Armwarmers for the summer, ie not really thick - any recommendations?

daniel_b

Morning all,

I have a few pairs of armwarmers - most are quite thick, and I realise I rarely use those.
I might actually sell them, as if it's cold enough for something thick like that, chances are I'll have a long sleeve jersey or even a jacket on.

The ones I tend to use most are the thin ones, that are kind of normal jersey thickness with no roubaix type lining of any kind.

They are super light, and the main reason I use them is for cold early morning starts, and then they can be stashed mid ride if the temperature picks up enough.

I do prefer the ones with preferably silicone on inside AND outside, although purely inside can work ok if the fit is right.

I have 3 pairs on the go currently.

One Gore pair, which are pretty old, and the stitching is starting to go, which is a real shame, as the same is happening with the knee versions, and the elastic is going in them as well
I have a sportful pair, not no rain or anything fancy, maybe fiandre, not sure if they did a light version - but they work a treat.
I also now have an Ale sunselect pair, ostensibly sun shields I think, but work just as well as keeping the chill off early doors.

I've been trawling t'internet, and have found a few potential candidates.

Castelli UPF50 ones seem to be the best bet at the moment, £21ish from PBK.
The only thing I am not sure about on these is the sizing - weight wise it is saying Medium all day long, but I wear Small and XS Castelli jerseys........
All my other arm warmers are Small as well.

Decathlon have some uber cheap ones for £9.99 but I strongly suspect they have no silicone going on.

They will likely mostly be used for commuting duties.

Any other worthwhile candidates out there?

Colourwise, want to avoid white, but happy with black, yellow, green.

ibr17xvii

I've been using the Castelli's you mention for the last 3 years & they are a good option for the situations you describe. Perhaps a bit expensive for what they are at full retail (circa £30) but £21 ish isn't too bad. They're probably just about coming to the end of their life after this summer, the gripper isn't really doing its job so I need to keep pulling them up & they are very nearly ripped at the top but can't complain as I've worn them a lot.

Appreciate sizing is personal but in Castelli I'm a medium if I want race fit in a jersey & large if I want a more relaxed fit. Their normal armwarmers I'm a medium so I've got a medium in these & the fit is perfect.

daniel_b

ibr17xvii said:

I've been using the Castelli's you mention for the last 3 years & they are a good option for the situations you describe. Perhaps a bit expensive for what they are at full retail (circa £30) but £21 ish isn't too bad. They're probably just about coming to the end of their life after this summer, the gripper isn't really doing its job so I need to keep pulling them up & they are very nearly ripped at the top but can't complain as I've worn them a lot.

Appreciate sizing is personal but in Castelli I'm a medium if I want race fit in a jersey & large if I want a more relaxed fit. Their normal armwarmers I'm a medium so I've got a medium in these & the fit is perfect.

Thanks for that - they are definitely positioned as favourites now then, and thanks for the sizing advice, I would say they puts me down as small in that case.

I'd rather spend £20 on something that fits well, and is of decent quality than spend half that on something that isn't up to the job, and I end up not using.

masjer

I use thin ones for uv protection in summer and have various makes. The best (by far)
have been these non-cycle specific ones https://premium-workwear.co.uk/Workwear-Clothing/hoodie/Spiro-Compression-Arm-Sleeve
They are tough, cheap, cooling and don't fade to grey after loads of wash cycles. No silicone grippers, but the tightness and type of fabric means they never come down.
As they are compression sleeves, size up if you want a looser fit.

mrb123

https://www.pactimo.co.uk/collections/summer-cycling-sleeves

daniel_b

masjer said:

I use thin ones for uv protection in summer and have various makes. The best (by far)
have been these non-cycle specific ones https://premium-workwear.co.uk/Workwear-Clothing/hoodie/Spiro-Compression-Arm-Sleeve
They are tough, cheap, cooling and don't fade to grey after loads of wash cycles. No silicone grippers, but the tightness and type of fabric means they never come down.
As they are compression sleeves, size up if you want a looser fit.

Thanks will check those out.

mrb123 said:

https://www.pactimo.co.uk/collections/summer-cycling-sleeves

Wow, that is a LOT of options

mrb123

daniel_b said:

masjer said:

I use thin ones for uv protection in summer and have various makes. The best (by far)
have been these non-cycle specific ones https://premium-workwear.co.uk/Workwear-Clothing/hoodie/Spiro-Compression-Arm-Sleeve
They are tough, cheap, cooling and don't fade to grey after loads of wash cycles. No silicone grippers, but the tightness and type of fabric means they never come down.
As they are compression sleeves, size up if you want a looser fit.

