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How to gear up to ride comfortably and safely in really hot weather?

Well it is possible for it to disappear TOO fast.
If the wind is SO strong that your skin dries out (sweat evaporates almost before it appears), that isn't good either.
:shocked: You'd almost have to be in a sharknado... :yikes:
You can always soak down a Tee-Shirt, and let the heat and airflow chew on that for a while. :D
 
Here ya go Pete

Can you post a picture of what you did to improve helmet ventilation? I might want to try that.

View attachment 152876
A small piece of foam in the winter keeps out the cold. Still easily fits in the frunk. Not pretty but not fugly either.

But the most effective thing for helmet ventilation behind a fully upright screen is a VENT.nojoke

Kaos
 
My wife and I bought the Veskimo Cooling Vest + 9 Qt Cooler = Complete Personal Cooling System, as we live in North Las Vegas. Lastweekend we tried them out by going to the Nevada State Park called Valley of Fire!!! It got up to 106 degrees. As long as we had ice, we were nice and cool. We highly recommend them!

http://www.veskimo.com/personal-cooling-system-9quart.html

I have one to sell if anyone wants it. They do work well, I just decided it was too much trouble and stick with a simple cooling vest and lots of water.

Full kit including variable speed controller. $350 shipped.
 
I live in south central Alabama and can talk to riding in high temps and high humidity.

In hot weather, I used to wear a Draggin' Jeans Kevlar mesh shirt over a cotton t-shirt. I now have a Joe Rocket Phoenix 5.0 mesh jacket (not the Phoenix Ion that most shops now sell; those actually flow less air). I find that cotton t-shirts are more comfortable than polyester Under-Armor type shirts; the latter don't seem (to me) to absorb and hold perspiration, and at the end of a ride I feel kinda greasy. Not so with cotton. Admittedly, this is my personal opinion; others vote for the plastic stuff. If it's really hot, like close to 100, I wear a long-sleeved cotton t-shirt and forgo the mesh jacket protection. I figure it's a necessary trade-off against the heat.

I usually wear Kevlar-reinforced riding jeans because they transpire better than Cordura-type pants. Cotton transpires better.

Color is very important! Don't wear a dark-colored clothing. Dark colors absorb more radiation from the sun and you'll heat up. Ambient air temperature can be amplified by solar radiation. Gloves fall into this area too; I wear natural tan-colored deerskin gloves ($20-$30 at Tractor Supply) and they are noticeably cooler than black gloves. Big difference! Also, wear a white helmet; dark helmets will toast your noggin.

I've not found soakable cooling vests or neckwraps to work very well down here. I won a cooling vest at a rally and tried it, but it only cools for about 1/2 hour, after which I have to stop and soak it again. PITA if you're trying to cover distance. Neckwraps don't even last that long, once it warms up to ambient temperature, it feels like you're wearing a warm wet fish around your throat. No thanks.

How fast you're moving is a major factor. Open road, OK. But get into slower in-town traffic, and the reduced air flow is noticeable. Try to plan your ride around in-town rush hour traffic.

Interstates are MUCH hotter than two-lane roads. All that asphalt absorbs the sun's radiation and dumps it back on you. I've noticed on my bike's thermometer as much as five degrees difference on a hot day. Stick to back roads; the scenery's better. Use the Interstate only if you absolutely need to make time.

A previous poster said he was adequately cool, but his wife was miserable. That's probably because you're blocking airflow to her. Not sure what you can do about that.

Yeah, staying hydrated is important. I carry a water bottle and suck it dry quickly. In the afternoon, not only does the heat hit max, the food coma from your lunch gut-bomb will also start to kick in -- that compounds the tendency to zone out. If that starts happening, chug some water. Gatorade does work down here; I don't care about the sugar content, as I see it I could use the extra energy. One tidbit I stumbled on to: those little bottles of 5-Hour energy drink really work to counteract the tendency to zone out. You will still get thirsty (dry mouth), but the food coma is averted. Good for the afternoon portion of a day-long ride. If I plan to be home by 5 PM, I'll take it around noon. Really, REALLY works! (someone with a medical background will probably flame me for that suggestion, but it works for me.)

