I sometimes wonder how many of you all would have been riding years ago before everybody was wearing padding diapers to ride? I remember my first few cross-country tours when I was younger where I all I wore were wool boxers, shorts and warm-up pants.

I mean really, cycling specific stuff is nice to have, but hardly a requirement for a long ride.

You can't? You can't see how not changing your shorts twice everyday is convenient?

I've been enjoying my shorts. It helps when I ride day after day after day after day ... and then ride a century ride on the weekend.

Ah yes, the good old days...We chafed and we liked it!

I'm too young. Was that in the 1800s? ;p

That's kind of what he said. It's only inconvenient if you wouldn't have to change anyway.

I can't wear shorts at work so if I'm going to wear shorts on the bike, - cycling or any other type of shorts, I'll need to change.

Even if I could wear shorts at work I'd still be sweaty mess in the morning anyway and would want to change.

I didn't chafe...perhaps you didn't realize that they made things like baby powder and vaseline, even way back then...not to mention things like wool boxers that wick sweat quite nicely.

Powdered wigs came in handy...didn't have to carry baby powder in the saddle bag.

Depends. :roflmao2: All kidding aside,the issue is dependent on how far I'm going. For my little weekend job which under 5 miles from the house and I'm only on the clock five hours I keep my cycling shorts on. For my regular during the week job I removed my cycling gear for regular underclothes. Wearing cycling regalia for longer than eight hours while not on the bike is just a little too much to bear.

Bib shorts every time for my 24 mi rt commute. Comfort rules!

the old days? I'm old now ...

but really - back then - my butt hurt. Now it don't. Still can't write though, huh?

Padded shorts. Hang to dry during at work then back on for the ride home.

cycling shorts are for moisture/friction management and keeping the boys in place. If your butt hurt, it wasn't because of the shorts you were wearing. Don't get me wrong, I loves me bibs...but I don't need them to ride - at any distance.

I do. 120 mile rides suck otherwise.

you can't handle powdered wigs, wussy!

http://bp1.blogger.com/_A0F9qTwBOq4/.../jacktruth.jpg

I have padded shorts. I always wear something over them, and I wash them out occasionally.

Just think it's funny, talking about how "We didn't used to have..." while typing on that new-fangled computer device thingy. "Yeah, we didn't have all that lightweight crap either...we made our bikes out of lead pipes! It weighed 75 pounds if it weighed an ounce!" I'd use a smiley emoticon here, but I hate them.

Yes, wool wicks quite nicely, it also used to itch. Good bless smartwool.

Same here. My commute is only a little over five miles if I take a direct route. I'm not even warmed up, on most days, when I reach the office building.

If I didn't have cycling clothes, I'd ride anyway. Being the not-quite-so-tender age of 40, I grew up riding in the late 70s and early 80s, when nobody I knew wore anything special for riding. I rode in gym shorts, I rode in jeans, I rode in whatever I happened to be wearing at the time, and I didn't think much about it. I also shifted my non-indexed 4-speed rear freewheel with levers on the stem, wrapped my bars with glorified ribbon, and had a padded saddle with "butt cheeks" molded into it (WAY too poor for a Brooks or other "good" saddle, even if I'd known when I was a kid that such a thing existed!)

Would I ride like that today? Sure, if we didn't have all the nice gear we have now, or if I didn't know any better. For my money, though, I'll be comfortable, and for me, comfortable means bike shorts and a jersey.

YMMV, as always.

Good wool clothing was around long before Smartwool (there was also polyester)...but I agree, I loves my Smartwool.

Wool is probably the best fabric on the planet.
I believe that nylons were one of the greatest inventions.
Men liked nylons so much that they had to figure a way to
wear nylon.
I can still remember my first polyester jacket.
What a totally cool windbreaker it was.
Nylon put a new dimension in cold weather camping
and skiing.

I wear riding shorts. The seams in skivvies aren't real comfortable, particularly after a long day.

The bike stuff is the way to go when the weather gets hot too. It's just more comfortable on the bike.

