Road Cycling - Are We All Going Bald?

We had this discussion back at the bike shop after our saturday morning ride last week. The point was made that a lot of roadies have thinning hair, and it only took a look around the room to see that 8 out of 10 lads had thinning hair or worse, going bald. So what's your story? Are u combing your hair with a towel? By the way i BUZ my head as i "dont got much upstairs"

HOW ABOUT YOU?

I'm not going bald...no hair to loose!!!!!

I still have a full head. I do notice more coming out when I wash it lately though. I keep it pretty short during the season anyway. It wouldnt make much difference I guess.

I have enough hair on my head for three or four heads. I don't think I'll have to worry about thinning hair for quite some time:D

If you wear a helmet you are more prone to go bald. The same thing goes as with hats. Studies have shown that if you wear a hat, bandana, or helmet more often than not your hair will continue to fall out of the areas covered by the aparatus on your head. Unfortunately yes you are all going to go bald. I made a good decision about 5 years ago. I shave my head every other day to make sure that I never notice my hair falling out.

Brevity is the soul of style.

RichC

now i'm regretting my decision to take up cycling! :eek:

I'm 35 and still have a great head of hair....What do I do, continue wearing a helmet and take my chances on hairloss, or should I not wear a helmet and take a chance on my life? Tough decision..lol...hair or life?

I dont konw about the helmet thing, but Bobke once mentioned that cyclists are often balding from their increased levels of testosterone, or something like that.

Originally posted by brent_dube
I dont konw about the helmet thing, but Bobke once mentioned that cyclists are often balding from their increased levels of testosterone, or something like that.

You're thinking of Pantani - and it was EPO. ;)

I shave my head as well ... but if it gets any length to it you can see thining spots in the front.

Originally posted by bac
You're thinking of Pantani - and it was EPO. ;)

What are you talking about? Pantani would never do such a thing! :D

I have the typical male pattern baldness. Despite that, there's a mess of hair that regularly gets vacuumed up from the bathroom floor. Hope my wife doesn't start looking like me!!!

Originally posted by lamajo25
If you wear a helmet you are more prone to go bald. The same thing goes as with hats. Studies have shown that if you wear a hat, bandana, or helmet more often than not your hair will continue to fall out of the areas covered by the aparatus on your head. Unfortunately yes you are all going to go bald. I made a good decision about 5 years ago. I shave my head every other day to make sure that I never notice my hair falling out.


Lamajo & everyone else, I don't think they could fit any more bologna into that "study". People's genes determine whether they go bald or not. BTW, did ya know that riding a bike is the leading cause of impotence? :rolleyes:

I have no trace of baldness anywhere in my family tree.... and my hair is as thick and as full as it's ever been. In fact I do wish it was a bit thinner

it's the frequent showers with the frequent shampooing and conditioning. i only shampoo every 3rd shower.

RiPHRaPH, you could try showering less too! That way, you can still shampoo with every shower....

;)

Originally posted by deliriou5
I have no trace of baldness anywhere in my family tree.... and my hair is as thick and as full as it's ever been. In fact I do wish it was a bit thinner

Does it vary with the moon? ;)

I am becoming a cue ball also, being it is in my family traits, but I shave my head weekly. I have to wear a hard hat at work for about 3 hours a day and with the summer heat it is easier to maintain good hygiene. Besides my wife tells me I look better bald anyway!

I'm good. So far. And, fortunately, I'm not too concerned about it. If it starts to go, I'll shave it. If it sticks around, all the better.

My hair started packing it's bags when I was in my 20s! Now I'm bald as can be and don't miss it one bit!:D

Mine's retreating - fortunately my wife's a Yul Brunner fan ;)

One word: genetics.

Studies have shown that if you wear a hat, bandana, or helmet more often than not your hair will continue to fall out of the areas covered by the aparatus on your head.

Then why are most balding people lacking hair only on top? Hats, etc come down almost to the ears but hair on the side of the head in balding people is quite common... Sloppy Research = Sloppy Results...

