LD Riders Cooling Sleeves and Shorts

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LD Riders Cooling Sleeves and Shorts

Postby Pilot » Sat Jul 23, 2011 10:46 pm

I picked up a set of the ld rider cooling sleeves at the rally after watching the demo 3-4 times and each new "assistant" be amazed at how their arms were not wet, and they were cooling to a chilly status quickly. The demo dude, his name escapes me, said that he lives in Orlando and these are all he wears for regular every day use (the underwear not the sleeves).

Any way the sleeves....these things are the best $25 dollars I spent at the rally. They come in black and orange, I opted to go bright orange. I wet them down as demonstrated in the show, and then wrung them out to the point they didn't drip water. Slipped them on, pulled on an airflow jacket and headed south from the rally. The temp was in the high 90's at this point. My arms were almost instantly cool..pushing toward cold. The wrist side, where all those veins and arteries come close to the surface, was getting a chance to lower the temp of the circulating blood and thus the other parts of my body were getting cooler too. All this from two bright orange sleeves under a black BMW airflow jacket. The cool lasted the better part of two hours where I stopped outside of York, grabbed a bite and wet the sleeves down again. This got me the rest of the way to Pasadena, and it was actually chilly with outside temp around 92! Absolute two thumbs waaaayy up here.

The shorts are like compression shorts without seams or the under armor logo...except they too wick away heat and are very comfortable to ride in. I doused those with water just before pulling on the black airflow pants, and the ride felt like I was wearing shorts with ice around my knees for the wind to cool on as it blew past my knees and up my pant legs to those higher areas. Kind of a York peppermint patty sensation...lol.

Both the sleeves and the shorts are the real deal, and their proclaimed cooling and comfort features are all true as I experienced them. Yes the shorts are expensive..and the sleeves look a little strange when the coat comes off in kfc, but the no chaff oh so cool feeling all over is way worth the weird looks.

Buy em..you'll be glad you did.

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Re: LD Riders Cooling Sleeves and Shorts

Postby Chiba » Sun Jul 24, 2011 12:41 pm

What's the name of the vendor? I sure wish I'd seen those before I left.
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Re: LD Riders Cooling Sleeves and Shorts

Postby anoop » Sun Jul 24, 2011 2:19 pm

I do the same with my synthetic moisture wicking clothes from Target.
It costs much less than the LD stuff. I don't think Target sells anything with a "compression" fit, though. Mine is close to the skin, but not compression.
I rode for almost 2 hours coming back from Southern MD today and I had some nice air conditioning for the first hour.
After the first hour everything started to dry out. It still wasn't too bad, but by that time I was on the highway so I had a lot of airflow regardless.....

I was amazed at all the squids I saw in Southern MD. Whole groups of them.
I even saw a guy without a helmet near Bowie. [-X

I had all my gear on and I was still comfy in 94F.
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Re: LD Riders Cooling Sleeves and Shorts

Postby Hello Kitty » Sun Jul 24, 2011 2:31 pm

He's talking about LD Comfort. Tom Loudermilk (who does the Side Stand Up show) would be the guy in Orlando. He was working at the booth with/for Mario.

they are not compression shorts. Snug yes, but not compression. And nothing you got at Target is as good for really long days. If it does you well for the riding you do, great! but for repeated long days, it will not cut it.

Personally, I don't care for the shorts or short sleeve tops, the long pants and long sleeve shirts keep a layer between me and the annoyance of the inside of the gear (personal choice, plenty of folks like the shorts and short sleeve tops).

Ladies - check out the LD Comfort Top to replace your bras for riding. Best thing ever.

There's a limited run of pink and blue stuff available - check out Mario's website ldcomfort.com

I was in full LD Comfort during the entire IBR. On the last day, I was on I-15 heading into CA from NV. I was getting hotter and hotter and finally pulled off at a mini mart at exit 221. There was an ecclectic and interesting cast of characters there who immediately brought me to their outdoor shower to wet myself down. I did, hung out a bit, had some cold water and then wet myself down again (in my LD comforts, with gear off, trying to not get it down my boots) It was hot. Very hot. 100 - 105. By the time I got to Barstow I was actually a little chilly in spots. It didn't take long to warm up....

