Commuting clothing
 

When you commute do you wear the lycra tights/knicks and a 'proper' cycling jersey (with team and/or component names splashed in bright colours) or just whatever conventional type clothing that happens to be lying on your bedroom floor at the time?

Also, are you considered a poser (or worse) if you are wearing a Trek US Postal jersey and you don't ride a Trek and you don't race?

I always wear the Lycra knicks/tights but usually only wear a t-shirt when commuting on the MTB. If I commute on the roadie I usually wear a 'proper' jersey (not a Trek UPS), so I guess I am a poser.:D

Who cares what other people think? Wear what's comfortable.

Personally, I wear cycling clothes because my commute is long enough to justify them, and because I sweat enough to need wicking clothes in any weather. Otherwise I'd need a clothes dryer at work.

I do find this whole business of wearing team clothes wierd. I don't mean I think people who do it are weird, I just mean that I don't get it. For me, growing up, wearing team clothes was all about being a fan of a team -- baseball, football, etc. -- and you wore them when you were being a fan. But when you were actually playing the sport yourself, you wore your own team's uniform or, if it was a pickup game, you wore something unmarked.

I've carried that attitude with me into the present, and would feel uncomfortable actually cycling in some other team's jersey. So I wear plain cycling clothes.

I might wear a Postie jersey if I was watching a race, though.

RichC

Cycling gear for sure. It's comfortable and functional.

I don't generally use a back pack so I need the back pockets of a jersey to carry stuff around.

Tee Shirt and Jeans has worked for me for many years. Add
a coat or rain suit and I'm still going regardless of the weather.
I always wear a helmut and eye protection. Never really cared
about how I looked..... :p

If you've ever seen me in Lycra you'd know it's not the look that I'm going for - just comfort and functionality.:D

I wear cycling shorts but running gear for most everything else on my commute. Running shirts, socks, etc. Running tights if the weather calls for it. They work just fine for my commute. I wear a cycling jacket to cover it all up.

On weekend or long jaunts, I'll wear cycling geek wear, but I'm not a fashion kind of guy. I couldn't care less about matching or team colors.

On MTB rides, I'll mix it all up.

I've always worn lycra shorts but recently I've added the tights instead of tracksuit bottoms. I've also started a collection of cycling tops (unnamed) but I saw a nice ONCE top in a magazine. Maybe Santa was listening/watching :D

it depends on the distance. in order of how frequently i wear:

1) almost always were a short-sleeve cycling jersey - summer or winter -- change my shirt when i get to work or if going into a store only if i'm significantly sweaty
2) if my commute is more than a few minutes i wear cycling shoes
3) if the weather is OK (dry) and my commute is less than about 30 minutes or so i sometimes wear jeans but most of the time cycling shorts and in winter with tights -- for my current 10-11km commute probably 80% of the time wear shorts/tights and occaisonally wear jeans when it's not too hot or too cold and dry (so i don't sweat too bad or get wet/dirty) --- as Andy said, my tights are actually running tights and i also wear other running clothes sometimes but they function just about as well.
4) for rainy weather, really hot weather or longer rides, i wear all cycling gear and completely change at my destination including underwear and socks (change my shoes outside and the clothes in the restroom at work)

i have all kinds of long-sleeve jersey of various weights. windproof jackets and vests, thin running tights, leg-warmers, thick windproof fleece tights and gore-tex pants, etc. plus about 6 or 7 different choices for gloves. over the years with all my sports (biking, running, skiing, mountaineering, etc) i have a ton of performance athletic clothing. i wear a different combo almost every day/week depending on weather.

just a ditty: when touring (altho I know this is the commuting bit), one seems to be much better received when wearing lycra etc than trackies and tshirt - people expect you're more hard-core if you're wearing the full kit.

O how easily they are fooled

Lycra shorst, tights, spd shoes and usually cycling specific shirts as they wick sweat well. On cool days I wear a fleece, wet I wear cycling specific water proofs.

in summer lycra shorts and either cycling tops team or not) or t shirts.

I like team tops because they are eyecatching, even to VOLVO drivers.

I usually wear a smile. :D

And some form of clothing as well I hope Pete!:p

I wear bike shorts and bright colored jerseys. I don't do team kits or anything with a name on it. I would drop dead before I wear "anything" with a Nike logo on it, that to me is so.......conformist?

