That statement lacks insight. Pros of all levels and professions have admitted to routinely communicating on websites. Listen to their interviews. And yes, there are plenty of just wrong and/or inappropriate ways to dress for cycling.

Yes, I ride in office clothes too, jeans pants, regular shoes, ... weatherproof jacket.

The problem is when I want to go out after work, to the pub with friends, it's not that trendy in ugly weatherproof jacket.
Sometimes I want to go in my more casual or trendy jacket I have, but that one is not rainproof. Mostly, my friends want to go to the pub when it's bad weather and I need to have my weatherproof clothes on.
So that's a bit a minus.

Give some examples of what is a wrong or inappropriate way to dress for a bike commute.

Your wish, my command:

Folks don't remove their outerwear in pubs and the like?

Sweet, way to show the absurdity, or at least the irrelevance, of your statement. Video had nothing to do with commuting. Of the 10 items, only one (business suit) even remotely resembles anything relevant to this thread, and it isn't even on the table.

In pubs mostly yes, unless you're just in for one beer and back out.

And when you're waiting to meet people it's mostly outside somewhere, with outerwear on, and first you walk a while to choose which pub you're going to, or to which restaurant, and maybe you'll end up sitting outside on a terrace when it's not cold enough to get inside, and you're comfortable in your jacket.
And sportswear in a pub is not bad, but it depends on the context, if all the others are there in neat office suits....

It all depends on the situation.
Weatherproof sportswear is fine on the bike to go to work, ... and casual trendy clothes are nice to go out with, but not the other way around. That's my experience.
Maybe you like to end up on an unexpected afterwork party where all your cowokers are dressed in classy blazers and you come in with a fluo North Face jacket.

I mostly don't care that much, but sometimes I think: my appearance could be better here...

I'm going to assume English isn't your first language based on that response. But just so you know better, commuting is a subset of cycling; and I didn't invent the heading.

This thread makes me appreciate our locker rooms, showers and dry cleaning service.

Perhaps I misunderstand what Wolfchild is saying... but I think the point is that whatever your profession is, you're a professional at that; and if you ride a bike to get there, your an amateur cyclist.

Granted, there's an obvious exception if you're a professional cyclist and you wear cycling clothes while riding to a race, your cycling clothes are your work clothes.... but I don't think there's many professional cyclists on this subforum, though.

Philippe Gilbert is welcome to post in this subforum any time.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/c8395240...o0yso1_500.jpg

Right. Not many people drive their cars to work in driving clothes.

Now that you mention it, and just to clarity what I meant, a professional is: 1) someone who is very skilled at a task or duty, or 2) someone who is paid to perform a task of duty (regardless of skill, although it is generally expected, but not required). As for "elite" I would consider that to be a perspective term.

So are you saying that wearing your work clothes while riding into work is somehow "wrong"? Because I think a lot of people in here would disagree.

Right or wrong to indicate a judgement no. However, there may be times when it would be considered inappropriate to the type of work you do. A healthcare practitioner wearing scrubs or TSA agent in uniform might be able to get away with it.

However, an executive wearing a suit and tie, and certainly a female in a skirt or a dress, or someone in food preparation would be going too far off the deep end. These limitations are just too broad to surmount appropriately.

As other people are pointing out, there are plenty of workers who do exactly what you are advising against, and they are perfectly fine. They might have relatively brief commutes, they might ride at very reasonable speeds, and/or they might live in climates that allow them to comfortably ride in those clothes.

I know your profile says you are in LA, which is technically a city, but have you ever looked around in denser, more "urban" city? You see plenty of suits, ties, skirts and heels (and aren't we all somewhat thankful for the latter)...

Maybe you think everyone is riding 10+ miles one way into work while also trying to use the commute as a workout. There are people that do that, but certainly doesn't apply to everyone in here.

Not only that, people in NYC generally dress up more than folks on the west coast. I see plenty of women riding bikes who have the full hair-nails-makeup-dress outfit. Same for men wearing suits and ties. Their trips are probably less than three miles on average. Riding a bike makes sense for them.

Perhaps there is a happy medium? There certainly are some more trendy jackets out there that are reasonably waterproof, albeit not as comfortable for cycling; I find leather, PU, and certain nylon fabrics work well.

Perhaps it is time to treat yourself to a new trendy jacket that can be worn for cycling to the pub on those rainy days :)

+1; when the time to change clothes at either/both ends exceeds the actual commute time, commuting in "work" clothes just makes sense.

But I doubt we'll be able to put Krane's apparent offense/objection to the notion to rest. The fact that the video he posted is 90% irrelevant to commuting, and 100% irrelevant to this thread, is evidently lost on her/him.

Okay, here's something just brimming with "wrong" ways to ride....

Funny you mention this...I've mostly gone away from trousers and toward skirts/dresses since I started regularly bike commuting ~11 years ago.

Short dresses/skirts eliminate the issues commonly found with trousers (getting stuck in chains, problems with the waistband while in the drops, etc.) Creative garments underneath make them appropriate for multiple seasons: unpadded "bike" shorts for warm weather, short tri-style chamois shorts for longer journeys, and leggings, etc. for extreme temperatures. Rain paints over the top, and we're good to go for the rainy season.

Granted, I will not be riding the weekly World Championships in a dress. They do bring with them some significant aerodynamic disadvantages.

On the contrary, it support the position that inappropriate cycling attire already exists, which many of you here seem to insist that it does not. It further adds support that its not uniquely my offensive/objection idea. Apparently, I'm not the one who is lost.

Yes, you're lost. This thread is about COMMUTING (not just ANY cycling) in WORK (presumably "office") wear. No one has proposed speedos, or bib shorts only, or anything else presented in the silly video. All the video presents is that those who made it think there exist a few ways dress inappropriately for cycling.

This reminds me of the "you are in a helicopter" riddle, which revolves around making a perfectly true response to a question, but one that is utterly irrelevant to what was really being asked.

I like nylon and leather too, but I accidentally end up in women underwear stores mostly.
I should find the right categories someday.

That could be considered "work clothes", depending on one's profession.....

I don't really get the controversy here. If it's cool, especially this time of year, there's not much issue with riding in work clothes. If you want a workout or it's too hot, then workout clothes.

That video was talking about doing serious riding, not simple and straightforward commuting. And the funny thing is that they actually looked pretty comfortable with their suits and ties on, and had their umbrella's places nicely, despite the fact that they were supposed to look extra ridiculous.


Now it's getting interesting! Seriously though, I once joked about my "fantasy" involving a lot of leather, and when I got a funny look, I said, "Yeah, being a MotoGP rider involves quite a lot of leather."

Today, I rode to a job interview wearing a suit, tie, and long heavy overcoat. I rode a bike from the Citi Bike fleet which provides an upright position. My clothes did not impede me at all. It was a cold day, so I didn't sweat. Or if I did, I didn't notice, as I wear a wool t-shirt under my shirt in this season.

Textbook example, Mr. Glider. Textbook.

Well how did the interview go?

My definition of inappropriate is wearing something silly that makes the person look goofy and out of place in social situations...There is nothing inappropriate about riding a bicycle while wearing casual clothing, business attire, work clothing or gym clothes.