You’re out on your bike a lot – whether it’s for leisure or everyday life? Whether it’s MTB trail or road training, and from bikepacking to commuting routes… if you regularly spend more than two hours on the bike, it’s worth getting special cycling and functional clothing.
Here you’ll learn how you should wash cycling clothing so it lasts.
What can cycling clothing do?
↪ And why is it worth being a bit careful when washing?
Cycling clothing is ultimately sportswear, more precisely outdoor clothing and therefore functional clothing. That means: The function of the fibres and the cuts are perfectly matched to the requirements – in our case, the movement patterns and conditions on the bike saddle.
That brings you lots of benefits:
- Cycling clothing is usually made from synthetic fibres and fabrics.
- The fibres are breathable, and may also be waterproof.
- Important for sportswear: stretchable fabrics.
- Cycling shirts, jerseys and jackets have a special cut that’s optimal for the seated position.
- Cycling trousers have particularly flat or even no seams in the seat area, so pedalling doesn’t chafe.
- Road bike bibs and other cycling trousers often have a pad – a cushion in the seat area.
- Here, the fabrics are also abrasion-resistant, so the trousers last longer.
- The upper layers (jackets or overtrousers) are windproof or waterproof.
- For cyclists there’s a special feature: Often the front of the upper clothing is particularly dense, while the back is well ventilated.
- Especially for clothing worn directly against the skin, a comfortable skin feel is important.
- Practical: especially for jerseys and cycling trousers there are odour-inhibiting fabrics (of course you still need to wash these parts).
To keep cycling trousers, jackets or shirts in shape and preserve their function, it’s important that you wash and care for them properly. Here you’ll find everything you need to know!
Even if the dirt beads off the cycling trousers... after a day in the bike park you still have to wash them!
How do I wash my cycling clothing properly?
If you wash and care for your cycling clothing properly, it will last and work significantly longer. But don’t worry – you don’t have to guess how to do it. The washing instructions help you!
The label in the garment tells you how the wash works. Photo: Dimitry Steinke
❗Important: The washing instructions
How do you wash cycling clothing properly? A good hint is provided by the small sewn-in labels with the washing instructions – if you’ve never looked at them before, … do it now! With this information, you can get started.
Wash correctly – this is how to proceed:
- Remove heavy dirt beforehand by hand washing
- Sort clothing by colour, type and material
- Follow the wash symbols
- Wash similar colours together
- Wash clothing more gently in a laundry bag
- Use a mild detergent or sports detergent
- Avoid fabric softener and detergents that bleach
- 30° wash cycles are fine
- The gentle cycle is usually the right choice
- Also follow the drying instructions
- Hang to dry or dry flat
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👉 Many manufacturers of cycling clothing also provide tips and tricks on washing and care on their websites, along with a detailed washing guide. If you want to keep the function of your favourite pieces for a long time – trust the washing instructions! |
Experience shows: If you’re not sure, hand washing is the safe method, especially for jackets or bibs with padding.
More important tips:
- Close zips and Velcro fasteners
- Turn clothing inside out
- Don’t overload the washing drum; this minimises friction between the individual garments
⚠️ Typical mistakes when washing cycling clothing
A day at the bike park was great (okay, maybe a bit muddy), on the road bike loop you really worked up a sweat, you’ll never forget the Gravel Weekender… but once you’re home, it’s time to chill first, the laundry can wait…
Three things you should really not do:
- After a muddy ride, cram the entire bike kit into the washing machine at once and run an automatic programme. In this case, it’s almost guaranteed that at least one of your pieces will be damaged. Cycling trousers, bike jackets or jerseys are made from all kinds of different materials, and each one has its own characteristics. They may need different wash programmes.
- “The sports programme will be fine!” Some washing machines have a special sports programme that suits many functional items – but not all!
- Leave sweaty cycling clothes lying around. The longer sweat and dirt have the chance to set in, the harder it is to get rid of them! So best wash them straight away!
🧴 Which detergent for cycling clothing?
Normal fine detergents are usually suitable, and eco-friendly detergents work well too. Liquid detergents leave fewer residues on the gentle cycle than powder. Fabric softener and bleach are harmful!
🐑 Warning: with Winter-cycling clothing with a wool content you need a wool detergent 🐑
Do you need special sports detergent?
Special sports detergent has an odour-killer on board; that can make sense for cycling clothing.
What to wash like what?
↪ Washing instructions for trousers, bibs & jackets
👖 Wash cycling shorts properly – there are differences!
Cycling trousers with padding or without… it’s not just a matter of taste; there are also real differences in care! Here are the washing instructions for:
- “normal” cycling trousers
- waterproof cycling trousers
- cycling overtrousers
- bibs and trousers with padding
🧽 Wash cycling trousers and bibs with padding
So that the padding foam keeps its shape and doesn’t collapse, the washing instructions are particularly important here!
- definitely follow the washing instructions
- be careful when choosing the detergent; it can damage the padding material
- spin only according to the instructions
- leave to air dry
- possibly hand wash
- please don’t wring out the seat pad
How often should you wash cycling shorts with padding?
A close-fitting bib short or cycling shorts with a seat pad is usually worn without underwear underneath, so you should definitely wash it regularly; a wash after every training session is typical here. The bacteria that form when you sweat don’t just cause an unpleasant odour; in the long run they also speed up the material’s breakdown process.
Can you spin cycling shorts with padding?
Spin or don’t spin – you should definitely follow the washing instructions for each pair/bib.
Which detergent is right for your bibs?
A gentle detergent without bleach or fabric softener is suitable in most cases.
What’s the best way to dry bibs?
Drying in a tumble dryer is usually forbidden, but the material dries quickly anyway. Some cycling shorts should be dried flat.
