Road Cycling - Cycling Caps: Cool? or for Yahoos?

What do you think?
Can we wear them around town without looking like a total dork?

I do, especially after I pull my sweaty helmet off. Current favorite is a yellow/black Clement cap from the early '80s.

i wear one when i commute, and when it's cooler out on road rides...i also wear it while i'm working....i work in a bike shop, so it fits in. i like them better than baseball caps.

What do you think?
Can we wear them around town without looking like a total dork?
nope

you look like a dork or a painter... seriously, if you really care about not looking like a dork, don't go outside your house. Somebody will think you're a dork no matter what you wear.

I use the cycling caps and the skull caps for cycling. Either that, or people will have to deal with me looking like Gumby!

Koffee

Somebody will think you're a dork no matter what you wear.


too true.

Why get validated by people's opinions... jeez.. like climbo said, someone in this world will always think you're a dork..

Wear what you want... EXCEPT the Maillot Jaune, unless of course.. you're winning the TdF... :D

EXCEPT the Maillot Jaune, unless of course.. you're winning the TdF... :D


I see a switch of topic looming on the horizon.....

My 6 year old loves them, and everyone thinks he's cute wearing one. He has a USPS/Yahoo! one that George Hincapie autographed, a Specialized World Champion, and a new Discovery Channel Team. He had a classic yellow Campagnolo that the school confiscated and will not return.

Wear what you like. Who cares what others think. :)

I can't wear them while I'm riding, because my helmet is already there, unless is a bit chilly then perhaps I could wear it but under the helmet. Did I say I wear my helmet?

Corsaire ;)

Front flap UP or DOWN?
A whole 'nother issue now....

i say up, the flap is too small to make a difference anways

My personal impression is they look gay...not that gay is bad ;) but not for everyone. To morph this thread just a bit as it relates...have to say I have a theory about cycling attire. My friends outside the cycling arena...I have heard this from a great many people...all think that cyclists with their spandex and colorful shirts and pointy helmets look like a bunch of fancy fairy boys. I know. But if you want irony...it is a bit more than that as some cyclists...who may be quite average in ability...wear full race kits for poseur points. Now you have to ask...if many outside the cycling community think that cycling uniforms look gay and many wear them to stand out or be cool...cool is definitely in the eye of the beholder isn't it? The other thing is envy or jealousy which pervades society on every level is fueled by trying to stand out and make a statement to look different which is the mentality of a poseur for example...to engender this attitude to make he or she feel better about themselves. Further...my theory on cycling attire is...some road rage...not all or even most...is inspired by fancily clan young or old men on their racey bikes sharing the road with some half drunk jacka$$ with front tooth missing in an old car who catches a good look and decides to have a little fun with the fancy boy on his racing bike. One has to question the whole wanna be poseur attitude IMHO when it comes to what you wear when out on your bike if you aren't a racer.
What do you guys think?
George

Wow....and all I asked was flap up or flap down?! ;)

To respond...and not to hijack the thread...I think the theory about riding clothes is somewhat on. I guess I like to wear good stuff for a couple of reasons...functionality and feeling good about beinga cyclist. I know I'll take the usual heat about this, but in part I wear what I wear because I want to fit in to the cycling community....be 'one of them' with the look. Remember, I do consider myself quite possibly the #2 poseur on BF....behind 55/Rad of course!

I use them under my helmet, and the flap down sure does make a difference on my noggin. Blocks the sun from beating down on my face.. YMMV depending on the shape of your cranium I guess... I have several different ones I rotate through.

cheers-
Jim

My 6 year old loves them, and everyone thinks he's cute wearing one. He has a USPS/Yahoo! one that George Hincapie autographed, a Specialized World Champion, and a new Discovery Channel Team. He had a classic yellow Campagnolo that the school confiscated and will not return.

They confiscated the Campy hat? WTF?

Shimano loving bastards.

Flap in the back.

Until you cross the finish line anyways.

They confiscated the Campy hat? WTF?

Shimano loving bastards. :roflmao: :beer:

He had a classic yellow Campagnolo that the school confiscated and will not return.
Send Uncle Buck in to see them! (cue Tone Loc music...)
Seriously, I'd be down there sitting in the Principal's chair until the hat was returned.

I've read in this forum that cycling gear evolved the way it has for functional reasons and I try to accept that as true. I wear plain black bibs and jersy with no more than two colors on it now whereas I used to wear mtn biking shorts and a t-shirt (I'm riding better but I also lost 30 lbs. so it's not really a controlled experiment). Feeling like a dork combined with fear of being beaten senseless is incentive for completing your ride.

Cycling caps do look kind of dorky, but for that matter so do baseball caps and I wear those around all the time.

What do you think?
Can we wear them around town without looking like a total dork?

Dork, totally. It's a newbie thing.