LD comfort really is good stuff and it's very easy to wash in a hotel sink or shower and have it dry (or dry enough) to wear the next day! And it lasts a real long time. Also, no seams in anyplace that is going to become troubllesome over the course of a ride!
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Re: LD Riders Cooling Sleeves and Shorts

Postby Chiba » Sun Jul 24, 2011 3:38 pm

Thanks Kitty - I found their website!
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Re: LD Riders Cooling Sleeves and Shorts

Postby Bicyclist » Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:24 pm

Hello Kitty wrote:Personally, I don't care for the shorts or short sleeve tops, the long pants and long sleeve shirts keep a layer between me and the annoyance of the inside of the gear


Interesting insight. I bought a pair of Olympia mesh pants and have found that they cause irritation to my knees. Thought it was the armor, so I swapped it with some other knee pads that I have. Today, I figured out that it's the Velcro strips that position the armor. I was thinking about the long LD Comfort stuff anyway; now I have additional reason to try it.

I've been wearing the shorts for a couple of years, now. I've tried about every other kind of shorts available and the LDs work the best. On my long rides, I wash them in the sink every night, wring them out in a towel and they're dry and ready to go in the morning (15 minutes in the Southwest).
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Re: LD Riders Cooling Sleeves and Shorts

Postby Unity » Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:48 pm

I was already wearing one of their helmet liners that extends down over the back and sides of the neck, because the collar on my Roadgear mesh jacket doesn't cover my neck like the one on my Aerostich Darien does, and sunburn is not nice. I bought a pair of shorts and a long-sleeve shirt at the rally and wore them coming home today. Even on the RT with minimal air flow, the cooling effect was very nice. I'm sold.

--John
(When we stopped for lunch at a Subway, the counter girl looked at my shirt and asked, aren't you hot in that? And I said, no, in fact I'm downright chilly here in the air-conditioning. I don't think she quite believed the wicking and evaporative-cooling explanation. :wink: )
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Re: LD Riders Cooling Sleeves and Shorts

Postby BMWGirl » Mon Jul 25, 2011 7:36 am

I love the LD stuff and like Kitty - I only like the long sleeve shirts and pants. I sent several people over there to try their stuff, and I'm pretty sure they bought - Chuck, Laura and a few others. I hope you chime in and let me know how it worked for you.

I think this stuff is great!! I'm not totally sold on the comfort top yet, but I'm thinking about it.
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Re: LD Riders Cooling Sleeves and Shorts

Postby Luna » Mon Jul 25, 2011 10:21 am

I got the combo-top, shorts and sleeves. The sleeves were amazing! If the long sleeved top had the extra inner panel and support band, I would have gotten that. But the idea of the combo-top allowing us ladies to eliminate the bra was too nice to pass up.

I guess I'll have to start looking at non-mesh gear now. The LD stuff dried off way too quickly under the mesh (as they're supposed to do) so I lost the evaporative benefits too early.

Unfortunately, the Goldwing doesn't allow for very much air flow on your legs. Below the knees I was quite hot, but my arms were nice and cool. Interesting feeling :shock:

Anyways - I'm sold!
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Re: LD Riders Cooling Sleeves and Shorts

Postby ChaseH » Mon Jul 25, 2011 12:45 pm

BMWGirl wrote:[b]I love the LD stuff and like Kitty b]


We know you like Kitty, enough already!
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Re: LD Riders Cooling Sleeves and Shorts

Postby Hello Kitty » Mon Jul 25, 2011 6:41 pm

So glad to hear that so many people like Mario's underwear!

I was one of the testers in the development of the combo top and I understand completely what you are saying about wearing two shirts. It seems insane. I felt the same way and resisted heavily to Mario. However, I'm telling you, it's just fine. When I doused myself in the outdoor shower during the rally, with two layers of LD comfort material, it held the water longer and prolonged the evaporative cooling :D

And George, exactly! It's the velcro crap that is so awfully irritating. The underside of the pads irritate my knees too I think, but the velcro stuff is the real source!! You'll get little scuff marks (not exactly, but I don't know how else to describe them) on your LD comforts in those spots, but mine are still holding up just fine!

In addition to his great underwear, Mario is a really nice guy and supports riders and their pursuits - glad you all are patronizing his business! :D
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Re: LD Riders Cooling Sleeves and Shorts

Postby Unity » Mon Jul 25, 2011 7:57 pm

Hello Kitty wrote:In addition to his great underwear, Mario is a really nice guy and supports riders and their pursuits - glad you all are patronizing his business! :D

... and Tom Loudermilk was a great asset to sales at the rally, a pitchman who -- even when the hucksterism is obvious -- is completely believable. :D

--John
(Jody ordered hers today.)
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