fabric surface gets hot in the sun and moving it away from the body would reduce transfer, but I think that is a reach at best.
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Not to side track from mesh jersey too much but still on topic of hot weather and layers. Wondering if people find a cycling cap in hot weather helpful or it makes things hotter.
One downside of mesh jerseys is deer/horse flies easily bite right through them. I have a black mesh starlight jersey and those flies bite right through them. Of course wearing black doesn’t help as supposedly that color attracts them
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I always used mesh base layers before we got lightweight summer jerseys. They did help back then, when the heavier jerseys just turned into thick sweat holders because the mesh got the sweat away from your body and reduced chafing. Now that we have summer jerseys, all those base layers have become the tops I wear on the trainer and I no longer use them outdoors.
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I was getting bit last week through everything I had on except my shoes! 
Socks, bibs, jersey, gloves. Didn’t matter, they were biting me through it!
I think that can be mitigated easily with an appropriate color choice
Oh they definitely can. I’ve just gotten it worse with my mesh jersey. And I had golf ball size welts from the bites.
I used to think I dealt well with the heat until I didn’t. lol
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