I guess club riders overlap wheels in France, too!!! :D



[QUOTE=cyclezealot]TO belong to a club here, you must be licensed with the department and carry extra medical insurance. [QUOTE]

I wear mountain bike shorts so I can be comfortable on the bike and not have to change clothes when I get to my location, as mountain bike shorts tend to look quite like "normal" street shorts. Combined with a loose-fit jersey I'm pretty comfortable on the bike and in establishments while running errands. Can't imagine why I would want to do it any other way.

bike shorts- the journey
 

When I started bike commuting, I wore work clothes. I had 4-5 pairs of khakis with chainring tattoos. I discovered I liked biking to work. And I liked biking fast.

So I bought a pair of mountain bike baggies. Very cool in the summer and dried out fast for the ride home. The liner was pretty light weight though and didn't keep the boys outa the way of the saddle nose and my increasingly big thighs.

So I bought a pair of nashbar shorts. During most of the winter, I wore them under windpants.

I finally just got used to it and started wearing them into my office, where I keep shirts, slacks and ties on the back of my office door, and shoes and belts in a file drawer.

Now I have several pairs of pretty decent bike shorts, and carried my stuff on a bike rack. I got more bikes. Besides my commuter, and my fixie winter commuter, I have a couple of goes-like-heck fun bikes. So I wore a backpack or a messanger bag. That was pretty sweaty.

So I bought a jersey. Now I could carry my keys, cell phone, money clip, and a spare tube with room to spare, even on the fun bikes.

There are reasons for bicycle clothing. The stuff works well for riding. Walking in to work in bike shoes, and the full lycra kit is still weird, but I love my ride more than I worry about that short walk.

Nowadays I'm trying some cold weather bike gear, hoping to cut down the giant wind resistance of the nylon windsuit over polypro that I wear during a MN winter.

I guess the next step is bibs huh.

To summarize, OK, I look like a bike geek, but the ride is worth it.

Umm.. I am reluctant to try to determine exactly what shakeNbake is suggesting here...

With a few exceptions, I think that we imagine that our "junk" is more visible that it really is. Maybe it is because it feels like there is nothing between it and their prying eyes.

I've never actually noticed anyone in the office looking down there. If anyone is worried about that, just try to stay moving and don't wave it in anyone's face.

Congrats to the OP for finding a comfortable solution. I always wear cycling shorts or bibs. Sometimes I'll throw a pair of shorts over them if I am making a lot of stops to do errands or if I am getting something to eat.

I would advise that people think twice before trying to use mountain style shorts. I've found that the chamois in them is never really worth it. Normal cycling shorts with shorts over them have been significantly more comfortable for me.

If I were to have a more upright bike I am sure I could get by without any cycling shorts. However, I enjoy my "racing" bike with drop bars and skinny tires and for the distance and speeds of my commute it is well suited.

I agree with what seems like the implied point in I-like-to-bike's posts but not with the attitude. I think that for the general population, seeing commuters all decked out in spandex and bright colors might make the act of riding a bike for transportation seem less accessible. Although, even if the general population watched us all ride around in jeans and button-up shirts they may not be any more interested in joining in the fun.

And after all, are you dressing to make a statment to the world or to make your "boys" happy? (This questions seems to be at the source of the debate here)

Another vote for Baggy shorts for commuting. I prefer the 13 pannel shorts made by Nema The zippered front really cools the boys off on the hot days.

No kidding. I am with you 100% on this one. I have been wearing bike "kit" since bike shorts were made out of 100% wool and lycra did not exist.

I utterly fail to see what the whole argument is about.

One of my riding buddies wears jean shorts while riding, it does not impair him (he does this over 100km rides, on road, or off, he just likes them). Another wears shorts/bibs and cotton t-shirts because he is comfy in that.

I wear lycra EVERY time I ride, no matter what. I do this because I like it. Based on what I am reading though, my next pair of shorts might be bibs. Thanks for the tip.

I do not give a rat's ass if someone else likes it or not. Discomfort I might cause someone because I am wearing attire that is suitable to the task in my eyes is not my problem. If someone does not like to look at a guy in lycra, then look the other way. Dont dump your insecurities on those who have no issues with wearing gear that some find awkward.

To each their own. I truly wonder why people cannot just leave others be and feel a need to change the way another acts/dresses when they are not harming anybody or anything.

Now turn your computer off and go riding.

Woods. My question. I own or have owned three pairs of mtn bike shorts. They just do not stop the pain one feels on long rides. Do you ride long rides.? None of mtn bike pads have the thickness of bike shorts. NOne that I have had at least. My zoic's were not cheap either.
I feelings about why bike shorts cut the pain more effectively on long rides than Mtn bike shorts, is because of the surface tension of lycra elevates soft tissue above the saddle?
Last ride in my Zoic's, about ten miles hurt far more than 60 miles in bike shorts..So, my question, does the chamois in mtn bike shorts, keep you comfortable after 60 miles.?
My solution should I want to cover up. Take along a pair of cargo shorts in my panniers and put them over my bike shorts when I get to where ever.

