Originally Posted by cyccommute

I don't. I'm not sure where this idea that you can't dry Lycra came from but it is entirely wrong. Bicycle clothes don't need to be air dried. They are simply not that delicate. The heat of a drier is even beneficial in that it resets the stretch of the Lycra polymer.

I have loads (and loads) of bicycle clothes that have been machine washed and dried for more than 20 years and they are still going strong. They are starting to look a little thin but that's wear. They still stretch like they always have.

Now I know that some (perhaps most) people only carry one extra set of bicycle clothes and do laundry every night but I personally hate doing that. A jersey and a pair of shorts doesn't weigh all that much so I carry 4 total sets of bicycle clothes (I wear one and carry the other 3). That way I only have to do machine laundry every 3rd or 4th night.

I really hate the idea of doing all the things you need to do at the end of a day of touring and then add hand washing bike clothes to that.