You don't have to dress like a peloton dog. They make cycling specific clothing that doesn't scream poseur.

You probably needn't bother if your commute isn't very long or hard though. I wouldn't.

I wear either cycling shorts (both MTB-style and road style) or athletic shorts for my short 5.5 mile commute. I prefer the cycling shorts (padding, no chafing, better wind resistance), but they're pricey and I don't have too many of them so I don't have enough to go between washings.

Between my exposed chain and the sweat issue (hilly terrain), pants don't work well for me. So if I have to change (and shower, incidentally), might as well wear the cycling shorts since they're more comfy.

I often multi-mode to work by bus and bicycle, 48 miles round trip. If riding only a few miles, I'll wear a set of office clothing to & from work that day; if longer, I'll wear cycling specific clothes and change into one of the sets of office clothing that I store in a tall cabinet at work.

I don't think I could commute without cycling shorts anymore. Before I got my shorts I'd be riding the 10 mile commute home in 100 degree weather, all with cotton undies. Not a pleasant experience!

I'm lucky enough to be a contractor @ a large R&D firm. I carry a change of clothes in a trunk bag to work. I nab a locker during the day to hang my shorts and towel. Just glad there is no one checking badges at the shower entrance. :)

I commute either 5 or 17 miles each way, depending on whether I take the train part-way or not. I wore 'regular' shorts and jeans for years, and didn't really have a problem with pain or saddle sores. I now wear cycling-specific bottoms -- mountain bike baggy shorts with a chamois liner in the summer and tights in the winter. Two things happened that caused me to change what I wear.

First, at some point in my career I needed to start wearing casual dressy, then eventually slacks and nice button-up shirts. Riding in slacks is pretty much a non-starter, and as long as I was going to change anyways, I might as well wear cycling clothes while riding. Second, at some point wearing non-cycling clothes started to bother my nether bits.

Everyone's different, but when my nether bits complain, I listen and respond.

As for tops, I wear all sorts of stuff. Most of the time I wear polyester or hemp short-sleeved button up shirts (like this one) or a regular cotton T-shirt. Sometimes I layer with wicking polyester or SmartWool, or wear cycling jerseys for the 34-mile round trip in the summer.

I keep my dress clothes in my office, change when I get here, and hang the cycling stuff up to dry during the day.

Depends on the bike and seat for me. My principal commuter right now is a folding bike and I've got it set up for a pretty upright ride and it has a comfy Biologic saddle on it. I can ride that puppy all day in regular shorts and never have a problem. I usually put 15 to 20 k on it the days I ride it. I only live 3-4 k from work but I usually manage to find the long way and pull a utility trip or two with it as well.

What I do have to wear here in Okinawa is some kind of hi-tech shirt this time of year. Cotton sweats through almost instantly.

I usually take a couple of those hi tech running shirts with me and change if I need to. Sometimes I keep a small wet rag in a zip lock bag and a those little pocket rocket Axe body spray things so as not to offend anybody too horribly if I stop to conduct biz somewhere.

I almost always ride with a big Topeak bag so there's room for a change of clothes if need be.

John

John

why does everyone qualify chaps with "assless"? If they weren't assless, they'd just be pants, no?

:lol:


Bibs or other regular cycling shorts for me. I hang them up on my PC at work to dry.

I have a few pairs of bibs that I rotate through. If its rainy I have a set of Endura waterproof knickers and if its just cool I wear their regular cargo knickers. I have 15 miles door to door so the cycling shorts are a must. I like the knickers because they help keep my knees warm and I don't have to worry about people staring at my junk if I decided to take public transit for part of the way.

I store clothes at work and only take a shirt, shorts and socks with me. We also have on site shower and locker facilites so stinking isn't an issue.

Shorts in the summer, tights in the winter. The value of a chamois is very high. I didn't know what I was missing, and now I wonder how I could have been so blind. But, if you're not comfortable wearing tight lycra shorts, go with something in a mountain short. They're nice and baggy. I like 3/4 length messengers too.