Question about Leg Shaving
#151
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Deep, man .........
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Agreed. I rarely go down on the road/commuter/gravel bikes (looking back, maybe about once every 7,000 miles), but when I ride technical mtb, I come home bleeding just about every time, though the mtb falls are a lot slower, and therefore less damaging, as compared to my road crashes. So my leg shaving is mostly for the inevitable mtb falls.
#154
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I get the humor. But the aero benefit applies no matter what you weigh. In the same way, I ride a sub-17-pound CF bike with full Ultegra. I weight an eighth of a ton, and very little of it is muscle. One could laugh at all the money I wasted, building a lightweight bike for a fat rider.
On the other hand ..... no one has to go to driver's school before buying a Corvette. Fact is, a really good driver in an econobox could beat most unschooled drivers in Corvettes or Camaros .... but the thing is the fat guy Wants a Corvette .... even if he only uses it to get groceries. He can still do more, or at least has the Potential to do more, with the Corvette than with a lo-budget Hyundai. Driving the Corvette is more fun, even if he drives it at exactly the same speeds as he drives his wife's minivan.
I think the funniest part is that people can't make up their own minds, and once they do, still seem to need reinforcement form like-minded folks .... Dudes, shave or not, who freaking cares?
But ... people are people.
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If I was actually any good, I'd shave just for the potential of saving some seconds in a triathlon or a TT, but I'd miss my hairy legs.
How much it would turn out to be in real world air conditions is anyone's guess (maybe do some laps around a circuit, shave, and repeat at the same power, hmm), but any free time would be welcome.
As for road rash, eh, when I scrape off bits of skin it scrapes off the hair, too, so 🤷♂️
How much it would turn out to be in real world air conditions is anyone's guess (maybe do some laps around a circuit, shave, and repeat at the same power, hmm), but any free time would be welcome.
As for road rash, eh, when I scrape off bits of skin it scrapes off the hair, too, so 🤷♂️
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What's left seems like a pretty low bar. Overweight dudes in activities other than bicycling don't argue about the benefits of bicycle weight reduction? Shocking.
You might want to give up on the smart-alec routine, it's not looking good on you.
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After healing from a crash with a lot of road rash on my legs, I started shaving my legs, just in case it should happen again (it did.) Cleaning and bandage changing is a lot easier with smooth skin.
If you're not sure you want to, just shave one leg and do some rides for comparison purposes.
If you're not sure you want to, just shave one leg and do some rides for comparison purposes.
I shave for multiple reasons, and increased speed nor aesthetics are one of them.
- Proactive preparation for cleaning the rash after a crash, especially prior to riding mtb, where there's a lot more to clean out
- Easier to put on, and adjust leg warmers without hairs getting pulled, and the warmers seem to stay in place on bare skin better than hair
- Mounting Electrical Muscle Stimulator (EMS) electrodes above and below the knee for quad therapy
- Easier to apply sunscreen
I've never had a single ingrown hair, thankfully, since I shave 100% of the leg, from ankle to groin, and then some. When nude, I don't want to look like I'm wearing fur shorts. I also shave my sit spots to reduce the hair pull irritation down there. TMI?
- Proactive preparation for cleaning the rash after a crash, especially prior to riding mtb, where there's a lot more to clean out
- Easier to put on, and adjust leg warmers without hairs getting pulled, and the warmers seem to stay in place on bare skin better than hair
- Mounting Electrical Muscle Stimulator (EMS) electrodes above and below the knee for quad therapy
- Easier to apply sunscreen
I've never had a single ingrown hair, thankfully, since I shave 100% of the leg, from ankle to groin, and then some. When nude, I don't want to look like I'm wearing fur shorts. I also shave my sit spots to reduce the hair pull irritation down there. TMI?
I've heard of two reasons why pro's shave their legs and neither reason is because it makes them more aerodynamic. (There maybe some evidence that hairy legs actually increase aerodynamics; the hair my hold a boundary layer of air. Think of dimpled golf balls. Also several riders in this year's Tour are sporting beards. If hair really affected aero, those guys would probably shave. And there's Pocacar's hair sticking out of his helmet all over the place)
The first is to help with road rash and scabs. A second reason I've heard is to make it easier for the masseuse that travels with pro teams to give them their after ride rub down. Since few of us mortals have a masseuse on retainer, I think that excuse for shaving goes away.
The first is to help with road rash and scabs. A second reason I've heard is to make it easier for the masseuse that travels with pro teams to give them their after ride rub down. Since few of us mortals have a masseuse on retainer, I think that excuse for shaving goes away.
1) less road rash. (The hairs near the actual wound aren't being ripped out as you slide over the pavement.)
2) no dirty hairs in the wound. And the nurse doesn't have to pick them out.
3) much nicer bandage removal (of tape on already raw skin)
4) faster healing, less scar tissue
5) more comfortable riding post crash (bike racers don't get to take weeks off the bike; tourists and commuters many not want to either)
And 6) The sweet words from the ER nurse. "Thank you for shaving so I don't have to." (That shave of very raw skin is a lot of fun. Not.)
