What is the best *cotton* material for hot-weather cycling tops?

[Patrick Moore]

Lands' End is having a sale, and they offer some reasonably priced 100% cotton ss shirts in different weaves, plus of course knit 100% cotton polo shirts.

I am considering only Lands' End cotton shirts at this point.

I would wear these when cycling to non-cycling functions, so in "casual dress" situations.

Which would you choose for hot weather cycling? And why?

Seersucker

Chambray

Madras

Poplin

Knit

Thanks.

Aside: I've been wearing some very well made, very good looking, very comfortable, very easy care (toss in machine, hang dry, they look already-ironed), very quick-drying, and very, very durable indeed "bush"-type shirts -- straight tails, can be worn neatly untucked -- with meshed and vented rear airflow flaps; in addition to all the other superlatives, they were very cheap at about, IIRC -- this was some 5+ years ago -- $15 per, from Kohl's.

The one downside is: they are made from synthetics, and of course develop that synthetic stink as soon as you hang them up and walk away for 30 minutes.

The cottons would replace these, trading some of the described benefits for the longer between-wash life of cotton.

Thanks.

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Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

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[Ted Durant]

On Sunday, April 12, 2026 at 1:31:18 PM UTC-7 bert...@gmail.com wrote:

Lands' End is having a sale, and they offer some reasonably priced 100% cotton ss shirts in different weaves, plus of course knit 100% cotton polo shirts.

 

Which would you choose for hot weather cycling? And why?

Seersucker

Chambray

Madras

Poplin

Knit

Well, funny you should ask ... I have gravitated towards polo shirts in the last couple of years for warm riding, and I bought a few from Lands End last year, and that's what I brought to LA with me. 

I also have a couple of LS seersucker shirts with me here (wearing one as I type), which I love for warm weather riding, for the UV protection and keeping the material from sticking to the skin. I've not tried chambray. Madras doesn't work for me, tends to really cling to my skin. Haven't tried poplin, probably worth giving it a go, and probably looks a little neater than always-wrinkled-seersucker. I like the knit polo shirts, so far, they seem to really breathe well.

I've noted elsewhere, I think, how happy I am with my wool polos from Minus33 and Smartwool (a blend, actually).

The photos of me from the LA ride yesterday show me in the long sleeve white Lands End polo, which I especially appreciate on a sunny day for its UV protection. Basic cotton, might have come from their school uniform catalog.

Also got this short sleeve mesh on sale, and it appears to still be there, on sale. Not fully happy with the way the sleeves fit, middle of biceps so they tend to climb up.

And I got this basic light blue (hard to color balance this),  again not fully happy with the sleeves on it. But I like the performance of the fabric, and I like how normal they look on and off the bike. All of them have long enough tails that I don't feel too drafty in back.

Ted Durant

San Marino, CA USA (for now)

[Eric]

Patrick,

These days the only cotton shirts I wear riding and don't feel all swampy are seersucker! Picked up a nice Banana Republic seersucker camp collar shirt a couple years back off eBay, and it's now my favorite riding and casual nice-looking shirt in my closet. I find myself grabbing it so frequently for rides that the navy stripes are turning slightly violet from sun fading. The fabric, even when saturated with sweat, lifts itself off my skin, aiding in evaporative cooling and drying. There's my endorsement.

Thanks for the heads up about the sale! I might be picking up a seersucker long sleeve or two for the added sun protection. I have dark skin, and am always surprised how much more comfortable I feel during those exposed sections when I have a light layer covering my arms.

Eric

[Patrick Moore]

Ted and Eric: thanks, you confirmed my suspicions that knit and seersucker work best. 

One more question: Are the LE polos and ss seersuckers cut trim? I have a very long and narrow torso and sometimes have to order Large to get enough length, but I don’t want baggy = flap in wind.

Too bad about the stink on the Koh’s bush shirts, as they are otherwise excellent. Only, when I ride somewhere and sweat I am always afraid that the dreaded stink will start manifesting itself publicly before the end of my trip. I am generally safe for, say, 5 hours or so, but more than that is iffy.

[Patrick Moore]

Thanks, all. I ordered 8 of the seersuckers, having to duplicate colors since the discount applied only to certain colors. Still, all of this should see me through for the next decade. Someone emailed me offlist to describe how well seersucker works on long tours in humid areas, acting like (respondent's image) -- he's an engineer) a large surface heat exchanger.

I was interested to read that seersucker was developed in India, tho' from the Persian roots of the name (meaning "milk and sugar" for the alternating smooth and rough surface) during the Mugal period, and was beloved of colonizers from Bengal to Baguio as well as in the Southern US.