My commute is long and I ride hard a lot so I wear cycling clothing, my jerseys say a lot of different things I buy them all on clearance, I don't care what's written on them, I go through a lot of them so I buy whatever is out of style and gives me the performance I need.

i also wear real bike jerseys and i buy them for the performance aspect.

i also try to buy ones that i like the look of but that has more to do with colors and design than the actual team - i have 2 of the blue-yellow Festina jersey b/c there were on clearance for like $10 and i bought one and i found that they are very uh, how do i say, "smell-resistant" so i bought a second one. i of course avoid some advertisers... e.g. i try and not buy a jersey with some new huge Chevy truck on the front... and anything with Marlboro is out...

i always buy my bike jerseys on sale. my favorites are those with designs and no logos, but if i find a good deal on a cool design with some logos i'll buy it too. i have a bunch from local bike shops and i feel OK promoting them.

Ditto on what others have said. I purchase clearance shirts...the wilder the colors the better. I wear MTB shorts during the warm months.

In the winter I wear poly long underwear and mock t's designed for cross country skiing. I layer on wool pants or gortex wind pants depending on the weather, and a wind bloc fleece with wind jacket (bright yellow) on the top side.

It is all about being seen.

Enjoy!

I usually wear the Team Brooks Brothers outfit. I wear totes over my shous and a long Gore-tex coat in the winter. In the summer, I take off the jacket.

Paul

functionality is my highest priority. i will invest in comfort but not snob appeal. i wear bike-specific shorts, SPD touring shoes, and layers of t-shirts (depending on the temperature) topped with a light windbreaker. over the windbreaker i wear a reflective vest for visibility, which is a lot more eye-catching than almost any cycling jerseys.

to me the cycling jerseys look pretentious, and cotton t-shirts do perform just as well (if not better) in wicking moisture. plus with the reflective vest i can wear anything and still be very conspicuous in traffic.

i have lots of friends who wear cycling jerseys and make fun of my t-shirts and construction-worker reflective vest. but i don't spend $60 on my shirts, either, so the good-natured ribbing goes both ways. :D

This is certainly contrary to my experience and that of everyone I know and everything I've read. Cotton doesn't wick moisture away from the skin; it soaks it up and retains it.

This may not be importand to people who don't sweat much. For me, on those couple of occasions when I've had to wear a cotton t-shirt for the commute, I brought a spare -- because the one from the morning would still be soaking wet 8 hours later.

My cycling jerseys are mostly still dry when I arrive at work under the same conditions, because the sweat was wicked away from the skin to the outside where it was able to evaporate.

I will never willingly wear cotton when cycling. The very thought of getting sweat-soaked on a cool day and then having to keep the shirt on makes me shiver.

RichC

try wearing two cotton t-shirts, like i do. the second wicks sweat from the first. works great.

It depends. Fall here is usually dry and cool so I can just wear work clothes on the bike for my 20 minute ride to the office. Today I am wearing a white button down shirt, tie, and blue dress pants. Probably looked like I was out delivering copies of the Book of Mormon. :)

When I get my act together, though, I bring clean shirts and pants to the office on Sunday nights, wear "proper cycling kit" and take the long way into work.

I started wearing lycra years ago, for the same reasons I use Look shoes and pedals. They are comfortable and designed to perform a certain function. I can not stand riding in a T-shirt (unless I am going to the shops) the constant flapping is annoying, not to mention no pockets.

My commute is 45kms/28miles one way, (I only ride in, get a lift home) so I always wear full lycra top and bottom. I only buy black nicks, so they will match which ever jersey I put on. I have a lotto-adecco top and a Saeco one, mainly because they are bright red and this should make me more visible to drivers. I also have some generic ones that have lots of colour and brands I have never heard of, also because they are very bright and easy to see on open country roads where people can drive at 100kph.

I don't care if someone wears a US Postal outfit or not. It is none of my business to ram my way of life down someone else's throat. It's a free world, wear what you want and leave everyone else alone. If you don't like a particular jersey don't buy it, simple.

Why are cyclist's so wrapped up in what everyone is wearing and riding, I am getting sick of this crap, it is BULL*****. It is bad enough that cyclist's have to deal with drivers who have no tolerance for people being different, now we have to deal with cyclist's who also have no tolerance! What a wonderful world.:irritated

CHEERS.

