Alternatives to Trouser Bands?
 

I've been using elastic trouser bands for a long time. The ends stay together with velcro.

They've been annoying me. My ankles are narrower than my calves so the bands slip down. I have to adjust them at inconvenient times.

Long ago, I had these oversized clips similar to paper clips. Their purpose was to clip the trousers at the bottoms to narrow them. It was another approach, but I don't think I want to do that. I could try binder clips.

Now I'm thinking of using these bands. They would go under my heels in my shoes and pull my trousers down. I suppose I'll discover the flaw in this idea, too. Probably, it will be that I have to keep them in my shoes and let them dangle or take my shoes off to remove them.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/...AC_SL1500_.jpg

What are some workable ideas?

I have a reflective band with Velcro. It always sits at my ankle.

I've been using my sock. The only problem with that is, I forget I've done it. But the 1x bikes hardly need it and the Baconator has a bash ring.

When I got my Dad's bike stuff there were some of these, that clip on your ankle. Not hi viz though. They work fine.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f32be55c18.png
.

I've been using reflective fabric leg bands on both ankles, including when I'm wearing shorts, for decades. Bicycling! magazine did tests to determine which products worked best for making yourself visible to drivers, and reflective band beat all the different front and rear lights that they tested, with the bonus that the bands make riders instantly identifiable as being on bikes from a long distance.

I peg my cuffs - pleat and roll.

But since I started chain waxing it has been somewhat moot.

These reflective ankle bands will. not. slip. down. I guarantee it. I've had mine for years and years. They weren't selling them as hi-viz safety items then, it was purely for keeping your pants cuffs out of your chainring. But they were reflective out the gate. Most ankle bands say they are elastic, these really are! That is the secret to them staying up. Pull them snug before engaging the hook and loop (Velcro) closure. Off you go. Recommended.

Good double duty item. I am usually in shorts and riding in daylight but I have them with me at all times.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7fc91f255.jpeg

On the occasions when I bike in street clothes I use some cheap sun sleeves I bought a few years ago. The wrist part fits over my ankle and the wider part pulls up over the pants leg so that if my leg it does touch the sleeve blocks the grease. When I arrive, like, at a restaurant, I can then untuck my pants leg and let it hang down over the sleeve. If I were going to the office or a long event, I'd take it off.

Since they are made for the arm, the sun sleeves can be a little tight, but the cheaper ones stretch out fairly easily.

What I use for my long biking pants and snow pants is simple elastic head/hair bands. I have to twist them to make them circle the leg twice, which also helps hold the pants leg. Some are a little too tight, but can be stretched out a little.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1bb828233f.png
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...af866306a1.png

I forgot to list one of my criteria: I'm super sensitive to some things. Some things that are slightly tight register as painful for me. I sure am quirky! So that eliminates the metal bands Darth Lefty recommends. Maybe I'll try the ones Leisesturm links. They won't require a change of any habits. I guess the secret is that the inside is neoprene!

But sun sleeves! I never would have thought of that! And I could put reflective material on them. I agree that reflective thingies on our ankles is a great enhancement. Maybe they're better than lights, but I'm not going to replace lights with them.

Good suggestions, everyone. Thank you. And keep them coming.

Going with the idea of those sleeves, I guess I could also cut the feet out of a pair of socks and use the remaining portion.

Absolutely. Though it’s not really necessary to be visible from geosynchronous orbit (my objective is just the ISS), more is generally better at night….

socks would be faster and cheaper to obtain and not so tight.

Trouser Clips
 

I’ve used trouser clips for about 40 years since I first saw them in England. They’re inexpensive, stay put, and just slip in a pocket. I used my first pair for decades until lost in a move. Second pair 10:years now. Highly recommended.

I'm sporting Birks and the rolled-up cuff at the moment. simple and effective on an MTB.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2c7b8079b6.jpg

I dunno, I kinda like trouser bands...(thanks AI)

Ten years ago, Levi's used to sell jeans that had a reflector stitched to the inside for just this, as well as a reinforced crotch, stretchy fabric, and somewhat dubiously, a hidden doubler on the waistband that was supposed to holster a U-lock. I liked them but they're gone like the dodo

I've made my own before from an old inner tube

My man, those were the Levi's Commuter Pro series ... hottttttttttt

https://www.theguardian.com/environm...yday-bike-wear

I've got a couple slap bands that work well. They stay in place but aren't tight.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d218714d5.jpeg

Funny thing is,I don't use the Brompton one on the Brompton because it has a ring guard.

it was a different time, before all the fixie millennials moved to the burbs and bought gravel bikes

Bandana

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1131b647e.jpeg

doing some intergenerational transfer of the bright multicoloured fixie

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...08b6342e1.jpeg

Tom, the thing is that, as we move our leg up, that cuff bottom rides up a bit along the calf, and as we move the ankle down, it may ride down again. So you need something elastic that is tight at the top of the pedal stroke.

Tight-rolling the pant cuff like we did in the 80s is one way. ("pleat and roll" as one member said above) I remember having to buy pants 2" too long...

You might like a slap strap, but IME, they don't work well with a lot of pant cuff, like I have on cargo pants. I lost a set of pants that way when the slap strap let go and my mid-drive eBike (powered crank) ingested the cuff and ripped the hell out of it.

My favorite two are a simple reflective velcro strap with elastic section and an LED one with a buckle & elastic. It has 3 modes: on, off and blinking. You could use it on blink for walking and on for cycling. Wear on the arm or leg. Tighten to your preference, as it's adjustable:
https://www.planetbike.com/brt-strap...EaAspLEALw_wcB

The tried-and-true sock tuck is always an option too. I wear out the socks at the heel and balls of my feet well before I stretch out the top from tucking pants in. ;)

Figured out rolled up cuff 70 years ago:
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5db79e8e96.jpg

Slap straps don't work for me. I tried one of those bands with the light in it, but not the Planet Bike one. It had no elastic at all. I just ordered the band with the neoprene on the inside. I've tucked my pants into my socks, but I happen to like "crew length" socks which come only about six inches above the ankles. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Boy, I'm picky!


Back in the late 70s or early 80s, rolling up the right cuff became so prominent because of the many bicycle couriers we had here in Manhattan that it became a fashion for men who were NOT riding bikes. :lol: