Commuting - Any *strict* commuters shave thier legs?

Just curious. I was thinking about it, then kind of chickend out. I offered to do mine if someone else here did theirs..

But, anyone here who pretty much only commutes shave thier leggs?

I don't "pretty much only commute" because I also ride my Litespeed on Saturday and Sunday -- but I shave mine!
:beer:

Who else??

Go for it william! I thought i was a tan guy until i shaved my legs. Talk about a skinny white guy! ;)

Why shave the legs? What reasons do you guys have?

Anders K

Originally posted by Anders K
Why shave the legs? What reasons do you guys have?
Read some of the other posts about shaving in the General and Road forums for the answer. :D

No but my wife pinches my razors for shaving hers...

I never really thought about it but up here in new england I generally have to wear tights most mornings, so I guess it would be pointless. The other question I have is, would shaving my legs really help while riding a 60 pound loaded bike with panniers. I also ride on weekends, I do at least 1 century every weekend with a couple of other riders, one of them shaves his legs, He generally follows us. So I don't think the time it takes to shave them would be time well spent or nor would it benifit my cycling performance.

Originally posted by mrfix
So I don't think the time it takes to shave them would be time well spent or nor would it benifit my cycling performance.

Actually, I find it doesn't take too long. The real issue is the stubble and the shaving cuts on the ankle.

I do shave my legs, but not for cycling reasons. Much as I wish I didn't have to, I tried stopping and couldn't live with it! I'm such a slave to popular culture... :(

Ellie

I hear ya, Ellie! I used to slack off from shaving my legs, but now that I'm wearing shorts, I don't dare. :p

Originally posted by Joe Gardner
Go for it william! I thought i was a tan guy until i shaved my legs. Talk about a skinny white guy! ;)

My first concern, looking more pale than I already do!!

Being in the military, it might have a few questions raised about me.. but, ah who cares. I just need that *push* to do it.

Originally posted by Richard D
No but my wife pinches my razors for shaving hers...

Exactly why I switched to an electric razor. Oneday, I walked in and saw her shaving...

Left immediatly and went and bought a norelco!!!

I tried it about 2 months ago. Having light skin, didnt look good for me. I did it for the heck of it - thought I would try it once. I do trim my leg and arm hair, I get quite hairy - I like that look.

Originally posted by William Karsten
My first concern, looking more pale than I already do!!

What??? A Californian that isn't tan!! :D

No one has ever made any derogatory comments to me. Women have said nice things about my legs and I have "caught" men looking at them. I guess they are jealous. ;)

Go for it! :thumbup:

As a commuter, I have never considered this biking fad.. But then, I am only mildly hairy, anyway...Don't know how I would feel if such caused bike drag through the wind. Maybe then?
I do ride lots where not commuting. I feel co-workers already are a little skeptical of biking- clothes etc... .. So why add more to snicker at.? Not that I really care. !

Originally posted by RonH
[B]

What??? A Californian that isn't tan!! :D



I'm tan by your standards, just pale by California standards.:D

when I wanna feel sexy, I shave my legs The stockings go on easier. ohh...wait...er, I said too much didn't I?

All jokes aside, I do shave from time to time. I just can't keep up with it. My wife says that I shoud keep it off or let it grow because she hates the stubble. She does like the way my legs look when shaved though.

for now, I'm lettin' it grow.

does any guy trim there PIT HAIR also??

I've shaved my legs; I've let them grow.

Wintertime, I just let 'em grow. Come March, I'll start shaving again.

And, trx1 - I've trimmed my pit hair before. Not shaved - just trimmed down to about 1/4" - long enough not to be stubble, short enough not to get tangles.

In the past, I've shaved my entire body. In retrospect, shaving the eyebrows was a mistake. They're actually pretty good at keeping sweat out of your eyes.

I do more than just commute, but have never shaved my legs and dont have any plans too. I'm fairly hairy and doing so would look pretty ridiculous. First, i would have to find the proper power equipment, then I'd be stuck with the question of where to stop. There's going to be a line somewhere and I dont think I want to take on full body shaving on a regular basis. Maybe if there was some big advantage to be gained from it, but I have so far found the concrete advantage to shaving elusive.

my wife is a hardcore commuter and looks great with shaved legs

Yep....MOST:) of the girls I know do......
Most of the guy friends could be wearing panties and nylons for all I know.....I really don't find men's legs appealing,shaved or otherwise.

No, I do not shave my legs.

**** no I don't shave my legs.

I do shave my head though.