Man, I used to call Lands' End and get a knowledgeable person immediately who could answer product questions and quickly take an order. Just now I called to get information about cut and returns, was on hold for 25 minutes, got someone apparently from a discount outsourced CS mill in some backwater state of India who knew nothing, and then got put on hold for another 15 minutes before getting an American "supervisor" who answered my questions quickly and took my order. Still, $36.97 per instead of 7$4.95 per. If I'd had more patience I'd have looked at Poshmark or eBay.

On Sun, Apr 12, 2026 at 2:30 PM Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Chris Halasz]

It diverges from Patrick's original question (can you imagine such a thing in this group?), but so curious as to those who have compared cycling with long-sleeved seersucker vs with linen, especially in a dry (California coastal) climate? 

Thanks all, 

Chris 

[Patrick Moore]

https://youtu.be/mAUYkwFKdak

In other news, and this is Lands' End news, not cycling or Riv news, so hang up if you are not interested. Got mss saying "Cc declined, call back." And I did. Waited 10 min. But got Wisconsin-accented CS rep who fixed it all in short order. Asked her about first CS rep who knew nothing about products. She told me new outsourcing to (here it is) Belize and more training needed.

So apologies to India and Bihar or Andhra Pradesh. I've found Filipinos/as to be the best outsourced CS reps: bedside manner/general attitude. I'm sure Belize can come up to scratch with training.

Patrick "multicultural himself, so this is OK" Moore

[derek zeitel]

Patrick,

I LOVE long sleeve cotton seersucker button downs in weather As-Hot-as-it-Gets down to the mid 50's or so. The long sleeves provide some sun protection, protection against a chill or can be rolled up for additional cooling. Definitely my fav cycling "uniform" for the upper body.

Chris, all, 

I also love a nice linen long sleeve. I prefer seersucker when it's warm to hot but the linen is great for warm to cool. 

Nice, complimentary options to one another.

Derek Z

Buchanan, NY

[Patrick Moore]

I bought short sleeve seersuckers, as I dislike the feel of long sleeves during hot summer rides, and sleeve rolls block air flow; so far, my half-Filipino skin has come through unscathed. [Funny: I am fully 70% darker in sun-exposed areas than in sun-never-exposed areas; this contrast carries over through the cold months, and it startles even me.]

Recall that my entirely Anglo, English + Scotts Irish father stubbornly spent hours in the sun at mile-high altitudes and equatorial latitudes without sunscreen, and it wasn’t until he was near 70 or even into his 70s that he’d have to have the occasional spot divoted out of one of his arms. 

For colder weather I must try some of LE’s best pinpoint oxfords again, if they still have them. 40 years ago, their premium line, forget what it was called, to be truly top quality.

Does anyone know if their best pinpoint button-downs are still of very good quality?

Chris: I have exactly 1 linen shirt, long sleeved, and while it’s not uncomfortable to ride in in hot weather, it’s no more comfortable than my good all-cotton broadcloths. A couple of long-distance riders have told me offlist that yes, seersucker is the best choice for cotton in hot weather. 

I remember the annual lemming-like switch among the government and quango clones in WDC to seersucker suits (well, ok, poplin too) starting about May 1st.

Patrick “piebald” Moore

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[Al in SF]

You have my top picks already listed. Loose weaves for breathability. The thing is they all have their intrinsic pattern/stripe:

- seersucker - stripes

- madras - plaid

- chambray - solid

You mentioned madras clings to the skin. Chambray has a bit more form, along with seersucker, so maybe go with those. I don't think the pique cotton used for the polos you've shared good for hit climates--too formless and thick. Linen is another option if you can live with the wrinkles.

Al in moderate climate SF

On Sunday, April 12, 2026 at 1:31:18 PM UTC-7 bert...@gmail.com wrote:

[Patrick Moore]

Thanks, Al. A passel of Lands’ End short sleeved seersucker button-downs are winging or rolling or plodding their way to me and due to arrive on Monday. I’ve already prepared a big bag of old rayon Hawaiian shirts for Goodwill — I rode in these for years (they last forever) and perhaps rayon is the best overall hot weather riding fabric, tho’ I haven’t found trim fitting, casual dress rayon shirts in my preferred price range, thus the seersuckers.

I lost 15 lb last year, and when I bought those rayon Hawaiians 10 or so years ago (Goodwill; for from the thrift store didst thou come, and to the thrift store shalt thou return) I fancied really big and baggy shirts, and these are all Larges, and fit me like tents. (Ordered Med Tall in the seersuckers.) 

I wish someone made rayon cycling jerseys, with proper 1/2 zipper and rear pockets, and elastic around the bottom.