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I understand that the pro racers crash a lot. They ride for reasons and in situations which sane riders would avoid. ..... I tend to not crash. I call it "Riding a bike," as opposed to "Falling off a bike," which is not my chosen sport.
Also, nurses don't have to pick hairs out of the wound ... they have to pick Everything out of the wound. This includes sand and gravel, which tend to embed in the flesh, whereas the hairs mostly come off with water (or betadine or whatever the staff uses.) The gravel is what's hard to get out, in my experience.
And "road rash" isn't hairs being ripped off, it is Skin being ripped off. I want to see scientific data proving that wounds are larger on unshaven flesh--and that hairs are being individually pulled out of the skin and tearing the skin with it. Every time I have ever crashed (and back in my crazy days that was way too often) I never had hairs pulled out .... the pavement just abraded away the skin, hairs and all. What, do some people ride where gravel has tiny hands which grab the individual hairs?
As for faster healing and less scar tissue ... explain that please. The damaged flesh is gone, whether or not it was hairy. The are where there si no flesh will heal over, and sometimes for m scar tissue---regardless of how hairy the flesh which is no longer there might have been. Do the new skin cells somehow learn whether the old skin cells were shaven or not, and regrow accordingly?
.....
Also .... if the skin is ripped off, why would they skin need to be shaved? It has already been shaved by the pavement. The tape would go on the Unripped skin .... and a little alcohol will help dissolve the glue on the tape (apply that carefully, of course.) And if the skin is raw And the nurse is shaving it, she is just a sadist.
But again .... if you make a choice and feel a need to defend it ... go ahead. I personally think personal decisions are personal. Your mileage is sure to vary.
Also, nurses don't have to pick hairs out of the wound ... they have to pick Everything out of the wound. This includes sand and gravel, which tend to embed in the flesh, whereas the hairs mostly come off with water (or betadine or whatever the staff uses.) The gravel is what's hard to get out, in my experience.
And "road rash" isn't hairs being ripped off, it is Skin being ripped off. I want to see scientific data proving that wounds are larger on unshaven flesh--and that hairs are being individually pulled out of the skin and tearing the skin with it. Every time I have ever crashed (and back in my crazy days that was way too often) I never had hairs pulled out .... the pavement just abraded away the skin, hairs and all. What, do some people ride where gravel has tiny hands which grab the individual hairs?
As for faster healing and less scar tissue ... explain that please. The damaged flesh is gone, whether or not it was hairy. The are where there si no flesh will heal over, and sometimes for m scar tissue---regardless of how hairy the flesh which is no longer there might have been. Do the new skin cells somehow learn whether the old skin cells were shaven or not, and regrow accordingly?
.....
Also .... if the skin is ripped off, why would they skin need to be shaved? It has already been shaved by the pavement. The tape would go on the Unripped skin .... and a little alcohol will help dissolve the glue on the tape (apply that carefully, of course.) And if the skin is raw And the nurse is shaving it, she is just a sadist.
But again .... if you make a choice and feel a need to defend it ... go ahead. I personally think personal decisions are personal. Your mileage is sure to vary.
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#161
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By that logic, everyone who isn't anorexic-skinny should be riding Huffys.
I get the humor. But the aero benefit applies no matter what you weigh. In the same way, I ride a sub-17-pound CF bike with full Ultegra. I weight an eighth of a ton, and very little of it is muscle. One could laugh at all the money I wasted, building a lightweight bike for a fat rider.
On the other hand ..... no one has to go to driver's school before buying a Corvette. Fact is, a really good driver in an econobox could beat most unschooled drivers in Corvettes or Camaros .... but the thing is the fat guy Wants a Corvette .... even if he only uses it to get groceries. He can still do more, or at least has the Potential to do more, with the Corvette than with a lo-budget Hyundai. Driving the Corvette is more fun, even if he drives it at exactly the same speeds as he drives his wife's minivan.
I think the funniest part is that people can't make up their own minds, and once they do, still seem to need reinforcement form like-minded folks .... Dudes, shave or not, who freaking cares?
But ... people are people.
I get the humor. But the aero benefit applies no matter what you weigh. In the same way, I ride a sub-17-pound CF bike with full Ultegra. I weight an eighth of a ton, and very little of it is muscle. One could laugh at all the money I wasted, building a lightweight bike for a fat rider.
On the other hand ..... no one has to go to driver's school before buying a Corvette. Fact is, a really good driver in an econobox could beat most unschooled drivers in Corvettes or Camaros .... but the thing is the fat guy Wants a Corvette .... even if he only uses it to get groceries. He can still do more, or at least has the Potential to do more, with the Corvette than with a lo-budget Hyundai. Driving the Corvette is more fun, even if he drives it at exactly the same speeds as he drives his wife's minivan.
