Ice vest for summer riding down under

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Asymptotic
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Joined: Mon Jul 11, 2011 11:06 am
Location: North Adelaide, South Australia

by Asymptotic

Ok summer has well and truly hit Down Under and after one week of riding where the road temperature is consistently above 48C I want to do this a bit more sensibly by purchasing a cycling specific ice vest (well most people would just say don't ride bikes period in this weather, but that means not riding till March).

Physiologically I react extremely poorly to heat - so badly that I've had some medical tests to see what is wrong with me, conversely I'm one of those weird people who are comfortable only wearing one pair of arm warmers and a base layer at 5C, I really just lucked out in being born in a desert. Has anybody had any experience in the following ice vests?

Evaporative style
http://www.icevests.com.au/evaporative- ... p-279.html

Chemical cooling agent, used by AIS and US olympic teams
http://www.icevests.com.au/blue-cooling ... -p-56.html
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micky
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by micky

I did never try any of them, but they are normally used for the pre-race warm up like TT.
I think if you use on roads after 20-25 mins you will have opposite effect.

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Asymptotic
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by Asymptotic

I have seen them used in the Vuelta, Contador rode several stages with them. I'm not planning on using them when its less then 40C, above that my body can't cool effectively
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TheKaiser
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by TheKaiser

Asymptotic wrote:I have seen them used in the Vuelta, Contador rode several stages with them. I'm not planning on using them when its less then 40C, above that my body can't cool effectively


Do you know which type Contador used? I am curious as I would have agreed with the previous reply and thought that the cooling wouldn't have lasted for more than an hour in the case of the refrigerated vest. Evaporative on the other hand could also be replenished if it dried out, however I would love to see the net heat loss figures as it will add cooling from the evaporation, but I have to imagine it will also impede other types of heat shedding from your skin purely by virtue of the quilting.

It is kind of like the different approaches you see to heat geographically with westerners generally trying to wear as little as possible, but middle eastern desert travelers wearing full body white coverings, saying that they reflect more sun heat than they prevent from escaping from the body.

I do know a fellow who used one of the refrigerated type models with removable ice bricks, however he used it in a motorcycle racing application and so weight was not as big a deal, so he was able to get one with a ton of absorptive capacity.

DuncanS
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by DuncanS

OGE pro tip is stockings (pantyhose) full of ice hanging around the neck. Assuming you have a team car to hand them out at suitable times.

Devon
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by Devon

Personally I wouldn't class what you describe as anything unusual. Struggling with 40 degree heat? Yeah, that just makes you human.

Funny you should say about base layer and arm warmers in 5 degrees. Here in the UK that's the norm too :noidea:

I think you should move to a country with sensible weather :wink:

ghostinthemachine
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by ghostinthemachine

I've done some long hot days on the bike before, found that a mid/light weight base layer soaked in cold water will kick start the process, by the time the water has evaporated, you'll have a sweat on from the exercise, which will keep the base layer damp. Wearing just a jersey seemed worse, as they hold (almost) no moisture at all.
Can top it up with water from your bottle if you need to. Helps to have a team car though. You will drink a lot.

If its just for training, train earlier in the day. Have done lots of training leaving the house with lights, getting home at 7 or 8 am. Then another session in the evening.

Asymptotic wrote:I'm not planning on using them when its less then 40C, above that my body can't cool effectively
Not many can, you'd need a few weeks of acclimatizing to effectively deal with that sort of heat. I guess you have AC in most places you live/work/shop/socialise?
I found it to be less than helpful.
Long trips to Africa/India with virtually no AC and daytime temps into the 40's was fairly easy after a week or so. Except for the pollution!
A long trip to the US, temps in the mid 30's, with AC everywhere, was unbearable. I've heard the same from people who go to the middle east (Dubai, UAE and so on) business trips in hotels, offices and conference centres, the heat is unbearable. Working outdoors, or at least without AC, you get used to it.

It's still hot, but you can deal with it.

nobuseri
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by nobuseri

DuncanS wrote:OGE pro tip is stockings (pantyhose) full of ice hanging around the neck. Assuming you have a team car to hand them out at suitable times.


Never seen or thought about that. That's pretty effective. :thumbup:
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Tapeworm
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by Tapeworm

As mentioned, riding with an ice vest will be detrimental after about 20mins.

Thermal stress is a killer (potentially literally).

So, you need greater time to adapt to the heat, alter the time you ride to avoid the highest temps, reduce and adjust output based on temp ranges.

For example: knowing a certain mtb race held in summer often reaches 40+, I started a process of sauna/heat room acclimation in conjunction with z1/2 rides in the full heat, building up time exposed to each and downing huge amounts of water. Even if "adapted" to the heat extreme temps will always dampen performance.
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mentok
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by mentok

Can confirm that adaptation is possible to some degree. I spent a few months in Darwin last summer and it was rough for the first week or so but after that I got very comfortable with the heat and I was relatively comfortable riding zone 3-4 in 35-40ºC weather. Similar to you, I'm not the best in the heat. I'm 90kg, i go through a lot of water in the heat and I get cracking headaches once I start to dehydrate. After a few months of regular hot riding i was much better and spent most of the sydney summer not bothered by the heat.

I also felt subjectively that i was getting more bang for my buck from my training - when I got home I did some FTP testing and my numbers were higher than I thought they should have been considering that a) i hadn't done any explicit FTP work and b) my TSS wasn't that high (about half of what it was the previous time I was pulling those sorts of numbers). I don't think going out with the specific aim of completing tough workouts in the heat of the day is a good idea, but doing a sensible amount of work in the heat seems to have some benefit.

Sorry, but I have no good advice to offer on specific vests and I guess it's a bit trite of me to suggest rolling out very early :\

istigatrice
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by istigatrice

Like Tapeworm mentioned, can you shift your riding into early mornings and/or late evenings? I find the heat isn't so bad around sunrise and sunset. Perhaps also pick your training routes to include shade etc/bodies of water. (e.g. I find the lower part of Montacute is great for hill reps during summer)
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NealH
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by NealH

ghostinthemachine wrote:I've done some long hot days on the bike before, found that a mid/light weight base layer soaked in cold water will kick start the process, by the time the water has evaporated, you'll have a sweat on from the exercise, which will keep the base layer damp. Wearing just a jersey seemed worse, as they hold (almost) no moisture at all.
Can top it up with water from your bottle if you need to. Helps to have a team car though. You will drink a lot.




Interesting comment and I have not considered trying that. I rode in Florida all summer and typically wear a light breathable jersey, and carry two water bottles. One for drinking (about a bottle every 30 minutes) and one for dousing myself as I push along. Obviously I have to stop relatively often to refill. This seems to work Ok but, as others have said there is that certain temperature where its just not suitable for riding/training.

I would think a pre-soaked base layer would also evaporate pretty quickly in the heat and sun but, repeatedly soaking it with the water bottle does seem as if it should last longer than merely soaking a light jersey. I will have to try this next summer here.

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