[Closed] Does it happen to all of us eventually?

Never mind all the lycra nonsense Binners ,what bike have you got?
🙂

I like a gentle ride in the hills & quiet countryside on my road bike as a de-stress every now & again. Sometimes its just nice to spin the pedals and not spend half an hour washing sh1t off your gear. I don't use it that much, but I'm glad to have a road bike.

Always wore lycra on mountain bikes, cos the whole gang of us always have, so no issues there for me.

Lycra ain't the best look, and im unlikely to pop to shops in it. But If you are going on a longish road ride where any kind if speed is involved I'd definitely be wearing it. It's not that it makes you go faster, it's that it doesn't flap around. If I'm going for a Pootle on the gravel bike then obviously this isn't an issue.

Addressing the no pockets..there are pockets on jersey, and you can use a saddle bag. I have no idea what you'd need to bring on a road ride that required a backpack. That said I have no idea why people on mtbs can't venture outside for 90 min without carrying one either.

It’s weird that as a 47 year old roadie and mtb’er my wife takes the mickey out of me more when I’m in my baggies. She thinks I look like an old man trying to dress young (ala Kevin the teenager)
Whereas she thinks I look decent in lycra. Then again I’m 67kgs....
(This place is weird, I remember a thread a year or so ago with similar comments to Trimax’s about roadies having 6kg bikes but all being overweight). Very strange. I have a 6.5kg bike and an aero bike.
Damascus, what’s this about not cleaning the bike and kit after every ride?? Blasphemous!
Saxonrider PKW is Pro Kit Banker (obviously replace the B) It’s a roadie thing, if you’ve not been paid to wear it, you’ve not earned the right....most people couldn’t give a flying fig but for some they find it amusing.

He probably rides an aero bike though.

That's just the roadie equivalent of those of you who went out and bought a 150mm+ trail or endure bike and live nowhere near anything vaguely MTBish. (Yeah, sure, it gets used once a year in the Alps and for those regular trips to Wales that you make every month. Or three times a year, or whatever. Other than that, you traipse around Swinley, Cannock or Sherwood Pines on it.)

😀

Never mind all the lycra nonsense Binners, what bike have you got?

A Trek Madone 3. It's new to me. A few years old but in great nick. In fact, its absolutely pristine. Road bikes don't get the same punishment as mountain bikes, do they?

I do worry about the combination of slender, lightweight carbon frame and my pie and beer fuelled bulk

my wife takes the mickey out of me more when I’m in my baggies.

Mine gets disconcerted when I* put arm and legwarmers n before bibshorts and shirt. I have now overshared. Not that I've been on a roadbike since September.

(*Yours loves it, obv)

I've a road bike, but it's almost exclusively for indoor rollers. While I quite like the idea of a nice summer ride on it, the same conditions that make a road ride nice are the same conditions that make a mtb ride nice, and at that pont there's  no competition

I’m about as likely to leave the house in a ball gown as lycra roady gear. It’s just not happening, because I’d look equally as ridiculous in both

You'll look ridiculous in baggies on a road bike. You'll look ridiculous in baggies on a mountain bike. You'll look ridiculous whatever you wear on whatever bike. All cyclist look ridiculous and anyone who thinks they don't is wrong.

one the nice things about road riding is it's generally less faff than mountain bike both before and after a ride.

And all rides will still be ending at the pub, not a coffee shop

Whereas a nice cold beer at a country pub halfway round a sunny road (/Grrrravel) ride is quite nice.

Road bikes don’t get the same punishment as mountain bikes, do they?

Mine does as I also ride it off road all year round and the last few months of rain have the bike and me being covered in mud every ride.

All cyclist look ridiculous and anyone who thinks they don’t is wrong.

While this is indeed true, there are degrees of ridiculousness. And there is a point where ridiculous crosses a line into visually offensive. the sight of me in lycra would most definitely fall into that category.