As for testosterone, what about studies that show that endurance atheletes tend to have lower levels of it? Shouldn't cycling then have the opposite effect of helping to prevent hair loss?

Then why are most balding people lacking hair only on top? Hats, etc come down almost to the ears but hair on the side of the head in balding people is quite common... Sloppy Research = Sloppy Results...

It all has to do with the way you put it on. Most male's put a hat on starting from the front or rear of the head then pulling down towards the opposite of the end (which ever you start with). Once it's on the hat isn't moved much other than to adjust it everyonce in a while usually removing the cap and putting it back on in the same fashion. That is just a guess. It could actually be linked to lack of sun light. The side hair is at least getting a bit of sun where as the top doesn't. This will give me something to research tonight here at work.

As for the genetics I know that baldness is actually carried by your mother. So even if your father is bald doesn't mean that you will be. You mother may not be bald just carries the gene.

All that CRAP about cap wearing is just that BS!

I live in the cap wearing capitol of the world and the fellas I went to high school with all ***** caps. The ones of us that where destined to be bald "genetics" are bald and the others have full heads of hair. ;)

I must recant my previous statement about hat wearing. Here's a site that states that though wearing a tight hat may actually abrade the hair shaft, it should actually grow back. http://www.hairloss-reversible.com/faqs.htm

This site should be able to help you on what may cause the baldness. It does say that poor circulation may be a factor but not a very significant factor. And if you are like me wearing a helmet they have to be good and snug. That's just an opinion.

I did find this though after I posted this. The thing about the testosterone thing. On this site there is mention of change in hormones. http://www.methodisthealth.com/menshlth/hairloss.htm


BTW, did ya know that riding a bike is the leading cause of impotence?

It's not Impotence it's infertility.

Originally posted by lamajo25

As for the genetics I know that baldness is actually carried by your mother. So even if your father is bald doesn't mean that you will be. You mother may not be bald just carries the gene. [/B]

:eek:

Whoa there!

Baldness is carried by the MOTHER or the FATHER- it depends on who's carrying the dominant gene- if the mother carries it, she can pass it on to the son. If the father carries it, he will pass it on to the son. If they both carry it... watch out, here comes Kojak II!!!

Don't blame it on the woman- it could equally be the man's genes, or it could be only the man's, or it could be both. What you'll need to do if you're balding (if you want to know who gave it to you) is look at both sides of the family and follow the pattern-hence the name "male pattern baldness".

Koffee

For many years our schools have taught — quite erroneously — that hair loss is always inherited from the mother's father. Medical science now knows that baldness genes are passed down from both sides of the family. They also can skip generations, and are utterly random in terms of which siblings they will affect; it is quite common for a man keep a full head of hair while his brother goes bald in his twenties

Wow I was still under the impression that it was still carried by the mother. This is from http://traffic.bosley.com/men/cause.htm
which says contradictory. But it does say that it was taught that way for quite some time. Thank you Koffee, I hadn't seen that yet. I have quite a long line of people in my family that are bald. Most of my father's side is bald and until now I thought that I was safe. My mother's side all have their hair, including my 80 year old grandfather.

I respect your knowledge when it comes to fitness Koffee... but unless I am mistaken your knowledge in THIS area of genetics might need a little 'brushing up' (was that a pun?)

The gene that determines male pattern baldness lives on the "X" chromosome. So the place all us balding men get it is from dear old Mom. ;)

This is also true of red-green colorblindness, hemophilia and other diseases you see happening to a majority of men.

The reason it happens more to men than women is you gals get an extra copy on the other X chromosome and the non bald gene is dominant. Therefore a woman with thinning hair must have a baldness gene on BOTH of her Xes.

You can place a bit of blame on old Dad if you like for the reason that the Male pattern baldness, although genetic is made worse by the presence of Dihydrotestosterone which is a hormone made in the liver from (excess) testosterone. Women's testosterone levels are so much lower than men that even with dual baldness genes they will not usually go very bald.

cAPS

On behalf of all the women out there....

You're welcome...

