berner

Want to get faster? Hate those painful intervals to get faster? Your handy Gillette or Braun shaver is the road forward. In the News: Wind tunnel data indicates shaved legs are faster - VeloNews.com I recommend shy types begin just by shaving one leg to begin. If there is no onslaught of trash from passing pickups, then and only then shave the other. Good luck!

fietsbob

So why stop there? porn star wax off all the hair ..

Gerryattrick

As I've aged there's been an increase in nasal hairs, hairs in my ears and, most of all my eyebrows are growing more unruly. Now I know why I've been getting slower. Perhaps this is the real reason performance degrades with age.

DiabloScott

How much benefit would I get from just doing like a crew-cut on my legs with a beard trimmer?

Biker395 

Done. And with no artificial ingredients.

EvilWeasel

Steroids make you faster to... and are probably safer than walking around some parts of the U.S. with shaved man legs.

rubic

If I shaved my hairy legs, I would most certainly ride faster due to the embarrassment it would cause me. Not only that, I would have to high tail it down the road to avoid my wife kicking my sit bones. Then again, I'm old.

Zinger

I'm thinking marginal benefits here.

I'm also thinking you'd better be pretty fast to begin with to be seen sporting shaved legs in a cycling group.

That's why young Dave didn't shave his before bringing his dad the trophy

bbbean 

Did you happen to note just how much faster shaved legs were on a 40k TT? That's hardly marginal.

Wileyrat

Fortunately for me, I don't have much in the way of hair on my arms or legs, so people probably think I shave (but I'm not fast because of it). Somehow it all ended up on the front and back of my upper body.

Zinger

Well one test says .6 percent and the other says 7 percent. That's certainly not a marginal difference so I'd want to see more thorough testing in different headwind circumstances before buying into one or the other.

The main reason given for shaving the legs that I've always heard is so the doctors can work on them after you crash.

Let's just say, for instance, that if I'm passing anyone whose legs are shaved I'm going to have to compliment them on their aerodynamic legs somehow while passing......Just to relive my insolent youth in celebration.

John E

This thread reminds me of that great scene from "Breaking Away," in which the father sees the racer-boy son shaving his legs.

Zinger

Cognitive

I have very little hair on my legs (make that, none, no kidding). Likewise on my arms. If it wasn't for the Frank Zappa hair (at age 55) I'd be KOM .

VNA

It is not for speed, but rather for massage and lotions that are applied--otherwise it gets messy.

An added benefit and no it is still not for speed--but in case of a road rash it will be easier to treat.

chasm54

Sure. But it's still a surprisingly large speed difference, and a hell of a lot cheaper than an aero frame.

Of all the people I know who race, only one doesn't shave. His teammates tease him about it relentlessly.

NOS88

Not sure faster is always better. If I told my wife I was shaving my legs to get faster, she'd likely beg me not to do so. I suspect she thinks I'm too fast now.

bbbean 

did you look at the actual studies? The .6% study used a manniken leg, whereas the Specialized study used several cyclists tested before and after shaving. I know which if those sounds more realistic to me.

it's also worth considering the fact that there are no ill effect associated with leg shaving. Even if the Specialized test was a fluke, shaved legs would still be easier to clean, feel better for massage, and IMHO look better. I don't see a downside.

BB

linnefaulk

I shave my legs on Sundays. I ride faster on Mondays. And I always thought it was because Sunday was a rest day and my legs were fresh. Nope, it is because they were shaved.

jppe

I sure wish I'd read this before last night's time trial!!!

OldsCOOL

Just an extra hit of synthroid and a couple puffs of an inhaler.

chasm54

Seriously, don't you shave? From past posts I recall that you're quicker than me as it is. A minute - even half a minute - on a 40k TT is huge. Get the razor out.

volosong

I have to embarrassingly admit that I started shaving my legs a couple month ago. Just for the heck of it, just to see how it felt. Funny thing is . . . being summertime, except for church, I wear shorts all the time. Nobody at work or in the vanpool noticed. The only person who noticed was my tennis coach, and that from the opposite side of the net from where he was feeding me balls. He knows I ride, so I just gave him the spiel about being easier to clean after a crash, allowing the bib silicone to stay in place easier, etc. He bought that story. His son works for Crank Brothers, so he understands the mindset of a cyclist.

Zinger

OK I'll concede the argument now that the tests are out there.

But I'm still not anywhere near fast enough to be shaving my own legs. The triathlon babes are dusting me out here for Pete's sake and with a bigger margin than 7%. I'll have to be content to gaze at their legs before they disappear into the distance.

berner

The responses to this thread have been most interesting if not a total surprise. The premise of leg shaving, for male cyclists, has to do with treating road rash, fitting in with the other boys who also shave, performance enhancement, (there are some hairy specimens out there for whom leg shaving would save then a few pounds), and any number of other reasons. Being of a mostly liberal nature I do not believe there are wrong reasons.

I once, long ago, had a girlfriend, an artist and a good one, I thought, when she settled down to do art, and she did not shave her legs. I mention this to highlight the point that leg shaving has cross gender implications and is not to be taken lightly. There are certain people, even on this very forum, who would hold the over quick, off the cuff response against you so words should be measured carefully.

Not being bombarded with trash is a valid reason for not shaving but once begun, the crucial question is, where to stop: the tan line, beyond, how far beyond? this question has crucial implications for western civilization which is already under attack.