Mark

When I first started riding/commuting at about 270 lbs I was CERTAIN you would NEVER catch me in lycra. After losing a bunch I decided to give the shorts a try just to see what the hoopla was about. Now I wouldn't wear anything else. My commute is long enough that the shorts make a difference.

I have a few team jerseys that have special meaning to me for one reason or another. Some were hand-me-downs from Jeff LaBauve who used to live here in New Orleans. You may have seen his name in Velo News, etc., since he has been on the U.S. track cycling world cup and world championship teams for the last couple of years. He set a new world record in the 200 m sprint at the world cup meet in Moscow a few months ago. Another special favorite is a Panaria jersey I bought as a tribute to Julio Perez for his courageous performance in the 2001 Giro d'Italia and because I love the bright colors.

Luckily I am old enough to no longer give a crap what others think about my kit. I wear what I like and keeps me comfortable. For instance, a cycling cap under the helmet may look a little funny, but it keeps the sun or rain out of my eyes. I cut the top out of one for summer heat. On my pre-dawn morning commutes I wear a sweatband instead of the cycling cap.

If I'm commuting, I wear the full gear.

If I'm blazing down to the grocery store, I just cruise as is.

ALAN

[QUOTE]Probably looked like I was out delivering copies of the Book of Mormon. :)


Now that was funny....Hope no one was offended : )

i have to agree with Rich. i no longer wear ANY COTTON when i cycle unless i'm riding really slow somewhere in street clothes - even when i think it's only 5 minutes, my t-shirt will be soaked --- and as Rich said, the main problem is that they stay wet a long time.

back when i was a really poor college student in Texas i used to wear regular t-shirts. 1) they would get soaked so in the summer i just rode with no shirt 2) they would flap in the wind and on one 5-hr ride i got a rash on my chest/stomach from the shirt flapping in the wind. so at 19 (i'm 32 now) i bought my first jersey on clearance for like $10 and i've been wearing jerseys ever since!

i have a helmet cover that i really like in the winter although it looks dorky - some MTB friends told me it looked like i have a condom on my head, but as i said it works.

it's a thin windproof layer that goes over the helmet and is not waterproof but keeps the rain out well. i like it b/c it doesn't get sweaty since it doesn't touch my head and blocks the wind and rain (mostly). at first i had trouble using it with the visor on my helmet, but it works fine. although it does NOT work with my helmet mounted light, but i usually only use that for off-road, not commuting.

then i add the windproof headband.

when it's really cold i have a skull-cap to put under the helmet. with all 3 (helmet cover, headband, skullcap) i am fine to -20C/F

One time, last rainy season, I was riding through Temecula's wine country... I had on my yellow rainproof helmet cover( does your's just encircle the helmet area and not provide cover about the neck, like mine? ) and blue rain proof three-fingered 'lobster mites.' Plus I had on my orange rainproof thinsolate jacket.. Maybe the road traffic could pick up that color combination? But my head cover does not look like a condom, I don't think..? Got it from Adventure Cycling's "Cyclosource."I felt half way comfortable..
Some regular kitted US postie types- not wearing any raingear at all, snickered at my yellow and blue hands and helmet.. I ran into them at a nearby coffee shop.. They looked so miserable- I thought I had the last snicker.. I don't think just stopping for hot chocolate can stop you from getting sick..?

yeah, i think it's the same. it just covers the top of the helmut and is barely large enough to wrap under the lower "rim" of the helmet so it stays in place. mine's Pearl Izumi and black with thicker material in the middle and then thinner breatheable material on the sides where there is less direct wind/rain -- actually an x-girlfriend bought it for me as a present a few years back, probably would have never tried it otherwise.

actually, i think mine looks OK - not stylish, but OK - makes the helmet look more like the old 80s all-stryofoam helmets (i also got made fun of for my old helmet that i still wore in '97 until i broke it in a crash and bought another)

yellow is probably better for visibility... one disadvantage with mine is it covers the reflectors i put on the helmet (but not the small blinkie on the bottom back of the helmet)

i ride in bad weather more than most others i know, so i pretty much ignore "wussies" who who make fun of me for using fenders or neoprene shoe-covers or reflectors or whatever b/c they're not "tough and cool". if they really want they can ride with me though the winter and prove how tough they really are... but i'll be riding regardless!