To shave or not to shave?

[oldacura]

So, how many males on this forum shave their legs?

If so, how often & how much time does it take?

[waterrockets]

I did for about 10 years. I still think about starting back up, but have been unshaven for 6 or so years now.

I shaved every 2 or 3 days. Takes 5 minutes longer in the shower. The only real reason to shave is looks.

[cgallagh]

Twice a week. Red Rider likes it a lot.:D

[Hermes]

I shave every couple of days and it takes a couple of minutes. Why...the gang I cycle with does, it looks better and I get massage, which IMHO, is much better without hair.

Edit: Velodiva digs it which trumps every other reason.

[zonatandem]

No on shaving the legs and no on shaving the face.
My bald head gets a quick runover with electric shaver . . . can't stand those little fuzzies trying to grow up there . . . don't do combovers either!
My hairy legs stop the mosquitoes from getting through to my skin . . .

[sch]

Shaving private parts seems to be on a considerable upswing among the
younger population in my area. Probably not bicycle related though.

[bikeriderdave]

At least once or twice a week during the riding season -- since 1973. Have been tempted to stop for a few years now as my racing days are pretty much behind me. But hairy legs look funny poking out of cycling shorts, and my stoker likes it. I don't really pay attention to how long it takes, but I'll guess that the first time every year takes the better part of a half-hour and that maintenance shaves take maybe ten minutes.

[Leigh_caines]

So men really do shave their legs...
Wow and I thought that was just a joke...
Lean something new every day

[oldacura]

Several of the "serious" guys I ride with at work (lunch) shave. They say the reason I'm so slow is because my hairy legs create more drag.

If you choose to shave or not, you'll likely get teased by someone.

If it took an additional 5 minutes in the shower, that would at least double my shower time.

If I could just make my leg hair disappear - I would. I'm just not sure I want the ongoing maintenance.

I think the best reason of all is if your partner likes it.

[vtrich]

Yup,...I shave in season, have on and off for a long time. Since my leg hair is not terribly thick, it only takes a couple of minutes to tidy up, and I do that every 10 days or so. Definately vanity/aesthetics are a driving force,..well for me, also, tradition,...but I slid across the tarmac in the middle of a road race 10 years ago,...got up, continued the race on my own, and the sweat tended to help wash away some of the road grime. AND, at the med. station at the end of the race, it was much simpler to clean the road rash. The idea of trying to run a razor over a large area of road rash before cleaning makes me light headed.

[cornucopia72]

Most of the seriuos riders that we ride with shave their legs. I do not. Some wanabees look down on me becuase of my very hairy legs.... the really goods ones do not care at all. There is lasser hair removal which for a latin type of skin like mine with black hair should work very well... about 2K

[Velodiva]

Velodiva digs it which trumps every other reason.

So true - now I can't stand to look at men with hairy legs. Big turn-off.

[the desert fox]

So, how many males on this forum shave their legs?

If so, how often & how much time does it take?

i thought i would see a discussion about shaved ARAI drum brakes:o

[TeamTi700]

Started shaving during our tandem time trials days. Those days are behind us now but stoker insists I continue to shave. She now finds hairy legs on men as disgusting as I find them on women. She has offered to let me grow mine out......if I let her grow hers out. ICK!

[djsincla]

Please correct me if I am wrong - I thought shaving your arms and legs was to help if you crashed. Easier to clean the road rash and road rash would heal better??

[bikeriderdave]

Nah. That's what they tell new racers in the U.S. to help them over the mental hurdle. It's actually more a tribal ritual with roots in Euro pro racing, where the riders do enjoy regular massage -- and are just as vain as young Americans. If you planned to crash, why not also shave your arms (and back :-)?

[oldacura]

Running 2 to 1 against.

It's interesting that many of those who shave are honest that it's mostly about preference & vanity instead of any functional reason.

If we crash our tandem, I imagine that the least of my worries will be hair in the road rash.

[vtrich]

Nah. That's what they tell new racers in the U.S. to help them over the mental hurdle. It's actually more a tribal ritual with roots in Euro pro racing, where the riders do enjoy regular massage -- and are just as vain as young Americans. If you planned to crash, why not also shave your arms (and back :-)?

Yeah,...if I knew I was going to crash,..I'd wear my helmet on that day and not worry about it the rest of the time. I agree, vanity is definately part of the equation, along with tradition,..but there is real value to having no hair when trying to remove road grit.

[Hermes]

Running 2 to 1 against.

It's interesting that many of those who shave are honest that it's mostly about preference & vanity instead of any functional reason.

If we crash our tandem, I imagine that the least of my worries will be hair in the road rash.

I could not agree more that riding our tandems on the road is a low probability crash event in the grand scheme of the possibility of crashing while cycling.

Leg shaving, as others have stated, is tribal, tradition and vanity.

I say surprise your buddies and shave it off. Maybe your leg warmers will stay up better, the Mrs may love it and it will always grow back if you hate it.:D

[RickinFl]

The wise old Zen-master cyclist once intoned to me "Never ride behind anyone with hairy legs". I understood his meaning, but eventually began to see hairy legs as a secret weapon- it'll keep that guy on your wheel a little off balance so that when the time comes to make your move, he might just miss it.

:D

Rick

[dvs cycles]

And of those of us that DO shave, how far do you go?

