MoAlpha

Associated with age, like gray hair and wrinkles, OK?

mprelaw

I dunno. It started with me by my late 20s/early 30s.

I also have some scarring there which probably didn't help.

Dave Cutter

I dunno either! But MoAlpha is correct... it is associated with aging (or age). The cause is unknown... and is considered benign.

osco53

Are you faster with shaved legs? These wind tunnel results are staggering - Sticky Bottle

,,psmL Roflmao,,this should cause a stirr ..
I wish they would have done Fat bearded guys on Tadpole's, word Is the big belly Is very Aero

"I do it because cycling's tied to its history and, good or bad, leg shaving is part of that history. It's a cliché to say that it makes you feel slightly more serious about your sport, but the fact is that it does."

"The best thing is that getting into bed feels pretty good! It's women's best-kept secret: shaved legs and cotton bed sheets! But only up to my hips. I heard a nasty story about an ingrowing hair on a club mate's perineum so I daren't go any further!"

"My girlfriend likes it because my skin feels better when brushing against her skin, and I like it because it looks cool, feels cool, makes me feel faster and even makes my legs look muscular.
Any recreational rider should cut off that leg hair, or avoid Lycra – the two do not mix well."
Don't Knock It Till you try It...

BigDave301

aaahhhhhhhhhhhh no...............

02Giant 

Look at what happened to Bruce Jenner...

DiabloScott

1. I used to like it. Now I don't care.

2. Once I put fake suntan stuff on my legs and some girls laughed at me... I guess it must've looked fake.

fietsbob

I even have whiskers on my Chin.

Loose Chain

I have shaved since I was a teen. I was always a swimmer. No, I do not shave all the time but much of the time. Fortunately I have very little body hair anyways so it does not matter because nobody really notices. I say if you want to then do it, nobody business but yours.

Crewchief911

I don't have much hair on my legs anyway, so I've never thought about it.

Genghis Kant

What's the gain?

70sSanO

Crashing.

John

Carbonfiberboy 

I don't have much leg hair, so I've never shaved and thus don't know much about it. That said, I've been told that women like it and that it makes your legs more sensitive, so it's all good bed-wise. I belong to a bike club where "Hill is not a dirty word and only men shave their legs."

It's not only for crashing, but if you're hairy, it makes a measurable difference in your drag coefficient. Try it. It'll grow back.

Hermes

Welcome to bike forums Genghis Kant . This is an 6 year old thread and many of the posters may not be still members. We suggest that you start a new thread on subject matters that interest you versus post to an old zombie thread.

To answer your question, Specialized did tests in their wind tunnel and found that shaving legs made a significant different in power saved. If you want to watch the video search Specialized Wintunnel shaved.

Here is an excerpt from Velonews…The tests showed that shaving the test subject’s legs reduced drag by about seven percent, saving 15 watts at the same speed. In theory, that translates to a 79-second advantage over a 40-kilometer time trial.

Riders work one or two seasons of training to improve the 40K time trial by 79 seconds. 79 seconds is a significant improvement.

DiabloScott

All the Italians do it.

AlgarveCycling

I shave my legs. I started when I was 17, a Junior. Back then, definite peer pressure was at play with my Team and Club. I stopped in my early 30's when I no longer raced.
3 Years ago, I started shaving again because I race again; MTB and Road.

I do so because I find it helps me keep cooler - at least, it feels that way - in the warmer months and here in Portugal's Algarve region, we have over 300 days of Sun each year. I apply massage creams after hard training, I use warming lotions in Winter, I go to a Masseuse for a sports massage during racing season once a week. It all feels better shaved.

I had a crash 3 weeks ago, a 55km/h+ sprint accident where my chain came off and I hit the tar. I had Winter clothing on which took a beating and saved me from more severe road rash - but what I did get is all but gone now, healed quick, clean, no issues. I'm only just back on the bike nursing tendon strains but all going well and I'll be training again soon.

On my Club rides we have guys who don't shave, never will. Each to their own. Certainly there is no peer pressure among our Group and half the people who turn up for MTB racing don't shave. Personally, so long as I'm racing, training hard, I'll prefer to shave. When I eventually slow down and just ride for general fitness, the scenery and fresh air, maybe then I'll stop doing so again.

79pmooney

No, not crashing. Life post-crash. Less abrasion around the wound because those hair didn't get ripped out of your skin. No hairs in wound. No raw skin being pulled by hairs every time you change bandaging. Faster healing. And best of all, the words "thank you for shaving so I don't have to" by the ER nurse. (That shave is not fun.)

My first post-shave crash was 3 days after my first ever shave in a race. Got patched up by the race ambulance crew after the finish. Sold!

caloso

I've been shaving my legs for so long, it would be weird not to.

GhostRider62

I notice I get more waves when I shave.

And, I am much faster.

I am on a recumbent and the hair on my legs opposes the airflow, effectively adding half an inch on each side of the leg.

Bearhawker

100% of my road rash has been on my arms so far, cycling.

I've lost 2cm off a leg and ended up with pins above and below the knee in a motorcycle accident.

Body hair has never been an issue for any of my injuries.

I think leg-shaving is just next-level stuff for the hyper-vain subset in almost all cases. if you need to shave your legs to win a race, and can prove that it helped - awesome. would it help as much if you stripped the paint off the bike for weight savings? If so I'm guessing most leg shavers would never do that because, aesthetics.

BlazingPedals

I use the clippers on my legs several times per season, and occasionally shave. For me it's not about dropping 0.2 seconds, winning, or even being silky-smooth. It's about not looking like a Sasquach. It's personal grooming. It makes shower-time easier, it makes applying sunblock easier, and it keeps hair from poking out through my shorts/tights. When I do my legs, my back usually gets the same treatment.

caloso

I also shave my face for aesthetics.

drlogik 

In my opinion, unless you are an amateur or Pro racer, shaving your whole leg is pointless. I used to shave around my kneecaps so if I dumped the wound 'might' heal faster. As I look back on my non-racing bike career, I have crashed maybe a dozen times in my 50 years of riding. Only once did I skin-up my knees. Mostly it was hip rash or elbow rash.

I stopped shaving my knees years ago though.

As a competitive swimmer, in both high school and college, shaving down was mandatory by my high school coach and only recommended by my college coach. I always "felt" as though I was going faster when shaved but my times didn't prove that out. I think it's more of a confidence booster than anything else.

In cycling though, if you are competing, shaved legs makes it much easier and more effective when messaging the legs, and yes, I do believe that wounds may heal faster without a bunch of hair on the wound area.

downtube42

I did it once, just to say I did. Meh.

OP, just do it and get it behind you. If it sticks, it sticks.

DiabloScott

I had stitches in my shin once (non-cycling related) - the HM's had to pull out the flaps of curled up flesh to shave the hair off the skin before they could even start with the needle and thread.