lshaped

my opinion- don't wear it- not because it's tight fitting but because anyone who wears full kit for a cycling team they don't ride with is a poseur

Tex_Arcana

I would just wear the Jelly Belly kit for the obvious humor of it. Not to try to make anyone think I was a team member.

Would wear a Guiness Team jersey pretty much because it is the only Guiness jersey available.

Tom Stormcrowe

Or they wear it to honor them.

BadKarma62

Wear what you want and don't worry about anyone else.

Wanna have some fun? Ride wearing a Great Kilt Regimental style!!!!!!!!! I almost got arrested for that one!!!!!!

nun

I don't like the tightness of most cycling gear. My recommendations are

Smartwool long sleeve T-shirts
Rapha Stowaway Jacket
Andiamo padded underwear
Rapha Touring shorts or fixed knickers
Smartwool socks
Shimano SH-M076 shoes

The gear is smart and practical for cycling, but you don't look like you squeezed into a sausage casing and you can walk in the shoes

hairnet

try it out. For me spandex makes hard exercise a lot easier because it doesn't get in the way

lshaped

perhaps- just an opinion of mine-
i love dropping these guys when i'm loaded like a pack mule with all my commuting gear wearing a fred costume that's bright green

Tom Stormcrowe

That's cool, to each his own. The only actual "Team Kit" I wear, personally, is my fundraising team kit for TdC.

d4c4c8

I'm not a huge fan of "full Team Kit", at least not for myself. I'm not above wearing a team jersey with generic black bibs. In general i wear club or plain single color jerseys. I do have a collection of Mt Borah's Jersey of the Month kits.

On the other hand, if you like it, think it's cool then to hell with the rest of us! It's your kit and I'm sure not gonna slam you for wearing pink if that's a color you like. Just not Cofidis, I'll wonder what drugs your on.

Wogster

Team kit also tends to have lots of team sponsor logos on it, why should I spend money on a jersey, just to advertise for the sponsors for free. Yet people will pay $100 for a team jersey, when a nice plain one is $40. It's different if it's a club jersey and you belong to the club, or a jersey for a special ride that you did.

EKW in DC

Off topic, but thanks for the mention of fatcyclist.com. Just went to check it out and looks like a great blog. Another thing to add to the daily reading list!

Thanks!

zp295

Not a fan just a poser?LOL your a joke

sakonnetclip

You won't know until you try it on. I'm a Large to XXL depending on the brand. A lot of times the size charts are generic and don't really take the cut of the actual garment into account.

That being said, you could certainly be a 3-4X in a slim cut top.

-spence

Wogster

5'10 and 218, your not too fat for cycling gear..... Cycling clothing is form follows function, it's tight because that keeps it (and the rider) from flapping in the breeze.

Only real rule is, if you MUST wear it when not on a bicycle, at least carry your helmet, so that people realise your bike is nearby. NEVER wear cycling gear when driving a car unless the bike is on an attached bike rack.

mtnbke

I don't think there is anyone actively riding a bike in the country bigger than I am.

I wear Lycra for the simple reason that the shorts don't 'hook' on the nose of the saddle. I also wear a jersey because its the only thing that will 'stay down' so I'm not smiling at everyone riding up behind me.

I can't recommend bibs enough for bigger riders. So comfortable compared to shorts.

My fiance says I look like the girl who turned into a blueberry in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when I wear a blue jersey and blue shorts. Which plainly isn't true. That girl was short first of all...and nobody has ever had to roll me to the juicing room.

Cyclist343511

Try looking for a pair of MTB shorts. I can walk through the clinic in mine after a commute and the relaxed outer doesn't show the tight spandex inside. The nurses have noticed my weight loss . Most of them are in menopause but I'm at that age too.

I really would like to find the Safety Lime Green MTB shorts, even give me a reflective stripe on the butt. Has anyone seen something like that?

stark23x

Rode my first ride in cycling shorts and a jersey yesterday. I don't give a rat's hairy crapper what I look like. It was comfortable and nothing flapped in the wind.

If this makes me a big red laughingstock on the street, so be it. I'm here to ride, not put on a fashion show.

DelusionalDude

I bought a second pair of bike shorts yesterday. I usually ride with a pair of basketball shorts on top of my cycling shorts, but that is going to change. During my ride yesterday I had a problem with shorts bunching in a bad spot every so often. It was definitely because of the outer shorts. I feel a little awkward without an outer cover over the bike shorts, but I just won't be wearing them if I'm not riding or on the way to/from a ride.

mtnbke

The bit that only sponsored riders can wear team jerseys is just idiotic, in my book.

