mr_bill

“It’s yellow, it’s ugly, it doesn’t go with anything, but it can save your life.”

-mr. bill

JoeyBike

You know cycling fashion is mainstream when Levi's wants a piece of the action.

Levi's Bicycle Commuter Series Apparel.

^^And not a thread of Day-glow yellow or green to be found. Just some "stealth" reflective bits.

I approve of this trend. The less middle-aged men displaying their Spandex shrink-wrapped junk around town the better for the rest of us.

kickstart

I've always been thankful that outdoor clothing is more comfortable and functional for me than cycling specific clothing.

KD5NRH

Just because you're ashamed of your junk doesn't mean the rest of us should be limited.

JoeyBike

None of it should be on display in casual/work situations - pride worthy or otherwise.

rydabent

Why worry about what other people think about what you are wearing. A tip-----------most people dont think anyway!!!

JoeyBike

Common courtesy.

True dat.

And while we are thinking here, if your feet look like THIS, please don't wear open toed shoes in public other than maybe a beach situation. Have some consideration when displaying certain body parts away from appropriate venues.



BECAUSE......

B. Carfree

Meh. If people can go around flaunting their obesity then why should anyone care if someone chooses to wear a bit of lycra? Stand down, fashion police before we bring back powdered wigs.

FenderTL5

Agree.
I wore Levis Commuter pants (khaki) on my ride to work this morning.

I like the normal looking shirts with the reflective cloth and portions included. So far, it hasn't reached 'affordable' for me yet. I bought my Levis after Christmas when everything on their site was about 70% off of the prices I see today.

bikemig 

I thought this was an interesting article as well and so I started this thread, https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/...-who-knew.html

JoeyBike

C'mon Man. Overweight people can't remove their excess cubic feet of flesh at will. It would be nice if they wore appropriate clothing for their figures though.

This is not a question of fashion from my end. I admit that many cyclists wear a cycling costume of the "race variety" because somehow they got the notion that Spandex is fashionable attire on two wheels. I am just saying that a colorful impression of your reproductive anatomy at eye level as you stroll past my desk or restaurant table is uncouth regardless of how attractive you or your significant other may find that body part to be behind closed doors. The behavior is unnecessary, impolite, and bordering on hostile. If the senior center down the street from my home decided to open a "clothing optional" patio for their residents it should be contained behind a solid fence with a height taller than any known human being. Not because anyone would actually WANT to see over the fence but because someone might accidentally glance that way and be grossed out.

Wear your jammies to Wally-World if you want. I don't go there. And bizarre attire worn in public is sort of a tradition at The Mart. Otherwise, cover yourself in public please (unless you are racing or practicing for a race AT THAT MOMENT).

alcjphil

Come on. I belong to a 400 member cycling club. There are lots of less than perfect bodies in the membership but nobody judges. This focus on body parts is a North American thing. In Europe it isn't an issue. Everyone, get over it, people who wear spandex are not showing anything that you haven't seen before

JoeyBike

Wearing cycling clothes at a cycling event is not the issue here. Sorry if I said "at a race". My bad. I meant "At a cycling event".

As is wearing cycling kit to non-cycling events or commuting to work/grocery/cafe in race kits, which is very uncommon practice in any European, Asian, Muslim, Inuit, Hindu country, or, well, anywhere else but America.

I have not seen every slab of human junk (yet) and do not want to. Out of 7 billion possibilities, I have seen way too many already. Mostly thanks to inappropriate use of such a wardrobe.

kickstart

I'm not a prude, but somet cyclists could stand to practice a little more modesty in mixed company. That said, the reason a lot of cycling specific gear turns me off is its "dress up" like a racer styling. I gave up dressing like things I'm not when I was 7 or 8 years old. To me its no different than wearing a NASCAR nomex suit to drive my wife's car.

I don't care what others wear, but don't get pissed off if I laugh.

