How do the Pactimo base layers fit? How does sizing run? I usually need slim / race cut jerseys to fit me. The latest jersey I’ve purchased is the Jakroo Tour jersey slim fit small (company custom branded), and this fits perfectly
I have a Jakroo Ultra jersey, slim cut in Medium. I wear a Pactimo Medium base layer. They are similar in fit, IMO.
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Love the mesh base layers. People often comment on wicking, but I feel it most on airflow within the jersey. Since it holds the jersey very slightly off the skin air actually circulates more inside the jersey and makes me feel cooler when it’s hot. Bizarrely it doesn’t make me feel colder in the cold - so goes to the prior point of try it, worse case you have a great top to wear on the trainer.
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I’m sure those pockets of air also provide some insulation.
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they also hold in the muffin top pretty well, if anyone is wondering…
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This is the most important feature!
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Pactimo base layers are cut snuuuugggg (says the big boy at 220 lbs who has both XXL and XXXL)
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agree on the Pactimo base layers - i find them snug
I literally just went through this yesterday. Mid-ride I took the base layer off, then felt much better. I find on humid days, in the Northeast, base layers do not work very well. When it is dry out, they work much better.
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Mesh base layers work really well at cooling if they are exposed to the air. If you wear another layer on top it reduces the effectiveness somewhat. Sweat evaporating from skin is what cools you. If the sweat isn’t on skin or not evaporating it not cooling you. Brynje make some great summer mesh t shirts to wear in hot conditions. If you go for white watch out for getting stained by sun oil like P20
So I got two baselayers from Velocio and tried one out yesterday. These are the sleeveless baselayers made from polartech delta. It was fairly humid but temps range from low 80’s when we started to high 80’s when we ended. It was cloudy for a good bit and we did get some light drizzle. We did have a decent breeze going.
Overall it seemed okay. I recall not feeling overly sweaty. I think the mesh provides a bit of an air gap to let sweat evaporate rather than making my jersey feel really heavy.
Just standing around without the movement through the air on the bike, it did feel a bit more hot.
I could see where the baselayer would be good if you’re starting when it’s cooler in the morning.
So first test run, it’s decent. I’ll have to see how it feels when we hit real summer heat. At the very least it will be good to wear on the indoor trainer.
I also got a radiator jersey made out of the same stuff. I plan to give that a go on a really hot day.
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I’ve always found the base layers with the tight hole patterns to be hotter (but I’ve never tried the Velocio or anything with the Polartech alpha). I find the ones with the wider holes, like the Craft I posted above, or the Pactimo (also above) to be cooler.
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This is made w/ Polartec Delta, as is the Velocio Radiator jersey mentioned elsewhere. They are great when worn together in Mississippi. I wore the Castelli base layer last week in Ride the Rockies when temps were > 105 and am convinced it helped keep me cool when jersey was unzipped (which seemed to be most of the time!)
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You are 100% right on the road rash! Most folks down realize that most of the damage when you go down is in fact rub burns! That big honking bleeding patch on your bum when your bibs tear… rug burn, not asphalt burn. When you get two layers going, the fabric has something to stretch/slip on.
Mesh base layers - they need some 3d texture to space off the jersey. That space keeps the sun’s direct heat off your body. Mesh jersey + mesh baselayers = awesome in the heat. Also, $9 for the best one. https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/men-airism-micro-mesh-v-neck-short-sleeve-t-shirt-423525.html?dwvar_423525_color=COL09&cgid=men-airism#start=1&cgid=men-airism
Case in point…looks like Ewan was wearing a base layer, and while that road rash ain’t pretty, when you watch how far he slid on his back, it is amazing it isn’t worse.
Ouch!
Road rash tip 2: when you’re cleaning up messy skin, you can actually just use a shaving razor in the shower to trim off the loose and bunched up bits. It’ll take off the edges, threads, random stuff, and hair without hurting you more. Just shave the wound directly without putting any downward pressure on the razor head while your showering and cleaning it up.
I have finally found a suitable replacement for my grungy Castelli Seamless Sleeveless base layers that I reserve for long, hot, humid outdoors rides:
I just got the Hyperthreads Mesh Baselayer and while it isn’t quite as 3d as the my fav Castellis it is almost as good at lifting jersey of my skin and much more 3d than the light weight castelli mesh baselayer or other ‘mesh’ base layers I have tried. I just have one of the hyperthreads mesh base layers now but will be ordering 2-3 more in the coming weeks.
I find the more hot and humid it gets the more 3d I want my mesh baselayer to be. It keeps the jersey from clinging to my skin and I think gets better airflow / circulation.
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A number of people on the thread have said that they ride in humid climates and that they don’t find baselayers useful. I can’t recall where I heard this, but I think I was listening to a podcast once where a clothing manufacturer confirmed that baselayers won’t work in high humidity. Dry heat may be another story. This might have been a Nerd Alert podcast (one of the Cyclingtips podcasts).
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I recently moved to North Caronlina and it has been 90%+ humidity for almost every ride so far. Yeah, evaporation / moisture wicking / etc. aren’t really doing much for you at that kind of humidity.
But an open weave mesh baselayer stops the jersey from sticking to your skin and that wet / clammy feeling you get with a wet shirt or jersey. That increase in comfort is enough for me.
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