What do you wear to ride?
 

I recently purchased a track bike, and tonight i went out to the track for the races to see what everyones riding, and to hang out with a few friends. Everyone there was in the full on spandex cycling gear. Team jerseys and all. My problem is i'm about 5"8 and 225lbs. All my weight is in my stomach, and theres no way in hell i can squeeze into one of those jerseys. What does everyone wear on the road or track that will be comfortable and still get some respect from the spandex club.

Thanks. J

I don't worry what other people think, cause I am just out to ride and ride comfortably, not a go to a fashion show. In fact my wife told me to promise her that I would, "not wear shorts with words on the butt". :D You can find jerseys to fit, I have a 54" chest at the moment and a 46" waist. Check out http://www.aerotechdesigns.com/bigjersey.htm

I'm 6'4" and at 240 lbs am packing some extra baggage, so to speak. My first transition into "real" cycling clothing was confined to roadie-type bike shorts (i.e., spandex, and not baggy mountain bike shorts), combined with a t-shirt and a helmet. I was still using an old bike with toe-clips, so I was also wearing old running shoes. Next move was to clipless pedals and real road shoes. Finally I bit the bullet and started wearing actual bike jerseys, including a Gerolsteiner team jersey my wife got me. It's an "Italian-sized" 3XL, being made by Nalini, but in American sizing it's probably somewhere between an XL and a 2XL. An alternative to a cycling jersey would be to wear some form of running shirt that wicks moisture better than a plain t-shirt. My advice is to forget about how you think you look, and just go for it.

As an aside, a while back a car-full of high school age girls passed me on the road, and one of them yelled "Nice butt!" I'm not sure how much sarcasm was involved, but I am preferring to interpret it as a completely sincere expression of admiration. Or maybe I just didn't hear the whole sentence, as the car sped by, "Nice butt, for an old, fat guy!"

You might also look here. You are much...., ok, much, much smaller than me. http://www.primalwear.com/Catalog/index.cfm?secID=1

Mountain bike (baggy) shorts and ordinary cotton T-shirts for 90-plus percent of my summer riding--I own several jerseys I bought years ago, but haven't worn one in a long time. It's just embarrassing to me, like dressing up in pads to play football with your kids in the park. If I'm going for a long ride on a hot day, I have a couple of CoolMax T's I'll wear. Everything is bright colors for visibility--we kill enough cyclists around here without me tempting fate in Fashionable Black.
In winter, I wear whatever works--often Patagonia "2Loose Tights," with or without an insulating layer underneath, plus layers on top. A base layer, insulating layer of fleece or wool and a shell as needed works down to 30 or so anyway, and it rarely stays colder than that for long.
As the other post said, I really don't care what anybody else thinks. I've been doing this for a long time, and I'll wear what works.

This, and a helmet.
http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thu...rint_thong.jpg


Seriously though, check out www.aerotechdesigns.com for some great cycling gear.

I'm a big guy. Approx. 300 lbs. 42" waist. 6'4". I wear Aerotech Big Man's XL performance shorts. And a couple of wicking shirts that I bought from Wal-Mart. They are $7.88. They're called performance t-shirts and are lightweight. I wear Large in them so they fit a little smaller. The shirts are meant to fit baggy. So I buy the smaller size. I normally wear XXL. Get some of those they don't look half bad and worst case is if you don't like it it only cost you $7.88. They're nice and airy as well.

Lycra cycling shorts, cycling jersey, SPD shoes with ankle socks.

I'm 6'5, 245 lbs (down from ~280 a year and a half ago). My legs look GREAT, if I do say so myself. My stomach - well, I'm still working on that, and my "love handles" are still in full bloom. I don't get skin-tight jerseys (you may have to work a bit to find the ones that run large, although I just poked through Nashbar and they've got a bunch of jerseys on sale, including some 3XL ones for $20 or so), so at least I'm not putting my, um, ample areas on display too much. :)

For the most part I don't care too much what other people think of how I look, although occasionally I'll suck my gut in a bit if I see a woman on a particularly nice-looking bike. :D

I wear Aerotech bib shorts underneath whatever else I want to wear. Since I got my bike this has meant a normal t-shirt and a pair of track pants I bought for running last summer. Soon I'll switch to shorts once it's warmer. I have a couple pair of biking socks too which are great.

I won't be caught dead in skin tight shorts until I lose 80 pounds :P

i would look for looser fitting jerseys at your LBS or sports store

+1 on that. I wear whatever I have on at the time and go out. I don't want to stand out in the crowd. I'd prefer to be the guy on the crap bike with jeans on going fast to the guy on the good bike with all the gear not going fast enough. If you know what I mean. All to do with confidence or lack of.

I'm 6 foot and 248 currently, down from 385.

Bib shorts, size XXL

Jersey, XXL

Specialized mountain bike shoes with SPD multi-release cleats

bike socks

In addition, since I have loose skin from my weight loss, I'll wear a compression shirt under the jersey. It helps keep everything from bouncing around.

I don't know that I will be much help here, but I have two pairs of Pearl Izumi shorts, and two pairs of PI bibs. I have a mix of PI, Giordana, and Assos jerseys (the Assos I got because it was $40 on clearance at competitivecyclist.com).

I do larges in the PI shorts/bibs, and L in the PI jerseys, XL in the Giordana and Assos (just got it, but wouldn't have done so at full retail.) I'm about 6'3" and fluctuate between 209 and 213 most days.

You might want to consider holding on expensive purchases in the meantime, and if you lose weight you won't have to replace an entire wardrobe. FWIW, track/fixie cyclists are usually less spandex obsessed, though on the track itself it's probably a different story.

I also have Specialized MTB shoes with smartwool socks (better cushioning, good wicking, good warmth without overheating.

However, if I'm out on the beater, I just wear whatever I have on.

Respect from who? Do you wanna ride a bike or pose for a Bicycling Mag cover? Ride in whatever is comfortable and works best for you and don't worry about what others are wearing. Or, wear a pink tutu like I do. :p

+1

Now THAT'S funny. :p

I agree with the sentiment, though. If someone's going to respect me because I'm wearing the "right" clothes, then I don't particularly care if that person respects me or not. I've been commuting on my MTB with knobbies for the past few weeks, partly so I can enjoy the sneers of the roadies...right before I drop 'em. :)

RSPECT FROM THE SPANDEX CROWD??? Now why the hell ...........................................

At the track, if your on a team, your pretty much expected to wear the team uniform, and it's up to team management to make sure the uniform is available in all sizes, needed for team members. If your NOT on a team, but everyone else is wearing the spandex stuff, then your probably best to match, it's like at an office, if everyone else is wearing a tie, your likely to wear a tie, if no one is wearing a tie, your likely to leave the choker at home....

One thing to remember running jerseys tend to look like bike jerseys, but without the rear pocket, and may have a greater size range, others have given places where you can get shorts. What I think is tacky, is to wear a team uniform, when your not a member of that team.....

For road riding, wear whatever you want, I usually wear a wicking running jersey on top, and regular shorts or pants over bike shorts.... I layer up when it's colder out, I tend to switch to walking and hiking when it's winter, to many bike eating snow removal chemicals are being used.:rolleyes: