Cycling Tops

kaesark said:

Am I correct in thinking road bike tops are more tappered and body hugging than BMX/MTB.

Don't know about BMX, but I've never made any distinction between road/MTB clothing - at least not if you're talking about XC.

Speeds are higher for road bikers, but good XC riders aren't exactly slow either, and I can't see them giving up an aerodynamic edge voluntarily.

If there is a difference I think you're more likely to find it in material thickness and breathability rather than in fit. For a given set of weather conditions the XC rider might benefit from a slightly cooler set of clothing than the road rider due to the slower pace.
Some of my bike-commuting colleagues use the same set of clothing for both road and MTB, but they use them one season off - the road autumn/spring kit doubles as the MTB winter kit, summer road kit doubles as the autumn/spring MTB kit ASO.

A quick look at an online store reveals that they have the same jerseys posted under both MTB and road.

DH/AM/FR is another matter...

For road cycling, just make sure your top fits snug. That's best for cooling and sweat wicking. Bagginess in the wind on a road bike I've found to not be terribly comfortable. I cant say if MTB apparel is cut that way or not, but I have always only looked at road bike jerseys and bibs when I need something new.

Dont worry about the onlookers. 😎

1. Euro road jerseys are typically tighter and sized smaller than American jerseys (Thank you, fat Americans.)
2. Often road jerseys for a given manufacturer are broken down into fit categories such as club fit, i.e. looser, and racer fit, i.e. more form fitting.

What you prefer is for you to find out. Some roadies like the snug, racer fit. Others like the looser, club fit. Neither is necessarily better than the other.