How to take good care of your cycling clothes?

How to take care of your cycling clothes? Cycling clothing does not need to be maintained like any textile.
Indeed, cycling clothing is made with technical fabrics specific and require special attention.
In this article, you will learn all the essential tips and advice for properly maintaining your cycling clothes.
You might be surprised at some mistakes not to make…

How to properly wash your cycling clothes without damaging them?

In order to maintain the quality of your cycling outfits for as long as possible, just follow the following tips…

Read the bike clothing label

Each technical element has its own manual. In this case, your cycling clothes are no exception to this rule, especially since they are made of very specific technical fabrics.
They are always accompanied by their “mini-user guide” for cleaning on the label containing the care symbols.
Carefully take care to respect the recommendations to avoid premature deterioration.

Hand wash your cycling clothes

Less traumatic for fabrics, washing your dirty cycling outfit by hand is ideal.
Here are the steps for effective hand washing:

• Step 1 : Soak your clothes in cold or lukewarm water not exceeding 30 degrees.
• Step 2 : use a neutral soap. Reminder: a neutral soap is a soap that has a pH (Hydrogen Potential) equal to 7. Below, the soap is said to be "acid".
• Step 3 : apply the soap by exerting a mechanical action. Gently rub the fabrics, insisting on the dirtiest areas (such as the skin of the shorts, the armpits, the back, etc.).
• Step 4 : rinse in cold water, then wring the fabric without twisting it too much to avoid damaging it.

Wash your sports clothes in the washing machine

If you don't have time to wash your clothes by hand, you can always opt for machine washing. But for this, certain precautions must be taken…

• Sort your clothes and separate dark colors from light colors.
• Run the machine on the short program 30 minutes with a gentle spin. Set the temperature to low temperature, at a maximum of 30°C.
• Use a detergent for delicate fabrics.
• wash your clothes Upside down et zip closures. Some very delicate cycling outfits can be placed in laundry nets.
• After the clothes are washed, avoid leaving them wet for too long in the machine. Choose to dry outdoors, in the shade and flat or on a hanger.
  Using stain remover to remove a stain can sometimes be too harsh on the fabric.
• Some rain textiles have a water-repellent treatment. Must therefore avoid machine wash them. Repetition of washes would prematurely damage their effectiveness.
  For these jackets and winter jackets, it is possible not to wash them at each outing. In this case, all you have to do is remove any stains (mud, water, etc.) with a sponge, then hang the jackets on a hanger, outside, to help the perspiration dry out.

Mistakes in washing your bike clothes: what are the most common?

Here are 5 mistakes to avoid:

• Usefabric softener : this clogs the fibers and neutralizes the absorbent effect of the technical garment.
• Put your bike clothes on dryer : The dryer fills cycling clothes with static electricity and deforms them under the effect of excessive heat.
• iron : the materials used do not withstand high temperatures.
• Do them dry in the sun : the sun's rays harden fabrics and cause discoloration.
• Leave dirty clothes in a laundry basket several days after a sports outing. Indeed, the bacteria will grow quickly. In addition, the most harmful aspect concerns the acidity of perspiration which strongly attacks the tissues. If you don't have time to wash them after your sports outing, you can always soak them in cold water, with baking soda, then let them dry while waiting to wash them.

How to properly put on cycling clothing without damaging it?

Specific cycling clothing don't slip on like any outfit daily.
Under no circumstances should the seams be overstressed by “pulling” hard on them. Neither pull on the fabric.
For example, long tights must be slipped delicately along the body by “unfolding” the fabric from the foot to the calf, then from the calf to the knee, and from the knee to the pelvis!

From now on, you have all the cards in hand to optimize the lifespan and performance of your cycling clothing!
So it's up to you! And if you have any doubt, do not hesitate to contact us !