B. Carfree

I've had many years where my commute is a half-century round-trip and a few where it is a century (or 200 km when I took the long way). Many of my friends have commutes similar half-century plus commutes. Sorry, Levis aren't cutting it for that and yes, we do stop at bakeries on the way in sometimes. Shall we all bring burqas in our bags to throw on just in case we meet up with you?

JoeyBike

Ironically, in New Orleans where I live it is OK to wear a costume pretty much any time you want to. Rainbow assortments of hair color, piercings, and tattoos are as common as blue jeans and T-shirts. The irony here is that NO ONE wears a cycling costume to ride their bikes in the city. You will only find race kits at areas where folks train for their races. Not everyone races, but they only wear their Spandex in areas where race kits would be found acceptable by anyone. I was definitely born in the right town as far as that goes.

alcjphil

+ 1 When I was commuting to work. it was an hour of fast riding each way. Street clothes just didn't work. Sorry if it offends people's delicate sensibilities, but I choose comfort over what people think of the way I look

JoeyBike

A pair of light weight nylon shorts fits in the pocket of my cycling jersey. When I wore kits on club rides I just pulled on those shorts over my Spandex before entering any non-cycling establishment. It's not modesty. It's just a courtesy.

With the advent of "mountain biking clothing" my Spandex went the way of the pterodactyl. I can put in 150 miles in one day (one lap around our local lake) wearing a pair of Endura Zyme shorts that are not overly baggy with a pair of wicking undies (and some Body Glide) that I find infinately more comfortable and cooler than Spandex bike shorts. Now that "city cycling fashion" is coming into it's own there will be good choices galore and fewer excuses to be made.

When I was displaced after Hurricane Katrina my commute was 18 miles each way for a year and a half. I covered that distance routinely in one hour flat on a road bike. I just wore nylon ATB shorts with a built-in liner. I ran errands, made doctor visits, grocery stops, ate at restaurants, whatever. Worked great, offended no one. It's not impossible.

GravelMN

I agree that one does not need to wear full matching kit at all times when anywhere near a bicycle. I wear kit for group rides and charity events (my kit is body size appropriate and modesty considered) but for my recreational and fitness riding I go more casual. I like to blend with the locals as much as possible once the helmet and gloves come off. Liner style cycling shorts under cargo/trekking or jean shorts, athletic t-shirts or plain colored club-fit jerseys, and walkable MTB shoes that look a whole lot like a regular athletic shoe are my usual attire when I ride a weekend century stopping at the local C-stores, cafes and watering holes along the way.

I've had people try to tell me all the horrors that will befall me if I don't wear the uniform. I've been told that riding in jean shorts will cause gaping wounds and my junk will fall off. Bull biscuits . . . I put on about 3,000 miles a year including numerous rides of 25-50 miles and several centuries. 80% or more is in casual cycling or recreational street attire as described above. I've even ridden 50+ miles in Levi 505 jeans with regular athletic trunk style underwear and Keen hiking shoes without requiring any medical attention afterward.

Not knocking kit in any way, wear it where and when you want. It is comfortable and has its purpose and place, but there is absolutely no reason that one must feel obligated to wear kit to be a "real" or "serious" cyclist.

Cyril 

OTOH, This prudery of the displaying of the"Junk" wasn't always so.
Google 'cod piece' and ' the Renaissance'.
View the images of men's fashion.
Be amazed and amused.
And not a bicycle in sight.

kickstart

Meh.....

The only reason the less fashionable weren't openly "amazed and amused" back then was because those displaying their junk were also carrying big ole swords.

mr_bill

There's a time and place for street clothes.

Sometimes a bicycle is not the time or the place.

(Smaug only knows why I feel the need to put this link as NSFW - BikeSonbNYC.)

-mr. bill

rydabent

Fashion is for the vain. As for me I dont care one whit what you are wearing, and undoubtably wont notice.

JoeyBike

Unless my sweaty, Lycra-clad arse (or worse) is five inches from your face as you sit in a cafe and I stand in line waiting to be served. If you don't notice that, I envy you.

B. Carfree

Is it a cute arse?