Cycling clothes without looking a berk?

On Fri, 12 Mar 2004 19:53:02 -0000, in
<[email hidden]>, "Doki"

Quoted message said:

What do you lot wear for riding a bike then? I'd prefer to
avoid lycra and so on 😉. I've been riding around in jeans
and army surplus trousers (p'raps I shouldn't have bought
the lightweight summer clobber) and keep finding that my
legs have frozen. Any ideas on something normal looking and
a bit warmer?

Jeans are a bad idea in anycase since when they are wet
they stay wet forever. I find them uncomfortable for
cycling even when dry.

Longjohns underneath will help and won't make you look a
berk!

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Doki said:

What do you lot wear for riding a bike then? I'd prefer to
avoid lycra and so on 😉. I've been riding around in jeans
and army surplus trousers (p'raps I shouldn't have bought
the lightweight summer clobber) and keep finding that my
legs have frozen. Any ideas on something normal looking
and a bit warmer?

Nothing wrong with lycra. A pair of Ronhill Tracksters or
Bikesters over the top works well when it's cold.

--
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Richard Bates said:

On Fri, 12 Mar 2004 19:53:02 -0000, in
<[email hidden]>, "Doki"

Quoted message said:

What do you lot wear for riding a bike then? I'd prefer
to avoid lycra and so on 😉. I've been riding around in
jeans and army surplus trousers (p'raps I shouldn't have
bought the lightweight summer clobber) and keep finding
that my legs have frozen. Any ideas on something normal
looking and a bit warmer?

Jeans are a bad idea in anycase since when they are wet
they stay wet forever. I find them uncomfortable for
cycling even when dry.

That's what I thought, so I've only worn them for the ride
from the shed to the backdoor 😉. The army surplus stuff has
the advantage of being mostly or all manmade guff so it
dries out very quickly.

Quoted message said:

Longjohns underneath will help and won't make you
look a berk!

Nice!

Danny Colyer said:

Doki said:

What do you lot wear for riding a bike then? I'd prefer
to avoid lycra and so on 😉. I've been riding around in
jeans and army surplus trousers (p'raps I shouldn't have
bought the lightweight summer clobber) and keep finding
that my legs have frozen. Any ideas on something normal
looking and a bit warmer?

Nothing wrong with lycra.

There's a lot wrong with it. There'd be even more wrong with
it if I wore it
🙂.

Quoted message said:

A pair of Ronhill Tracksters or Bikesters
over the top works well when it's cold.

Will google.

Quoted message said:

What do you lot wear for riding a bike then? I'd prefer to
avoid lycra and so on 😉. I've been riding around in jeans
and army surplus trousers (p'raps I shouldn't have bought
the lightweight summer clobber) and keep finding that my
legs have frozen. Any ideas on something normal looking
and a bit warmer?

When cycling to the gym/frisbee practice I just wear my
tracksuit bottoms. They're made out of some manmade stuff
with a loose cotton liner. They're windproof, light, and
warm (I guess 'cos of the cotton liner stuff, and the
windproofness) and baggy enough to give lots of room. One of
the more cunning bits is that from the shins down the liner
is made of more man made non absorbant stuff so it doesn't
get too sodden in the rain. They cost I guess £12-20 in JJBs
or similar.

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"Doki" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Danny Colyer said:

Doki said:

What do you lot wear for riding a bike then? I'd prefer
to avoid lycra and so on 😉. I've been riding around in
jeans and army surplus trousers (p'raps I shouldn't
have bought the lightweight summer clobber) and keep
finding that my legs have frozen. Any ideas on
something normal looking and a bit warmer?

Nothing wrong with lycra.

There's a lot wrong with it. There'd be even more wrong
with it if I wore

it

Quoted message said:

🙂.

Quoted message said:

A pair of Ronhill Tracksters or Bikesters
over the top works well when it's cold.

Will google.

wiggle.co.ukwiggle.co.ukOpen ↗ have them for £22.99 (plus post) on
their home page.

Jeans are what I wear most of the time but Lycra does a
better job as cycling apparel and neoprene for watersports,
nothing to do with fashion or what others think, just what
works best :-)
--
Regards, Pete

T-shirt + jumper/fleece Ron Hill Tracksters (but they aren't
very warm) or M&S leggings Tchibo cycling jacket (loads of
reflective tape but no yucky fluo yellow anywhere)

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden] Edgware.

"Doki" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Danny Colyer said:

Nothing wrong with lycra.

There's a lot wrong with it. There'd be even more wrong
with it if I wore

it

Quoted message said:

🙂.

Before I started cycling regularly I always thought I'd
_never_ wear lycra. But, I saw the advantage of padded
cycling briefs and put them on under regular shorts.. then I
thought if this is good, maybe 'proper' cycling shorts with
the padded bit sewn in would be better.. and it was. I moved
to lycra shorts, then a lycra top, then lycra tights for
cold weather. And I realised how stupid I'd been to rubbish
it and think it wasn't for me. Lycra is highly practical
cycling gear. It is warm to the touch, it is comfortable, it
is close fitting so it doesn't flap around and create drag,
it flexes easily at the joints and doesn't chaff the skin,
it is light, it is breathable, it dries quickly and easily.
It is a perfectly sensible choice of material for cycle
clothing and cyclists wearing it don't look like 'berks'.
They look like.. cyclists!

Rich

If I am out for a ride (in winter), then I will wear hiking
socks, my cycling shoes, lycra shorts (and if it is really
bitter a pair of hiking style shorts on top. Up top I will
generally wear a base layer, with either a winter style
cycling top or gillet, and then a waterproof & breathable
shell. On my head I wear a helmet and if particularly bitter
I contrive to fit some kind of breathable hat underneath.

