Cycology Logo Sun Sleeves

The Cycology Logo Sun Sleeves are a comfortable accessory to help protect your skin while out on the bike. With their cooling and elastic fabric, the one-size-fits-all design creates compression without irritation while wicking away sweat quickly. Just remember they're for cooling not warming: don't assume they can replace arm warmers on those sunny but chilly days.

• Pros: Light; fit well without irritation
• Cons: Difficult to keep white

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Fit

The 'one size fits all' design is possible thanks to the highly elastic material and rippled fabric at either end of the sleeve.

The grippers are simple and effective without any additional tacky material. They feel tight without being over-compressive or causing irritation, and on the whole have kept the sleeves secure despite my lack of biceps.

Seamless

Cycology states the sleeves have a '360 seamless knit construction' which I assume is exclaiming the lack of seams down the length of the sleeve, since both end grippers do have one.

No seams down the arms adds to the comfort, while those at the grippers are soft and not noticeable when worn.

One minor issue was a small pulled thread on the upper seam from manufacturing, but it never unravelled.

Cooling

The 'Ice-cool yarn' does indeed help with keeping your arms cool in the sun. Sweat wicks away quickly, and a customer suggestion of soaking the sleeves in cold water before riding on a really hot day was surprisingly soothing as the moisture evaporated.

Protection

Manufactured with 50+ UV sun protection treatment, the sleeves replace the need for applying sunscreen to your arms before and during long sunny rides.

With skin cancer being the most common form of cancer in the UK, the Sun Sleeves do a great job of protecting your skin as they're designed to.

> How to protect your skin from the sun while cycling

Although that's a positive, it doesn't replace the need for sunscreen on other parts of your body (don't forget your calves, cyclists!), which might make you ask, what's the point? If you need to ride with a small tube of sunscreen anyway, then is reapplying it to your arms that big an issue? I'll leave that one for you to decide.

Cleaning

Although they don't need any extra special treatment to the rest of your gear, the Sun Sleeves are difficult to keep pristine white. After a few long rides, naturally your kit gets dirty, whether it's greasy fingers or dirt from the road. Keeping these clean after each ride proved tough and they never looked as good as new again.

Price

At £20 for the pair, the Sun Sleeves are pretty good value. They match other UV protection sleeves on the market such as the dhb Aeron UV Arms and Mavic Cosmic UV Sleeves, but are cheaper than options from Castelli (£25) and Rapha (£35).

Personally, I'd struggle to justify the purchase when – for me – sunscreen is still an easy option; I'd agree that sunscreen can also be expensive, but if you're having to take it with you anyway for your face, neck and legs, what's stopping you from topping up your arms?

You could argue that over a couple of summers you'd cover their cost in equivalent sunscreen, but with the white colour being difficult to clean, you might be wanting to replace these after just a single summer.

Conclusion

Bearing in mind that you're still at risk of skin damage when the sun isn't blazing, if you don't want to be constantly applying sunscreen to your arms then these are a good option. They protect and they cool.

If you're conscientious with the cream, they might seem a little unnecessary. Plus, you'd lose out on the crisp jersey sleeve tan line that is a must when bragging about your summer riding down the pub...

Verdict

Light and comfortable sleeves offering good protection and cooling in the sun