Again, to those who still order from Lands’ End: are their pinpoint Oxford button downs still worth buying? Their best were truly top of the line in the ‘80s, but there was a 35-year+ hiatus in my customer relationship with the company and, in the interim, they seem to have gone all corporate. Still, enough reality seems to remain in the leached-out “brand” (gag me with a spoon) that I still read their catalogues.

Patrick Moore, who wore a ls Wabi Woolen “Sports” gauge wool jersey just now on a lovely Spring ride on his 1999 Rivendell Joe Starck road custom, in 60*F ABQ, NM.

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[Ted Durant]

> On Apr 18, 2026, at 1:46 PM, Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Again, to those who still order from Lands’ End: are their pinpoint Oxford button downs still worth buying? Their.

I have been happy with the ones I have bought in the last couple of years. Happier with them than the custom shirts I had made, for a small fraction of the price.

Ted Durant
Milwaukee, WI

[Patrick Moore]

Good to know! Thanks.

I’ll call up and place an order with one of those pink-cheeked Wisconsin voices. (Probably an algorithm/)

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[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

Chris - I love linen for 3 season riding! I got almost all of my shirts from Quince, which, if you haven’t shopped there, hurry and do it now. They sell quality without the markup and I get most of my things from them now. I find linen to be breezy and light. Seersucker is great but hard to find, especially for women, but linen is plentiful. Merino bike shorts from Simply Merino + linen tops from Quince = perfection.

Leah

On Monday, April 13, 2026 at 6:16:52 PM UTC-4 Chris Halasz wrote:

[Garth]

I have some Patagonia seersucker shirts that I love wearing. I don't know what they currently make but Poshmark has lots of them used for sale. They're all some form of a checkered pattern. https://poshmark.com/search?query=patagonia%20seersucker%20shirt&type=listings&src=ac

[Patrick Moore]

I Should have checked Poshmark; cheaper even than ~50% off at Lands’ End, and apparently plenty of mediums, tho’ these likely to be short on me.

Good to know that seersucker seems to have been the right choice for hot weather cotton fabric.

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[Corwin Zechar]

Hey Patrick -

You ask about the best cotton shirts to wear for hot weather cycling.

I am in a good position to answer your question as I wore (almost exclusively) Lands' End shirts; nearly every one 100% cotton. I wore Polos, button down dress shirts - both long and short sleeve, t-shirts, and lots of their sport shirts. Over a period of more than thirty years.

Lands' End cotton shirts are good for hot weather cycling.

However, there are shirts that are MUCH better. These shirts are Reyn Spooner Hawaiian shirts in Spooner Cloth. I admit, if you buy them new, they are not cheap. But they wear like iron. I have several I bought on Ebay that are more than forty years old and are still going strong. The strengths of Spooner Cloth are as follows:

1) The fabric is stiffer than most. This means the shirt hangs away from your arms, neck and torso when riding, walking - even just sitting. This creates airflow and helps to cool your body.

2) Spooner Cloth is usually 50 - 60% polyester. I realize that is anathema to many. It was anathema to me as well. I restricted myself to 100% cotton Reyn Spooners at the start. But then I bought a couple used in Spooner Cloth. They not only keep me very cool, they need not be dried when you wash them and look great straight out of the washing machine. I never iron them. Any Reyn Spooner in Spooner Cloth looks much better than any Lands' End seersucker or other sport shirt (unless you have them cleaned, starched and pressed).

Grant has a collection of Reyn Spooners in Spooner Cloth. Harry Hugel has a collection. I have a collection. And you can buy them - often new - on Ebay. I have paid as little as $10 - $15.

Regards,

Corwin

[rlti...@gmail.com]

I am going to invest in some seersucker for summer. I do have one which is my ancient Riv MUSA striped seersucker. Anybody ever try non-cotton seersucker? It seems a bit strange but I ran across this one from a vendor i have bought from in the past and everything from them so far has worked great.  Not cheap though. They also have a short sleeved version but with my skin history I need long sleeves.

Robert Tilley

San Diego, CA

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 19, 2026, at 7:38 AM, Garth <gart...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have some Patagonia seersucker shirts that I love wearing. I don't know what they currently make but Poshmark has lots of them used for sale. They're all some form of a checkered pattern. https://poshmark.com/search?query=patagonia%20seersucker%20shirt&type=listings&src=ac

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[Will Boericke]

I will interject with my solution for stinky synthetics.  This has changed my life honestly, as I even had some cotton tees with permastink.  The fix is a spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide.  When you're done wearing the susceptible article, spray the stinky bits with H2O2 before putting it in the hamper.

W

[derek zeitel]

Robert,

I have a 100% polyester seersucker LS from Montbell.

