My legs are on fire!
 

Alright; I shaved my legs. Well, I shaved the bottom bits first; then told I was shaving in the wrong direction. So i shaved up; my thighs and knees and the like. Well, I've got razor burn on every portion I shaved correctly! ;_; Any tips? Anyone throught about lasering? What about waxing? God I hurt.

Forget about your legs; have your head examined.

Oh my god I just about burst out laughing here at work. If this was slashdot I'd mod this up +5 FUNNAY

I shaved for the first time two weeks ago. I used Nair and it worked really well. No pain, No itch, No burn. And whatever spots that I may have missed I got with the razor and shaving cream. If you choose to use a hair remover, then make sure you follow the instructions and try a smaller area first to ensure that you do not have any adverse reaction. It did take a while the first time, and depending on how high you shave up, you have to take it really slow around (those parts) :)

It feels great showing off all the hard work on the (GUNS) legs.

The queer eye guys say to NOT shave against the direction of growth because it will irritate your skin (ie razor bumps/burn). They are usually talking about face hair, but it should be the same for any part of the body.

Why do you shave your legs? It makes you go faster? Less wind drag? (I'm serious, I really don't know. I've seen a few threads like this, and I always wonder, "So, are these people guys?", but I was afraid to ask.)

Because my girl thinks it's hot. :)

There's a trick that, um, 'exotic dancers' use re: shaving 'sensitive' parts. Coat the area with deodorant when finished (not antiperspirant!).

Don't ask how I know. I just do ;)

x_X It's killing me. It hurts to walk, man.

Ah ha! So you admit reading bikeforums and /. is all you do at work!

Sorry, no. Shaving makes you SLOWER.
The irregular surface on a golf ball helps it travel farther, faster, and stay airborne longer.
By having hairy legs and arms, the irregular surface on your skin will also help keep you going farther, faster, and stay airborne longer.

Heh, maybe I should try biking with a gorilla suit on for extra power then. :D

O_o I have a feeling I got no help.

-_-; I was hoping to get some intelligent answers through all the fun poking. Haha, laugh it up.

Were you joking about the hair/golf ball thing? I hope, because there is no similaritys. Lol. I know it doesn't make you faster, however, it must serve some purpose as near everyone I see in the pros does it.

I kinda like my legs shaved, actually. :) except the razor burn part...

O_o I have a feeling I got no help.

-_-; I was hoping to get some intelligent answers through all the fun poking. Haha, laugh it up.

Were you joking about the hair/golf ball thing? I hope, because there is no similaritys. Lol. I know it doesn't make you faster, however, it must serve some purpose as near everyone I see in the pros does it.

I kinda like my legs shaved, actually. :) except the razor burn part...

I was recently in the same position as you about a month ago. First it will take some time for your skin to get used to being shaved, your legs are used to it, so the skin is SUPER tender. Second I highly recommend geting Gelete's (sp?) Ultra sensitive shaving gel, it works WONDERS! Plus i hate to admit but i use women's razors for my legs, it looks weird when i buy them, but it works really well. Lastly your skin is really dry once you ve shaved, some people use lotion, some people use deoderhant, i myself use baby oil, and it keeps me pretty rash free. Mostly your just going to have to get used to it for about the first 2-3 times you shave, remember when you starting shaving your face, it hurt alot, samething basicly. Good luck and i hope this helps you more then the jokes have.

As much as I do appreciate the jokes, the last post was very helpful. Sorry for that double post up there.. I am on a cell phone.

My girlfriend gasped when I took off my pants tonight (no pun intended). I look like I made love to poison ivy.

Actually slvoid makes a lot of sense here. Well kind of. What's in effect here is what's called Reynolds Numbers. As cyclists, we are actually pretty small, compared to say an F-15. We are also pretty slow. At the size we are and the speeds we travel, we are actually more efficient with a "rough" surface. What happens is that the texture helps to break surface tension of the air as it passes by, which lowers turbulance. Shaving works for swimmers because water has a greater viscosity than air, but truth be told, science doesn't support shaving for cyclists. Of course if it gives you a mental edge because you think you will be faster, put a red strip on the bike and ride like the wind! If the S.O. likes it, go for it and forget the science.

What exactly does that mean? Of course I'm one of those odd people that could actually make love IN poison ivy and never get a rash from the stuff. The mosquitoes don't bite me either...

On a side note, I hear people claim that they shave so that bandages don't hurt coming off. Pfffffff.....either get over it, bleed, or don't crash.

It begs the question though, if shaving does not actually make you go faster, then why do most pros do it? Why does Lance shave? Why don't they put little carbon hairs on their bikes?

I definatly don't do it for speed. I've a couple buddys that race mountain bikes and they both shave their legs. I have also known runners who shave their legs.

If aerodynamics don't mean much to us and our speeds, why do time trialists look more like an F-16 than alf?

Methinks we need a Shave Nazi around here to educate us on the proper etiquette in this matter.

--J

Why do your friends that race mountain bikes shave their legs?

It's not that aerodynamics don't mean much, they certainly do. The Reynolds effect is a part of aerodynamics. The shape of the object, in this case the combination of a human being and a bicycle, is very important. The shape makes a big difference even in much smaller items, for instance the fin on a 6" tall model rocket. A square fin is least efficient, rounding both leading and trailing edges is more efficient, rounding the leading edge and feathering the trailing edge is even more efficient. The surface makes a difference too though, that's what the Reynolds effect refers to. On smaller items, like us, going through the air, surface texture helps to make the turbulent layer smaller, closer to the surface, than a smooth surface. It has to do with the size of the object related to the speed and the viscosity of the medium through which it's traveling.

Now that I think more about it though, hair, especially on some of us, :eek: may protrude far enough from the surface to be beyond the turbulent layer, although I would think that it being blown back that wouldn't be the case. I know that they've done a lot of wind tunnel testing, I don't know whether or not they have done it with and without body hair.

Another interesting test would be to have a slightly textured paint surface, rather than smooth and shiny. As with body hair, I doubt there's that much of a difference, as the Reynolds effect is a pretty small part of the overall aerodynamic picture, but it would be interesting to see results. An F-16 mayb be very aerodynamic, but it's paint is also not smooth, except when one is dressed up in red white and blue for air shows. In model aircraft, we discovered years ago that cloth coverings are more efficient in the air than smooth, but smooth plastic coverings are easier to apply and sure do look nice.

You make a wonderful point there. :) It would be insteresting to see someone run a rough painted bike as opposed to a smooth one. Or perhaps just on the leading edges of the frame.

As far as the reason why my buddies in MTBing shave their legs? For crash recovery.

Jan ulrich (or someone who had a bianchi) had a time trial helmet with dimples on it like a golf ball once.