Normal cycling trousers
For everyday use, MTB tours or trekking cyclists there are trousers adapted to sport, but with no special requirements otherwise. You can wash them together in the normal gentle cycle.
Caring for waterproof cycling trousers properly
If you have waterproof or water-repellent cycling trousers, it depends on the material. Shorts and MTB trousers can be made from softshell, hardshell and other fabrics, so reading the individual washing instructions is the best way to avoid ruining the trousers.
Cycling overtrousers
Trousers you pull over your trousers when riding in the rain are often made from the same materials as rain jackets. That’s why the same washing and care instructions apply here.
You only need to wash them when they’re dirty or smell; you may also need to reproof them.
🧥 Care for & wash cycling jackets
You can wear a rain jacket for as long as it’s really dirty or no longer smells good. It should keep rain and dirt away from your body and it will definitely be dirty again after the next ride in bad weather. It’s enough if you dry it well after every spell of rain.
You can treat a dirtsuit like a cycling jacket.
Watch out for the membrane!
Cycling jackets are often coated with a membrane that makes them waterproof or windproof – and this very thin layer is highly sensitive. The less often you wash the jacket, the longer the membrane lasts. You should even be careful when putting it on and taking it off. If the fabric is stretchable, the membrane can become brittle and crack.
✅ Ultralight cycling jackets – wash especially carefully
✅ Softshell – without a membrane, fairly insensitive
✅ Hardshell – with a membrane, take care; may need reproofing
✅ Dirtsuit – wash like the corresponding jackets
🎽 Cycling jerseys are usually not very sensitive when washing
For jerseys, how often you wash depends on your preferences for cleanliness – and on how much you sweat when riding. MTB shirts are often insensitive and can be washed normally. High-tech road bike performance jerseys, on the other hand, often need special treatment.
🌬️ Dry cycling clothing properly
Even when drying, a lot can go wrong – and your cycling clothing may not work as intended afterwards.
With a few exceptions, you can hang up cycling trousers, jerseys or jackets and let them dry. Sportswear is often “quick-drying”, so drying it in a tumble dryer is hardly worth it.
Our tip: ☀️ Please don’t hang it out in the blazing sun; the colours can fade there.
Can you spin cycling functional clothing?
In general, you should avoid very long or high-speed spinning and instead hang the clothing in a well-ventilated, shady place to dry after washing, rather than pressing all the moisture out of the material by spinning.
Never wring out cycling functional clothing; gently squeezing it is fine, as it doesn’t damage the material’s membrane.
Drip dry or let it drip
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Especially for jackets or cycling trousers with a membrane, spinning or squeezing can be completely forbidden! |
If you find the instruction “let it drip” or the English drip-dry in the washing instructions, hang the dripping-wet garment on a hanger or on the line.
“Dry flat”
Some items are so sensitive that they must not be hung up, because when they’re hanging they get stretched in length and lose their shape. You can let them dry flat on a drying rack.
Is tumble drying allowed?
Under no circumstances should you put freshly washed functional clothing into the tumble dryer – the risk of causing irreparable damage to the clothing’s function is too great. Air-drying is also more environmentally friendly 😉
How long does cycling clothing “last”?
Anyone who spends a lot of money on a garment assumes it has a long service life. In principle, that’s also true for functional and cycling clothing.
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Our tip: Experience shows… functional cycling clothing often has special wishes when it comes to washing and care! You should ALWAYS read and follow the care instructions and wash notes for each individual garment if you want to enjoy your bike trousers, jackets or shirts for a long time! |
If you stick to that, you can often wear bike clothing for years.
Reproof cycling clothing
Sports and functional clothing should be as uncomplicated as possible, and usually it is. It doesn’t need much care; only cycling jackets need to be reproofed from time to time.
Also part of your cycling outfit, but in terms of washing it’s a completely different matter... the bike shoes.
There are different ways to renew the reproofing; it’s either sprayed on ht or applied in a wash cycle. Whether the reproofing spray is applied to the dry or damp fabric is stated in the product instructions.
How often you should refresh the reproofing naturally depends on how often you use and wash the clothing. A good guideline is the “beading test”. If raindrops stay on the clothing and no longer bead off easily, it’s time to renew the reproofing.
The problem with reproofing: The products are often toxic. For your skin and the environment, we recommend using harmless reproofing agents!
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Some manufacturers offer a special service: you can send cycling clothing in to have it reproofed. Especially for expensive cycling jackets, this increases the service life significantly. |
Ironing cycling trousers & co.??
No. That damages functional clothing, and nobody on the trail is interested in wrinkle-free gear!
👃 My cycling clothing smells unpleasant despite washing it several times. What can I do?
Cycling clothing (especially padded trousers worn without underwear) is constantly damp with sweat, so an unpleasant odour can remain even after several washes. Then the culprits are the bacteria that form in sweat, because they survive a washing machine wash at 30° without any problem.
Get rid of odours – three options:
- Sports detergent can minimise odours; it’s either strongly fragranced or has an odour-binding additive.
- Even more powerful is a disinfectant additive when washing. However, it’s usually relatively expensive and not always compatible with functional clothing.
- The far cheaper and completely harmless option is “shock-freezing” the bacteria. Smelly clothing goes into a plastic bag and then into the freezer for 24 hours. It doesn’t work with every odour, but it’s worth trying in any case.
↪Buy fresh cycling clothing ↩
Fahrradbekleidung | Fahrradhosen | Fahrradjacken | Trikots | Shirts | Regenbekleidung
More interesting topics about cycling clothing in the Bike Blog:
- How long does a bike helmet last?
- What helmet size do children need?
- Cycling clothing for winter
- Bike jackets for summer
- Bike gloves for summer
- Riding a bike in the rain
