General Cycling Discussion - Are tight road-biking shorts gay?

I'n a novice roadbiker and I just can't bring myself to buy a pair of those lycra tight-assed :rolleyes: padded biker shorts even though they make sense aerodynamically. Kind of like moderately in shape guys wearing Speedos- (shudder)

Whadya think? Mountain bike shorts are the answer?

haha, someone failed Politically Correct 101... expect a beat down by many forum members.

Wear the lycra and forget about it.

PS: wear bibs.

Ride with whatever you feel comfortable with.

If you really want to wear the tight shorts, why not wear a baggier pair of shorts over them?

No they are not gay. They don't care what puts them on.

I don't wear them because I look stupid in them. Check K-mart for lightwt cargo shorts, $15. They seem to work very well on the bike.

I am a teacher and generally stop bad language, but decided ages ago that the word gay had taken on its third meaning, it meant happy, then homosexual, now crappy. No use fighting that one, its not worth fighting losing battles as a teacher. the homosexuals are just going to have to get another word.

But I know why they chose that one. The gay demographic has the advertisers scrambling for ads with two males, just look for them. I mean, as a demographic, one of the better educated, high levels of disposable income, no wife, no kids, gay? Of course they are happy!!!

a

Well, it can be hard to tell. Did you see TWO of them holding hands at the Ballet? If so, you may be on to something. Of course, your buddies will want to know: why were YOU at the Ballet?

Sure...mountain bike shorts should be just the ticket.

However, there is, as you note, an aerodynamic penalty due to the baggy shorts.

Fortunately, it's easy to resolve the aerodynamic issue - just shave your legs. :D

no, getting over it is the answer...

Yeah the shorts seem weird at first but are no different in principle than swim trunks for swimming, protective football gear, etc. It's about the technical merits of the clothes - wicking perspiration, avoiding loose clothes that get caught in the bike, padding in the right places for the long or bumpy rides, etc.

Look at it this way - people who seriously bike *are* different -- more individualistic than the average driver. Looking like you just stepped out of an 80's aerobic class is just a small part of the difference you establish about yourself by getting serious about biking. So if you can't handle the odd look or comment about the clothes, how will you stand up to the cagers who resent your right to be on the road?

That said, welcome! I made the leap into weird shorts and never looked back. I hope you enjoy it as much.

Why do you ask?
Are you looking for a way to get hooked up big boy?

Enjoy

Only if you shave your legs... <G>

Watch out! Tight shorts are the a gateway drug! If you don't watch yourself, you'll be putting fireman calendars on your wall in no time! :D

Yes, they're GAY! Oh wait... I mean Yes, you're GAY... Oh wait... I can't say that either... I know: wear whatever you like.

Looks like you discovered our little secret, big boy....

Watch out! Tight shorts are the a gateway drug! If you don't watch yourself, you'll be putting fireman calendars on your wall in no time! :D


Hahaha

Lycra shorts are actually bi, not gay. They like it when both men and women wear them.

No wait you are right if you wear lycra bike shorts it means you are totally a homosexual, so many people believe it's because you like to feel comfortable on long rides. :rolleyes:

People who ride road bikes and wear baggy mtb shorts are soooo gay.

Whadya think? Mountain bike shorts are the answer?

Mountain bike shorts are lesbian.

Since you like to quote David Lee Roth; I assume you really like him. Yes, I mean liiiiiikkkkeeee him. I've included photos of him so you have some great ideas about how to dress while riding.

Yo, did not need to see that....

Enjoy (if you can)

wow, the david lee roth pics are a bit much.
no one needed to see that.

People who are the most afraid of appearing gay are usually the same people who are struggling with latent homosexual urges. Is there something you'd like to admit to us? Don't worry, we're not judgemental!

wow, the david lee roth pics are a bit much.
no one needed to see that.

Well, Sincitycycler is the one who plays guitar and quotes David Lee Roth; so i thought some David Lee Roth spandex would be appropriate. Nobody wears spandex like DLR; thankthelordinheavenabove!

I suspect he might change that David Lee Roth quote though.

