To shave or not to shave?
 

So, how many males on this forum shave their legs?

If so, how often & how much time does it take?

I did for about 10 years. I still think about starting back up, but have been unshaven for 6 or so years now.

I shaved every 2 or 3 days. Takes 5 minutes longer in the shower. The only real reason to shave is looks.

Twice a week. Red Rider likes it a lot.:D

I shave every couple of days and it takes a couple of minutes. Why...the gang I cycle with does, it looks better and I get massage, which IMHO, is much better without hair.

Edit: Velodiva digs it which trumps every other reason.

No on shaving the legs and no on shaving the face.
My bald head gets a quick runover with electric shaver . . . can't stand those little fuzzies trying to grow up there . . . don't do combovers either!
My hairy legs stop the mosquitoes from getting through to my skin . . .

Shaving private parts seems to be on a considerable upswing among the
younger population in my area. Probably not bicycle related though.

At least once or twice a week during the riding season -- since 1973. Have been tempted to stop for a few years now as my racing days are pretty much behind me. But hairy legs look funny poking out of cycling shorts, and my stoker likes it. I don't really pay attention to how long it takes, but I'll guess that the first time every year takes the better part of a half-hour and that maintenance shaves take maybe ten minutes.

So men really do shave their legs...
Wow and I thought that was just a joke...
Lean something new every day

Several of the "serious" guys I ride with at work (lunch) shave. They say the reason I'm so slow is because my hairy legs create more drag.

If you choose to shave or not, you'll likely get teased by someone.

If it took an additional 5 minutes in the shower, that would at least double my shower time.

If I could just make my leg hair disappear - I would. I'm just not sure I want the ongoing maintenance.

I think the best reason of all is if your partner likes it.

Yup,...I shave in season, have on and off for a long time. Since my leg hair is not terribly thick, it only takes a couple of minutes to tidy up, and I do that every 10 days or so. Definately vanity/aesthetics are a driving force,..well for me, also, tradition,...but I slid across the tarmac in the middle of a road race 10 years ago,...got up, continued the race on my own, and the sweat tended to help wash away some of the road grime. AND, at the med. station at the end of the race, it was much simpler to clean the road rash. The idea of trying to run a razor over a large area of road rash before cleaning makes me light headed.

Most of the seriuos riders that we ride with shave their legs. I do not. Some wanabees look down on me becuase of my very hairy legs.... the really goods ones do not care at all. There is lasser hair removal which for a latin type of skin like mine with black hair should work very well... about 2K

So true - now I can't stand to look at men with hairy legs. Big turn-off.

i thought i would see a discussion about shaved ARAI drum brakes:o

Started shaving during our tandem time trials days. Those days are behind us now but stoker insists I continue to shave. She now finds hairy legs on men as disgusting as I find them on women. She has offered to let me grow mine out......if I let her grow hers out. ICK!

Please correct me if I am wrong - I thought shaving your arms and legs was to help if you crashed. Easier to clean the road rash and road rash would heal better??

Nah. That's what they tell new racers in the U.S. to help them over the mental hurdle. It's actually more a tribal ritual with roots in Euro pro racing, where the riders do enjoy regular massage -- and are just as vain as young Americans. If you planned to crash, why not also shave your arms (and back :-)?

Running 2 to 1 against.

It's interesting that many of those who shave are honest that it's mostly about preference & vanity instead of any functional reason.

If we crash our tandem, I imagine that the least of my worries will be hair in the road rash.

Yeah,...if I knew I was going to crash,..I'd wear my helmet on that day and not worry about it the rest of the time. I agree, vanity is definately part of the equation, along with tradition,..but there is real value to having no hair when trying to remove road grit.

I could not agree more that riding our tandems on the road is a low probability crash event in the grand scheme of the possibility of crashing while cycling.

Leg shaving, as others have stated, is tribal, tradition and vanity.

I say surprise your buddies and shave it off. Maybe your leg warmers will stay up better, the Mrs may love it and it will always grow back if you hate it.:D

The wise old Zen-master cyclist once intoned to me "Never ride behind anyone with hairy legs". I understood his meaning, but eventually began to see hairy legs as a secret weapon- it'll keep that guy on your wheel a little off balance so that when the time comes to make your move, he might just miss it.

:D

Rick

And of those of us that DO shave, how far do you go?

Up and until a few year ago, it was all of the time. More recently, it depends and at the moment Debbie would characterize my legs as disgusting, noting that she like others have noted, quickly came to prefer slick legs vice furry ones. As for the reasons why, there are both practical as well as less than practical reasons and the most compelling will usually come from one's cycling roots. Long-time roadies who raced usually shaved and will continue to do so until they find themselves riding at the back of the pack and become self-conscious about being labeled a poseur. To, to that end, more power to those who do, and don't worry about it to those who don't.

As to the extent of the shaving, I believe that we're now approaching what could be referred to as a target-rich environment for "TMI" or too much information.

It suffices to say, those places where: a) road rash would be a factor or, b) where post-ride-related muscle massage is administered. That pretty much negates the need to drag the razor into the nether regions.

Been shaving for over 10 years!! I shave my legs one a week, it only takes an extra 5 min or so.
I don't think it makes you go any faster.....but it looks cool.
I've raced on the road for many years and crashed a few times too....if you crash it makes cleaning the road rash much easier and the bandages easier to change as well since there is no hair for the tape to stick to.

I'm pretty tempted to try it. My biggest reservation is an analogy to shaving my face: If I skip shaving my face for a day or 2, it is really uncomfortable. You know - clean shaven feels OK & having a beard feels OK but the in-between isn't so much fun.

How many days can you go before your legs feel like Velcro?

Just do it and post pics.