I see it as an extension of mountain walking, not an extension of road cycling
you'll be taking the wheels off that bike, presumably?

I really don't get all the hate towards baggies over lycra.

Personally, I'm a bit fat and don't especially want my knob on show to all and sundry. What's the problem with that? Yes I know it's not a fashion show etc etc but so what? I wouldn't wander round the shops (or anywhere) on a very hot day in speedos either, despite that probably being the most appropriate functional wear for the conditions – doesn't mean I'm fashion obsessed. Being self conscious about how you look does not make you an idiot. We all own a mirror somewhere in the house to make sure we don't leave for work with our shirt buttoned up sideways or breakfast round our chops – doesn't make us image-obsessed fools though.

I wear Lycra under my baggies – I do it because it is comfy and the baggies look better than lycra.

On another subject – Any one still wearing a one piece ski suit on the slopes? Nope – baggie stuff all the way!!

you'll be taking the wheels off that bike, presumably?

I once did, I adapted an old rucksack so I could carry the bike on my back on big 'hike a bike' routes in the lakes. In order to make it stable you had to take the wheels off and lash them to the rucksack aswell. It worked of a fashion, but we soon gave up on doing silly stuff like that.

Tom, you seem to be suggesting that Baggies are a new thing, they're not. Ok, shorts were a little bit shorter 17 years ago, but everyone I knew were wearing baggy shorts over lycra padded shorts plus bumbag and probably no helmet.

" we all ride bikes and fundamentally bike wear looks a bit cockish to the untrained eye. "

Totally true – baggies or lycra, we all look daft to the rest of the human race, just slightly different sorts of daft

Speak for yourself.
I look fab' in my bib shorts or bib longs.
Even if I do have a tummy on me (BMI 24.8)
You should have seen the sorry state some of the Tec' / downhill riders were in on Saturday's Kona Mash-up.
Lycra all the way up in the hills in December.

I wear lycra mostly in winter as its the best material for shite conditions.

I do wear baggies over the top of them on my night rides as we all drive to meet up then ride then drive home. Wearing baggies over lycra when you get back to the car its easy to take baggies off and then can jump straight in car without getting seats covered in mud. As little faffing as possible to get home for food.

Eve – That rock looks ace. And I agree that Ronhills work very well for cold wet days hiking and biking.

Snagging has been mentioned re baggies – pish! I've have had my chamois snagging on the saddle-nose when wearing just the lycras. Wearing proper shorts seems to prevent this.

[shields head in preparation from incoming fire] 🙂

If you go fast enough then you won't snag anything

Baggies over lycra, but not for any knob-hidery reasons, I wear lycra on the road bike and will happily strut about all day in it, after all it's only a willy, and 'you'd have to be better looking to see it angry".

Baggies over lycra because baggies save the expensive lycra from getting knacked in the mud.

Lycra for me. Don't care what people think. Baggies are better for chaps and/or chapettes with a fuller figure. I'm a scrawny get,consequently baggy shorts tend to snag on the saddle.

Unfortunately, some others are a little off put by it; I work with mostly women (and 2 of the 4 other blokes are gay, so who knows what to think!! ) and some of the girls do get a bit embarrased, so I tend to wear baggies when I commute.

their problem, not yours!

Baggies are a bit more 'practical' if the ride ends at the pub, cafe, pizza place afterwards as we don't have trail centres near us with 'on-site' facilities, so you're mixing with the 'general public'. Again, I don't care, but others do

but you clearly DO care – you care what other people think, because you dress the way you do for others' benefit.

In all seriousness, I have no actual problem with that, if you're more comfortable that way, fine – I just don't see the point, personally.

However, on several ocassions at work talk has sidetracked into cyclists "silly outfits with tappy shoes and bulges in skin tight clothing" often accompanied by lots of giggling and cat calls etc; I am not trying to make out I have a big dick to be waving around (my wife will confirm that! ), it is simply a case that some people do get flustered by cyclists in lycra and don't know how to handle it; a number of the women that I work with don't. For others it's no big deal. My point was, that to say that no-one cares is a bit much; maybe you don't, I know I don't, but not everyone is of that same opinion.

when women get together and they're bored at work they will try and raise a giggle at anything.
pretty soon they'll get tired of it and move on to something else.

… I wouldn't wander round the shops (or anywhere) on a very hot day in speedos either, despite that probably being the most appropriate functional wear for the conditions – doesn't mean I'm fashion obsessed.

yes but that isn't generally regarded as normal.
Wearing lycra for cycling is perfectly normal.