Thanks will check those out.

mrb123 said:

https://www.pactimo.co.uk/collections/summer-cycling-sleeves

Wow, that is a LOT of options

Not sure how tall you are - they came up a bit short for my long arms (I'm 6'4") when I ordered a pair to try. Quality seemed decent though and definitely nice and light.

daniel_b

mrb123 said:

daniel_b said:

masjer said:

I use thin ones for uv protection in summer and have various makes. The best (by far)
have been these non-cycle specific ones https://premium-workwear.co.uk/Workwear-Clothing/hoodie/Spiro-Compression-Arm-Sleeve
They are tough, cheap, cooling and don't fade to grey after loads of wash cycles. No silicone grippers, but the tightness and type of fabric means they never come down.
As they are compression sleeves, size up if you want a looser fit.

Thanks will check those out.

mrb123 said:

https://www.pactimo.co.uk/collections/summer-cycling-sleeves

Wow, that is a LOT of options

Not sure how tall you are - they came up a bit short for my long arms (I'm 6'4") when I ordered a pair to try. Quality seemed decent though and definitely nice and light.

Only 5ft 10, average arms I would say.

bobones

I've used the Decathlon ones for a few years and they're excellent. No silicon but they're a kind of elastic woven fabric which stays up on my skinny arms no bother at all.

daniel_b

bobones said:

I've used the Decathlon ones for a few years and they're excellent. No silicon but they're a kind of elastic woven fabric which stays up on my skinny arms no bother at all.

@bobones - did you go for the smallest size?

I ordered the Castelli ones, and they are thinner that I expected, I can see why they call them sun screens.
The Ale sunselect ones I have are for me the perfect weight, and would likely stay on for the entire ride.
CRC have them on sale for £12 or so which is great, but absolutely no size small left in stock.

Think I will take a punt on the decathlon ones, and then maybe grab some sunselect ones when they come back into stock.

jimmyjams

I have a couple of acquaintances who make their own summer armwarmers by cutting the legs off their wives' and female daughters' discarded black(ish) tights (discarded because they have gotten holes at the toes or similar). The two seem satisfied with the results. I imagine they use the lower leg part of the tights.

bobones

daniel_b said:

@bobones - did you go for the smallest size?

I think I got the M/Ls as I have quite long limbs, but they stay up no bother. I had them on this morning, and they're just perfect when it's just a bit too cool for short sleeves at the start of a ride. I think these are the ones I got, but I bought them before the Van Rysel brand was created https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/cool-weather-arm-warmers/_/R-p-14965

Ben6899

I have to be careful in prolonged sunlight so to remove as much worry as possible, I cover my arms in hot weather.

Either with summer weight LS jerseys... OR Castelli's "arm screen" thingies (they're UPF50+ apparently).

daniel_b

bobones said:

daniel_b said:

@bobones - did you go for the smallest size?

I think I got the M/Ls as I have quite long limbs, but they stay up no bother. I had them on this morning, and they're just perfect when it's just a bit too cool for short sleeves at the start of a ride. I think these are the ones I got, but I bought them before the Van Rysel brand was created https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/cool-weather-arm-warmers/_/R-p-14965

I ordered a pair of these recently, and they arrived today:
https://decathlon.co.uk/p/pre-formed-cool-weather-arm-warmers/_/R-p-304081?mc=8517191&c=YELLOW

They are pretty thin, and kind of woolen, but seem to fit my twig arms pretty well.
In my opinion they are not for really cold weather, but more to keep the chill off when it's a bit nippy, which is pretty much what I was looking for.

I'm commuting in on Friday morning I think, but it's going to be low single figures at 6am so will be wearing thick ones, but will likely take these in and wear them on the return leg if you'll pardon the pun that isn't.

daniel_b

So wore them tonight under my perfetto light/lite, and for me they were a tiny bit thin, so as I suspected more for just taking the edge off.

Very comfy though, and they only dropped about an inch on a 70 minute ride, so well impressed - quite the bargain at £9.99 seeing how much some are costing.

I think for the job they do it's a 9/10, and value is 10/10 all day.