The sight of pretty most anyone in lycra is firmly in that category, but some are more self-aware than others 🙂

A Trek Madone 3. It’s new to me. A few years old but in great nick. In fact, its absolutely pristine.

Nice one.

You're lucky Binners, staying in a lovely area with those 'flexible' working hours,you can suit yourself when to go for a pootle.
I think you'll get hooked. 🙂

While this is indeed true, there are degrees of ridiculousness. And there is a point where ridiculous crosses a line into visually offensive. the sight of me in lycra would most definitely fall into that category.

The sight of pretty most anyone in lycra is firmly in that category, but some are more self-aware than others 🙂

Who really cares what you look like? As someone said up the thread, it's about the best clothes for the job. I find Lycra to be more comfortable for longer road rides - less seams to dig-in or chafe, and also the flapping issue. Never really had a hang-up about Lycra, as "back in the day" plenty
of mountain bikers wore it too

A Trek Madone 3.

Pronounce it "mad one" if anyone asks.

Don't bother with the intermediate step of lycra shorts and shirt Binners, just make the

Baggies ➡ one piece aero skinsuit

in a single hop.

"I’m about as likely to leave the house in a ball gown. . ."

Who really cares what you look like?

Me. Not to any kind of serious degree. Just to the sartorial level where people don't point at me and burst into hysterical fits of laughter

Never really had a hang-up about Lycra, as “back in the day” plenty of mountain bikers wore it too

I didn't. And I'm not about to start now

Don’t bother with the intermediate step of lycra shorts and shirt Binners, just make the

Baggies ➡ one piece aero skinsuit

in a single hop.

Plus a nice hat to complete the outfit.

There won’t be any lycra going on, obviously (nobody deserves to see that), but is this a natural side-effect of the ageing process that you just have to accept?

Just go on Zwift where no-one can see your bulging Lycra and everyone's avatar is a paradigm of muscular perfection. Over 100kg with a pot belly and bingo wings like a wingsuit flyer? No problem, on Zwift you'll look like Anthony Joshua 🙂

It happened to me. It didn't last. The roads are a scary, spikey place to be. See you back on the trails in a year or so.

Embrace the Lycra. It makes a real difference. I just bought some cold weather bibs and a jacket from Decathlon and it is amazing how comfortable a 60mile ride can be.

Boris Johnson and Jeremy corbyn have road bikes binners.
Just saying.

The whole aero thing makes me laugh. You can spend loads on a road bike where they make it all aero, even the wheels and spokes. Forgetting that there is a fat un-aerodynamic middle aged bloke sat ontop of it.

It is possible to lose the fat. What would you wear to play football, or cricket, or golf or...? You get the idea.

I bought a road bike, used it for the Ride to the Sun, hung it up for 6 months then sold it. And I sold the lycra too.

Still need to sell my roadie helmet too.

Your dead to me.

Footnote: ‘PKW’ is?

FKW spelled incorrectly?

I do worry about the combination of slender, lightweight carbon frame and my pie and beer fuelled bulk

Nice - just don't even think about giving those seatstays a gentle squeeze between thumb and forefinger, or you'll be too scared to ride it

Trek Madone 3

Oh, you'll enjoy the geometry on that, nice race geom rather than sportive. Hope you are flexible and have a strong core.

By 'flexible', do you mean wobbly?

I rode mountain bikes for nigh-on 30 years before my (then 8 year old) son started to want to do road riding some 3 years ago. He had the first road bike in the garage, but mountain bikes just weren't cutting the mustard for me riding with him and his friends, so I bought my first shortly after stating that I would never, ever go down the road-cyclist route.

Well, 3 years have now passed and while my son and I still own (and ride) our mountain bikes, 90% of our time in the saddle is now on drop-bars. The bike store itself is testament to this - one MTB hanging up for each of us, but there are far more skinny-tyred bikes hung up on the dark side of the room...

And lycra? Yup, wear it every ride and wouldn't consider doing otherwise. I even wear the same kit for MTB now, with the addition of a pair of baggy shorts as a nod to my former life, but like so many others have concluded before me, there's a reason why cyclists wear such bloody awful looking clothing!