I really don't get all the hate towards baggies over lycra.

can't speak for anybody else, but there's no hate whatsoever from my perspective. Didn't mean it to seem like that. Just lack of empathy, I guess.

Being self conscious about how you look does not make you an idiot.

No course it doesn't. Admitting it at least makes you honest, and that's admirable. What i can't stand though is the pretence that it's something different when really it's self consciousness.
Saying 'i don't like lycra because i'm self conscious about my looks' is jsut as good as saying 'i do wear it, because i'm not'.
But inventing a multitude of excuses to such as it's more comfortable, it's got more pockets, it's an old one i've always had, it's warmer, it's more protective; to try and pretend it's nothing to do with self consciousness, that's what gets up my goat.

bonj
you don't have an answer for me? I can't believe your first post.

I always wear roadie gear, one of the main reasons is to annoy mtbers who think we "should" wear baggies.
The only point in baggies is to make some vague effort to hold on to the notion that biking is the sort of thing you do spontaneously – by just 'hopping' onto a bike in whatever you happen to be wearing at the time, but we all know that's not the case.

I can't believe someone would think like this, I wonder, who is the one being 'annoyed'?. Whether you come from an outdoors background or a road cycling/xc background, who cares. Although, I come from an outdoors perspective and clothing to match, and don't get the lycra thing in MTB, But, I don't really care what others choose to wear and I certainly don't look at it from your one sided view, wear what the hell you like and let others wear what they want. I have never worn lycra and don't care to, but people I ride with do and it's fine with me. but this is just a stupid atittude:

I always wear roadie gear, one of the main reasons is to annoy mtbers who think we "should" wear baggies.

I wear lycra when I race, and these days not even then sometimes.

I wear it under baggies because if I hit the ground, a good baggy short is going to save me from scrapes better than just lycra. They have pockets and some are waterproof. That and I don't like to look like a twink's wet dream.

lol
what's a twink BTW?
lol

Yerah surely a nice thick bit of cordura or nylon is much more robust than yer 1mm lycra

Also I genuinely find it a bit disgusting to be riding my bike with a lycra clad male arse in front of me.
On women though, it's great. But then women wear all kind of weird stuff, that's what they do.

i'd say google it but it's not worksafe in any way.

That's fine, I'll take your word for it 😆

I always wear roadie gear, one of the main reasons is to annoy mtbers who think we "should" wear baggies.

you do seem a bit of an arse

perhaps he was just joking. 😐

Like some of the others here I wear lycra bibs under my off-the shelf cargo shorts. Lycra for the comfort, canvas outer for a tough hide and lots of pockets.

I keep the shorts up with braces because I don't like the crotch catching on the nose of the saddle. I wear a regular bike jersey over all that because it's comfortable and it's what I've been wearing for bike rides since before I rode the dirt. I keep a handy kit of ride essentials that fits neatly in my jersey pockets.

their problem, not yours!

Indeed; but that doesn't mean I have to continually remind them of it.

but you clearly DO care – you care what other people think, because you dress the way you do for others' benefit.

I have the option of being able to choose – whether to make certain people I work with uncomfortable or not. It is a far easier world when not. That doesn't however change MY opinion on whether or not I find Lycra comfortable to ride in or if I prefer to ride in baggies over lycra.

In all seriousness, I have no actual problem with that, if you're more comfortable that way, fine – I just don't see the point, personally.

That is the point – you don't see a problem, fair enough, and I don't care if you are in lycra, baggies, tracksuit bottoms or a tailored suit but that doesn't mean everyone else has 'no problem' with it – especially in a non-cycling scenario such as some peoples (and my) work place – regardless of it that is 'right' or 'wrong'.

I even said in my post that I wear lycra – I did to work this morning under my waterproof shorts – it's just that I only 'fully lycra up' in general when going cycling. When I am going to end up in a different social situation once I get off the bike, I don't think that it is so bad to maybe have a little respect or thought or whatever you want to call it, for others who may not be so comfortable if I were to be in full lycra get-up.

Oh FFS, wear what you want, stop making such a fuss over nothing…

bonj
you don't have an answer for me? I can't believe your first post.

you say you wear baggy hill walking gear as you see it as an extension of hill walking as opposed to road riding, well – the only difference between mtbing and hill walking is (a) you're going faster so good to be more aerodynamic and less 'flappy', (b) you might want to wear longs without them catching in the drivetrain, (c) you might want something with a seat pad that holds it in place.
you might not feel the need to look for a solution to the above three things but i do.
If you say 'it's an extension of hill walking not road riding' actually ISN'T yet another excuse for self consciousness, then that's fine i believe you.