If you crash a lot or have a masseuse rubbing you down once you get into work, there may be a reason to shave your legs, otherwise, it's purely aesthetics. And as regards to that, you'll get mixed responses.

Some folks are of the opinion that hairy legs look really bad in cycling shorts. Many others think that it's the cycling shorts that are the problem and not the hair. ;)

Cutting out the night time cookies would make me faster than shaving my legs. Besides, I wouldn't be able to handle the ridicule my wife and kids would lay on me.

Spring to Fall I shave, Winter I let it grow.

Someone commented on not knowing "where to stop". Generally it's safe to stop just above the leg opening of your shorts, although I read a blurb in a cycling mag once that said something to the effect of, "If you shave up to the point where your legs would be covered by your cycling shorts, and it looks like you're wearing hair shorts, keep shaving."

Someone commented on not knowing "where to stop". Generally it's safe to stop just above the leg opening of your shorts, although I read a blurb in a cycling mag once that said something to the effect of, "If you shave up to the point where your legs would be covered by your cycling shorts, and it looks like you're wearing hair shorts, keep shaving."

Incorrect. The proper way to do it is to shave everything, including your lower back boobs and your ass crack. That way when you wear super-tight jerseys that are one size too small on your road bike and hunker down, everyone gets a great view of what appears to be a Walrus birthing a bicycle saddle.

You wouldn't want to just ride to work with your natural body hair. That would just be stupid.

Lower back boobs? Never heard/read that one before. Suffice it to say, if I were getting anywhere near that circumstance I'd cut out the beer and baked goods for a while.

And I wear bibs, so I'm not sure the full effect would be there to be "enjoyed".

I'm not a strict commuter, but I don't anyway. Seems pointless. I can barely be bothered shaving my face or getting haircuts.

It is pointless, but we humans do many pointless things.

For road racers, it's mostly tradition although as tjspiel points out, dressing road rash is more sanitary without a bunch of leg hair getting woven into the mix, and leg massages feel that much better when legs are smooth (not that I have tons of extra massage $$ floating around).

I don't shave my face; why would I shave my legs?

No, because I am not a woman and I don't need another personal care chore. Only reason I can think of is bandaging cuts and road burns, but I have only crashed once in 10 years and that was on a stupidly technical trail I had no business on in the first place.

But, anyone here who pretty much only commutes shave thier leggs?

Aside from women you mean? You're joking, right?

I shave just my eyebrows. It helps me go faster.

Why shave the legs? What reasons do you guys have?

Anders K

I'm not strictly a commuter. I shave my legs for CX racing. It's easier to apply and remove embrocation on smooth legs, less mud sticks to your legs if they're not hairy, and if you get in a wreck things are easier to clean up without a forest of hair to contend with.

My first reaction was HELL NO! However, now that you guys have mentioned it. I also agree that hairy legs and cycling tights don't go well together. And as I further analyze, I can't say that I've ever seen a hairy legged tights wearing roadie.

As for me, no way would I shave. I commute in either my work pants or Champion brand loose fitting jogging shorts. I've vowed to never ever wear the lycra + jerseys. Just my take.

Not only is looks a major thing but keeping up with it and the stubble is not for me.

I've no personal reason for shaving my legs, and I bike in jeans, so the coat of hair stays for me.

The amount of reduction in air resistance you'd get from shaving your legs would be absolutely minimal. Hell, it only helps swimmers get a few hundredths of a second in a race, and that's moving through a fluid that offers FAR more resistance to motion than air does. Shaving your legs is absolutely useless as far as making riding easier goes.

I understand the embrocation reason; I absolutely hate applying sunblock to my hairy arms and legs, and only do so because I hate sunburn even more. But I'm not sure that I believe the road rash reasoning. I've cleaned road rash up on some pretty hairy swathes of flesh, and it cleaned up fine; at no point have I ever thought "gosh, this hair is in the way". And if you do shave in anticipation of road rash, shouldn't you shave everything, not just your legs? I've had road rash running up both of my flanks, perfectly outlining the mess bag that I was wearing as I slid down the road on my back, to say nothing of my scarred arms.

Just curious. I was thinking about it, then kind of chickend out. I offered to do mine if someone else here did theirs..

But, anyone here who pretty much only commutes shave thier leggs?

I mainly commute/transportation ride and I do shave me legs.