[QUOTE=kf5nd]I guess club riders overlap wheels in France, too!!! :D



[QUOTE=cyclezealot]TO belong to a club here, you must be licensed with the department and carry extra medical insurance. kf. for 81 euro's you get a club membership and that extra insurance. Can't ride with a club w/o . pretty good Deal I'd say. Oh yes. also covers insurance on your bike in case of damages?

Maybe things have changed since you were last there...
These riders are in Bandol in southern France. Of course there were also cyclists riding in street clothes too. Biggest difference I noticed... a lot less helmets.

And yet...

http://www.garysweetman.com/web%20im...er%20trash.jpg

http://data1.blog.de/blog/m/moderator/img/08_small.jpg

http://dankenman.tripod.com/sitebuil...s/mvc-563s.jpg

As if any one group has the lock on fashion geekiness...

I've done some reasonably long rides (not 60+, closer to ~45), and never had any pain to speak of. I got a pair of cheap zoic mtn bike shorts on clearance, a $60 pair of trek mtn bike shorts, and some cheap baggy race shorts. I don't notice much of a difference between any of them, except that the race shorts are a bit shorter in length and let me tan further up the leg while riding.

But this is the commuting forum, and if you're commuting 120 miles a day I envy, respect, and pity you, all at once. When I'm riding <10 miles to a friends house, I don't particularly care how I look in transit, but at the party I want to be dressed somewhat casually. The perfect balance between performance and style for short distance rides with a "real" destination is mountain bike clothing, for me at least. If I found I had backside pain after riding 60 miles, I'd probably switch to something else for those 60 mile rides and just change clothes when I get there, but for short jaunts mtnb clothes do it well on and off the bike.

I agree Mtn bike shorts are just fine. I examine the pad of the couple mtn bike shorts, I have had -no comparsion. Just do not have that cushy effect. Maybe I just have not found the right pair. Seems my Zoic's were $70. My work commute used to be 26 miles enough time in the saddle to cause a little pain if not properly protected. Genec.From what I see. Helmets are catching up. First bike trips to France, thought helmet wearers were under 25%. Here, from what I see it is over 50%.

Being an asphalt kinda fella.... crashing in spandex/lycra will enable you to sliiiiide somewhat. Not many other materials will do that.

I would imagine most women reading these "Male! OMG spandex!" threads would find this all quite silly.

Leggo my Cosmo :lol: right you are DataJunkie

Silly? No! We must keep arguing about this until we reach consensus that no one looks good in cycling shorts.

Can we just arm wrestle or chug from a beer bong?

Hmm, I think that the tight shorts dont look bad on anybody, atleast not everybody. I think of it as a way of displaying just how deep you are into the sport, If I see sombody crusing down the road in some civies I think he has a bike and is riding for fun or to get somwhere. If I see sombody fully clad in shorts/jersy I think he is into biking as a Sport.

I just so happen to have adopted cycling as a sport and got my first jersy in the mail yesterday! I am sure I looked sort of odd wearing a tight jersy instead of my normal tank top, and I wont get as much of a tan but it made me feel more "hardcore" like I was racing and while I passed alot of people nobody gave me any odd looks. Granted I am a skinny guy so the jersy hugs me in a pretty good way showing off my tattoos on my arms and some muscles (I think I may have gotten a size too small if I raise my arms up over my head as to strech it shows my belly) I liked how I could keep my cell phone in the jersy pocket.

So now the next step the shorts... I am not so much concerned with how they will look on me, as how they will feel. I remember years ago when I made the change from "whity tightys" to boxers it was uncomfortable, but now I cant even wear boxer briefs it feels to constricting and uncomfortable. So I dont think I can pull off tight spandex. Did a 30 mile ride almost the other day just wearing boxers and a pair of running shorts from the militar and it felt quit comfortable the whole way, im intrested in the MTB shorts since they are abit longer and have the padding.

Once I get the more important items i need out of the way I may grab one pair of good shorts as an experiment, till then I will be roughing it.

I just find an offensive argument. DOn't wear bike shorts because motorists don't want to see them. To hell with th public while on the bike. I Don't care what one rides in .
I wear what keeps me comfortable.
The fashion police, as I say, can cut both ways.. We should not try to sway a rider one way or the other; just suggest the benefits of whatever piece of gear might make you ride more comfortably.

I've lost 20 lbs and now cycle in my wife's Johnny G Spinning cycle shorts. My ass is smaller than hers..and boy is she mad about it..."shrug"

haha! oh well I like girls with big buts, especially if they have the rest of the curves to go with it.

Id hate if my fiance lost hers.

Have anyone else notice different reaction/acceptance from motorist depending on what you are wearing? I've found that if I wear real cycling clothes I get more respect from motorist.

I don't think I'd like to ride my bike in a kilt. :D

Sure. I'm going to be in Jackson, WY on Friday. We can throw down (arms or beer or both) there. It will be good to have this issue finally settled.

I find this true as well. I look the part, so motorists 'trust' me on the road. I don't drive erratically, run lights, and generally follow the rules of the road. I think I learnt this in my pseudo-roadie younger days out on the highway. It's people riding swerving all over, with a case of beer on the handlebars that give the rest of us a bad name (not that there's anything wrong with beer :p, just strap it to your rack, not hold in with your hand)

Kerry