I think the funniest part is that people can't make up their own minds, and once they do, still seem to need reinforcement form like-minded folks .... Dudes, shave or not, who freaking cares?
But ... people are people.
My thinking is if getting the fancy racing bike motivates you to ride more or you just like having it for whatever reason, who the heck am I to find it funny?
I would be offended if an untalented amateur was playing bad music on a Stradivarius, but that's because each one of those is an irreplaceable treasure that should be in the hands of a master musician. There's lots of lightweight bikes, so if thee or me care to putter around on one, who bloody cares?
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#162
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Tegaderm adheres better and stays in place longer when applied over smooth, hairless skin.
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Nobody needs my permission. Do it or don't do it. I don't care, and my opinion doesn't matter unless you ask for it. I still think it's funny that fat guys are seriously more obsessed with every nit-noid aerodynamic detail and every gram of weight on their bike than they are about maybe getting in better shape and losing bodyweight. But then I have a twisted sense of humor that has been know to offend at times.
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My thinking is if getting the fancy racing bike motivates you to ride more or you just like having it for whatever reason, who the heck am I to find it funny?
I would be offended if an untalented amateur was playing bad music on a Stradivarius, but that's because each one of those is an irreplaceable treasure that should be in the hands of a master musician. There's lots of lightweight bikes, so if thee or me care to putter around on one, who bloody cares?
I would be offended if an untalented amateur was playing bad music on a Stradivarius, but that's because each one of those is an irreplaceable treasure that should be in the hands of a master musician. There's lots of lightweight bikes, so if thee or me care to putter around on one, who bloody cares?
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Nobody needs my permission. Do it or don't do it. I don't care, and my opinion doesn't matter unless you ask for it. I still think it's funny that fat guys are seriously more obsessed with every nit-noid aerodynamic detail and every gram of weight on their bike than they are about maybe getting in better shape and losing bodyweight. But then I have a twisted sense of humor that has been know to offend at times.
Also, don't flatter yourself that people are objecting to your peculiar sense of humor - they're pointing out that you're not making any sense beyond vague male insecurities.
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The best dressing for basic road rash is Tegaderm, a transparent film that acts as a sterile barrier with a moist environment, so skin heals quickly without scabbing.
Tegaderm adheres better and stays in place longer when applied over smooth, hairless skin.
Tegaderm adheres better and stays in place longer when applied over smooth, hairless skin.
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Optimizing doesn't preclude getting in to better shape; they're not mutually exclusive and many people with shaved legs and light bikes are putting in work that you wouldn't see from your vantage point.
Also, don't flatter yourself that people are objecting to your peculiar sense of humor - they're pointing out that you're not making any sense beyond vague male insecurities.
Also, don't flatter yourself that people are objecting to your peculiar sense of humor - they're pointing out that you're not making any sense beyond vague male insecurities.
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We get the joke, it's just a crappy one.
And to be honest, I think the main reason people argue about such things is that it's fun to argue about such things. It really doesn't matter whether you're fat or not.
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You've made no sense (beyond the lens of insecurity) and you've spilled more digital ink within the thread than anyone else. "...doth protest too much," perhaps?
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I've been on Eliquis since last election day, and just resumed long distance riding a couple months ago. I'm probably on a lower dose than you, because my cuts do clot fairly normally, just take a little tiny it longer.
I didn't have the cancer, but I can tell you I'm not a fan of bilateral lung blood clots. They messed me up good.
I didn't have the cancer, but I can tell you I'm not a fan of bilateral lung blood clots. They messed me up good.
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Actually, no, you're getting crap because you told a bad insulting joke. I'm neither fat now that I put in an immense effort to lose 140+ pounds, nor am I bike-weight obsessed, but given you just wrote about old guys passing you on 10 speeds while riding your very light bike, why would you think it appropriate to imply that optimization measures are wasted because someone is a bit overweight? Talk about pot kettle black!
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Then don't get offended about it. Sometimes it is fun to have a lively debate. This debate has been going on forever and really shouldn't be taken seriously. Honestly it would probably be better if the mods closed shave vs no shave threads immediately. They always turn out the same.
Last edited by pgjackson; 07-16-21 at 01:22 PM.
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I"m taking Eliquis (5 mg, morning and evening) after bilateral pulmonary embolisms. Gotta agree with you, the clots messed me up good too. I couldn't believe the discomfort. The Eliquis took the pain away after about 2 days, but still not sure that I don't have after-effects from them.
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Now seven pages and OP has trolled on to starting two more shaving threads. I wonder if he's trying to work up the nerve to ask for pics?
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Actually, no, you're getting crap because you told a bad insulting joke. I'm neither fat now that I put in an immense effort to lose 140+ pounds, nor am I bike-weight obsessed, but given you just wrote about old guys passing you on 10 speeds while riding your very light bike, why would you think it appropriate to imply that optimization measures are wasted because someone is a bit overweight? Talk about pot kettle black!