What I'd really like to find is a Camelback bite piece that will slip under a full-face helmet (my Arai helmet is pretty snug). Then I could sip as I go. Other than moving to a 3/4 helmet (Shoei J-Cruise or Arai CTX), anyone have any suggestions here?
 
Use the Interstate only if you absolutely need to make time.

OR.....when going through major cities.

I like US 41 from Illinois to Florida.....BUT I learned on my first trip to jump on the Interstate when going through Nashville and Chattanooga.
I was having a lovely trip through the countryside and then........almost DIED going from stop light to stop light in the city.

Excellent post.
 
I have heard riding in places like Arizona in the summer is like this. Personally, I prefer riding in the cold because I have more control over what I wear for temperature control.

11-1436197372.jpg
 
I have heard riding in places like Arizona in the summer is like this. Personally, I prefer riding in the cold because I have more control over what I wear for temperature control.

11-1436197372.jpg

Yes it's a dry heat in that it will dry you completely out in no time at all. Ride early and be home by noon! You break down out here in the Desert you could be in big trouble waiting for help.
 
This is completely wrong and dangerous mis-information.

You want your sweat to evaporate as quickly as possible. Its the evaporation that cools your body. 105 deg air at 30% relative humidity blowing over a wet surface that is 98.6 will drop the surface temp well below 80 deg. If you are hot, you want your skin covered from sun exposure but as much ventilation as is possible to evaporate your sweat (unless you get too cold).

Actually, JC, LD Comfort, who are a well known and reputable US manufacturer of cooling and heating gear agree with Pirate. They recommend you do NOT use a mesh jacket over their wet undergear, but use a normal jacket with a couple of vents open for the best cooling effect. I doubt they would leave themselves open to litigation by offering wrong and dangerous misinformation. The jury might still be out on that one.

Pete
 
...

What I'd really like to find is a Camelback bite piece that will slip under a full-face helmet (my Arai helmet is pretty snug). Then I could sip as I go. Other than moving to a 3/4 helmet (Shoei J-Cruise or Arai CTX), anyone have any suggestions here?

I wear full face helmets, and use a right angled Camelbak bite piece that just manages to slip under the chin area. I do however have to remove any chin skirts on some helmets.
 
Finally someone mentioned a cooling vest. I am in the San Antonio area where it is hot and humid. I use a vest similar to this but the brand is Polar Products. http://www.polarproducts.com/polarshop/pc/home.asp. My primary packs last 2 1/2 to 3 hours and I can put in my backups for the ride home. The backups are made from a different type product that freezes at 58 degrees. So if you need to recharge just put into ice water for 10 minutes and you are ready to go. I wouldn't leave the house without the vest in the South Texas heat.
Buddy



I use Tour Master Transition jacket but I have vents open to direct air flow to CoolVest.
I use CoolVest which keeps a cool core body temp for 2 1/2 hours, then put in back up CoolVest packets, (instead of using water soaked vest).
I have used CoolVest (like Military use overseas) with Tour Master Transition Jacket with vents open for many Hot summers in Arizona!!
https://www.glaciertek.com/sports/
(I use mesh jacket for short rydes around Tucson, Az).
LDComfort wickable long johns.
Everyone is different, this is what seems to work ok for me ryding F3S Spyder.
Jim

View attachment 152873View attachment 152874View attachment 152875
 
Actually, JC, LD Comfort, who are a well known and reputable US manufacturer of cooling and heating gear agree with Pirate. They recommend you do NOT use a mesh jacket over their wet undergear, but use a normal jacket with a couple of vents open for the best cooling effect. I doubt they would leave themselves open to litigation by offering wrong and dangerous misinformation. The jury might still be out on that one.

Pete

That is WITH their wet undergear very different thing. They are trying to prevent over cooling and short duration of cooling effect. That has NOTHING to do with skin cooling. I stand by my statement.
 
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