genejockey 

I prefer to think of myself as a frivolous cyclist. See signature below.

wolfchild

No it didn't go right over my head...This thread is about: " does they type of clothing you wear matter when cycling " ??..

livedarklions

Uh huh, sure....

Double woosh!!!!!! Must be a boomerang.

Maybe a 5 year old could explain the joke to you?

livedarklions

I use those performance tees too. I buy them small so no flapping. I don't like pockets in my shirts which is why I avoid jerseys.

livedarklions

Just so you know, I've gone 60 years without the bibs and clipless shoes and I've never peed in a cat box.

Is this the "never have I ever" thread?

Maelochs

I'd bet you couldn't go 20 minutes out your front door with No clothes before some sort of interesting situations would develop, most likely encouraging you never to make that experiment again.

Maelochs

This thread is actually getting better with age.

WhyFi

Is that saying much?

bikehoco

I have a top tube bag so there’s no need for a cycling jersey.

livedarklions

It definitely needed nudity to make it interesting.

Milton Keynes

The type of riding matters. When I'm just doing a casual ride around town, or riding up to lock up a business in the evenings, I just wear whatever T-shirt and shorts I'm already wearing. I'm not going to change clothes just to ride a 1 mile round trip. On rides of around 20 miles, I'll wear a brightly colored nylon shirt, nylon shorts, and nylon underwear. The nylon is moisture wicking and I don't have to worry about chafing. On rides longer than 20 miles, I'll wear my cycling shorts and either a brightly colored nylon shirt or a jersey.

The reason for the moisture wicking is that, if it's hot, all the sweat which pours out of my body evaporates quickly and not only keeps me cooler but also dry. If I were to wear a cotton T-shirt, it would get soaked but not dry very quickly. It's not comfortable to wear a soaked T-shirt while riding in hot weather. It doesn't cool very well and it feels miserable. I know, because when I first started serious riding, that's what I wore and I regretted it. So anything which wicks moisture away instead of holding it in is important.

So, wear whatever you want, but certain types of clothing just work better under certain circumstances.

mschwett 

OK, so seriously... on the OP's original question. setting aside comfort and convenience (my cycling clothes are super comfortable and meet all my other needs re: protection from sun, wind, warmth, wicking, etc) what's the order of magnitude difference that skintight lycra or similar makes over MTB style semi-fitted shirts and pants/shorts made of technical fabrics? like most adult males, my arms and legs have hair. i'm a larger than average guy at 6'2 and 185. not the most aero thing in the world but not the least.

for a typical 3 hour 16mph average ride, are we talking seconds? minutes? many minutes?

Maelochs

[QUOTE=UnCruel;22214839]I own some lycra shorts and some cycling jerseys, and I've worn them, but these days I mostly find myself wearing civilian t-shirt and shorts when I ride. On a FB group awhile back, someone was asking for recommendations on clothing, and I was about to respond to the effect that it hardly matters, but then I saw someone had posted quite the opposite, suggesting it's very important and that you should spend as much as you can afford, because you get what you pay for. That exchange has been sulking in the back of my head for awhile. Now I've just acquired my first legit road bike, and I'm wondering what I'm missing in the clothing department.

I thought I'd ask the group here: What benefits do cycling wear bring, and how significant are those benefits?[/QUOTE] How can it make any sense to set these aside? Those are serious benefits which the OP needs to consider ......
This nonsensical .... not nonsense, put pointless. What exactly is an "average' ride? Is your "average" ride anything like the OP's?

And while you do not specify 'time saved" you are implying that you are comparing times over the same "average" ride in looser clothes versus fitted clothes ..... if you are interested there is actually research on that topic .... a web search will give you numbers ....

But again we are back to "average" ..... are the test subjects "average" in the same way you are? Are they "average" hardcore cyclists with single-digit body fat and maximized V02, who ride hundreds of miles a week? Or are they average like you? or like me? And in any case, what does that do for the OP who just got his first road bike?

If you really want to know the differences between different aero-kit bits, I suggest you do the web search .... but that still won't really address youer issue?

If you really care, and this isn't some academic wordsmithing but a real quest for knowledge ---- go out every other day for that ride in one set of gear, and next week do the same with the other kit. Nothing else will really answer your questions because Nobody is Average. "Average" balances out ranges of extremes but doesn't ensure that there will be anybody who Actually embodies the averages ..... For example, if I stand next to a pro cyclist who is six inches shorter than me and half my weight, the "average person" implied by averaging us would be three inches taller than the cyclist and three inches shorter than me, semi-obese, with a strong heart rate and also a weak heart, with good VO2 and asthma .... basically, "average" describes a person who doesn't exist.

