Why Is Cycle Clothing So Pretty Ugly? - I suppose functional
 

Hi

I have not cycled for 30 years. My wife and I are buying touring bikes and intent to ride locally and then when we take longer breaks in Europe.

Nothing too far or too hilly as the wife is excited by traffic and hills change her personality.

So we are not going to race anywhere.

Looking at other cyclists dress it's obvious they know something we don't.

To wear such ugly clothes must be important function wise.

I suppose our assess will get sore. The saddle is important and how we distribute our weight over ass, arms, and legs.

I see cycle pants come with a soft clot where ass meets saddle.

But none of this explains why wearing such tight fitting ball pitchers.

And the tight fitting feminine psychedelic shirts? I have nothing against feminine.

The helmet I understand.

The clip in shoes?

Over the top. Even pedal clips can stay at home. As they will not work with my flip flops. Okay. I will not always be in flip flops. But most of the time. As we are not going fast.

So. It boils down to a sore ass needing comfort.

Any other reasonable explanation why I need to dress like so, would be of great value.

Have fun.

Johan

It all depends on your perspective. I used to race in America and Europe, and the beautiful ladies in their swimsuits on the Mediterranean beaches didn't think I looked like a "queen." My odds of getting a date improved quite a bit.

Cycling clothes allow a comfortable backside, resistance-free movement, and allow you to stay reasonably cool. The colors and patterns change with the current fashion, but functionality remains the same. If you want to really look like a queen, you should take up wrestling or ballet.

Haha. Got the point.

Reading up on the clothing material they say it dries easily and reflects sunlight.

Wear what makes you comfortable.

Tight pants means there's nothing that can fold over and chafe.
Tight also means the fabric moves with the skin. Meaning any relative motion happens between fabric and saddle instead of between fabric and skin, or saddle and skin.
The padding is mainly there to make sure there are no seams directly against the skin in the most stressed area. Seams are abrasive and lumpy, relatively speaking.


There are baggy MTB shorts with various sorts of liners/pads inside, if you wish for a more "normal" look. Or padded bicycling underpants to use below whater you wish.


Tight shirts flap less, wicks away sweat better and are generally simply more comfortable during riding conditions.
And are available in drab monochromes if you look hard enough.
The pockets at the back also comes in handy every now and then.
Shoes serve multiple purposes. Stiff soles ARE more comfortable for longer rides at some effort. If riding in poor weather, you remove the risk of slipping off the pedals.
One feature that I like is that there's no more faffing about getting a pedal into position for take-off.
And while maybe not important for output power, good foot retention allows a smoother pedalling stroke.

Don't mind the form of some cyclists in their attire ? Guilty, here. However, I think too much fuss is made of the rider's kit and other accessories. Dress your self to be comfortable, also your clothing does not need to be cycling specific. That said, comfortable for me is a pair of J&G Touring shorts and a Hydrofreeze shirt. Keeps me comfortable when the heat index is +40 C, also comfortable when temp is 15.
Can go into a store, restaurant or pub not looking like I am wearing a plastic bag. This outfit has been long wearing, easy to clean and has not acquired the cycling attire "funk". I also use flat pedals and Chrome cycling sneakers. The only thing that looks bike related is the helmet and I do wear cycling gloves.

Very kind of you Dabac. I thought there must some purpose for this. Like the MTB idea. And the underpants. Never would have known this. Appreciated.

I ride in a Hot Humid Climate so I dress to be comfortable.

I really don't care what anyone else wears.

Rode 19 Centuries this month in 2010

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...02000Miles.jpg

There are plenty of casual looking cycling clothes that aren't skin tight or elaborately decorated with logos, but still more comfortable than cotton.

I wear cycling baggy shorts. So do many of the folks I ride with in a casual group. The poly or nylon fabrics, sometimes with a little lycra or spandex, are more comfortable in really hot, humid, sticky weather. In cooler weather it's less important -- any comfortable shorts will do. My cheap Nashbar Lancaster and pricier Pearl Izumi baggies breathe about equally. The Pearl Izumis are much nicer, with mesh liner, padded undershorts included (detachable -- I don't wear them), and top quality stitching and attention to detail -- although the pockets are skimpy. The Nashbar shorts are functional with much better pockets but not as nicely finished and the stitching tends to fray quickly. You do get what you pay for with the more expensive Pearl Izumi, Zoic and similar high end baggies. But they're occasionally discounted too.

The main difference with baggy shorts is the legs can balloon out a bit when riding fast. That can slow you down. But about the only times I encounter that are riding downhill -- often coasting in groups to avoid overrunning anyone -- or into really stiff wind. Usually I don't even notice it because my average speed is only 12-15 mph.

I do have conventional tight cycling shorts with padding, but don't wear them often. For one thing, my bikes already have padded saddles. Combining padded saddles and shorts caused chafing. Thin poly tech wicking fabric undershorts (Champion are good) and baggies are more comfortable to me and don't look bikey when I go grocery shopping or run errands from the bike.