It dries extremely quickly and although I do not see this info listed on the website, I believe it had a tag claiming SPF50 when I purchased it. It does retain odor and does not feel nearly as nice as 100% cotton against the skin. It was purchased years ago when I was doing high-mileage hiking. 

Future seersucker purchases will be 100% cotton (or other natural fabrics - linen, ramie, etc).

Derek Z

On Tuesday, April 21, 2026 at 11:06:55 PM UTC-4 Robert Tilley wrote:

[Garth]

I looked through the current Patagonia shirts and the one that still has the good crinkly cotton is the A/C shirt. They've made these for a number of years and that's what mine are from the early 2000's. The cuts are not long however and the hems straight if that matters to you. They have a womens SS as well as LS version as well. 

With synthetics that may develop a smell I do like Derek does but I had sprayed a 50/50 white vinegar/water mix on the pit area after washing. I'll try the H2O2 though. I always wash synthetics after wearing them also, often by hand using hand soap in a bucket. If travelling where a shirt is going to be worn for a long time that may not be an option though. It's not like cotton or any other fiber is going to smell like roses if worn for a long time either. 

[Patrick Moore]

My problem with synthetics stink is not the quasi-permanent buildup, as a regular washing restores mine back to the original state of nature, but that they stink within 30 minutes after you take them off after riding and wearing them for a couple of hours. My immediate solution for synthetic jerseys that I wear in hot weather is simply to rinse them by hand, casually, in a gallon of cold water after each use and leave them to drip dry; with this technique I can get as much wear from them as I do from a wool jersey. But it’s a small hassle.

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[Nick Shoemaker]

I'm also a big fan (hehe) of the Patagonia A/C shirts and have bought a number of them second-hand over the years. The material is incredibly thin, almost gauze-like, so they do particularly well in the 'sweaty green tunnels' I call home (East TN). I can't comment on their sun protection or performance in hot/dry conditions, but they do as well as anything I've used in the sweaty south. Of note: the sizing appears to have changed rather drastically over the years, so don't assume that your normal size will fit - definitely check the measurements before buying online!

[Garth]

They need to be washed with soap of any kind Patrick, otherwise you're never really getting them clean. Dish soap, hand soap, bar soap, laundry soap, shampoo, it really doesn't matter the type, but they do need washed in that manner. Synthetics aren't like wool that you can get by with a rinse.  If they do get some lingering smell in the pits try the vinegar or peroxide spray. I have 35 year old synthetics that don't have any perma-smell, even the dreaded polypropylene which is supposedly the worst fiber for developing an odor. 

[Bertin753]

I was talking about multiple earrings in between regular washings. Otherwise, I have to wash after each use.

On Apr 22, 2026, at 12:32, Garth <gart...@gmail.com> wrote:

They need to be washed with soap of any kind Patrick, otherwise you're never really getting them clean. Dish soap, hand soap, bar soap, laundry soap, shampoo, it really doesn't matter the type, but they do need washed in that manner. Synthetics aren't like wool that you can get by with a rinse.  If they do get some lingering smell in the pits try the vinegar or peroxide spray. I have 35 year old synthetics that don't have any perma-smell, even the dreaded polypropylene which is supposedly the worst fiber for developing an odor. 

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[Jennings]

Thought I would give these a try as I live in the hot humid state of Georgia.  Found two new in package Lands End seer suckers on Ebay for 20 each shipped.  I also bought two pairs of the MUSA shorts from Rivendell and am kicking myself in the ass for not ordering them sooner.  They are turning into my favorite shorts.  

[Patrick Moore]

How do the seersucker shirts feel in GA’s tropical summer weather? I’m very familiar with it, as my father’s family is from the Atlanta area. 

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Below: irrelevant rant. Ignore if you don’t like rants.

I received my Lands’ End order, made on 4/13, on Monday. I had ordered 8 M-Tall SS seersuckers. That order required three (3) separate 30-minute calls to CS to ask the polite version of “WTF?” CS Rep #3 assured me that she had fixed everything and that my order would arrive about 4/20.

My package duly arrived on Monday. I received: one (1) shirt.

I called and after a long wait got someone who couldn’t help me. 

He transferred me to someone else, and she discovered that another 3 shirts are due to arrive on 4/27. She also discovered, for the second time, tha part of the order, for the 4 remaining shirts, had been cancelled because my credit card had, for the second time, been declined.

She took the cc info again and once again said that it had gone through and offered me free “expedited” shipping for the remaining 4 shirts.

So I should receive 3 more shirts on Monday and 4 more on Tuesday.

All CS Reps had pink-cheeked Wisconsin accents (or so they sounded to me; perhaps they have a program to make them sound like the slightly more Southeastern version of Marge Gunderson).

Man!

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