Lycra and bar ends, am I a wrong un'?

So I wear lycra these days, ride a hardtail with ‘only’ 100mm travel fork and I have bar ends. I had a fair few comments from wheezy chaps on massive bikes whilst riding around Dalby this weekend, comments such as ‘It’s not a road race’, ‘Ooh, look at King of the Mountain’ and ‘How can you ride around here on a hardtail?’

Now is it just me, are these chaps late to the party and feel that the must have 6″ minimum, frt & rear, to get round a trail centre?

Discuss…

Nah, it’s the image thing.

Since getting fitter and rediscovering my road bike, the legs were shaved and the lycra dug out from behind the baggies.

Although I rode my Duster in this morning (in baggies) I was pondering about whether a set of wide flat bars with bar ends may be in order – something quite nice about getting back to riding ‘fast’ rather than ‘agressively’…

If you get my drift.

FAT MIDDLE AGED I.T GIT WARRIORS I TELL YA!

still its better to see them on there DH machines and baggy clothing, than see there beer/pot bellies popping out of lycra

im still sometimes tempted to just go out in lycra, im slim and tall but ride a five so i guess it would just look odd 🙁

im actually itching to just wear lycra….in the winter i sometimes do, but its dark then so doesnt bother people too much

Generally speaking, were these fat t***s that were in baggies knocking the lycra? 😀

It sounds like you met some arseholes.

It sounds like you met some arseholes.

+1

I find riding about 5mm off their rear wheel on the downs gets the message across.

They’re what you call, ‘Trendy Cyclists’. They were probably scared of you knowing you were probably much faster on 90% of the trail.

+1
I find riding about 5mm off their rear wheel on the downs gets the message across.

+2

Especially when on a hardtail.

I ride round Afan wearing lycra (do I even own any proper baggies….?) topped off with a unpeaked helmet with a roadie cap underneath it, on either a 120mm hardtail or my very EuroJey XC full sus with flat bars and, yes, bar ends. Most other folks are armoured up on biggish bikes, can’t say I’ve ever had any snide comments (at least not to my face).

Riding the CX bike round bits of White’s Level does tend to provoke some comments, tho these are usually along the lines of ‘are you insane’.

Ride what you’re happy with in what you are comfy in. I’m way intomiddle-age and probably get laughed at in my baggy kit on my “trailbike”.
Quite simply, I don’t need to race and feel comfier in looser kit. If lycra felt right for me then I’d wear it, similarly if I hadn’t invested to try a f/s bike I’m sure I’d still be content on my old Carrera hardtail. As it goes I’m happy as I am and don’t really care what others think, but also stoked that folk want to get out and ride and enjoy it for what it is; fun.
Run what ya brung and stuff the smallminds.

Oh, I don’t give a sh1t, just find it amusing. It’s only banter at the end of the day, I think… :-/

LOL at the roadie cap for trail riding.

Did you see all those idiots at the Olympics last week? Most of them were on hardtails, they were all in Lycra, and some of them even had bars ends.. don’t they know anything about riding off road?

I commute with lycra and bar ends.
I also avoid trail centres.

Wear what you are happy with – sod everyone else!
I’m one of the overweight middle-aged men who picked up cycling in my mid-30’s, I’m a fairly reasonable rider, and can normally get everywhere i want to go on a 100mm hardtail.
Quite where all the people I see at Swinley, etc are plannig to ride in body armour/neck braces/FF helmets is beyond me.
I did the Evans ‘ride-it’ event around Reading a few months back, nothing too tricky, in fact 90% of it I could have riden on my Hybrid, however there were plenty of people on 6″ travel full-sussers with tonnes of armour…
I guess roadies are no different – I saw a fat middle aged man in full Team GB kit on Sunday, puffing away on about 5k worth of aero-roadbike..

Lycra! Skinsuits and barends is where it’s at!

My first road bike will be arriving in a couple of weeks, its first ride will be done with me wearing full DH gear, Armour, FF lid, the works.

Cant wait for the funny looks 😀

I find bar ends redundant on wider bars, and only really good for catching on stuff mid crash. I also find that on 100mm hardtail I’m quicker than most 99% of people I meet on the trails because I know the trails, but I generally choose to ride a 140mm bike as some of the stuff I do just too abusive to the wee bike.

As for lycra, well that’s your choice and you’re entitled to it. Personally I find it perverse to wear a costume that leaves so little to the imagination and shows no consideration to people who’d rather not have your bits thrust in their face 🙂

But each to their own, life is about choice.

Whether we are young, old, fast or slow, fat or athletic, we all have one thing in common – we look wrong in lycra, some females excluded.
It may look ok speeding along on the bike, but as soon as you step off the bike it’s eye bleach time!

Quite a few folk incensed by the comments you got for your clothing and bike choice, only to go on to have a wee poke at others who choose to wear baggies, armour and ride 160mm or whatever…
Just sayin’
😀

Bagstard
It may look ok speeding along on the bike, but as soon as you step off the bike it’s eye bleach time you look like a futuristic child molester .

