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I don't understand the cycling clothes. Help me out, here.

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I don't understand the cycling clothes. Help me out, here.

Old 09-30-10, 04:15 PM
  #51  
neilfein
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Gotta say, for commuting or local rides over 7 or 8 miles, wind resistance isn't really a factor for me. In the winter, I'll wear lycra with a loose cycling jacket over it, even for rides with 30+mph descents. It's comfortable and doesn't get caught in the chain and that's all I really care about. I have some loose exercise pants I use when it gets very cold. I also cycle in canvas sneakers or boots pretty much year-round, for the same reasons.

I also don't own any cycling jerseys. I don't like the idea of a zipper against my skin, and I have a good handlebar bag.

This isn't an either-or question. Use the kinds of cycling clothes that work for you.
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Old 09-30-10, 06:59 PM
  #52  
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Originally Posted by 3speed
Why do so many road cyclists wear the little clingy(sometimes inappropriately so) shorts, gloves, etc?
Why do ballet dancers wear little clingy (sometimes inappropriately so) tights and shoes? Ever took a close look at football player's rear? Clad more often than not in - gasp - white?

It really would have been a valid question if it were not for "inappropriate" slip. Looks like OP came to BF so BF members can validate his fear of Lycra. Guess what - ain't happening.
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Old 09-30-10, 07:57 PM
  #53  
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I have no problem with people who choose to not wear lycra and coolmax. As long as they don't have a problem if I choose to do it. For me the bike-specific stuff is just more comfortable.

And for Chipcom, I don't consider 20 mph 'racing.' It's more like a moderate conversational pace.
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Old 09-30-10, 09:18 PM
  #54  
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Originally Posted by 3speed
Is there something I don't know about? Am I missing out on some huge something that would greatly improve my cycling experience?

Yes.
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Old 10-01-10, 01:24 AM
  #55  
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I've overcome my fear of being in spandex in public now that I've got a bike.

And for the OP - why do you think there are women who do yoga in lululemon Groove yoga pants? Why do competitive swimmers wear speedos/jammers or skinsuits?
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Old 10-01-10, 03:53 AM
  #56  
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Originally Posted by 3speed
The shorts don't make any sense to me from a comfort standpoint. I've never had a problem. What's wrong with regular shorts?
*good* shorts actually supply compression to your quads which helps reduce fatigue. They are also infinitely more comfortable on long rides than shorts.
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Old 10-01-10, 05:12 AM
  #57  
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Originally Posted by BlazingPedals
I have no problem with people who choose to not wear lycra and coolmax. As long as they don't have a problem if I choose to do it. For me the bike-specific stuff is just more comfortable.

And for Chipcom, I don't consider 20 mph 'racing.' It's more like a moderate conversational pace.
I don't consider it racing either...and don't require cycling shorts to maintain it.
My point was that the slight reduction of wind resistance isn't a big deal unless you are racing.
There are much better reasons why cycling shorts are nice to have for non-racers than the wind resistance benefit of a few milliseconds.
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Old 10-01-10, 06:38 AM
  #58  
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Originally Posted by Sirrus Rider
One other reason is the spandex shorts aren't as likely to snag on the bike. I used to wear Mountain bike shorts which are like padded swim trunks the problem was the leg openings had a tendency of snagging up on the saddle horn. so I went to roadie shorts full time.
Same here, or I'd wear jersey type short or cargos over my regular shorts. I got sick of getting hung up. And I was suprised just how much heat those things were trapping. Roadie shorts all the way now.
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Old 10-01-10, 07:25 AM
  #59  
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Originally Posted by El Conquistador De Amore
Same here, or I'd wear jersey type short or cargos over my regular shorts. I got sick of getting hung up. And I was suprised just how much heat those things were trapping. Roadie shorts all the way now.
Try Prana Mojo shorts...gusseted crotch and a fairly tight fit (unless you have chicken legs)
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Old 10-03-10, 11:43 AM
  #60  
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inappropriately so
Because many of us don't have Puritan body shame, so the issue is moot.
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Old 10-03-10, 12:15 PM
  #61  
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Originally Posted by Kimmitt
Because many of us don't have Puritan body shame, so the issue is moot.
Just because the wearer isn't ashamed, doesn't mean its desirable for the viewer. Although I'm an advocate of wear whatever you're comfortable in. I just prefer not to see the guys sporting the plumber's crack.
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Old 10-03-10, 12:33 PM
  #62  
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Originally Posted by chandltp
Just because the wearer isn't ashamed, doesn't mean its desirable for the viewer. Although I'm an advocate of wear whatever you're comfortable in. I just prefer not to see the guys sporting the plumber's crack.
Errr... What? I've never seen any even halfway decent pair of bike shorts that would show "The Crack" Not unless you had an XXL squeezed into a XXS. And that's not the fault of the shorts..Anyway, I wear bib shorts.
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Old 10-03-10, 12:45 PM
  #63  
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Originally Posted by coldfeet
Errr... What? I've never seen any even halfway decent pair of bike shorts that would show "The Crack" Not unless you had an XXL squeezed into a XXS..
That was the implication I got from the OP.. ill fitting cycling clothes. Maybe I read it wrong.
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Old 10-03-10, 01:07 PM
  #64  
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Originally Posted by chandltp
That was the implication I got from the OP.. ill fitting cycling clothes. Maybe I read it wrong.
Ahh, I think his problem is the "Front View" Not so much ill fitting, more too tight fitting.