;)

On the other hand... bummer... thinking you weren't gonna go bald, then suddenly finding out that you may fall victim to the genes of your father... :(

I don't know if it's possible to have a test done, but I wonder if they have a test for the DHT hormone by checking the frontal hairs and testing for the presence of the hormone (since it's predominantly found there) or a way to test for the alpha 5 reductase enzyme. Still, even if you find out that you have an increased amount DHT or alpha 5 reductase, there's not much you can do... unless someone has a way to block that enzyme from reacting with the testosterone....

Koffee


(c)

To be honest I wouldn't mind actually having my hair fall out, but yeah to those who thought the same thing good luck. I have really nasty hair that's why I shave it every other day. And yeah you would think that they would have some sort of test.

*sigh*

Let me pull an article for you to show. This is a commonly accepted and taught in biology textbooks- and if you read the link provided by lamojo25, you'll see the myth of "mom carries the gene" explained: http://traffic.bosley.com/men/cause.htm

Here are more links that explain why the mother and/or the father can carry the gene and pass it to the children:

http://www.tmhairrestoration.com/hairloss/androgeneticalopecia4.htm
http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section21/chapter286/286b.htm
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=20676

There are more, but I belabor the point at this point. ;)

I guess the faulty thinking is that the male pattern baldness is a sex linked trait, such as color blindness and hemophelia, when it is actually a sex influenced inheritance due to the influence of sex hormones on gene expression... if one makes the distinction here, then it is more obvious as to why I say what I say....

Koffee

Originally posted by cAPSLOCK
...snip the Male pattern baldness, although genetic is made worse by the presence of Dihydrotestosterone which is a hormone made in the liver from (excess) testosterone. Women's testosterone levels are so much lower than men that even with dual baldness genes they will not usually go very bald.


Actually, DHT is produced from testosterone by an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase. DHT is produced when the enzyme 5 alpha reductase combines with testosterone. DHT then attaches itself to the hair follicle eventually causing it to stop producing hair.

Testosterone in men is mainly produced in the testes by men, although a small amount is also produced in the periphery- such as the skin, saliva, liver and adrenal glands. In women, testosterone is produced in much smaller amounts, and is mainly produced in the liver, ovaries and adrenal glands, although it is also produced in the skin and saliva like with the men.

Since baldness is influenced by the presence of testosterone, baldness in women would not appear until her "twilight years", when the level of estrogens declines in a woman, leaving the testosterone to bind to the alpha 5 reductase. But notice that when women develop baldness, their hair thins, while with men, they will tend to lose their hair totally, or along the front and sides of the head. Dunno what that's about though- maybe someone else can step in (cbhungry?) and explain this.

Ok, off to bed!

Koffee

Originally posted by heresy
One word: genetics.

This sums it up but I will expand so let me interject if you guys will put up with me.

First of all , male pattern baldness, the most common cause of nonscarring alopecia (baldness) is inherited in a polygenic fashion. or a trait inherited by either or both of the parents. It may be a sex limited due to incomplete expression and penetrance but not X linked inheritance like color blindness. Male pattern baldness is a classic example of how inheritance pattern for something as simple as balding cannot be explained by pure Mendelian genetics anymore. (That's why I argued in another thread that to look for a single gene that determines homosexuality to prove or disprove it's biological basis is fallacious). As cAPSLOCK sated, it is inherited in a autosomal dominant manner but we now know it is inherited from both parents and can have incomplete penetrance thus, have varying levels of expression in the person who carries the gene. Ie: you can have the gene, but you don't go bald or you can look like yul!

Both cAPSLOCK and Koffee mentioned that the hormonal environment has to be right therefore, men express it early due to high levels of testosterone and byproduct hormones. Women can express it early if they have untreated congential adrenal hyperplasia (where the adrenal glands overproduce male hormones) and carry the gene or a ovarian tumor that produces testosterone. The latter women are lucky to have the balding gene, since this is how the docs find out a young woman has an ovarian cancer (she startes balding at 30). The hormonal mileu of the women approaches that of men after menapause (higher ratio of testosterone to estrogen) (Remember, our adrenal glands continue to make testosterone until death) so some women who carry the gene will start expressing it then. Also overactive or underactive thyroid can cause hair loss.

