Which type of cycling shirt do you need?

Now that the cycling season is about to start again and now that the first beautiful days have arrived, you are of course looking for a nice, sleek outfit. You start your search with a simple search term in Google, only to be flooded with terms such as aero jersey, skin suits and downhill shirts. To create some order in this chaos, we explain in this blog what the differences are between these cycling shirts.

Tour shirt / training shirt

The most average type of cycling shirt there is: the tour shirt. Almost every cyclist has this type of shirt in their closet. An ideal tour shirt is aimed at comfort and long tours. It must therefore wick away moisture quickly and be lightweight. There must also be pockets on the back to carry food and personal items. A tour shirt preferably also has a silicone gripper. Tip: are you looking for a cycling shirt for touring or training? Then buy a cycling shirt with a zipper pocket on the back. This allows you to store personal items and you don't have to worry about losing anything while cycling.

Skin suit

A skinsuit is a super thin and tight suit that is both pants and a shirt. Skinsuits are often used in competitions or triathlons. Skinsuits offer little comfort but do provide good wind conduction. The big difference between an aero shirt and a skinsuit is the fact that a skinsuit consists of one piece. As the name suggests, this type of cycling shirt is made to fit around your body like a second skin.

Aero shirt

An aero shirt is often used by professional cyclists. An aero cycling shirt is very tight but does have room for a base layer, for example (a skinsuit does not). Some aero shirts have pockets on the back for feeding. The fit of an aero shirt is very tight, which means it offers slightly less comfort than, for example, a tour shirt.

Downhill / mountain bike shirt

This type of cycling shirt is often a bit looser. It has a little more room under the armpits and around your stomach. This is because when mountain biking you often want more freedom of movement. You make more different movements than with racing bikes. A mountain bike shirt often does not have pockets on the back, so taking food with you is a bit more difficult. What you often see is that mountain bikers use, for example, a tour shirt. This often gives them sufficient freedom of movement and yet the convenience of being able to take some things with them. Mathieu Van Der Poel even used a skinsuit during the Olympics. Now that we have explained the simple basics of the different types of cycling shirts, it is time to buy a cycling shirt. We have also written a blog for this in which we explain in detail how you can buy the best cycling shirt. Read here more about choosing your cycling jersey.

Tip: The Acelera Cycling Jersey

This shirt combines the features of all the above-mentioned cycling shirts. It has three pockets for food and personal items. An extra zippered pocket for your keys/phone. An aerodynamic membrane for less air resistance. And it can be purchased as both a race fit and a tour fit. In addition, our shirt has good moisture regulation and the elastic fabric ensures sufficient freedom of movement. View here all Acelera cycling shirts.