My jerseys are solid color, casual fit like a snug but not skin-tight t-shirt, with neck length zippers. Very discrete logos. Only the distinctive rear pockets give them away as cycling apparel. I like my pockets and wouldn't want to ride often without 'em. Same poly wicking fabric as skin tight racing oriented jerseys.

I'll consider skin tight cycling clothes when I can maintain faster than 15 mph for at least an hour routinely, even into the wind and climbing our modest hills. At the rate my conditioning is going that'll be another year.

And I still prefer walking shoes and platform pedals, for now. Again, I'd need to be able to maintain better than 15 mph over an hour before I could justify the expense and fuss of clipless, or going back to the toe clips and cleated shoes I wore 30 years ago.

Both my bikes came with padded saddles. They work. I never needed to get used to them. They're still adequate for rides up to 60 miles in a day. I might eventually consider a firmer saddle on my rigid fork steel frame bike just to get a bit more efficiency -- I can feel a little bit of bouncing with the padded saddle. I'm not concerned about improving my speed but rather in improving efficiency. I'd like to tackle a 100 mile ride by the end of the year, and wasting less energy on a bouncy saddle might be worth considering.

Excellent. Glad I asked.

I was a little worried some serious dude would come and defend his riding kit. Haha.

The J&G pants look pretty cool.

I suppose these are the Hydrofreeze shirts? More what I can see myself in.

Hope to meet as we may of the few not looking like we are wearing a plastic bag. Hahaha

it isn't, entirely. Clothing
Glad to see other examples thrown out, but I am totally sold on MUSA nylon pants, knickers and shorts

What a thorough answer. And all the options given..... I'll check them out. Thanks. And hope you go well on the 100 mile ride.

I had to chuckle at "psychedelic." Yes, there are some pretty wild jerseys out there, but you also get them as plain as can be. Some friends of mine have solid color jerseys. Going to get me one for next year.


:)

Haha. Solid. That's me!

Nice clothes.

When I started last year I was self conscious about wearing the normal road cycling attire, much like you. The first clothes I bought for just cycling were basketball shorts over padded cycling undershorts and dry fit shirts. Next was some SPD shoes, next was some solid color loose fitting jerseys (with pockets on the rear), then some actual road cycling shorts. I don't think I ever thought the gear looked like something a queen would wear but living in a rural redneck area I was iffy about wearing the full kits of spandex.

Each step I took I reached a new level of comfort during and after the ride. Now it's just part of the ride, don't even consider riding in regular clothes now, wouldn't. I'm still a bit self conscious though. I wear shorts and tee shirt over my kit driving to and from rides it I'm hauling my bike, wouldn't go in somewhere in just a kit if I was driving. Over the weekend I started to go into a fast food restaurant but it was crowded and sticking out like a sore thumb was enough of a deterrent for me to more on in and eventually stopping at a 7-11 type store and eating sitting beside the building.

I bought a couple Ralph Lauren jerseys that look more like a henley shirt than a cycling jersey, just solid color with RL logo on the chest, not skin tight like I wear now but that flapping in the wind does suck once you've worn the tight stuff.

I guess all in all I'm saying I know how you feel but have found the benefits do make the little bit a awkwardness a fair trade off but it's all about what your not only comfortable in but also what you're comfortable with. good luck

Wow everyone took your question seriously.

I think you nailed the psychology behind this spot on. I remember going to the army on my first day in civilian clothes. All of us rookies. The next day in army overalls and no hair we were all the same. No one cared.

How happy I am. They did. Now I have gained a lot of information from guys who care. I have learned a lot. Thanks.

"To wear such ugly clothes must be important function wise."

Some cyclists are very defensive about their gaudy clothes. Someone even called you a troll.

My jerseys all have flat colours, blue, red, yellow, orange. No ads or logos.

he's not alone in wanting cycling clothes that don't look like TdF wannabe (or don't, but can't find anything else)

I get the idea there's a subculture here who are not conformist. I'll see you in your baggy pants. I am sure you'll notice me as we meet on the road. :thumb:

It's In OP's Head...
 

...that there are rules to which he and his wife must conform. So, the dissonance in his mind is that so much is "different" than what he remembers or what would make them comfortable.


Easy answer. Wear and do what you want, Johan.


There is a greater variety of athletic, sport and tailored active wear than ever in the history of human civilization. If you have a web browser and a credit card, you can get your clothing from the far reaches of the planet, or you can go down to a charity clothing store and pick up decent 2nd hand wool garments or sweat suits to wear. So many options! The world is your oyster...unless, of course, you fear Hepatitis A or are allergic to shellfish.

it is absolutely impossible for a bike shop to carry everything made for cycling - closest thing that can come to it is the world's largest bike supply warehouse, Chain Reaction Cycles, and they still come up short.
Inventory costs cash flow.
So good googling, asking questions here and other bike forums, etc.

Oh, and since I was riding this way 40 years ago, I see the conformist as the subculture.

Funny. Happy to share with you the humor in the clothes we wear. I got some really great advice today. Thanks. I'll do as you say! :)

40 years ago! You are the captain! :thumb:

Agreed. I'll be googling