Intersting there is a racial preferrance. Androgenic alopecia is responsible for male pattern baldness in fifty percent of white men and women over 40 but the percentage is less in asians, blacks and lastly, American Indians. So the idea of coinheritance (say a racial gene inherited with the balding gene ) may also be important.


Some people may not have the gene and still have age related miniaturization of the hair follicles and it can look like incomplete balding. This was mentioned in one of the links Koffee provided. These people probably won't respond to Propecia (a 5-alpha reducatse inhibitor) but might respond to Rogaine (don't really know the mechanism of action of the latter).


Other reasons for lack of male pattern baldness in those with the gene (besides hormones, incomplete penetrance, co inheritance of racial gene etc.) is bought up nicely by one of Koffee's link

Rember, there are other causes of "cue ball" like non scarring alopecia called alopecia areata, alopecia totalis etc. which are not genetic disorders so much as autoimmune conditions (like Lupus, Rheumatoid etc.)

Most of all, remember, we have yet to isolate the specific gene or set of genes exclusively responsible for male pattern baldness!!!!



. But notice that when women develop baldness, their hair thins, while with men, they will tend to lose their hair totally, or along the front and sides of the head. Dunno what that's about though- maybe someone else can step in (cbhungry?) and explain this.

Interesting, that some women exhibit the female pattern hair loss (diffusse thinning ) and some the M shaped male pattern of (early loss in temporal area etc.) Female pattern hair loss may be a different mechanism and responds to estrogen and or Rogaine but not to Propecia unlike male pattern hair loss where you can use the Propecia in these women. In addtion, it may be that women have the 5-HT enzyme expressed in a diffuse manner rahter than concentrated in the M distribution on the men. I would have to look into that.

If guys want to minimize their chance of going bald, you can get castrated (thus stopping the major source of testosterone production) but don't forget, you have to rip out your adrenal glands too.:D

My point was that hats have nothing to do with baldness. :) The research that suggested they did was flawed and has since been disproven. It's genetics + testosterone.

Originally posted by cbhungry

If guys want to minimize their chance of going bald, you can get castrated (thus stopping the major source of testosterone production) but don't forget, you have to rip out your adrenal glands too.:D

Will my insurance cover that?

;)

cAPS

If it doesn't, I'll pay....

;)









I'm kidding!


Koff

I was so happy when I heard it came from the mother, my mom's side of the family did not go bald. BUt my dad's side is all bald. Now I'm depressed again :)

This castration idea sounds good.. hmmmmm.... I don't want anymore kids so this might work :)

I know a way you can stop hair loss FAST. Take a axe and chop the penis right off!! :)

Seriously. I heard stories of men who had it cut off during war and it stopped their hair loss. Otherwise, you're pretty much stuck.

Also. Forget about those over the counter durgs like Rogain and Propecia. They only stop loss on the top of the head and not the front. Carl Malone of the Utah Jazz used to be a spokes person for Rogain. Guess What? He shaved all his hair off in the end.

Furthermore, they also acclerate hair loss by sheading the weak strands. Many men after losing this hair DID NOT regrow them back. If you stop using these drugs your hair loss continues at a FASTER pace than ever before. Happened to me and quite a few people I know.

As for surgery. Forget it. Hair transplants are visible a mile away and it doesn't stop hair loss. Those informercials spend hours getting their patients to look good and the camera helps big time. Trust me. You won't look that way if your a Norwood 6. Go to whyhairtransplantsdontwork. and read the horror stories of how this procedure ruined many lives. Those doctors low ball the procedure and don't tell the patients that transplants themselves cause HAIR LOSS which is why you'll need more down the road. Do you have 75 thousand dollars to burn?