Personally, I don't know what his problem is, it's not like he doesn't have the same "stuff"

Maybe they were confused, and thought I was female. Though that would be a stretch.
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Old 10-03-10, 01:26 PM
  #65  
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Originally Posted by 3speed
If it's warm out and you're sweating, wouldn't you want the coolness from it? That's why we sweat. It cools you down. Maybe I'll take a couple extra shirts with me next time I'm riding in heat and change them out a couple times to see if I'd prefer a dry shirt vs. a regularly sweaty t-shirt. Do you think that would be a decent comparison without having to spend the $$$ not knowing if I'd even care about wearing a jersey?
Yes, but you're way off base here. Sweat staying on your skin is not good. Sweat making your clothes wet is not good. Sweat needs to evaporate in order to cool you off. Fabric needs to be skintight in order to carry the sweat to the outside of the fabric where it can evaporate and cool you. Fabric also needs to have quick evaporation properties so it can transfer that moisture much faster, and not be like a wet damp brick on your back once it gets wet. It needs to dry quickly so it regulates you body temperature well. Traditional materials simply do not do any of that too well. Coolmax and similar materials excel at wicking sweat away and keeping your body temperature not too cold nor too hot.

Bottom line, try one quick dry fabric t-shirt and you will probably never go back to regular t-shirts. Once you start sweating, new fabrics let your skin breathe that out, so you're not soaked trough with sweat once you reach your destination. Cool down and drying are much much faster. It is all about suitability for use.
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Old 10-03-10, 04:25 PM
  #66  
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Bottom line, try one quick dry fabric t-shirt and you will probably never go back to regular t-shirts. Once you start sweating, new fabrics let your skin breathe that out, so you're not soaked trough with sweat once you reach your destination. Cool down and drying are much much faster. It is all about suitability for use.
Not true, and very easy to disprove. Take a 100F day and wear a cotton t-shirt and on another day a polytec-type shirt and ride. The cotton shirt will retain your sweat and cool you (the fibers contract when wet) -- which is exactly why some folks won't use cotton in the winter -- because it pulls heat from the body when it gets wet and can chill you out.

pulling heat = good in hot weather

Cotton is a terrific material in warm/hot weather. I even wear it through the winter, but it's for other reasons.

Also, most synthetics do NOT breathe worth a crap -- even folks who like them often notice this. Plus they stink something fierce after even minimal wear.

There's actually only one thing in that paragraph that is 100% correct - synthetics do dry quickly.

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Old 10-03-10, 04:31 PM
  #67  
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Fabric needs to be skintight in order to carry the sweat to the outside of the fabric where it can evaporate and cool you.
This makes no sense either. Ever seen people in the Middle East living in the desert wear skin-tight clothes? No. They typically wear extremely loose-fitting white linens and cotton.

