Hi, I’m jpolchlopek and I love sleeveless jerseys. I have gotten no end of sh-t on other forums for it, yet I soldier on.
People have definitely hit on all the major points:
it’s cultural – everyone wears sleeves so everyone wears sleeves (EDIT: corrected)
people love having a reason to judge others, so people who wear sleeveless jerseys have a target on themselves
it’s hard to find good kit that’s sleeveless (the only stuff that I can find is el-cheapo gear on Aliexpress)
club stuff is always printed on sleeves (EDIT: corrected) and we like to wear our club kit
there is an assumption that long sleeves are safer and/or have better sun protection
All of these are valid reasons. Still, I choose sleeveless jerseys.
I sweat like a fiend, and the more exposed skin I have the better
I hate, hate, hate sleeve tan. While most cyclists take pride in those tan lines, I take pride in mine being at the shoulder. I can wear short sleeves without my pasty white flesh shining through every time I move my arms
Sun protection is kind of a silly thing to ascribe to a few inches of sleeve. Just spray SPF 80 a little higher up.
I’m not fast enough for those few inches of sleeve to make any aero difference
So? I wear and love sleeveless in the summer. I’d love some more choices for kit, or I’d love to find a tailor who works with lycra, so I could convert some sleeved jerseys into sleeveless.
But, yeah, there are many answers to “why don’t we wear sleeveless” but the biggest reason, by far, is “because no one else does and I want to fit in”.
Why don’t roadies go shirtless? It’s not like those silly lycra jereys do much in a crash anyways. I for one wear black cycling shorts and no shirt every single time I ride.
Well, I tried duct-taping gels and my phone to my back, but I kept losing too much hair whenever I took it off and then I’d have these unsightly bare spots and I would scream like Steve Carrel in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and it was just too much.
WOW! If sleeves vs skin for aero is where you’re at I’m way behind the power curve. One more reason to ride gravel, my non-aero beard collects bugs in case I need to fuel and doesn’t let the bacon crumbles fall to the ground at the beer and bacon aid stations.
I’ve been advancing my bacon eating while riding skill but I think I’ll have to practice it on the trainer this winter to come out fully prepared for massive bacon consumption. Maybe Chad could add a few comments into a workout like, “Beer and bacon ahead. Sprint to beat the rider in front of you for prime position at the aid station. Get out clean with one hand on the bars and one throwing down one more beer!” All this while wearing a baggy jersey with sleeves. Lost Cabin Beer Co. Racing Team
Often times, the triathletes are wearing a tri suit.
For swimming, you don’t want the fabric to be getting in the way of your shoulders inside your wetsuit… more chafing, more unecessary rubbing. Depending on the material, might also be easier to remove wetsuit on skin compared to sleeved jersey/top. Then for the run as well… better have less tight material up top when you’re pumping your arms. More source of friction = more possibliity of chafing.
Might not be a big problem for a sprint distance tri, but for longer distances it definitely can be.
Now i just pulled it out of my ass, and have not looked for any research but it makes sense to me…sooooo yeah.
Cut-off Levi Commuter jeans over a pair of mtb liners are actually pretty comfortable to do big miles in. That’s pretty standard attire for me when I’m bar hoppin’ on the bicycle.
More and more triathletes are wearing sleeved suits. Look at Kona pics and nearly all the top pros are for sure. Triathletes tend to be pretty data and experience driven, much more so than roadies, I guess partly because it’s an individual sport so there’s less groupthink and partly because it’s only been around for ~40 years so doesn’t have all the historical baggage of cycling. A lot of innovation in cycling in the last few decades has been driven by, or at least adopted earlier by triathlon. Especially the focus on aero tech and the shift to training and racing with power. So if triathletes are shifting to sleeved suits it’s almost certainly because they believe they’re faster (or at the very least are more comfortable/protective with no speed penalty), not because of fashion or trends.
I switched from sleeveless to sleeved for both speed and comfort reasons. More material doesn’t mean more chafing, it’s all about where the seams and edges are. A sleeveless suit has edges under your arm, which for me is a prime place for chafing in both the swim and the run. A sleeved suit moves those edges to above your elbow, which is a place I have no chafing issues.
The best SPF in the world still has it’s limits, and there’s nothing like a long day of swimming, cycling and running with a pair of straps moving even slightly back and forth across your shoulders to find where those limits are. I’ve seen plenty of triathletes come back with sunburnt strap marks on a hot sunny day, despite liberally applying top of the range sports-specific sunscreen. I suspect it’s the swim and the run that does the most damage as that’s when your arms and shoulders are moving (and throw in some saltwater), maybe for just cycling it’s not an issue.
I can also vouch for the wicking properties of modern fabrics. I’m a heavy sweater, I’ve tried running topless on a hot day and it sucks, running with a nice technical top on is far better. Same principle applies for sleeves IME.