Front flap UP or DOWN?
A whole 'nother issue now....

Foreward or backward?

Front flap UP or DOWN?
A whole 'nother issue now....

Up when riding, down when sipping espresso post ride.
f

What do you think?
Can we wear them around town without looking like a total dork?

Depends. If you have the overall style to carry it off most anything can be cool. Look at some of the stuff that Jessie James, the West Coast Choppers guy, wears. Ears tucked into a baseball cap, I mean really! In your case however, since you had to ask, I'm sensing a lower level of self-confidence so I'm going to say don't do it.

There was a previous thread that provides the definitive answer (sort of):

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=86612

lid up?
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=22953
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=22951

yes, i think so.

My 6 year old loves them, and everyone thinks he's cute wearing one. He has a USPS/Yahoo! one that George Hincapie autographed, a Specialized World Champion, and a new Discovery Channel Team. He had a classic yellow Campagnolo that the school confiscated and will not return.

Sounds like it may be time to organize a midnight raid on an unsespecting elementary school in Beaufort, SC. How could they do such a thing? I always wanted to bike to SC and now I have a reason!

A campy or Columbus cycling cap is always cool.
Its that italian fashion thing, like nuno bugnonni shoes
or a della pietro silk suit, you just can't beat that stuff. . .

Marty

My personal impression is they look gay...not that gay is bad ;) but not for everyone. To morph this thread just a bit as it relates...have to say I have a theory about cycling attire. My friends outside the cycling arena...I have heard this from a great many people...all think that cyclists with their spandex and colorful shirts and pointy helmets look like a bunch of fancy fairy boys. I know. But if you want irony...it is a bit more than that as some cyclists...who may be quite average in ability...wear full race kits for poseur points. Now you have to ask...if many outside the cycling community think that cycling uniforms look gay and many wear them to stand out or be cool...cool is definitely in the eye of the beholder isn't it? The other thing is envy or jealousy which pervades society on every level is fueled by trying to stand out and make a statement to look different which is the mentality of a poseur for example...to engender this attitude to make he or she feel better about themselves. Further...my theory on cycling attire is...some road rage...not all or even most...is inspired by fancily clan young or old men on their racey bikes sharing the road with some half drunk jacka$$ with front tooth missing in an old car who catches a good look and decides to have a little fun with the fancy boy on his racing bike. One has to question the whole wanna be poseur attitude IMHO when it comes to what you wear when out on your bike if you aren't a racer.
What do you guys think?
George

Luv your work B7
Whatever you're on I want 1/2 a kilo of it ;)

They be coo, foo. :D

I always wear mine. Usually the only time I wear one on the bike is if it's raining.

Depends. If you have the overall style to carry it off most anything can be cool. Look at some of the stuff that Jessie James, the West Coast Choppers guy, wears. Ears tucked into a baseball cap, I mean really! In your case however, since you had to ask, I'm sensing a lower level of self-confidence so I'm going to say don't do it.
What's with the wool/polyester beenie pulled down over your eyebrows and ears? I don't think I would be calling JJ a dork to his face.


What do you think?
Can we wear them around town without looking like a total dork?

Can we wear them without looking like a dork? Most likely yes, you on the otherhand :D .

I't not like the outfit isn't already climbing the dork chart. Goofy areo pointed helmet, tight fitting brightly colored jersey, spandex riding shorts, shoes that have no sense of style pointing your toes up in the air because of the cleats. Oh don't forget the Rocky style gloves with no fingers.
The clothes have a purpose to make riding more comfortable and safe, doesn't look any more like a dork than the kids on a skateboard with pants hanging down to their knees.
Oh I like the riding cap because I can fold it up stuff it in a pocket and it still looks as good as a dorky cap can.

He had a classic yellow Campagnolo that the school confiscated and will not return.
Have they no shame? I don't care what the little tyke did. Have you considered a change of schools? :D

Hey peeps, what we're all missing here is the fact that any sports uniform/clothing is generally made to serve a function, not particularly to be a style statement. They're not originally intended to be street clothes, but some have gotten to be so (football, hockey, basketball jerseys, rugby and polo shirts, baseball caps, even soccer shorts).

What kind of looks do you think you'd get if you were walking around in football knicks with thigh pads & a cup, or hip waders after trout fishing?

Caps I have are a Columbus, a TdF, and a Campy. I wear them backwards under the helmet so sweat doesn't get in my eyes, I don't get bugs biting my scalp and driving me nuts during a ride, and the flap keeps the sun off my neck. Overall, it helps to keep the temps down on my gourd too.

Function.

If I stop at a store or restroom on a ride and take my helmet off, I usually turn the cap around. I couldn't give a rat's ass who thinks what of it, because the fashion cops probably have no idea why the hell I'm wearing the stuff. :p

I think they look pretty damn funny, they kind of remind me of those hats with the little twirly fan on the top. Especially when decked out in bright colors. I just wear a sweatband under my helmet in the summer - blocks the sweat from getting in my eyes, but still allows more cool air on my head.