My legs don't seem to get cold when wearing shorts unless
the windchill factor is particularly high.

Avoid Cotton at ALL costs. It gets wet then stays wet. Lycra
or polyester is definitely the way to go because if it does
get wet then it dries.

Richard Goodman said:

It is a perfectly sensible choice of material for cycle
clothing and cyclists wearing it don't look like 'berks'.
They look like.. cyclists!

Only if the definition of cyclist includes "130kg of
badly made shrink-wrapped sausages". Lycra is not a
option for me. :-(

I've found that some walking-type outdoors-ey gear works
well for me, it's comfy, doesn't chafe, dries quick and is
light and warmish. Agree with the long-johns trick, though.

--
Matt K Dunedin, NZ

Richard Goodman said:

Lycra is highly practical cycling gear. It is warm to the
touch, it is comfortable, it is close fitting so it doesn't
flap around and create drag, it flexes easily at the joints
and doesn't chaff the skin, it is light, it is breathable,
it dries quickly and easily.

and they enhance the outline of those new thighs that
cycling have given me.

Seriously, I couldn't wear lycra shorts w/o covering them
with a pair of shorts. Don't give a toss now. I wear lycra
shorts or longs, depending on the weather, for all my
cycling. Sooo comfy.

Best wishes Tom Anderson Leighton Buzzard, BEDS England

and a woman is just a woman but a good cigar is a smoke
(Rudyard Kipling)

"Doki" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Danny Colyer wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

There's a lot wrong with it. There'd be even more wrong
with it if I wore

it

Quoted message said:

🙂.

If it's the closeness of the fit that bothers you, Endura
do something called multitights. They are a looser cut,
roubaix lycra tight and I can vouch for their comfort. They
look more light a pair of close fitting tracksuit bottoms
than tights.

Jon

There is another reason to avoid cotton (Jeans).

Cotton transmits 80 times as much heat when wet as compared
to when it's dry. Wool is the same wet or dry as is fleece.
That's shy sheep don't grow cotton and why cotton is ideal
for tropical climates. Maybe tropical sheep have it??

On Fri, 12 Mar 2004 20:28:52 -0000, "Doki" <[email hidden]>

wrote in message : said:

Quoted message said:

Nothing wrong with lycra.

There's a lot wrong with it. There'd be even more wrong
with it if I wore it

Thing is, though there is a reason why so many cyclists wear
the kit. It works. It doesn't drag the legs, keeps out of
the way of chains and such, has pockets at the back which is
handy on a wedgie and so on. If it gets wet, it dries out
quickly as you ride, and most cycle clothing is made of
modern fabrics which wick well and don't stink when you get
sweaty (I find cycling in cotton shirts makes you smell like
a woolshed on a rainy afternoon in about ten minutes). You
can get lined MTB shorts which look no different from
ordinary shorts, I guess, but don't dismiss the good cycling
gear just because you haven't ridden your bike enough to
look good in it yet. Think of it as an incentive scheme ;-)

--
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Gearóid Ó Laoi/Garry Lee said:

Wool is the same wet or dry as is fleece. That's shy sheep
don't grow cotton and why cotton is ideal for tropical
climates. Maybe tropical sheep have it??

Interesting thought.

Anyway, about wool - it's what they used to wear before
lycra was invented, isn't it. Merino wool, specifically.

If you want to look *very* cool in a tight-fitting top, get
one of these: vintagevelos.comjer peugeot1.htmlOpen ↗
vintagevelos.comjer molteni arcore1.htmlOpen ↗ vintagevelos.comjerOpen ↗
cinzano1.html

d.

Richard Goodman said:

choice of material for cycle clothing and cyclists wearing
it don't look like 'berks'. They look like.. cyclists!

My wife says I look 'cute' when I'm fully togged out in neck-to-
ankle lycra.

I'm a complete convert to the lycra cause. My mum got me
some bib tights for christmas - she found it highly amusing
buying tights for her own grown-up son, but I tell you what:
they have been a godsend in the recent freezing weather.

If you're not keen on a tight lycra top, a football shirt is
a good alternative - they're reasonably close fitting and
made out of material that's appropriate for sporting
activities (ie not cotton). Lightweight tracksuit trousers
with elasticated ankles are probably a good non-berk
alternative to lycra - and you can still wear your comfy
padded shorts underneath without anyone noticing.

d.

In message <[email hidden]>, Jon
Senior <jon@restless_REMOVE_lemon.co.uk> writes

Quoted message said:

If it's the closeness of the fit that bothers you, Endura
do something called multitights. They are a looser cut,
roubaix lycra tight and I can vouch for their comfort. They
look more light a pair of close fitting tracksuit bottoms
than tights.

They look pretty skin-tight to me: endura.co.uktightsOpen ↗
multi.html

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In message <[email hidden]>, Doki
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

What do you lot wear for riding a bike then? I'd prefer to
avoid lycra and so on 😉. I've been riding around in jeans
and army surplus trousers (p'raps I shouldn't have bought
the lightweight summer clobber) and keep finding that my
legs have frozen. Any ideas on something normal looking and
a bit warmer?

I've tended to avoid lycra for the same reasons. In winter I
wear fleece Altura cruiser pants with foot stirrups over
padded shorts - although they're not the warmest things in
cold wind or water repellent. I've had warmer fleece
trousers in the past from Zoic, but they don't seem to do
them anymore.

--
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In message <[email hidden]>, david
kenning <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Anyway, about wool - it's what they used to wear before
lycra was invented, isn't it. Merino wool, specifically.

I have a 100 per cent merino wool shirt from Swobo - very
cosy worn underneath anything in winter.

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