High humidity and cotton

Look to see just 'what' is evaporation. Even in 100% RH a significant
number of molecules will get away, each with its bit of energy, especially
with a cyclist's (own) headwind.. And how often is RH 100%?

I live and ride in 90+F and 90+%RH (Charleston, SC) and promise that 'wear
cotton and die' is a good warning if a bit hyperbolic.

"wle" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
| ok, received wisdom is 'synthetics beat cotton because they
| wick sweat away to evaporate'.
|
| however, this assumes less than 100% humidity.
|
| assuming conditions where little or no sweat will evaporate,
| why would the $60 synthetics be any better than a white cotton t shirt?
|
| since they would both just get soggy.
|
| wle.

In article <[email hidden]>,

wle said:

ok, received wisdom is 'synthetics beat cotton because they
wick sweat away to evaporate'.

however, this assumes less than 100% humidity.

assuming conditions where little or no sweat will evaporate,
why would the $60 synthetics be any better than a white cotton t shirt?

since they would both just get soggy.

Cotton will still be soggier.

Wear what you like. I often wear cotton socks despite all
good advice to the contrary. My feet at sweaty either way.

"Paul Southworth" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Wear what you like. I often wear cotton socks despite all
good advice to the contrary. My feet at sweaty either way.

Me too. I don't find that bike-specific socks help much. But moisture has
less ability to evaporate out of shoes than it does off of a bike shirt. I
do wear bike jerseys because they don't get as soggy as cotton t-shirts.

-Don

Quoted message said:

"wle" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

why would the $60 synthetics be any better than a white cotton t shirt?

Why $60 for a synthetic?

With shipping included I paid $13.25 for a HighViz Alertshirt
http://www.alertshirt.com/lonsleevmois.html.

They are way more visible than a cotton shirt. They dry faster and keep
their shape better than soggy cotton.

From the Land of High Humdity and Heat (North Florida)

Father Time

Doug Huffman said:

Look to see just 'what' is evaporation. Even in 100% RH a significant
number of molecules will get away, each with its bit of energy, especially
with a cyclist's (own) headwind.. And how often is RH 100%?

I live and ride in 90+F and 90+%RH (Charleston, SC) and promise that 'wear
cotton and die' is a good warning if a bit hyperbolic.

In most of the country between the coasts, where high temperatures
almost always come along with moderate to low humidity, a presoaked
cotton T-shirt is the next best thing to air conditioning. Where the
relative humidity is very high, it seems like the hands-down winner of
what fabric to wear would be... none.

Chalo Colina

"hands-down" or 'hands up'?

"Chalo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
||
| In most of the country between the coasts, where high temperatures
| almost always come along with moderate to low humidity, a presoaked
| cotton T-shirt is the next best thing to air conditioning. Where the
| relative humidity is very high, it seems like the hands-down winner of
| what fabric to wear would be... none.
|
| Chalo Colina

"Doug Huffman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Look to see just 'what' is evaporation. Even in 100% RH a significant
number of molecules will get away, each with its bit of energy, especially
with a cyclist's (own) headwind.. And how often is RH 100%?

I live and ride in 90+F and 90+%RH (Charleston, SC) and promise that 'wear
cotton and die' is a good warning if a bit hyperbolic.

I live in the DC area which is known for its combination of heat and
humidity, with 40+ days above 90 last year, although that's admittedly
higher than normal. I do my cycling exclusively in grey cotton
t-shirts because they are cheap, easy to clean, comfortable to ride in
as long as you keep moving, and don't carry someone's advertising on
them (including the jersey manufacturer in big letters) or look like a
leader's jersey from a major tour. The air flow evaporates the water
out of them as fast as I sweat (except around the shoulder blades
where it is also getting the drip off of my head); in contrast,
wearing a t-shirt for running in the same weather, it will be
completely soaked after an hour or so. I've also noticed that if I get
stopped for a flat tire or something, it will get wet pretty fast. But
having used both lightweight wool and synthetics, I think the t-shirt
does just as well. I buy t-shirts just for bicycling and get them a
size smaller so they don't flap around much.

One thing about cotton t-shirts, they are so cheap that you can try
them for a quarter of the price of a fancy jersey and if you don't
like it, throw 'em away.

Besides, it's also sensible, if at all possible, on those 90/90 days
to do your bike riding in the morning, unless you have a reason to
train specifically for heat acclimatization.

JP

JP said:

"Doug Huffman"

Quoted message said:

I live and ride in 90+F and 90+%RH (Charleston, SC) and promise that 'wear
cotton and die' is a good warning if a bit hyperbolic.

[Otherwise sensible stuff]

Quoted message said:

Besides, it's also sensible, if at all possible, on those 90/90 days
to do your bike riding in the morning, unless you have a reason to
train specifically for heat acclimatization.

Or, gosh, unless you actually have somewhere to go, rather than using the
bike exclusively as a toy.
--
David Damerell <[email hidden]> flcl?

Chalo said:

In most of the country between the coasts, where high temperatures
almost always come along with moderate to low humidity,

errr, what? west of the missouri river maybe but the remainder known as the
midwest and south would truly beg to differ.
--
david reuteler
[email hidden]

David Damerell said:

JP said:

Besides, it's also sensible, if at all possible, on those 90/90 days
to do your bike riding in the morning, unless you have a reason to
train specifically for heat acclimatization.

