Do they make rip-stop lycra yet?

in the summer i wear hot weather lycra under my shorts mainly for the sweaty chaffing issue, i am a skinny guy but chaffing leaves no one alone!!

Gotta have my bibs. All my excess lipids seem to congregate right at my waistline, and shorts give me way too much Dunlop effect. Even 5 lbs shows up (I'm not very big). Actually, the bibs are primarily for comfort because i don't like the elastic waistband on shorts. For short errands I go with regular street clothes, but the commute to work is a bit long for that. For jerseys, i like basic dri-fit shirts with quarter zips. Dri-fit makes a number of them. My very few cycling-specific jerseys are rarely worn.

Maybe I'll shave my legs in some geometric pattern (barber pole?) and nobody will notice my butt/gut in the bibs.

Given the fashion sense of most bike commuters (well, of most people in general), it's hard to see how lycra makes the situation any worse.

Seriously, who cares? This board typically makes a big deal about function over form. That's a good thing. It's the same deal with spandex - it's supposed to make cycling more pleasant.

Personally, I make a point of living close enough to work that I can ride in regular clothes, mostly because changing twice a day would be a big pain in the butt. If I lived further out, though, I would be wearing spandex for my commutes. It would be unpleasant not to.

The gym shorts over bike shorts look is also silly. If you're that concerned about it, why not get some MTB shorts?

Snag prevention. When I wear baggies the legs tend to get snagged on the saddle nose, pedals. Problems that I don't have in lycra.

As I have said in the past...NOBODY looks good in spandex! A perfectly proportioned human being looks fat while inhaling and skinny while exhaling.

I look good in lycra according to the ladies and that is all that matters. :D

cycling shorts make me faster cuz I figure if I'm gonna look like that I'd better be biking hard