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Another Leg Shaving Thread

Old 07-05-19, 10:45 AM
  #51  
J.Higgins 
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Originally Posted by 86az135i
It's fine as long as it's with a straight razor.
Real men shave with a burning stick.
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Old 07-05-19, 11:10 AM
  #52  
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Originally Posted by NoControl
Real men shave with a burning stick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYQ4TcyzSlA
mmmhhh the smell of burning hair. My favorite. I'll stick with the centuries old method of a sharpened piece of steel.
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Old 07-05-19, 05:15 PM
  #53  
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Originally Posted by wolfchild
Leg shaving is a feminine trait. Real men don't shave their legs.
As to not misunderstand can you define "Real Men"?
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Old 07-05-19, 05:20 PM
  #54  
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Fifty-three posts and no one has talked about shaving one’s arms.

Shaved, smooth legs and massively hairy arms, like Robin Williams, looks odd.

Last edited by eja_ bottecchia; 07-05-19 at 07:35 PM.
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Old 07-05-19, 06:59 PM
  #55  
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Originally Posted by eja_ bottecchia
Fifty-three posts and no one has talked about shaving one’s arms.

Shaved, smooth legs and massively hairy arms, like Robin Williams, look odd.
Sun sleeves.
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Old 07-05-19, 08:26 PM
  #56  
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Originally Posted by VegasTriker
As a non-racer I asked a racer who shaved his legs why on heck he did it. It couldn't be for a speed advantage as the physics of that made no sense to me. His answer made a lot of sense though. If you race a lot you will eventually end up in a crash and it made removing the bandages a lot less painful.
If you don't use waterproof tape/adhesive bandages they come right off in the shower even when you're hairy like a wildebeest.
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Old 07-05-19, 08:28 PM
  #57  
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Actually, seriously: LIFE is the leading cause of death.

Originally Posted by Lemond1985
Dying is also a leading cause of death.
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Old 07-08-19, 11:09 AM
  #58  
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Originally Posted by gringomojado
If shaving a rider's legs gives an X gain in speed, will shaving only 1 leg result in X/2 (Xx0.5) speed advantage?

For this, let us discount helmets and kickstands from the equation


PS we are not riding shirtless, so pit-shaves don't count

gm
Shaving one leg will cause uneven drag which will lead to turning in circles.

Very large, pointless circles.
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Old 07-08-19, 11:23 AM
  #59  
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Originally Posted by gnappi
"Supposed to be hairy?" What about Asian and some North Atlantic countries where men are generally hairless? Compulsory / forced hair transplants? :-)
Well, at least now you're thinking like a good, Progressive, 21st century Citizen of the Global Order !
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Old 07-08-19, 12:23 PM
  #60  
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Originally Posted by AllWeatherJeff
Shaving one leg will cause uneven drag which will lead to turning in circles.

Very large, pointless circles.
Except for track racing, of course.
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Old 07-08-19, 12:24 PM
  #61  
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Originally Posted by texaspandj
Do your ears hang low?
Do they wobble to and fro?
Can you tie 'em in a knot?
Can you tie 'em in a bow?
Can you throw 'em o'er your shoulder
Like a continental soldier?
Do your ears hang low?
You spelled chains wrong.

Otherwise, in an endurance sport.........the unobstructed view of chiseled muscle and throbbing veins/arteries can be intimidating. Intimidation is part of sport. And in sport, there is often also imitation.

Let's be honest, you can do it if you like. But if your shaved legs look more like amateur hour at the sausage factory......probably not time to shave yet.

Now, if your legs look like a thoroughbred horse's after winning the derby........go for it. The group ride will wither and fade from your attacks as they watch your dancing thoroughbred legs disappear in the distance.
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Old 07-08-19, 12:55 PM
  #62  
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Originally Posted by Mountain Mitch
Nice try. The problem with this theory is that by the time the bandages have to be removed the hair will have grown in....
PS. Its for the looks!
The shaving helps not with removing the bandages, but with the initial cleaning of the body part.
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Old 07-08-19, 01:25 PM
  #63  
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Originally Posted by caloso
Except for track racing, of course.
Shave the wrong leg and you're in for a long day at the track
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Old 07-08-19, 01:38 PM
  #64  
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Originally Posted by Hondo Gravel
Males shaving their legs is just WRONG
How do you feel about people who obsess on men's legs?
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Old 07-08-19, 01:40 PM
  #65  
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Originally Posted by Mountain Mitch
While the OP has a good point which seems to make sense, the problem is that if you only shave one leg that side goes a bit faster and you end up going in a circle!
Not a problem if you race criteriums.
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Old 07-08-19, 01:45 PM
  #66  
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As the only woman to respond, shaved legs on a male cyclist is way sexier, on or off the bike. And legs get cleaner in the shower.
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Old 07-08-19, 01:50 PM
  #67  
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I also shave the legs to aid in the re-usability of EMS (electrical muscle stimulation) electrode pads, as well as the other advantages mentioned: road rash bandage application/removal, sunscreen application, and keeping my wife's legs off my side of the bed (she HATES the stubble).
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Old 07-08-19, 01:58 PM
  #68  
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Originally Posted by Homebrew01
And massaging is MUCH easier with shaved legs. More significant in my experience than most other reasons.
That is so true. Another point. I have to use sunblock. I find it's a lot easier to apply it to shaved legs than to hairy legs plus I use a LOT less sunblock if my legs are shaved.

Cheers
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Old 07-08-19, 02:26 PM
  #69  
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Originally Posted by Miele Man
That is so true. Another point. I have to use sunblock. I find it's a lot easier to apply it to shaved legs than to hairy legs plus I use a LOT less sunblock if my legs are shaved.

Cheers
Enough hair and you don't need sunblock

gm
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Old 07-08-19, 03:20 PM
  #70  
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Originally Posted by BadGrandma
As the only woman to respond, shaved legs on a male cyclist is way sexier, on or off the bike. And legs get cleaner in the shower.
What took you so long?!?!? You could have saved us days and days of the "real men" nonsense posts.
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Old 07-08-19, 04:06 PM
  #71  
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Originally Posted by gringomojado
If shaving a rider's legs gives an X gain in speed, will shaving only 1 leg result in X/2 (Xx0.5) speed advantage?

For this, let us discount helmets and kickstands from the equation


PS we are not riding shirtless, so pit-shaves don't count

gm
Myth (reduction in air drag). Shaving legs originally was to make bandaging and removal from road rash (scrapes from crashes) easier.

Less hair is smoother. Doesn't necessarily mean less total drag. Many things in aerodynamics have designed-in "roughness", such as the dimples on golf balls, vortex generators, et al; These are "energy adders" designed to delay flow separation, causing the airflow to cling to the back rounded surface better, reducing the size of the wake vortex zone (low pressure), and thus reducing overall drag. Thus, leg hair may hurt, or it may help.
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Old 07-08-19, 04:13 PM
  #72  
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Leg feathers work well enough on Peregrine Falcons to get them up to 200+ mph. We know that much.

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Old 07-08-19, 04:19 PM
  #73  
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Originally Posted by Duragrouch
Myth (reduction in air drag).
Please review:
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Old 07-08-19, 04:27 PM
  #74  
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Originally Posted by bbbean
Please review:
"One valid test is worth a thousand expert opinions." - ancient engineering proverb

I sit corrected. Thank you.
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Old 07-08-19, 04:54 PM
  #75  
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What?

So original question was one leg vs two legs shaved. Don't know. If aero is the hope, just shave the front as the trailing hair should smooth out the turbulence. If shaving is a routine and is a boost of confidence for racing, ok.
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