I'll occasionally ride in street clothes, but much prefer to wear cycling-specific gear (or at least technical gear...my array of fluorescent $10 shirts from target see heavy rotation in spring/fall).

The sweat doesn't have to be an issue 8-9 mo out of the year (summer= sticky/humid/gross), but I do use my commute (11 mi/one way) as cardio, so I like to move at a good clip.

For me, the bigger issue is that commuting in work clothes (usually jeans) is really, really uncomfortable over 20+ miles/day and also my jeans get worn out much, much faster when I ride in them all the time (inner thigh + saddle nose = holes....). So, in the long run, it saves $$$ to just wear bike gear on the bike and work gear at work

From Sept - May I ride in regular clothes and don't change at work. From June - Aug we have casual dress at work and I change my t-shirt.

Dutch Bike Co used to have promotional videos on their site, and I remember the one clip where the owners said "If you ride your bike and sweat ... you're going too fast". Which really struck me as true. How many of us walk to the store, train etc and have to change clothes (of course if you run to the store, you may have to do that).

Its worth pointing out that in addition to flat terrain, Copenhagen enjoys fair weather, winters are not very cold and summers are not very hot. Summer temperature averages at about 60 Fahrenheit (15c).

I looked at Copenhagen's weather for July, 2012. The maximum temperature for the month was 79 degree F. Most mornings, the low temperature was into the 50's. Here in Pittsburgh, that's our weather in April and October. It also looks like Copenhagen is fairly breezy, being so close to the Baltic and North Seas. Adding all that together, along with fairly flat terrain, equals perfect commuting. People forget just how far north cities like Copenhagen are; it's about the same latitude as the sourthern tip of Alaska. Most of Germany is farther north than the northern tip of Minnesota.

US cities like Philadephia, Pittsburgh, Chicago are at the same Latitude as Barcelona Spain, Naples Italy and Istanbul, Turkey. Kansas City and St. Louis are at the same latitude as Athens, Greece. Houston and New Orleans are the same latitude as Cairo, Egypt.

I carry an extra shirt and undershirt to work and change my moisture wicking shirt and longsleeve out. I sweat but not nearly as much as I did 50 pounds ago.

Europe is much milder on the whole even though it's more north. In addition, the average cycle commuter tends to be in better shape indicating that they'd sweat less. Also, I've never worked in a building with A/C, so I think we're more adjusted to slightly more sweaty people.

I'm in the nice situation where I have a gym & shower at work, so I save on my home water bill by always showering at work. And since I'm getting naked anyways, I might as well change! Which is not to say I wear cycling gear; I do have a chamois liner under my shorts, and I ride with SPD shoes, but otherwise, synthetic and cotton T's, pullovers, real-people socks, etc.

I also have a locker at work, in which I keep a towel, a few pairs of pants, and a pair of shoes. My daily commuting load is a fresh shirt, socks, and underwear. Pants/towel get replaced as-needed.

Just curious as to why you come to that conclusion. It might well be true but it surprises me some.

I'm not surprised that an average European would be in better shape than an average American, but I think an average American bike commuter would be in much better shape your average US citizen.

I've also heard that athletes sweat more in general than non-athletes though that might well be a myth. However if true, being in shape wouldn't necessarily mean you sweat less than somebody else, you may in fact sweat more.

Copenhagenize advocates normal people riding bikes, and those who already ride setting an example to non-riders that you don't have to be a fitness nut to ride to work and other destinations.

Sure Danes sweat, but sweat is less of a social taboo in countries where active transportation is mainstream. They also don't ride particularly fast or far, so the sweat isn't drenching, just a bit of dampness.

I live in a sprawling Canadian city, but by simply choosing my home and my employment to both be in the city centre, I have a surprisingly similar lifestyle. Work is about 2km from home, so yeah, I just wear whatever I'm planning to wear for the day. Typically, I have to mop off my forehead when I arrive, but that's it. And anyone could make the same lifestyle choices without having to be unusually fit or invest in expensive equipment.