[TandemGeek]

And of those of us that DO shave, how far do you go?

Up and until a few year ago, it was all of the time. More recently, it depends and at the moment Debbie would characterize my legs as disgusting, noting that she like others have noted, quickly came to prefer slick legs vice furry ones. As for the reasons why, there are both practical as well as less than practical reasons and the most compelling will usually come from one's cycling roots. Long-time roadies who raced usually shaved and will continue to do so until they find themselves riding at the back of the pack and become self-conscious about being labeled a poseur. To, to that end, more power to those who do, and don't worry about it to those who don't.

As to the extent of the shaving, I believe that we're now approaching what could be referred to as a target-rich environment for "TMI" or too much information.

It suffices to say, those places where: a) road rash would be a factor or, b) where post-ride-related muscle massage is administered. That pretty much negates the need to drag the razor into the nether regions.

[alwaysbikn]

Been shaving for over 10 years!! I shave my legs one a week, it only takes an extra 5 min or so.
I don't think it makes you go any faster.....but it looks cool.
I've raced on the road for many years and crashed a few times too....if you crash it makes cleaning the road rash much easier and the bandages easier to change as well since there is no hair for the tape to stick to.

[oldacura]

I'm pretty tempted to try it. My biggest reservation is an analogy to shaving my face: If I skip shaving my face for a day or 2, it is really uncomfortable. You know - clean shaven feels OK & having a beard feels OK but the in-between isn't so much fun.

How many days can you go before your legs feel like Velcro?

[Hermes]

Just do it and post pics.

[smunderdog]

Technically I don't shave completely clean, but I do take my Oster clippers and use them on the very shortest setting...takes about 5 minutes per leg tops and I don't have to worry about razor burn...

[carpediemracing]

I watched Breaking Away as a kid and went and "shaved" my legs - but I didn't have any hair on them yet. I never stopped :)

Even if I wait a bit I don't grow too much hair. No hair on most of my body either, just sort of natural. Ditto face. It takes me a week to grow most guys' "5 o'clock shadow".

I shave because it makes me feel "serious". Just like wearing cycling gear - specific jersey or shorts or socks.

Sure there are some advantages - it's much easier to wipe down the gunk that gets on your legs (black soot in NYC for example). Easier to put on heat rub - can't imagine putting on the thick vaseline-like Atomic Balm on anything with hair. Easier to wipe the AB off, requires rubbing alcohol, a towel or two, and a few hours to cool your legs down. Easier to message sore legs. And you look more cut when you're cut (on the other hand, when you're not cut, you look blobby).

I also shave as preparation for crashing. I shave over all my scars - makes it pretty easy to figure out how high up to go. My elbows don't have hair so I don't have to shave those scars. I've crashed numerous times and have boxes of Tegaderm, probably 10 ACE bandages, and rolls and rolls of tape. Never hurts to be prepared and when you do have hair in a wound it really sucks - how do you think I learned how high to shave?

All this is comparing my shaved leg to my relatively hair free unshaved leg. Can't imagine dealing with "hairy" legs.

My gfs over the years and my now wife also like it, except when my legs are smoother than theirs.

cdr

[oldacura]

Pics - I don't think you want to see the "befores".

[Xanti Andia]

Great thread! I have considered dry cleaning my coat of hair, never tried shaving it, I have a demilitarized area on my neck where face shaving stops. Stoker only complains when I infrequently grow a beard for a mountain trip.

[BlueJay66]

I prefer to sheer. I use clippers because I don't like the look of fur, but no hair on the legs is just to much (not enough?) for me. I only have to use the clippers about 3 times a year.

[CGinOhio]

This thread is disturbing. I may need therapy to recover. :-) However, like passing a big wreck I'm strangely unable to look away.

[Nachoman]

Technically I don't shave completely clean, but I do take my Oster clippers and use them on the very shortest setting...takes about 5 minutes per leg tops and I don't have to worry about razor burn...

Ditto.

[ralph12]

I leave mine hairy. It doesn't look as sleek in bike shorts, but I don't like how bare legs feel.

[oldacura]

Well - my curiosity got the best of me. Last Saturday, I got out the clippers (think Sasquatch) & then shaved off the rest of the hair in the shower. At first, it felt great. I could put lotion on my legs & not have all of it absorbed by the hair.

Sunday, it started to grow out & REALLY began to get irritated. I could barely sleep Sunday night. My legs felt like cactus or two pocupines trying to get close. My worst fears were realized. Now, by Wednesday, it's just starting to get to be tolerable. I was thinking I could go a week between shaves but come next Saturday, I won't want to start the whole process again.

I felt like I was wearing a pair of steel wool boxer shorts. Maybe most women don't have such coarse hair but I don't know how they tolerate it.

If you haven't tried it and are at all curious, learn from my mistake and don't let vanity rule over comfort.

[Murf524]

Been shaving for the last 5 years. My wife and the other cycling ladies prefer it to the hairy look. When I first started shaving I had some issues with razor burn. I no longer have those issues. The Gillette Mach 3 seems to be THE RAZOR to use. I used a disposable bic recently and the experience and quality of the shave for both my legs and face was sad. Welcome to the tribe.

[brewer45]

I shaved from mid-calf down to make taping my ankles less painful. Looks pretty damb silly.

Cheers!