can someone explain to me why a lot of xc riders wear tights/leggings. i saw a lot today in thetford, im guessing their in training because they were going at some pace. whats the benefits? just a bit miffed because its been a nice warm day. although.. all seemed very polite as they side booted me out the way 😀

Toasty warm innit

there was a bloke riding round wharncliffe today in full on olympic track replica kit.

they wanted you to look at their bulge

Why wouldn’t they? Far more practical that bloody great baggies that get in the way. Comfort not fashion.
Can’t speak for the warmth issue as we all like it different.

It was about 6 degrees today, ill cover my knees ta, and lycra is the comfiest and most practical. What a strange question 😕

surely their must be a more practical reason than that!

Protecting your knee joints from the cold is vital if you want to continue riding into your later life.

While you say it was toasty when you were out, it may be that the riders you saw started out much earlier when it was cold. 😀

Tights are wholly practical winter wear, and its is still winter even if the sun was quite pleasant. 2.5 degrees when i left the house this morning.

I think Stephen Roche or Sean Kelly said he would always wear leggings if it was below 20 degrees, warm muscles work better, less prone to injure, ditto the knee joints. I’ve taken to wearing waterproof shorts on top to keep my ar$e dry however.

Some downhillers also wear this kind of things:

Lycra-tastic on our ride today, as per usual:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpOrsG_yvDQ[/video]

Guess the Spanish are generally a bit surer about their masculinity?

yeah, beggers belief why any grown man would want to wear them. Ronhill is about as close as I’ll go.

as of this week I have switched to my 3/4 length lycra.

surely their must be a more practical reason than that!

Warm, comfy… How can they be more practical?

yeah, beggers belief why any grown man would want to wear them.

The public think you look like a dick regardless, may as well wear the most practical things. Put baggies over the top if you’re fat and insecure.

I assumed that the OP was referring to it being odd to wear tights on a nice day, rather than just being surprised that people wear them.
I see quite a few roadies doing it on quite pleasant days like today. Presumably because they’ve read/seen some pros doing it. Meanwhile all the runners are out in shorts and vests for the same reason 🙂
I’d be genuinely interested in seeing a proper research with respect to the cold knees = injury hypothesis. I’d imagine being halfway down a major limb, they’re a fairly consistent 37C. As I understand the cartilage itself has a very poor blood supply but I haven’t seen anything which says this causes temperature related injuries and I find it hard to believe that there is a major change in viscosity of things like synovial fluid.

cold knees = injury hypothesis

for me it’s not a hypothesis, it’s fact. when it’s cold and my knees are exposed, they hurt. when they’re covered, they don’t.
I’m probably just imagining it though as that’s not proper proven research.

I wear them because i’m cold. I’ll wear baggy’s over top to spare by dignity though

I did an audax in Devon nearly everyone wore bibtights as it was cold and windy .What would the op suggest we wore to keep warm ?

maybe if my legs were ain’t as hairy, i’d raid my my wives primark collection 😉

It was still about 6 degrees today though… I put on a jumper when I went out, and I’d put tights on to ride. Didn’t see anyone in town wearing shorts.

And the alternative being?

for me it’s not a hypothesis, it’s fact. when it’s cold and my knees are exposed, they hurt. when they’re covered, they don’t.

That’s the cold weather makes some knees hurt hypothesis though.

Saw a couple of brave souls in shorts roadie-ing around Carsington area this morning – we all agreed they were either brave or foolish, given that there was a suprising amount of snow lying above about 700ft and freezing fog below 500ft. Weird weather today.

seriously..i’m not taking the p*ss. everyone is different when it comes to the cold! and i can see why some serious xc racers would wear them. its a sunday night question and its kept you all amused for 5 mins

Bemused more than amused.

3/4’s with fleecy knees most of the time for me. Has to be well below zero to wear full tights.

Roadies tend to wear tights for longer in the year because they suffer from more wind chill.

Having started my riding career in lycra, then switched to nothing but baggies for a few years, now back again to lycra, I reckon the latter is far more comfortable.

Lycra is warm and very comfortable but it does have its faults!

Well, it is Sunday night and I need a laugh before work tmw! 😉

The level of troll thread is really getting poor these days, 2/10 and I’m being generous.

D- must try harder.

i would have to finish the humiliation off and bundle you into the stingers 🙂

Men in lycra is pretty grim.

No reason why it has to ever be on show.

If the lycra is ever necessary, mine is covered by jeans/dh pants/shorts.

What is it with baggy shorts too, why cant they be fitted?

Any MTB related fashion is pretty laughable though, whether it be DH PJs, your typical MBUK attire or even full lycra, none of them are exactly visually pleasant.

Surely it is function over fashion. I am a lycra wearer and I find it highly amusing when I see someone wearing shorts over lycra. Now that does require a discussion!

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lycra power!

Why are my eyes drawn to the odd one out amongst the group?

Put baggies over the top if you’re fat and insecure.

I’ll let you decide and I don’t wear baggies ‘over the top’ unless you mean my undies (must have a fat arse).

It’s mid February and quite literally freezing cold, I could tell that by the snow on the tops, frost on the grass and black ice just about everywhere.
I won’t go bare legged until it is actually warm, and not just a bit sunny.
I also want to be as efficient as possible warm muscles help with that.
What do people wear when the tarmac starts to melt?

I wear my humvee shorts over the tight as sitting on a wet pad for 2.5hrs is not really pleasent.
Oh and +1 for exposed cold knee grumpyness/ acheing. I’ll wear my g form pads over the tights even on the road bike to keep them warm.

Nearly all the roadies I know like to wear tights and other women’s clothing. I guess they don’t mind folk knowing they’re a tranny.

Nearly all the roadies I know like to wear tights and other women’s clothing. I guess they don’t mind folk knowing they’re a tranny.

😆
Troll of the year? Who will bite?

I’m falling for three quarter length bib tights on cold days. But I always have problems with Lycra bottoms snagging the pad on the saddle nose. Tend to wear ordinary shorts over the top for mtbing.