Of course if you don't want to look "gay', definitely don't wear this jersey...

Cycling caps look cool as long as they are under a helmet...maybe, when off the bike, w/o a helmet to hide helmet hair...if it is during break..
but once I wore one to work...Recall the comments well..."Gonna wear a real hat when you grow up..." Not that it would matter to me, if I was determined to wear one ...

The only people who don't look goofy wearing them are greasy bike mechanics. Even the Europeans have started wearing baseball caps on the podium. Now, if we could just teach them how to get that good ol' Southern curl to the brim like Dale Jr.....

Have they no shame? I don't care what the little tyke did. Have you considered a change of schools? :D
I have him at the best school we know of, but that ain't saying much about Beaufort County, SC. I think the teacher mispaced it and is cover her arse. I miss the hat because it was exactly like the one the cabbie wore in Crocodile Dundee .

cycling caps serve a great function off the bike too.
if a cute girl tells me nice hat then I "know" she rules.
too bad they usually have cycling boyfriends. oh well.

but when you're hanging out & see someone else with
a cycling cap don't you give 'em the nod too? I do.

jeff

for me, they look dorky only if *i* think they look dorky...otherwise, i paid my dues to the self-conscious-anxiety police during adolescence. now that I’m grow’d up, I wears what I likes and I likes what I wears…;)

..’cept i don’t wear cycling caps since my brain is so large :D

What do you think?
Can we wear them around town without looking like a total dork?

yes but damn I love em!

I wore it to a restaurant recently, didnt see too many people starting at me, they must discreet. :D

Be a dork and be proud!

cycling caps serve a great function off the bike too.
if a cute girl tells me nice hat then I "know" she rules.
too bad they usually have cycling boyfriends. oh well.

but when you're hanging out & see someone else with
a cycling cap don't you give 'em the nod too? I do.

jeff the only time I was recognized in civies was on an airplane..
another cyclist was in my row...Commented on the watch with altimeter
and tan lines of course..Don't think there were any other obvious clues..
Golfers might have our tan line about gloves..But eyeglasses
and chin strap tan lines will always give it away.

My personal impression is they look gay...not that gay is bad ;) but not for everyone.

And everyone who wears the ubiquitous baseball cap must also be gay posers, along with all the other spectator sports paraphenalia floating around. Now if someone had never been on a bike before then I can understand, maybe, that they were simply a poseur. However, if they are a cyclist, regardless of their calibre then I think wearing a cap is simply saying to the world that "hey, I like to ride my bike" What is so difficult to understand about that and what is so awful about telling the world what we like?

It just literally blows me away that you are trashing cyclists yet ignore the rest of the sports world's fixation on team kit. Why should cyclists be singled out? It makes no sense whatsoever. Do people giggle at the divers in the olympics? Those idiotic US football uniforms?

Sure, there are people who take it to extremes and sure it's probably ok to poke fun at them, what's not cool is to castigate those who are serious cyclists, simply because you and your friend think they are "gay".

My 6 year old loves them, and everyone thinks he's cute wearing one. He has a USPS/Yahoo! one that George Hincapie autographed, a Specialized World Champion, and a new Discovery Channel Team. He had a classic yellow Campagnolo that the school confiscated and will not return.
Principal's a biker :D

And everyone who wears the ubiquitous baseball cap must also be gay posers, along with all the other spectator sports paraphenalia floating around. Now if someone had never been on a bike before then I can understand, maybe, that they were simply a poseur. However, if they are a cyclist, regardless of their calibre then I think wearing a cap is simply saying to the world that "hey, I like to ride my bike" What is so difficult to understand about that and what is so awful about telling the world what we like?

It just literally blows me away that you are trashing cyclists yet ignore the rest of the sports world's fixation on team kit. Why should cyclists be singled out? It makes no sense whatsoever. Do people giggle at the divers in the olympics? Those idiotic US football uniforms?

Sure, there are people who take it to extremes and sure it's probably ok to poke fun at them, what's not cool is to castigate those who are serious cyclists, simply because you and your friend think they are "gay".


Exactly!

Principal's a biker :D
Funny you say that, he goes to church with us. He's very anti-bike. If the school board would let him, he'd ban bikes from school.

The backwards "ball" cap goes right back to the original "scorchers" - you have to wear it backwards or it flies off of your head.

I draw the line at yellow caps or helmets, bees find them too attractive............

Caps are ultra-functional and cool as hell........'cos I like 'em!

I used to be old fashioned, now I'm retro-chic;-) The same hopeless fashion victims who used to deride my 80's Santini wool jerseys now want to buy the things for stupid money.