Well-worn and weathered - From left to right: Castelli, Gizmo, Pearl Izumi, DeFeet
Unless you do Triathlons, you wear socks when you ride a
bicycle. Socks are a cycling accessory
which are not usually given any thought, yet they are vital to your riding
experience. They come in various colors,
sizes and materials, yet, which socks are correct for you are not on most
riders’ radar. Traditionally, this is accomplished
purely by size, color, cuff height and price.
However, choosing the correct cycling socks is so much more.
So, just what is the purpose of cycling socks, and what
materials should one look for in a quality pair? Well, in addition to comfort and the
elimination of chafing, moisture transfer is probably the biggest benefit of
wearing socks. And, not all socks accomplish
these goals in a similar fashion. This
is where material and construction comes into play. Allow me to elaborate.
Cuff height: I
used to exclusively own and wear short-cuff socks, as I figured less was more
in the comfort and cooling department.
Boy was I wrong. See, there is a
reason professional racers wear very tall socks. They have a very noticeable,
supportive-compression feel, thus they are a lot more comfortable, especially
on longer rides. Yes, this seems
counterintuitive to wearing shorter socks, however, once you try the tall
variety, I doubt you will ever go back to the shorties.
Colors and design:
Why all of the stupid, useless, childish sayings on socks these days? Yes, we know “Doper’s Suck,” and no, we don’t
think your socks truly believe “I’m with awesome.” Come on, how about a decent, comfortable,
durable sock, taller than our ankles in basic, solid colors? White is nice, but like cycling shoes, they
are a major pain in the ass to keep clean.
Why can’t we get some adult choices here?
Complaints about
cycling socks: The outright difficulty in finding taller cuffs, and when I
do, why are they designed solely for winter use?
I will also admit to not trying something
“Just because the Pro’s do,” however, taller socks are a lot more comfortable
to me.
The hard part is finding some
taller than 9 centimeters (whatever happened to inches?).
Oh sure, some manufacturers make 13cm socks,
but the majority are made for cold weather riding, plus they cost $18.00-$20.00
USD a pair.
Sorry, I am not paying that
price.
We’re talking socks here, people,
not
Louboutin shoes.
Pearl Izumi Elite Tall sock with my favorite Fizik shoes
Here are my impressions of a few brands you may have heard
of.
Castelli touts their socks are being “60% Meryl Skinlife Anti-Bacterial
Fabric,” plus Poliammide, Lycra and Elastico (Eccellente!).
I don’t know what all of those terms mean,
but they sure do sound pretty impressive (sarcasm alert).
I have a pair of their Rosso Corsa socks in
my rotation now, and so far, I am pretty impressed with them.
They are thinner than most competing socks,
and I will have to be patient to see how their durability works out.
I have also been using
Pearl Izumi’s Elite
Tall Sock, which is also quite comfy, durable, but a whole lot thicker than the
Castelli Rosso Corsa.
Pearl lists their
sock as being made from “Elite Transfer Yarns,” which is marketing speak for Polyester,
Nylon, and Spandex.
Another staple of my
sock rotation are
DeFeet Levitator Lites, which they tout as being made from Coolmax,
Nylon, and Lycra.
They are Castelli
thin, comfortable, and a bitch to keep clean (I have two white pairs).
One brand that has really impressed me are a
pair I received from
Road Bike Action Magazine’s in-house Pro, Neil
Shirley.
I had never heard of
GizmoPerformance Socks before, and they are made from Coolmax, Nylon and spandex.
These have become a pair I find myself using
more often than not, and I will procure a few more of these for my sock
rotation.
Since they are the most
comfortable socks I have been using, that goes to show even if manufacturer’s
use similar materials, they do not achieve similar results.
To sew this all up (pun most certainly intended), if you
have shopped for cycling socks long enough, you will indeed discover there are
a few oddities to the process. First, one
manufacturer’s size is not like another manufacturer’s sizing. Also, the descriptions of cuff height’s are
all over the place. Why no common
measurement system here? I mean, does
the cuff height get measured from the bottom of the foot or from the
ankle? If it is the ankle, how is that
done? Is it from my ankle joint, or
what, being I don’t know where an ankle officially starts or stops. And, as for color choices, darker colors are
not a sin. White is nice, but just try
keeping them clean for any longer than five minutes. And finally, just because they say “Cycling”
on the package does not mean a pair must be north of $18.00 USD in the cost
department.