I hit my legs about once a month with clippers in the summer. It makes it MUCH easier for me to clean off the bugs and dirt that would otherwise be stuck in the hair when I get to work. I ride through a lot of areas with swarms of gnats that I don't want to carry to work with me. Also makes it harder for ticks to grab onto me when I MTB.

So tell me, trx1, how do you end up reading and responding to threads that are 9 and 10 years old?

Easy - doing a search of "how to best shave my legs" and "commuter + razor burn".

Both are perfectly reasonable and not-at-all weird searches....

I understand the embrocation reason; I absolutely hate applying sunblock to my hairy arms and legs, and only do so because I hate sunburn even more. But I'm not sure that I believe the road rash reasoning. I've cleaned road rash up on some pretty hairy swathes of flesh, and it cleaned up fine; at no point have I ever thought "gosh, this hair is in the way". And if you do shave in anticipation of road rash, shouldn't you shave everything, not just your legs? I've had road rash running up both of my flanks, perfectly outlining the mess bag that I was wearing as I slid down the road on my back, to say nothing of my scarred arms.

Not road rash in my case with racing. CX wrecks are only road rash if someone takes a spill on the rare stretch of pavement. More frequent are the multi-bike pileups in sand (like this past weekend) after a starting sprint that dumps you into a 10 yard long, 6" deep, damp sandpit. When you're on the front of the pack (just some advice from yer uncle Clifton now,) don't cock it up when you hit the sand at 25mph with 80 riders on your arse. There were a lot of these types of bungups last weekend with people not making it over little technical obstacles and getting rear-ended by other riders.
CX racing in the FOS division* results in a lot of pedal and chainring scrapes to the lower legs.

*Cat-4 35+; Fat, Old, and Slow

Yes, I shave my legs

and
shave head to 1/4 inch
face
the captain and the 2 sailors
my ass and ass crack
back
pits
trim my arm hair

Why? Well, the reasons are, in order of importance:

1) Now that I've started to shave, I HATE hair. Can't stand it. Absolutely detest it.
2) Eaiser to add sun block
3) Collects less flies and dirt

Take alot of time? Meh...I admit I do let it slide longer in the winter, but I usually do one body part a day. Face one day, head the next, legs the next, etc. Some parts can go longer than others such as the pits and back maybe once every 2 weeks. Other parts such as the head and legs have to be done AT LEAST once a week.

Does it improve cycling performance? No.

Friends make lighthearted fun as does the missus. Don't really care.
But they do call me "The Leg Man"....and/or "Chainsaw Doug" but that has nothing to do with shaving.

Oh! and I forgot to mention that I HATE hair. Obsolutely detest it.

Yes I shave! It's Hair-o- dynamic!
lol!

I do because it's much easier to clean up shaved legs.

I understand the embrocation reason; I absolutely hate applying sunblock to my hairy arms and legs, and only do so because I hate sunburn even more. But I'm not sure that I believe the road rash reasoning. I've cleaned road rash up on some pretty hairy swathes of flesh, and it cleaned up fine; at no point have I ever thought "gosh, this hair is in the way". And if you do shave in anticipation of road rash, shouldn't you shave everything, not just your legs? I've had road rash running up both of my flanks, perfectly outlining the mess bag that I was wearing as I slid down the road on my back, to say nothing of my scarred arms.

Speaking from personal experience, I had a pretty bad crash in a race 5+ years ago, broke my femur. The doctor was quite relieved that they didn't need to try and shave around the road rash prior to surgery to screwing me back together. Point being, if surgeons shave the incision area prior to surgery to avoid infections, it's probably not a stretch to think that leg hair might not be all that great a thing to be mashing into your road rash while you're cleaning up. Besides, I've got an ugly mug, but cyclists legs. Never hurts to emphasize the positive. And anyone that says that vanity doesn't play into this is not being entirely truthful.

the captain and the 2 sailors

Have fun with that! Do you have to stretch the sailors taut, or just start hacking at them with the razor?

You guys do realize that shaving legs does absolutely nothing aerodynamically right? It's only done for aesthetics and to make recovery from road rash easier.

I would never do it because it'd be cold. I need all the fur I can get in the winter.

You guys do realize that shaving legs does absolutely nothing aerodynamically right? It's only done for aesthetics and to make recovery from road rash easier.

I would never do it because it'd be cold. I need all the fur I can get in the winter.

Entirely true. If anyone claims it makes them faster, it just means there's less wind resistance through the ears. It's at least 80 aesthetics, because seriously, does anyone really plan/prepare to crash? If you do happen to scuff up some road rash, well, you've just made it a little easier on yourself.