Cycling Evolution — 5 Fast Ways Cycling Jerseys Have Evolved To Improve Your Ride
You’ve probably seen what cycling jerseys look like today — sleek, smooth, aerodynamic works of art designed to cut the air — and your race times.
That wasn’t always the case, cycling jerseys have changed a lot over the years.
Today, we live in a connected world where you can get a top-notch jersey from the same manufacturers that supply world-class athletes and Olympians.
Let’s hop in the time machine and see what cyclists have been wearing over the last 100 years.
In The Beginning
Back in the early 1900s, when cycling jerseys first became a popular item, they weren’t quite as comfortable as they are today.
Cyclists back then mostly wore long-sleeved, heavy wool.
While they were rather bulky and certainly not aerodynamic, they did have a few advantages.
Wool is excellent at wicking away moisture, so sweat was less of a concern at least.
There’s a limit to its wicking ability though, and rain would quickly cause the jerseys to become soggy and incredibly heavy.
Let There Be Color
By the 1940s things were starting to change. Instead of the plain and heavy wool, designers were coming up with new ideas.
An Italian designer had the genius idea to start making jerseys out of silk, which offered several benefits over wool.
In addition to being lighter, silk holds dye much better than wool does, and suddenly jerseys were starting to appear in a mind-numbing array of colors and designs.
The lighter fabric also allowed them to add collars, pockets, and even zippers, without weighing down the cyclists.
One Fabric To Rule Them All
In the 1950s DuPont invented lycra, which combines elastic and polyester.
Lycra was a game-changer for cyclists, offering improved durability, elasticity, and moisture-wicking properties.
It wasn’t long before lycra came to dominate the world of athletic clothing, and cyclists everywhere were covered in this stretchy fabric sensation.
It was lighter, more comfortable, and more aerodynamic than anything that had come before.
Into The Future
You can expect a modern high-quality jersey to be aerodynamic, lightweight, moisture-wicking, stretchy, durable, and available in an eye-watering selection of colors and patterns.
Today materials and fabrics have advanced so far that the lycra jerseys which were once so amazing might as well be wool sweaters.
Cycling jerseys now are made with a wide variety of materials combined together to create specific benefits.
Material blends that weren’t even imaginable 30 years ago allow you to be fully protected from the sun’s harmful UV rays, while still having unbelievable breathability.
To provide the maximum amount of comfort while still being as aerodynamic as you could possibly wish, every single part of a jersey is customized, down to using special stitches that won’t catch the wind.
You can get your team logos printed on custom-colored jerseys that are shipped directly to your door, for less than the cost of some designer jeans.
The right company will even throw in a crash replacement guarantee — so you don’t have to worry about ripping your new kit.
We’ve come a long way in a short time, and it shows in the materials we use.
It’s time to take advantage of the great fabric and design technology the future has brought us.
Gear up.