If you bike a significant distance (>5km or so), or have hills to negotiate, or insist on riding fast, then your needs become different. But biking like you do will never be mainstream, it will always be an exercise regimen to most people rather than an efficient way of getting to their destination.

Probably a myth. A study I read concerning this was just the opposite. Well trained endurance athletes began to sweat sooner during physical exertion, but overall amount of sweat production was less.

I think that if you collected the BMI of the average American bike commuters on this forum and the average European cyclist, that the BMI of the average European cyclist would be 20%+ less than the American counterpart.

Unfortunately, I don't think we have a large enough sample size to collect the European component of the metric. In addition, BMI isn't the best metric, but it is perhaps the easiest.

I also think you'd observe a coastal (50 miles from the either ocean) versus inland bias within the US subset (coastal being lower BMI) and a northern/southern split (above or below the 40°) with the southern component being roughly higher in BMI.

North Americans are perhaps more sensitive to and offended by normal body odor than people in other parts of the world.

I think if you are well-trained, going 'slow' may be a lot easier for you. For example, I can spin along all day at 25 km/h and not work up a sweat, but maybe that's pretty fast for someone just getting started.

+1

to copenhagenize my commute would require a fairly extensive construction project removing lots of hills. It's a lot easier to ride like they do in Copenhagen if the city you live in is dead flat and the weather is moderate. New York and Philly are two cities that come to mind

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bikeyface/6799517337/

I wear a mix. I think most commuters do.

and I must say that CPHzine.com does an excellent job of what's it's like to cycle in Denmark/Sweden and urban Germany. I picked up my Christmas tree by bicycle this year.

you guys are just jealous

FWIW, I commute 11.5 km to the train station, then 7.4 kilometers from the arriving station to my university. all in normal clothes. if you are sweating after 5 kilometers, you are pedaling too hard..

Slow down and you will stop the sweaT!

My usual dress is pretty much ordinary with some extra elements in the winter (wool socks, gloves, balaclava, tights, etc.), only cycling-specific thing I wear are clipless shoes that look like ordinary sneakers. What I wear tends to stand out less than when I wear it, the pressing need to keep from overheating means I wear shorts pretty much all year round and I always wear a lighter jacket than the coats of the majority.

I clicked both. In fact, today I'll have worn cycling-specific clothing on the way in, which involved a 20 mile detour with 2x20' intervals thrown in, and my regular office clothes on the way home, as I ride directly home and spin easy. During the spring and summer when the local group rides are going in the evenings, I'll often do the opposite: easy ride directly to work in office clothes, and hard ride in the full kit after.

Maybe genetically Danes just don't sweat as much as others? With a Mediterranean background, I know I sweat a lot and easily. I've even tried the riding slow method but even that doesn't work. It just prolongs the inevitable.

I ride in large part because I get to exercise twice a day when I ride my bike. I don't want to ride slow enough to not sweat.

It takes me about 30-35 minutes to ride the 8 miles to work, about 40-45 on the way home (three hills and more traffic). For me to not sweat, I would have to close to double my commute time. It is far more efficient to spend a few minutes with a quick shower and change on each end of the ride.

Also, I don't like the way things ride on and near my saddle in "normal" clothes. I suppose if I had a comfort bike it might not be so bad, but I don't want one.

I do both - depending on weather. Usually "regular clothes" - if I dress appropriately for mile 7 mile commute I will often not even sweat through a cotton t shirt.

I sweat a lot skateboarding and playing basketball. A little bit running. Barely any cycling unless it is hot out.

You ride to exercise, you should be sweating, and it looks kinda stupid someone sweating on normal clothes, so it is probably best to have cycling or sports clothes..

And yeah, I have a "comfort" bike, which I commute in.. I also, have a road bike, on which I do recreational and triathlon training.



Oh, and lastly, I do not have a place to shower when I get to my university, so I try to stay as sweat free as possible.