Originally Posted by charles vail

Back in the 1970's helmets were not widely available and if you wanted cycling clothing it was wool with real leather chamois and shoes wow! that meant slotted cleats and toe straps. Talk about being locked in. Touring was big though and quite a few cyclists rode in gym shorts and t-shirts with plain old Chuck Taylor style shoes. As an American cyclist I have noticed the trends over the years and was always puzzled why the rest of the world didn't do it the same way but instead, used their bicycles in daily life without so much specialized stuff to go along with it.