As for a hair piece. Forget it. They are ALL OBVIOUS in real life. Furthermore, you cannot swim, sleep or bike with them on. Why? You'll destroy the unit and cut it's life short. Trust me. You won't fool anyone. They're ALL hot and it's like wearing a hat all the time. Those men you see on TV have new units which is why they look good. After 6 months, you will be obvious miles away. Expect to spend several thousand dollars after 5 years.

As for me. I'm just starting to lose it. If it goes, it goes. I've done all the homework and do not like the alternatives. Hair transplants, drugs and hair pieces are bull$hit. It's a lot of money for poor results.

Just grow old folks.

Funny, baldness does not run in my family, but I am the only cyclist and my hairline is receding. It is either the cycling helmet, or mommy didn't tell me about the milkman ;)

Originally posted by VO2 MAX
We had this discussion back at the bike shop after our saturday morning ride last week. The point was made that a lot of roadies have thinning hair, and it only took a look around the room to see that 8 out of 10 lads had thinning hair or worse, going bald. So what's your story? Are u combing your hair with a towel? By the way i BUZ my head as i "dont got much upstairs"

HOW ABOUT YOU?

1) I didn't lose any hair. I know where all of it is. Drains, brushes, pillows, etc.

2) I didn't lose any hair. I am just very tall and my head is above timberline.:D

When I was in the Navy, there was a sea story that wearing hats contributed to baldness. Heredity also plays a big role, but wearing of hats - and helmets and head coverings of all types, contribut to baldness.

But what the heck, it makes is sleek and fast! And it matches with the goofy tan!

Originally posted by brent_dube
I dont konw about the helmet thing, but Bobke once mentioned that cyclists are often balding from their increased levels of testosterone, or something like that.

If you are balding in front, you are very virile. If you are balding in back, you are a thinker.

But, if you are balding in both front and back, you think you are virile.

I like to think it makes more more aerodynamic. I don't know about you, but my hair is coming out from my forehead back due to the high speeds that I hit on the bike. :D

i worked as a process engineer/supervisor in one of the big paper mills...

I have noticed that almost all the people, over 30yrs old, i worked with were bald or were going bald.. is it the chemical-exposure or the biking???? I don't know...

All of them ride bikes (commuters), well, all of us do...

At 23, i was concerned, actually afraid, what will happend to me in 7 yrs...

9 months later, I submiitted my resignation letter...:D :D :D

Then started my own business.. Happy to say, I'm not going bald.. yet... no history in the family though... Oh, thank god..

Hats and helmets do not matter. I am 39 years old, wear a helmet whenever I ride, wear a baseball cap a lot...full head of hair...heredity is the answer to the bald question, it is either going to fall out or it isn't...

Originally posted by lamajo25
If you wear a helmet you are more prone to go bald. The same thing goes as with hats. Studies have shown that if you wear a hat, bandana, or helmet more often than not your hair will continue to fall out of the areas covered by the aparatus on your head. Unfortunately yes you are all going to go bald. I made a good decision about 5 years ago. I shave my head every other day to make sure that I never notice my hair falling out.

I will smash this myth once and for all I have warn hats, helmets bandannas and such all my life and at 47 I still have a full head of hair, why you ask, Because baldness doesn't run in my family it is hereditary has nothing to do with what you wear on your head. It is probably more like what was mentioned earlier Testosterone, men who have higher levels of it tend to go bald, that and tend to be more physically active

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
If it doesn't, I'll pay....

;)


You will!?!?!

Oh Koffee!!! Woo HOO...

Lemme crank up EBAY and see if I can find a Doctor!

cAPS :p

My hair was coming out on my comb in record numbers. So I went to the dermatologist, and she looked at a scalp sample through a microscope and discovered I had a more than average number of mites on my scalp. Everybody has mites, but I had alot more than average. Mites aren't the little things that jump around. Mites are like worms when looked at under the microscope. My doc said that mites thrive under hot, sweaty environments, such as wearing a helmet or hat over a long period of time in hot weather. She gave me some kind of shampoo to use once a week. Once I started using it, the hair loss stopped. The doc tested my scalp six months later, and my mite count was down to normal.

Is that avatar a mite??? Eew. ;)

cAPS