Is it just me? Notices that some riders smell of wee- quite powerful smelling on some of them.

Could it be that you don’t notice and I too could smell the same to others? 😐

It’s ammonia from the stale sweat, some people suffer it some don’t.

I don’t.

Not all riders smell like this though do they.

Not all riders smell like this though do they.

Earlier on in this thread I said..

some people suffer it some don’t

Hydrophobic comes to mind.

Last summer passing a well know bike cafe, opposite there is a glass bus shelter, as i drove past the old chap with his bike suddenly collapsed, and fell over, stopped to pick him up and as i did he pissed all the floor, he refused an anbulance, so left him with some of the other cyclists that stopped to help him.

Some people have better bladder control than others.

bit like asparagus isn’t it?

🙂

I didnt know aspagus had a bladder? 😕

It’s ammonia, a by product of anaerobic exercise. Go for a hard run and you’ll smell the same. I think everyone gets it if they work hard enough for long enough at anaerobic levels.

As for asparagus wee, I’m sure that deserves its own thread!

washing your riding clothes in a cold wash won’t help either.

My helmet can sometimes smell a bit. I sometimes have to give it a rinse under the outside tap.

HTH

So, if you were a policeman, you’d have to let women wee in your helmet? That could be it, some riders are policemen? 8)

My helmet can sometimes smell a bit. I sometimes have to give it a rinse under the outside tap.

HTH
in public?

😯

When I’m trying to beat my time round a particular loop I’m not going to bother letting the call of nature get in my way of a new PB am I?!

My helmet can sometimes smell a bit. I sometimes have to give it a rinse under the outside tap.

HTH

in public?

Sort of. You’d have to stand on the roof of the wife’s car to get a good view.

I’m not the sort of chap to hose down in the middle of the road.

In winter I tend to wash all of my kit alot less.

Shorts problem once every erm 3 weeks. I just shake the excess dust off after I’ve dug them out of the boot again.

You should get on an uplift truck. The smell from all that unwashed body armour is just soooo bad.

Me! I do. Especially on the commute home, putting damp gear on at the end of the day it usually has a damp sweat smell to it, not pleasant, but a few mins into my ride home and it doesn’t matter. I wish work had a drying room. Ho hum. At the speed I go nobody is slipstreaming to be offended! And if they did theyd soon wizz by. But i have always wondered why there were packs of cats and dogs chasing me?

It’s ammonia, a by product of anaerobic exercise

I feel confident in saying you have never reached this level on your dawdles rides

I sweat loads for some reason even on my commute wehn I take it easy guess some folk are just more sweaty?

I wish work had a drying room.

two words
Server Room 😉

In winter I tend to wash all of my kit alot less.

Shorts problem once every erm 3 weeks. I just shake the excess dust off after I’ve dug them out of the boot again.

That is all kinds of wrong.

Generally its due to not washing there synthetic clothes. My Gore Phantom gets very stinky if its not muddy.

Syntheic clothes = smelly
Merino = Less Smelly

Camelbaks, body armour and helmets probably smell the worst as they get washed a lot less.

Try washing your kit occasionally (at least every 2 rides for softshells) after every ride for everything else. Helmet pads need to be washed occasionally too!

The nearest server rooms are in the data centres about 150 miles away, not a commute I fancy!

And I wash my gear every day.

I’ve just spent a few minutes sniffing my riding gear 🙂

Think I’m ok….

I suffer really badly from it – I sweat like a fat bloke on speed and stink of cat piss quite badly after a hard ride.

their SPD shoes? Dunno if its a glue or coating that is effected by moisture but a few pairs of SPD shoes I know of stink of p— after they get wet.

To dry at work, I hang my clothes down the back of my computers. The warm air fanned out from it does a really good job of drying them.

KINGTUT Earlier on in this thread I said..

I think your fail here is assuming that people even bother to read what anyone else says, and then to assume that they have the ability to comprehend language and logic (don’t worry I make the same mistake every day). What you must realise is STW is place for you to vent your ego, based on a simple stimulus from the OP, normally it makes sense to not even bother to read all of the OP’s statement or any of the replies, just get a quick glance impression and then form a radical opinion.Sometimes its fun to merge a few opinions from different posts and oppose them as if one poster has presented them.

I sweat like I’ve just got out of the shower on a hot humid day, but I very rarely smell and never to an offensive level.

Some tips:
1) Wash before you ride. I think a lot of people get up and go for a ride in the morning, already a bit fresh from the night before. Shower gel just masks the problem. Dettol antibacterial soap is the answer.
2) Merino. This stuff works. If you have a problem, avoid synthetic like the plague. Merino will still smell if left in a heap, so hang it up to air or wash straight away.
3) Don’t overheat. When I was commuting, the amount of people I see in full waterproofs, boiling in the bag was baffling. Cycling is energetic and you will generate some serious heat. For the most part I find a merino and a pertex keep me warm enough and dry. I end up just as wet wearing waterproof so I stick to something more breathable.
4) Wash your shoes/camelback/helmet/gloves once in a while. They hum.

It may appear from reading this that I’m a proper clean freak. I’m not. I just like to be able to breath on the trail. Smelling like pish is antisocial and unnecessary.

I’ve met a few Diabetics that smelt of wee

Deodorant bars from these guys

Absolutely amazing and 100% better than anything I have ever used before.

Is this something to do with this?

You mean people get off their bikes mid ride to have a wee?

I thought if you wore lycra you rolled up one leg, stood up, turned to the side, let it go and then sit down.

In baggies this is reduced to stand up, let it go and then sit down.

[edit] double post.