Or, gosh, unless you actually have somewhere to go, rather than using the
bike exclusively as a toy.

Or, gosh, unless you actually have something to do, which precludes
using the bike.

One size does not fit all.
--
Rick Onanian

David Damerell <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

JP said:

"Doug Huffman"

Quoted message said:

I live and ride in 90+F and 90+%RH (Charleston, SC) and promise that 'wear
cotton and die' is a good warning if a bit hyperbolic.

[Otherwise sensible stuff]

Quoted message said:

Besides, it's also sensible, if at all possible, on those 90/90 days
to do your bike riding in the morning, unless you have a reason to
train specifically for heat acclimatization.

Or, gosh, unless you actually have somewhere to go, rather than using the
bike exclusively as a toy.

Yeah, for those who have the luxury of being able to arrive somewhere
smelling like the hippo exhibit at the zoo. And whether training or
commuting, you're still sucking the same ozone into your lungs, at
least around here anyway.

JP

"Father Time" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<EJ8xc.1010$ar.252@attbi_s04>...

Quoted message said:

With shipping included I paid $13.25 for a HighViz Alertshirt
http://www.alertshirt.com/lonsleevmois.html.

They are way more visible than a cotton shirt.

Now if they would just sell a long-sleeved LOW visibility version
(black or navy)I'd probably buy a few.

Chacun a son gout.

DR

David Reuteler said:

Chalo said:

In most of the country between the coasts, where high temperatures
almost always come along with moderate to low humidity,

errr, what? west of the missouri river maybe but the remainder known as the
midwest and south would truly beg to differ.

In my hometown of Austin, TX, which is a southern climate by whatever
standard, 90 degrees F can occasionally be accompanied by 75% RH, but

Quoted message said:

100 degrees F almost always means <50% RH.

People (especially the folks here in Seattle) complain about 90-degree
temperatures, but those don't really count-- there's still a gradient
by which your body can shed heat. The temperature numbers that matter
are those significantly higher than body temperature, where
evaporative cooling is the only cooling. It's a rare climate that can
combine those temperatures with elevated humidity.

In Central Texas, 105F in the shade means easily 120F+ out on the
sun-beaten pavement. I've ridden all day long in conditions like
that, and wet cotton shirts were one of the tools that allowed me to
do it.

Chalo Colina

Chalo said:

The temperature numbers that matter
are those significantly higher than body temperature, where
evaporative cooling is the only cooling. It's a rare climate that can
combine those temperatures with elevated humidity.

i'm a northern midwesterner (minnesota) .. you're defining high temperature
significantly higher than i would. the me that rode to work on the day
korey stringer died would argue that 98F and humid as [censored] is pretty damn
hot. :-)
--
david reuteler
[email hidden]

Wle said:

ok, received wisdom is 'synthetics beat cotton because they wick sweat
away to evaporate'.
however, this assumes less than 100% humidity.
assuming conditions where little or no sweat will evaporate, why would
the $60 synthetics be any better than a white cotton t shirt?
since they would both just get soggy.
wle.

Synthetics work better because of the open weave possible and they have
much less capacity for water, meaning they will not weigh a ton when
fully saturated. Because they will not absorb a ton of water,
evaporative cooling, which is a function of RH and surface area to mass,
is much more effective.

--

JP said:

Yeah, for those who have the luxury of being able to arrive somewhere
smelling like the hippo exhibit at the zoo.

Sweating does NOT mean smelling like a hippo, unless you've got a
problem caused by skin bacteria. If you do have that problem, it's
easily cured.

Ask your doctor about Betadyne soap - I think that's the spelling.
Alternatively, Listerine will kill the bad armpit bugs. Then you can
stop acting as a deoderant commercial.

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

In article <[email hidden]>,

(wle) said:

ok, received wisdom is 'synthetics beat cotton because they
wick sweat away to evaporate'.

however, this assumes less than 100% humidity.

assuming conditions where little or no sweat will evaporate,
why would the $60 synthetics be any better than a white cotton t shirt?

I think the synthetics are far superior when you ride in hilly or
mountainous areas. A cotton shirt will get sopping wet on your way up
the hill, leaving you very chilly as you zoom down the other side.
Synthetics absorb almost no water, so you stay comfortable on the
downhill ride.

--
Ned Mantei
Department of Cell Biology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland

Paul Southworth said:

wle said:

ok, received wisdom is 'synthetics beat cotton because they
wick sweat away to evaporate'.

however, this assumes less than 100% humidity.

assuming conditions where little or no sweat will evaporate,
why would the $60 synthetics be any better than a white cotton t shirt?

since they would both just get soggy.

Quoted message said:

Cotton will still be soggier.

I second that opinion. I just performed the experiment earlier this week
in temps of around 25-27C (~80F). One day I wore a cotton T-shirt. After
an hour, I was very uncomfortable with the heavy, wet cotton flapping
around my body. The next day I wore an el cheapo jersey with synthetics.
It got wet, too, but it was much less uncomfortable in that state.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

Quoted message said:

I think the synthetics are far superior when you ride in hilly or
mountainous areas. A cotton shirt will get sopping wet on your way up
the hill, leaving you very chilly as you zoom down the other side.
Synthetics absorb almost no water, so you stay comfortable on the
downhill ride.

how does the amount of water absorbed matter?

i mean, if the shirt doesn;t absorb it, it will stay on
your body and be dripping, right?

wle.