The rides are quite different - MTB is now more relaxed with more titting about, where the road rides tend to be a "get on the bike and ride for several hours" sort of rides, but I enjoy both and gain a lot of satisfaction from their very different fitness requirements.

I quite like enjoying debunking the prejudices of both sides of the cycling world too. Mountain bikers can be very fit indeed, but often seem to struggle on the continuous endurance of the road bike (unless they are marathon riders in the first place, of course!). Also, you'd assume that a mountain biker would be a more skilled bike handler, but anyone who's ever watched a mountain biker trying to hold a wheel during their first group ride will confirm, there's more to it than you'd expect. And if you've ever watched a road rider at a bike park.... 🙂

Get out there and ride and don't worry about what or where you ride. Enjoy it all!

@Esme: Nice! You don't post for months, then have me searching for the mind bleach! 🙂

I'm 60 and I've got a singlespeed, a hardtail, a trail bike, a gravel bike, a Brompton and a road bike. They're all great, because bikes are great. My favourite is usually the one I'm riding at the time. At one time or another I've worn Lycra on all of them, because Lycra is sensible attire for riding a bike. So @binners, I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

I’m 60 and I’ve got a singlespeed, a hardtail, a trail bike, a gravel bike, a Brompton and a road bike.

Your username is a lie. Where is the unicycle?

Your username is a lie. Where is the unicycle?

I have 24" (mountain) and 29er(gravel) unicycles. I've worn Lycra on both of those too. Helps keep bits out of the way, which is critical when mounting a unicycle.

So binners, I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you.

Pretty certain that he's not worried about it in the slightest.

I think road bikes have their place, for me it is in winter when the trails are sloppy and I need to keep my legs turning over. Depending where you live, they are also good for exploring the back roads and countryside.

Given the choice of dry trails or dry roads, the road bike doesn't get a look in.

Road bikes don’t get the same punishment as mountain bikes, do they?
Mine does as I also ride it off road all year round and the last few months of rain have the bike and me being covered in mud every ride.

I can't believe you've never mentioned that before! 😀

Gone the other way here. Road cycling petered out to be replaced by a gravel bike, then trail running. Now Iˋm injured, I´m riding the hardtail trying to avoid roads as much as possible.

In the year+ Iˋve been off the roads, it seems everyone now
runs a rear blinky even in daylight. That says a lot.

Get those guns shaved as well Binners, it'll make your Lycra look even better.
My wife informs me that muscular, shaved legs in Lycra shorts (or short running shorts) is a very good look. Sadly the skeletal upper body above it somewhat detracts from the the whole thing.
Also, as mentioned above, after all these years, she will never ever get used to the order I put autumn cycling gear on, apparently being stood in just knee warmers, arm warmers and a HRM is not, I repeat, not a sexy look irrelevant of how much you shake "it".

I have been absent from this Forum for about 3 years, because I took up triathlon. Its a very slippery slope, you will need:

Road bike
Winter Bike
Tri bike
Deep Section carbon wheels
Less deep carbon wheels for windy conditions.
£1000 ish a year for entry fees.

I have given up, it has bankrupted me and I am still a fat knacker.

It has for me , particularly this year.
Much less faffage .
I prefer to ride off road but that is becoming less and less practical. Hey ho.
I just love riding bicycles and have embraced the Lycra like a deviant.
🙂

I don’t care, anyway. I’m not leaving the house wearing lycra.

You will. Buy some well-fitting quality garments. They make riding much nicer. Right. Clothes. For. The. Job. You spend a lot longer in one position, so comfort really matters. You'll also soo n bea nnoyed with flappy shorts rubbing the top tube.

Everyone posts the picture of the French mayor in his under-sized kit. But Chapeau to him - the tour came through his town and he wanted to support it as best as he saw fit.

So have you ridden it yet and for question 2...

Your entry in for the rake yet?