That's like saying unless you played in the English Premier League you can't wear a soccer jersey, or unless you played in the NFL you can't wear your team gear to the game. Just silly a silly stupid rule.

That being said I always used to crack up when I was playing ball and some five foot nothing player, who couldn't guard anybody, would show up with in full 'Air Jordan' regalia: shoes, wristband on the forearm, socks, shorts, even a swoosh knuckle sleeve. As a rule, almost universally without exception, people who couldn't play a lick bought Air Jordan stuff. There was almost a personality type to it, as well. Cocky and cocksure. The kind of player who thought basketball was played in a driveway knocking down uncontested jumpers. They always wondered why everyone told them they had 'five' and wouldn't pick them up.

I don't know why but I think someone who has no skills but wears Jordans is an idiot. No one wears jerseys in practice, Pro-ams, or even rec league. Jerseys for for certified D1 leagues at places like Basketball City, or while you're still playing competitively, and then only during games. The whole Jordan accessorizing was just sad. However, I think wearing team kit in cycling is totally okay whether you're an amateur racer, a Masters rider, or even a fat guy. I guess because cycling isn't really competitive. You're out for a ride having fun.

I mean what's funnier than me in my Mercatone Uno bibs pretending to be 'Il Pirata'.

Also I wear pink and purple button down oxford shirts, and striped polos a lot in my casual dress. When you're really tall you're going to look like a freak anyway. The last thing I'm ever going to look is effeminate. Besides, as Shaq always used to say about painting his toenails purple, who is going to have the courage to walk up and say anything to him about it? I love wearing bright colors. Never once has anyone ever said a peep to me. Maybe its the scraggly beard, maybe its the fact that I'm bigger or taller than anyone they've ever met before, I dunno.

I don't think a fat cyclist in lycra looks half as ridiculous as a fat college girl trying to pull off the tight stretch pants.

At the end of the day, lycra is functional, but if you can't enjoy wearing a goofy jersey, a team jersey, or pretend you're on a epic 200k breakaway, well shoot yourself already, 'cause your life has no joy.

Wear what makes you smile. People are idiots, they'll criticize you no matter what you do, its a pathetic way to validate their banal existence.

If I could have my own jersey custom made it would say:

You're not a Clydesdale, just a fat pony.

I always wanted to be one of those little climbers riding off the front on some epic Col. I think being a little climber is the most heroic thing in cycling. Who the hell is gonna tell me I can't wear their kit?

Tom Stormcrowe

mtnbke, I've been trying to figure you out for a while now. I do get a kick out of your sense of humor, though.

marmot

Not just a fan? I wear a Detroit Tigers cap. Am I trying to impersonate Maglio Ordonez? Nope, just sporting a classy lid and showing my lifelong devotion to the mighty Bengals.

StephenH

"Is it wrong for a clydesdale to wear tight clothes?"

My opinion- if you're much overweight, you won't look good in tight clothes, but then again, you won't look good in loose clothes, either. In which case, it's time to forget about how you look and just get out and ride, and wear whatever you like. I wear loose stuff, and look stupid wearing it, and nobody's complained about it yet.

As to the team kit for team you're not riding on- I doubt anyone just really cares. When you go riding down Main Street in Bugtussle at 12 mph, most people realize you're not a TdeF rider, regardless of what jersey you wear, and it's not any different than your average fan wearing a Cowboy's jersey.

SilverSurfR

What I think is funny about team kits, is I don't think anyone I know, and most strangers I would encounter, would have a clue that it's a team kit. IMO cycling isn't mainstream enough in the US for people to know you're wearing a team's kit rather than just some fancy tight stuff.

That being said, I don't own a pro team's kit because they are so damn expen$ive.

Plynthblox

Here's the way I see it:

Motorists are going too fast to bother reading street signs much less worry about what I'm wearing and how many inches of waistline I've got it spread across.

Pedestrians are moving way too slow to really care for more than the 2 seconds they see me before I pass beyond their field of view.

AND

Cyclists know damned well why I'm wearing it and whether they like my figure or not it doesn't matter.




That's great! Definitely at the top of my apparel shopping list.

Wogster

I know the solution, someone design a jersey that says Team Clydesdale, on this group we are ALL members of Team Clydesdale, so we ALL have the right to wear it.