I have the option of being able to choose – whether to make certain people I work with uncomfortable or not. It is a far easier world when not. That doesn't however change MY opinion on whether or not I find Lycra comfortable to ride in or if I prefer to ride in baggies over lycra.

There's nothing wrong with making an effort to make up for the failings of others. Indeed, i'm probably more a unreasonable person for not doing so – but at the end of the day it IS their prudishness that is the reason for their uncomfortableness, not the fact that wearing lycra is abnormal.

The way I see it lycra is perfectly normal and i am not going to become a cycling apologist by not wearing it for the sake of others' sensibilities. Simple. End of, as far as i'm concerned.
But i'm well aware that's probably a fairly arrogant attitude – but then again, i'm a fairly arrogant person. To be fair to you, only you know your workplace, so you're the one best placed to judge what's best for your situation – not me. Like I say, the only thing that annoys me is the pretence and the excuses.

this is just a stupid atittude

perhaps he was just joking.

🙄 course i was joking

I think the middle aged ladies at the local coffee stop quite like my Nalini clad package on show.

ou're going faster so good to be more aerodynamic and less 'flappy', (b) you might want to wear longs without them catching in the drivetrain, (c) you might want something with a seat pad that holds it in place.

a) well unless you are as fast as steave peat or mister gnar that is not an issue.
b) Yes and it's called cycling trousers such as he kona primo pants they work great and dont catch in the drivetrain.
c) No I don't see am I nowhere as fat that I need a pad.

I still ain't doing it. Not with my figure. And I need to multi use. My baggies get used for pub, walking, and rock climbing.

In summary then not wearing lycra seems to be an anglo-saxon, prudish, homophobic, fat, small, small cock, fashion thing then?

'cyclists' wear lycra

'people who cycle' wear baggies

'cyclists' wear lycra

'people who cycle' wear baggies

Racers and racers wannabe wear lycra other wear shorts.

not wearing lycra seems to be an anglo-saxon, prudish, homophobic, fat, small cock, fashion thing then?

🙄

BTW – bibs do look comfy cold-weather wear, but how do you pee/poo? Do they have a zippers/velcro or do you have to partially disrobe?

Bimbler are you a continental, shameless, gay, skinny, big, big cocked fashion dropout then?
Cos I think I remember seeing you on Eurotrash.

I think the middle aged ladies at the local coffee stop quite like my Nalini clad package on show.

Damn right. 😀

BTW – bibs do look comfy cold-weather wear, but how do you pee/poo? Do they have a zippers/velcro or do you have to partially disrobe?
peeing is easy, I just roll back the ankle hem an inch or two. Pooing is a bit more tricky, mind.

In summary then not wearing lycra seems to be an anglo-saxon, prudish, homophobic, fat, small, small cock, fashion thing then?

If you like. Do you wear speedos on the beach?

Do you wear speedos on the beach?

Everyone out of the anglo-saxon world sphere (well by that I mean Europe I suppose) seem to wear "trunks" and have done for years rather than the uncomfortable (when swimming) shorts that seem to have proliferated since the prudish yanks deemed Speedos and their like "gay"? Strange. Why are anglo saxons so scared of showing their weener bulge. I remember reading in the summer that one of the theme parks banned wearing "speedos", Alton Towers it was

Alton Towers band Speedos

The way I see it lycra is perfectly normal and i am not going to become a cycling apologist by not wearing it for the sake of others' sensibilities. Simple. End of, as far as i'm concerned.

Speedos are perfectly normal for swimming, so presumably you'd be perfectly happy to wander round your office in them after a quick pre-work swim then? After all, if anyone else had any issues it'd be their problem wouldn't it?

You're trying too hard to point out that you're above all this self-concious stuff. I'd think most people on here are quite happy to wear lycra on it's own on the bike and less keen when in non-cycling situations and as Jase_MK says that doesn't make anyone an image-obsessed fool.

I bought my first set of cycling shorts when I discovered that they were available in something other than lycra. I guess I'm just too self-conscious for lycra. Plus my nose runs a lot so I find the pockets on baggies handy for hankies. When I'm commuting I find it easier to keep keys and the like in the pockets in my shorts rather than my rucksack, as they're easier to hand.