Here were my other choices for response:

Q. Are cycling shorts gay?
A. Yes, but only if you shove them in your a**.

Q. Are cycling short gay?
A. Only if you catch them blowing an inner-tube

Well, Sincitycycler is the one who plays guitar and quotes David Lee Roth; and then asks if cycling shorts are gay?!

I suspect he might change that David Lee Roth quote though.

Here were my other choices for response:

Q. Are cycling shorts gay?
A. Yes, but only if you shove them in your a**.

Q. Are cycling short gay?
A. Only if you catch them blowing an inner-tube

Oooh those are nice.
They shall be reposted on every subsequent lycra=gay thread.

No they are not gay.

I beg to differ - mine are all clearly the same sex, and they sleep together in my drawer all the time. I've even seen them bathe together...

Be bold. Put a sock in them!

It's not very PC to imply David Lee Roth is gay. He's actually a "heeb".

YES THEY ARE! put on a pair of shorts over the damn things and keep the bananas outtasite.....I mean really, shorts over the lycra give you more protection in case of a fall, a pocket for $$ and no one wants to see a man in lycra unless he's in a race.
WOMEN however, are just fine withem on...sexist? YOU BET!

no one wants to see a man in lycra unless he's in a race.

Well my wife likes to see me in lycra, especially when I cleaning the house. so there. :p

You are just another of the insensitive ****s in this world. No ****ing respect for homosexuality or any other "different" belief. Cycling shorts cannot be gay: they have no sexual preference. If you would please just think for once in your ****ing life before you say **** like that, the world would be a better place. **** you, man.

Nah, I just thought Van Halen were at their best when he was the frontman.

Van Hagar, on the other hand, is totally gay! :rolleyes:

Everybody's Free to Wear Lycra (http://journals.neebu.net/khuon/archives/000223.html).


Ladies and gentlemen of the community of cyclists... Wear lycra.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, lycra would be it. The long-term benefits of lycra have been proved by professional cyclists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about converting the drivers. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by ingesting a packet of Gu. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on your Tuesday commute.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Spin.

Don't be reckless with other people's bikes. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Lube.

Don't waste your time on stoplight sprints. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old PowerLinks. Throw away your old PowerBars.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know where you want to go on your ride. The most interesting people I know didn't know at two miles where they wanted to go on their rides. Some of the most interesting 40 mile rides I know still don't go anywhere.

Get plenty of carbohydrates. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll mountain bike, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have a fixed gear, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have to push a 39, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your your pedals like Lance Armstrong climbing L'Alpe D'Huez. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your bike. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument ever invented.

Pedal. Even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the cue sheet, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read bicycling magazines. They will only give you upgrade fever.

Get to know your bike shops. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your mechanics. They're your best link to a smooth drivetrain and the people most likely to fix it when you case a huck off a skinny.

Understand that riders come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the better you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were a newbie.

Bike in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Bike in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Hills will rise. Pacelines will splinter. You, too, will get tired. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were fresh, hills were reasonable, pacelines stayed intact and cyclists respected their drafts.

Respect your drafts.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a windless route. Maybe you'll have a friend willing to pull. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you take off your helmet it will look like you were a band member from the early 1980s.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the lycra.

I just wondered if tight lycra biking pants looked gay (if you're not a racer I should have added), and this guy just lit into me.

OK, so I didn't know he was the president of the Key West Cycling club! :rolleyes:
Lighten up people ;)

Wow, I thought it was bad when ONE thread was dedicated to this. You must be a troll.

tight are for men with big enough doodle and wallets and women with round enough butts and wallets.

if you do not posses all of the things in either the woman or man catagory you should not wear the tights oh gayophobic one.

I don't like how they look personally, but they are the cheapest and most cost effective improvement in aerodynamics you'll ever make.

I'm not an expert on gay fashion or anything, but my first thought is that if you think they look gay, you must have a self confidence problem, because you believe that you'd look gay in them. I have no problem wearing my cycling shorts anywhere that I happen to be cycling, and nobody has ever called me gay. Of course whether or not some idiot I'll probably never see again in my life thinks I look gay or not is of no concern to me. I couldn't give a fat hairy rat's ass what some homophobe thinks of me.