Loose clothing cools the body better than tight-fitting clothes.
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Old 10-03-10, 05:06 PM
  #68  
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If people want to take clothing technology advice from folks stupid enough to live their lives in the dessert, fine by me. All I know is that when I tried a Nike coolmax shirt in the mid-90s (when I was a runner), I knew instantly that I would never again do any sporting activity in cotton, especially not in humid Tokyo where I was living back then! It's just a night and day difference. Same goes for cycling clothes.

The fact that "synthetics" dry faster is the reason why they keep you cooler: they can continually draw moisture off your skin and have it evaporate. Cotton just soaks it up and once wet, can no longer transport any more moisture off the body. If it's baggy, it also doesn't contact as much body surface as the "tight" shirts do and therefore is missing out on a lot of cooling opportunity.

Last edited by pacificaslim; 10-03-10 at 05:18 PM.
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Old 10-03-10, 05:09 PM
  #69  
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I ride in cotton most of the time. There are only a couple days a year here that are both hot and humid enough to really make cotton suck.

I don't think I could hack a summer in Turbine's neck of the woods in cotton, however. I lived in Fairfax county for a few years and recall some warm, thick air back there.
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Old 10-03-10, 05:53 PM
  #70  
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If people want to take clothing technology advice from folks stupid enough to live their lives in the dessert, fine by me.
You mean, like a banana split?

BTW- way to toss millions of people under the bus as if they chose to live there anymore than a diabetic chooses not to produce insulin.

https://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extr...heat_guide.asp

The Center for Disease Control and basically everybody else worth their salt will advise loose clothing to be worn in the heat. On a bike, at decent speed, it is even better because you generate a headwind and loose clothing catches wind and will "flap" too cool you.

As far as synthetics, it may be true the if they are loose fitting and have a zipper or vents that they could do as good or maybe a better job than cotton keeping you cool.....some of my old bike jerseys are thin and probably just as cool as a cotton t-shirt when unzipped.

They also cost what an entire pack of t-shirts cost. Cotton is cheap and doesn't stink.

Different strokes.
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Old 10-03-10, 05:57 PM
  #71  
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Originally Posted by TurbineBlade
This makes no sense either. Ever seen people in the Middle East living in the desert wear skin-tight clothes? No. They typically wear extremely loose-fitting white linens and cotton.

Loose clothing cools the body better than tight-fitting clothes.
Different application. In the Desert, the whole aim is to avoid sweating in the first place, ever seen an Arab in full robes jogging? They also typically move slow, some people think it's because they're lazy, then they try moving fast in the Desert, and find out WHY they move slow.
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Old 10-03-10, 06:24 PM
  #72  
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Originally Posted by 3speed
Why do so many road cyclists wear the little clingy(sometimes inappropriately so) shorts, gloves, etc?
Because I am a sexy beast.

That's why I wear the bibs and jersey anyways. The gloves are to protect the hands or for cold weather.
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Old 10-03-10, 06:36 PM
  #73  
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I can't believe this thread has gotten so much milage. It took me 2 seconds into OP original post to see that he was not asking a question but rather making a statement. Personally I think he is a fricken Moran.
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Old 10-03-10, 06:56 PM
  #74  
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Originally Posted by chipcom
I don't consider it racing either...and don't require cycling shorts to maintain it.
My point was that the slight reduction of wind resistance isn't a big deal unless you are racing.
There are much better reasons why cycling shorts are nice to have for non-racers than the wind resistance benefit of a few milliseconds.
Ah... I agree completely.
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Old 10-03-10, 09:00 PM
  #75  
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Originally Posted by whitecat
Fabric needs to be skintight in order to carry the sweat to the outside of the fabric where it can evaporate and cool you. Fabric also needs to have quick evaporation properties so it can transfer that moisture much faster, and not be like a wet damp brick on your back once it gets wet. It needs to dry quickly so it regulates you body temperature well.
Wrong on the first one. I own several versions of these shirts and they fit looser than my cycling jersey - they fit like a regular snug-fit T-shirt from American Apparel. But they do wick up moisture like nothing else. I don't know how lululemon has managed to pull this off, unlike Under Armour and NikeFIT which needs to be worn close to the skin for it to work.
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