None of this helps the OP, who really wants to know about the benefits of cycling in dedicated cycling clothes .... which are, primarily, comfort and convenience.

mschwett 

ok, got it. aerodynamics are not primary benefits of cycling clothes. that’s what i was asking about, which i believe would fit in the OP’s “what are the benefits of …”

WhyFi

No, aerodynamics is a huge benefit to proper fitting cycling clothes, but it may not be high on the list of priorities for all. Would it make a difference for you, in the scenario outlined above? Absolutely. How much? Certainly on the order of minutes. Someone like rchung could give you a better idea of the magnitude, but I like him too much to tag him in a thread like this.

The Chemist

Yep, I get runner's nipple when I ride hard in Shanghai's hot humid summer and I'm not wearing a tight-fitting cycling jersey. I can wear looser clothes in every other season, but given how sweaty I get in the summer a tight fitting jersey is absolutely essential if I'm working hard at all.

On the other hand, when I take slower and shorter rides on my folding bicycle I can certainly get away without wearing full kit, since I don't go as hard and I don't get nearly as sweaty. My Brooks B17 saddle on my folder is also comfortable enough to ride for fairly long distances without a chamois (I've gone up to 50km on it without any issues). I still wear synthetic and not cotton shirts, because the heat still does cause me to sweat quite a bit even on a relaxed ride.

mschwett 

thank you for the actually-helpful response! i’m not racing anyone but myself so minutes don’t really matter … but there’s no denying that it’s (more) fun to go faster with the same amount of work.

WhyFi

Shoot - I primarily race myself and I think that minutes matter quite a bit!

When it comes to aero gains, including stuff like: aero helmets, deep wheels, aero frames, etc, clothing trounces everything else given the same position (position is obviously a really big factor).

Maelochs

What is wrong with the world today? The people ...

Every one of us (even in Third World countries .... I'd say "Do the research, but ... ) has more computing power in his or her hand than NASA used on Every Apollo mission. yet we sit here and bicker over made-up information to swell our epeens.

When I want to actually learn something, i actually go learn it. When I just want to splash around in the kiddie pool I come here .... when to many people pee in the pool, I get out.

If Anyone had any real care about any of the things mentioned here, they would have done pretty much any kind of web search involving cycling aero gear or cycling aero advantage or aero cycling kit benefits. They could have done a simple search about "benefits of cycling kit."

Anyone who really wanted to learn, and not just to bicker, would Not have come here repeatedly, posting nonsense and pretending to take umbrage at deliberately misinterpreted posts so as to give oneself an "excuse" to be demeaning to others.

Anyway .... see you all back in the kiddie pool in a while no doubt. I am only pretending to be superior, and I know it as well as the rest of you.

https://intheknowcycling.com/how-to-...r-ways-part-2/

kahn

For the shorts/bibs it is the lack of seams in possibly sensitive areas. Shirts, less so but folks seem to like the convenient pockets - me - 20 or 30 year old Performance YELLOW jerseys for visibility. I tend to use only one pocket - handkerchief.

Cougrrcj 

I had a drawer full of cycling jerseys - most gotten for signing up for charity rides, etc, but a few that I bought outright - including the '50-plus' one that was offered here a few years ago. I found that I NEVER wore them, so I gave them all away...

I have exactly TWO cycling shorts. One fits rather well (Performance from 25+ years ago), but the other newer one makes it look like I filled my shorts (looks like I have poopy pants), so I plan to give that one away. I only wear the cycling shorts if I plan to ride 30-40 miles or longer (figure two hours plus). Even then, I'll wear a regular pair of shorts over them for the pockets for my wallet, cell phone, keys, etc...

BITD, I rode Centuries in regular street clothes. Many times back-to-back -- multi-day events, and/or multiple 100+mile days on 'tour'. Only the hard-core racer crowd wore (wool back then) cycling shorts...

In short, wear what you want and what you're comfortable in. Don't let anyone tell you that you have to wear cycling 'kit'

..

Daniel4

Cycling specific clothing is too expensive. Well, I do have a bunch of full zippered jerseys for $10 each but I never wear them. Instead, I wear a construction workers reflector shirt, one yellow and one orange. I don't care if it rains because they are polyester. I wear a cheap pair of cycling shorts underneath baggy swimming trunks.

tomato coupe

Someone is going to feel really special when you tell them why you're giving them that pair of shorts.

rsbob 

Don’t wear a cycling jersey, cycling shorts, gloves or socks, just my S Works cleated shoes. Don’t have to worry about wicking, see through shorts, or be bothered about pockets. Am always well ventilated but my cost for sunscreen is nuts. Speaking of which….

caloso

I agree. Do not wear 25 year old shorts.