coasting 

I plan on wearing my leg warmers tomorrow because I want to get out there extra early and at dawn it is quite chilly now.

This made me think. Not once have I put on leg warmers and taken them off during a ride. Why not just wear tight?

Maybe I think too much about useless meaningless nonsense.

mrbUSA

We're all the same. One leg at a time.

Menel

Leg warmers are cheap, a single pair will last all week, don't mind re-wearing.

A new wardrobe of bib tights to get through weekly rides without an obscene amount of laundry would be expensive.

darkadious

probably for people that do take them off eventually.. easier to clean/keep clean too.

nachomc

Crazy!

coasting 

Temperatures seldom vary so much that having legs covered would make me feel too hot. Maybe they are only useful for people who ride in the desert where day and night temps vary to extremes.

caloso

I'm with you. If it's that cold, I'll just wear unpadded tights over my bibs. I use those tights for running and skiing too, so I never saw the point of buying cycling-specific tights.

chasm54

wtf? This morning when I left home to ride to work it was under 10C. This afternoon when I started my ride home it was 20C. If you don't think 20C is too warm for leg warmers you're ill.

And even in a single ride conditions vary dramatically. On Sunday I did a 75-mile loop that started at sea level and went inland and onto the moors. At the start it was still, and warm. On the moors it was blowing a gale. Ridiculous to say one wouldn't put leg and arm warmers on - or take them off - with such contrasts. Deserts? What?

coasting 

I thought Yorkshire is desert. Geography is not my strong point.

colombo357

If you have IBS you can use it to store poo (worst case scenario).

mrvile

Pretty much this.

Eclectus

Warmers make great sense for long-hours summer rides in the Sierras and Rockies, where it may be in the 40s when you start, but it won't be that cool for long, and it gets up into the 70s, 80s, 90s later on. For late-fall to early-spring rides, where temps are going to be low all day, tights have the advantage of better insulation over your thighs than shorts. Craft and deMarchi tights are available at great close-out prices in May-June, e.g. 100 bucks for 250ish MSRP versions.

I prefer bibtights over straight-waist, but the latter are doable, and you can always attach suspenders if they get too loose in the crotch.

Assos tights are uber-expensive, but they are really comfy. And they last a long time, so full-life amortized cost is within reasonable bounds, I think.

brianbeech

because they look so much better when you have the urge to stop and strike a pose:

Inertianinja

I'm going to try leg warmers this year because I think it might make my clothing more modular.
I could do:

Shorts
Shorts and leg warmers
Shorts and leg warmers and wind pants
Etc

Gus Riley

When the season starts to turn a bit cold in the morning I wear leg warmers vs. tights. The reason is; if it is going to warm up, I'll be taking them off sometime during the ride, once they're off they are more easily rolled up and stuffed into a jersey pocket.

botto 

because regular bibs, with leg warmers, are more comfortable. duh.

Jakedatc

I go knee warmers in like 50- 60F then tights colder than that... rarely take the knee warmers off but still good for when it's still too warm for tights. leg warmers don't make sense for the weather around here..

FlashBazbo

I've never found a pair of leg warmers that would stay where they belong. More trouble than they are worth -- especially if you would need to take them off without stopping.

Give me leg warmers with a Velcro opening all the way down the leg! (Until then, I'll ride various thicknesses of tights.)

badhat

its not unusual at all for a morning ride to span from 45-75 degrees from like 8 am - noon

and yeah modularity is the key, especially if youre packing for a race, or a vacation and you want to have tour bases covered.

Doohickie

It's not unusual for our Saturday breakfast rides to see a temperature rise of 15C or more. 10C? Yeah, a little chilly. 25C? Not so much.

icyclist 

"I've never found a pair of leg warmers that would stay where they belong."

Fold down the top of the leg warmers.

andrewluke

this.

I have two sets of the PI Elite knee warmers that I wear in the winter here. I'd much rather just wear the shorts I have with them as opposed to having to spend a few hundred more for a winter wardrobe.

Eclectus

You can always start with leg warmers, and when seasonal temps cool, figure out whether they are satisfactory, or if you need something more. For example, I have some Gore Bike Wear Windstopper leg warmers. They're very good. But they become marginal for me below 45F. Below 35 F , bibtights for me, always. Below 20 F, bibtights with an extra layer, and frankly, at that temp level, I'm riding my MTB, and probably with snow/ice studs.

But I'm asking myself, "Why am I doing this?" I'm thinking, "I really need to go to Hawaii for the winter, or at least So Cal or So Tex, or So Florida/Keys." Because, I don't really like being totally bundled up, riding slow, sweat just chills me, this is not really fun.

Quel

I go from bibs -> bibs + knee warmers -> bibs + long unpadded tights. Skip right over the full leg warmers for the reason mentioned: if it's cold enough to need them, I'm not taking them off during the ride.

chasm54

What exactly is your strong point? it seems elusive.