I'm not a racer, I'm a cyclist. I like to be able to ride more than 10 miles without my "soft tissue" being rubbed raw. Therefore, I wear cycling shorts.

I use a hammer to drive nails, wrench to tighten bolts, and a pen to write checks. They are all the proper tools for the job at hand.

People who ride road bikes and wear baggy mtb shorts are soooo gay


Mountain bike shorts are lesbian

Oh man...am I confused.

:cry:

CE

Agreed unless u want to have chafed/raw skin in between ure thighs dont wear the shorts.

I'm not an expert on gay fashion or anything, but my first thought is that if you think they look gay, you must have a self confidence problem, because you believe that you'd look gay in them. I have no problem wearing my cycling shorts anywhere that I happen to be cycling, and nobody has ever called me gay. Of course whether or not some idiot I'll probably never see again in my life thinks I look gay or not is of no concern to me. I couldn't give a fat hairy rat's ass what some homophobe thinks of me.

I'm not a racer, I'm a cyclist. I like to be able to ride more than 10 miles without my "soft tissue" being rubbed raw. Therefore, I wear cycling shorts.

I use a hammer to drive nails, wrench to tighten bolts, and a pen to write checks. They are all the proper tools for the job at hand.


But a pen isn't skin tight :p


Seriously though Sincity, who cares if you look gay? The people who define what looks gay and what doesn't are homophobes, ergo ********. Cycling shorts keep you a lot cooler and more comfortable than the alternatives.

yeah... what twahl said...

I never even stopped to think that they might look gay... to me they are a sport-specific uniform, like wearing shoulder-pads to play football, or a parachute to go skydiving.

I've walked into stores and coffee shops in my cycling shorts and the thought never crossed my mind that it might look odd. I mean, with my bright jersey, helmet, gloves and other cycling paraphenilia, it's sort of obvious I'm riding a bike around.

And as an added bonus, my girlfriend likes the way my ass looks in them... so sometimes I'll just put them on around the house. :D

Not to mention healthier. That "pad" isn't just soft, it's made of a fabric that wicks moisture away from your skin. Drier = healthier = more comfortable = being able to ride more!

....
And as an added bonus, my girlfriend likes the way my ass looks in them... so sometimes I'll just put them on around the house. :D

Smaug-You're a sick puppy.

Sincitycycler-If he really lit into you that hard, then maybe he needs to lighten up. You'd think a pres of a cyling club would have heard that type of question a bunch of times and would have dealt w/ it better. Or maybe he's sick of hearing it so much, so he just snapped.

This might be the funniest thread I have ever read- and how did anyone find that many pics of DLR without a single bottle of Jack Daniels?

Agreed unless u want to have chafed/raw skin in between ure thighs dont wear the shorts.

They don't have to be tight cycling shorts to prevent chaffing. They make loose ones you know :rolleyes:

THe tightness is for aerodynamics. There I said it.

sincity... maybe you deserved it?

Thats funny, none of my gay friends wear cycling shorts all the time... oh and they could probably also kick your homophobic ass.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/sub_cat.cfm?subcategory_id=1122

If you don't need the aerodynamics wear these.

Not a bad idea for casual solo riding and riding to the gym.

Bevis... You said GAY!

My best friend is gay and does not look like a pair of cycling shorts. So no. You're an idiot.

You'd think a pres of a cyling club would have heard that type of question a bunch of times and would have dealt w/ it better.

You're giving Sincitycycler too much credit. The person to whom he refers is not (I think) ACTUALLY the president of the Key West Cycling Club; Sincity, a homophobe, is trying to be insulting; Key West has a large gay population.

are you that worried that men will be attracted to you that you need to have two threads on the subject?
or maybe you are worried you'll be attracted to men in tight shorts?

either way, one thread is more than enough, haven't you been "flamed" enough for this crap. you don't have to be a racer to be a serious cycler, and if you are serious about cycling chances are you wear lycra.*
unless you have self-confidence issues that is.


*I'd like to note I'm aware many serious cyclers don't wear lycra.