Arm & leg sun protectors

brucey72

I am cycling in France in the summer and was wondering whether there is a recommended product to wear similar to an arm or leg warmer to protect my arms and legs from the sun instead of cold weather. I'm looking for a thin sleeve with a decent SPF. I do have long sleeve tops and have leg warmers but on past experience these will be too warm so want to use my summer kit with these 'arm/leg coolers' if I can find such a thing.

The reason for my complete cover up is I have just finished finished major surgery and radiotherapy for stage 3 malignant melanoma.I could just cycle in cloudy UK but I love the Alps and the camping and at the start of treatment promised myself a trip to France to watch some of the Tour and I also set my own personal goal of cycling up alpe D'Huez. I just don't want any sunburn along the way and no cyclists tan or my doctors will be most unhappy.

So any advice on the arm/leg coolers would be appreciated.

apreading

The Perl Izumi Sun sleeves are awesome - one of my most used bits of kit. Thin arm wamers when you need extra warmth but keep them cooler in the heat. Have yet to try them but they do knee things too.

rudivoller22

Castelli arm skins are pretty good. Got me through a hot ironman with no issues.

luv2ride

Mavic also do some. Thin Lycra arm "warmers" rated at SPF50 I think.

mamil314

Good luck in your recovery, brucey. I just wear long sleeve compression base layer and it works well in the UK, perhaps someone with Alp experience could advise if this would work there? Thin tights could also help regulate wicking and temperatures between climb and descent

sungod

best wishes for continued recovery

http://www.boure.com/SPF.html take international orders

it can be brutally hot in the summer, as an alternative i'd be prepared with high spf sun lotion, you'll want it anyway for face/hands/neck/etc., there are some that really stay put, i remember using a waterproof one in uae, it took multiple showers and scrubbing over 4-5 days to get the stuff off!

brucey72

Excellent, thank you. I will have a look at the products today. My LS Nike base layers are fine for the UK but I don't think they will cope once the temp rises. I get sun cream through the NHS now so will seek my dermatologists advice - I used to use Reimann P20 SPF50 so maybe this will still be ok.

navrig2

brucey72 wrote:

Excellent, thank you. I will have a look at the products today. My LS Nike base layers are fine for the UK but I don't think they will cope once the temp rises. I get sun cream through the NHS now so will seek my dermatologists advice - I used to use Reimann P20 SPF50 so maybe this will still be ok.

P20 is the best I have found for cycling as it is very good for sun protection but doesn't run into your eyes.

I should imagine your dermatologist will have a dim view of sun exposure of this type given the treatment you have just had. I know the reaction I got when I told the doctors I had been golfing just after taking photo sensitizing medication - and that was in Inverness!!

It's all a balance between good physical health, mental health and keeping any skin related risk at bay.

Good luck.

brucey72

Navrig2, you are probably right I don't think they will be happy with my plans but cycling, with the goal of climbing alpe d'huez in July, has kept me going through my treatment. I'll just minimise the risks as much as I can by covering up and cycling in the early mornings and late afternoons.

flowrate

Hi Brucy72

I am in exactly the same position. Had surgery last year,I also opted to have a sentinal node biopsy. Told to avoid sun where hat etc.

I found these, but not tried them
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/skin ... prod133899

Also found this base layer from planet x. Says it has 50SPF but no labels when it arrived, so a bit nervous. Good reviews and did buy one. It has worked well but I have not tried it in really hot conditions

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CLOOPEFITL ... base-layer

Not found much else but will also look at some of those other suggestions.

Been a year for me since I was diagnosed, Dermatolgist very good, but looked anxious when I said I wanted to do a charity bike ride. Told apply sun cream every 2 hours and look for SPF clothing best of luck.

BTW PM me if you want to discuss anything

Flowrate

cerutticolumn

All the best to you guys with your recoveries.
I live in Spain, so I do try and keep my skin protected from the sun as much as possible. For the last few years I have been using these Assos ones:
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... ssozarm252

No too expensive by Assos standards, and have done the job well without seeming too hot. They begin to lose their shape after a couple of six-month summer seasons , but they fit me well.

I use the white ones.

ilovegrace

Hi Chaps
Looking for a little "sun" safe help .
Like everyone else I love riding in the summer sun , but , my question is , "Is there such a thing as a safe tan ?"
What advise would you give or have had from the specialist ?
What would you have done different ?
All info is gratefully received.
regards
ILG

crankycrank

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19621130#p19621130]ilovegrace[/url] wrote:

Hi "Is there such a thing as a safe tan ?"ILG

Most dermatologists will tell you no there is no such thing as a "safe tan". I live in sunny Southern California where most feel having a tan is a requirement. I've seen people with all types of skin, different levels of sun exposure and of all ages and there seems to be no way of knowing who will get cancer or not. Personally I supposedly have all the worst type of conditions to get the cancer. Very fair skinned, burn easily, spend plenty of time on my bike in the sun, had many nasty sunburns as a child and cancer is rampant on my mothers side of the family but at 56 I have not had any signs of skin cancer. Luck has been on my side so far. The worst damage to skin seems to be with people who have spent a bit of time in tanning booths, turns your skin to leather eventually. Use plenty of sun screen or better yet keep covered and you increase your odds. And I would suggest if you're getting some arm and leg covers for hot sunny days get the white version. Cooler and you can actually get heat burns/rash if the sun is constantly beating down on parts of your body for long periods of time when wearing black.

Bobbinogs

Craft do some really good arm coolers. I have the white ones and they do make your arms feel cooler and give great protection. I am a ginger ninja yet have managed to avoid any burning on day long rides in southern france.

thegreatdivide

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19621696#p19621696]Bobbinogs[/url] wrote:

Craft do some really good arm coolers. I have the white ones and they do make your arms feel cooler and give great protection. I am a ginger ninja yet have managed to avoid any burning on day long rides in southern france.

+1

I have them in black. Madness I hear you cry, but nope, they work perfectly. It got to 41C on a climb up the Croix Fry a few years back (carbon bike melting temps) but my arms were fine.

brucey72

I ordered the pearl izumis - I fancied the craft ones but I could only find L/Xl and my arms are no thicker than spaghetti. My assos and castelli tops are SPF50 so should be ok. I still need to think about my legs but I think my threadbare castelli knee warmers will do the trick as they have no warming properties left in them anyway.

Off track slightly, I saw my surgeon today, he told me I have another cancerous lump /lymph node but he agreed to operate after my hols unless it grows quickly over the next 2 weeks. I told him of my plan to cycle ADH and he has written to a colleague in Grenoble should I have any problems whilst in that area which was very good of him and takes an extra weight off my mind.