{"id":136884,"date":"2016-03-15T10:00:05","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T08:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/?p=136884"},"modified":"2016-03-15T11:30:03","modified_gmt":"2016-03-15T09:30:03","slug":"choose-sports-bra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/03\/15\/choose-sports-bra\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose a Sports Bra"},"content":{"rendered":"

LADIES, there\u2019s a perfect illustration that springs to mind when I think of cycling and my upper half.<\/strong>
\n<\/p>\n

\"Training<\/a>10<\/p>\n

Traveling through Africa, that is one girl\u2019s expression of exasperation at the incessantly bumpy roads that have been dominating her journey.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, most of us do most of our pedaling on something smoother, but we still need support, so here is my guide to choosing a sports bra for cycling.<\/p>\n

Know your size<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The first rule of all bra-buying is to know your size. Sports bras don\u2019t have underwire and generally aren\u2019t measured in cup sizes.<\/p>\n

They can use dress sizes, but tend to be the dreaded small, medium, and large \u2013 and can also come in packets that stop you trying them on (annoying!).<\/p>\n

So, get measured, or measure yourself, taking readings from around the very top of your rib cage, and from around your torso over the bust.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Understand impact levels<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The second rule of bra-buying is: the bigger the bust, the more support it needs. When you\u2019re looking for the right sports bra, though, there\u2019s an extra support criteria to consider, and that\u2019s the impact level.<\/p>\n

A sports bra designed for running is going to prevent more bounce than a sports bra designed for yoga, for example. A running bra is high-impact and a yoga bra is low-impact.<\/p>\n

For most cycling activities, medium- or low-impact sports bras will do, but if you fancy a day of shredding trails on a hardtail, you might want to upgrade!<\/p>\n

Breathability<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Once you\u2019re clued up on size and impact level, the next job is deciding on material, and this depends on the intensity of your cycling, your own body\u2019s behavior, and your climate.<\/p>\n

A criterium racer living in France will want to look for a sports bra that is light, highly breathable and dries fast, whereas a commuter living in Sweden might only need a cheaper, heavier sports bra, that has the added bonus of keeping out wind chill.<\/p>\n

\"So,<\/a><\/p>\n

Choosing style<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Sports bras can be traditional, plain and simple, or they can be neon pink with spaghetti straps. What you prefer is mostly up to you when you\u2019re choosing a sports bra for cycling, but there are key things to remember.<\/p>\n

Bigger straps will generally give greater support, and traditional shoulder straps can be shortened or lengthened easily for a better fit.<\/p>\n

Some brands cleverly give you the racer back and shoulder straps, by adding a connector that draws the shoulder straps into racer back mode. That increases the impact level the bra is suitable for, so you effectively get two bras for the price of one.<\/p>\n

About brands<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Most sports brands now make sports bras and it\u2019s hard to gauge whether they are better than the sports bras made by lingerie brands.<\/p>\n

Sports brands have a wealth of sports knowledge that they apply to making their sports bras, and lingerie brands know busts inside and out. There are plusses and minuses, and maybe we\u2019ll review a selection from each industry soon.<\/p>\n

After 15 years of horse riding, cycling and running, what I know for sure is that I don\u2019t stray away from Shock Absorber. They are one of the first specialist sports bra designers and manufacturers, launching in 1994, and they have developed a very beginner-friendly levels system for grading their bras. Lately, they\u2019ve upped the style stakes too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LADIES, there\u2019s a perfect illustration that springs to mind when I think of cycling and my upper half.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":136886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329,334],"tags":[],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-136884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","category-socialising-and-culture"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Choose a Sports Bra - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"LADIES, there\u2019s a perfect illustration that springs to mind when I think of cycling and my upper half.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/03\/15\/choose-sports-bra\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Choose a Sports Bra\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LADIES, there\u2019s a perfect illustration that springs to mind when I think of cycling and my upper half.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/03\/15\/choose-sports-bra\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-15T08:00:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-03-15T09:30:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2016\/03\/13131314_123131.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"525\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jessica Lamb\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/03\/15\/choose-sports-bra\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/03\/15\/choose-sports-bra\/\",\"name\":\"How to Choose a Sports Bra - 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