My Swiss mate rode all the red and black trails we did in the PdS on his vintage hardtail with 1.90 cheap chinese tyres, v-brakes, 80mm forks and bar ends. Dressed in Lycra of course. Some guy from a retro bike magazine shouted words of encouragement over to him in Linderets.

So who is the cool one, us on our 160mm FS or him on the vintage xc ht. It’s all bikes …

ambalaya

So who is the cool one, us on our 160mm FS or him on the vintage xc ht. It’s all bikes …

The only way to settle that is to go to your local niteclub or disco and have a dance off, let the crowd decide.

Bagstard
It may look ok speeding along on the bike, but as soon as you step off the bike it’s eye bleach time you look like a futuristic child molester .

At least it’s a good way of putting off ,door to door types.

” Hello sir,can I interest you in ….”

Meanwhile ,inside their head ….
” holy **** ,may my God protect me from this apparition ”

At least it’s a good way of putting off ,door to door types.

” Hello sir,can I interest you in ….”

Meanwhile ,inside their head ….
” you think this guy could have put some clothes on. Look at that little thing. Like a cocktail sausage and two marbles. I think it just moved… ”

I take it all back, damn that lycra **** is Dope. And by dope I mean cool.

Looking cool in Lycra. – Is that you topov?

Like a cocktail sausage and two marbles. I think it just moved…

🙂

Coffee. Nasal passages. Quick exit.

Wear what you want, ride where you want! I’d rather be fit than fashionable.

F*ck ’em, f*ck ’em all…

Most of them were on hardtails

Yes this is true, however, the one who took the win did not.

So I wear lycra these days, ride a hardtail with ‘only’ 100mm travel fork and I have bar ends. I had a fair few comments from wheezy chaps on massive bikes whilst riding around Dalby this weekend, comments such as ‘It’s not a road race’, ‘Ooh, look at King of the Mountain’ and ‘How can you ride around here on a hardtail?’

Really? Hmmmm….. When you say you wear lycra do you mean you were dressed in full gaudy team kit that colour co-ordinated with your bike, or maybe an actual king of the mountains jersey?

OP smells of troll to me TBH.

No co-ordination at all, and no KoM jersey, I believe the KoM comment was due to said baggy wearing rider being overtaken on a hill.

My HT Only has 100mm fork and Flat (wide) bars too but an XC whippet it isn’t, nor is its rider…. I

suppose I fall somewhere between the two catagories, I like to cover some miles rather than just ride the same ~30sec sections of track all afternoon, but I also like riding the fun stuff but I’m not lugging about a 6″ bouncer to do it… There is a ‘3rd way’.

Out of interest, were the comments meant as friendly banter or nasty bitchiness? what was their intent?

If the former thats sort of OK in my book, if the latter not really on IMO…

I did the Evans ‘ride-it’ event around Reading a few months back, nothing too tricky, in fact 90% of it I could have riden on my Hybrid, however there were plenty of people on 6″ travel full-sussers with tonnes of armour…

Blimey, I love the trails round here but gnarrrrly they ain’t!

So I wear baggies these days, ride a hardtail with a rigid fork and I have one gear. I had a fair few comments from wheezy chaps on hardtail bikes whilst riding around the woods this weekend, comments such as ‘It’s not a road race’, ‘Ooh, look at King of the Mountain’ and ‘How can you ride around here on a singlespeed?’

Now is it just me, are these chaps late to the party and feel that they must have 3″ minimum, and gears, to get round a trail?

Discuss…

‘How can you ride around here on a hardtail?’

Lol.. I’d have laughed out loud if anyone said that to me!

Quite where all the people I see at Swinley, etc are plannig to ride in body armour/neck braces/FF helmets is beyond me

Maybe to the jump spot – people do properly hurt themselves there from time to time.

And re armour in general, if you are old, fat, insecure and useless, armour helps you feel safer and enocurages you to do more stuff. Not much wrong with that is there?

When you are of the age to have used woolen cycle shorts with a real bit chammy(s?) leather you will know how brilliant lycra was when it came along. Even when it all went a bit bright on the colour front it was much better than before (if you had been a glam rocker there was little change). Now I could say that all this baggy stuff is for generous of proportion folk who don’t want to put the miles our eat to much McSh.t but my (late at over 50) middle age spread is leading me towards this flappy apparel. However when it’s out for a ride you can’t beat a quality pair of bib shorts for keeping your tackle safe. If someone made a bib short baggy combo I’d take a look. Do always ride off road in those water proof baggies when it’s wet, great for stopping the grit grinding into your a…hole.

In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.

Nothing wrong with a Racing Snake look is there??

“is gulty of riding in Euskatel Kit on an XC hardtail”

Moved to lycra last year and not going back to baggies.

Bibs are more comfortable, quicker drying, don’t catch on the seat, don’t rub your knees and don’t flap in the wind.

Bar ends are very handy for climbing and shifting position when the aches and pains set in.

Get the occasional comment or smirk. Don’t really care.

Exactly, it was very hot the other day and the bibs were a God send, just can’t wear baggies for long rides, baggies are an image only thing.

baggies are an image only thing

Where do you put your keys?