[Closed] Domestication of a cyclist

Sweet lord, are you asking if you should wash your clothes?

Shorts - every ride, no debate
Tops - every ride, perhaps two if not long or muddy rides. merino maybe three.
Socks - every ride
Jackets / waterproofs - once a month or so

As as above, shorts, tops, base layers all washed after every ride and outer layers when needed

op. do you ride alone?

How often do you reuse condoms?

when I couldn't drag mud into the house I used one of those big flexible plastic bucket things. After the ride, rinse clothes outside in big bucket thing to get rid of the worst of the mud. Then take inside and put straight in washing machine. Minimum mud into house transfer.

How often do you reuse condoms?

Once, just turn them inside out.

After about 4 rides maximum is when I was my shorts, top and knee pads.

Base layers and that gets a wash after each ride.

I apply the sniff it rule - give it a sniff if it smells bad then it needs washing, just mud isn't a problem, but bacteria is.

Things go in the bath for a quick rinse before the washing machine, to prevent clogging it with mud.

Kit just gets dirty again if you wash it.

As the Op. Drape my kit over the bike to dry & shake out. Wash every few weeks. More often in summer. Don't have riding socks, apart from sealskinz. Might give myself a puff of fabreze if I'm wilting the flowers. 🙂

liner shorts and base layer - every ride. outer tights and jersey - every 2 or 3 rides depending on dirtiness.

another decontamination tip.....go in house. stand in a big blue Ikea bag and peel off. I do this after riding to work (in segregated changing rooms, by the way)

After ride, strip and put clobber in big placcy bucket. After redressing, take bucket to shower and rinse content. After shower, transfer to washing machine.

[i]My Endura Zymes have not met the washing machine in well over 6 months.[/i]

honestly? that's grim, get them washed.

Hmmmmm maybe it is just me.
I do predominately ride alone....... Do you think there's a connection??
I like the bath idea however I work on farms so the sniff rule goes out the window

I use the rinse only cycle on the washing machine a lot for outer wear, quick and doesn't use detergent.

Troll surely, no one doesn't wash kit surely?

Pretty much everything goes through the wash after a ride apart from stuff that's waterproof that needs washing in nikwax, that usually goes in the wash if it get's smelly or grimy/muddy so the hi-vis bits stop being reflective.

The only thing that I don't wash after every ride is my jacket. Oh and my helmet.

The one I have difficulty with is my endura mt500 shorts. Have 2 pairs, washed the first pair (in non bio) after one ride and they were never the same again. 2nd pair get hosed down, but never been in the wash after about 6 months.

Pretty rank if I'm honest 🙁

I can smell some of you mucky barstewards from here.......!

Padded shorts always get washed after a ride. But the rest I can get a few days out of. It's not as bad as people make out. I don't find it smells at all really.

The one I have difficulty with is my endura mt500 shorts. Have 2 pairs, washed the first pair (in non bio) after one ride and they were never the same again.

With normal non-bio liquid on a standard wash at 40 degrees (or maybe even hotter?) My sports kit gets washed at 30 degrees in a silk wash with liquid soap (non-bio is for normal clothes here!) Clean kit every ride and no problem with kit deteriorating - well some of it is getting a bit tired now, but it's been worn and washed hundreds of times.

I'm really not sure I understand the advantage of not washing your kit.

You big bunch of girls

I've worn the same shorts day in day out on a two week holiday.

although it was a bit itchy by day 8

[i]I'm really not sure I understand the advantage of not washing your kit. [/i]

me neither, why wouldn't you wash your clothes?

I'm really not sure I understand the advantage of not washing your kit.

me neither, why wouldn't you wash your clothes?

One advantage is that they're not still in the washing machine when you want to go for a ride the next day. Or dripping wet on the clothes horse while you frantically try to find the least sweaty cotton t-shirt and a gigantic pair of socks to keep your legs warm at 7.30am.

That and they last longer because they're not washed to death.

OP, you're fine, don't listen to these weaklings. "Ooh, I need to wash everything, I'm afraid of smelling of person. I use conditioner on my socks, and some scented softener for my shorts!"

Inner shorts, every use, fair enough.
Base layer? When it starts to stink.
Everything else? when it's too muddy to wear anymore. As was pointed out above, it's washing that wears out clothes.

APF

My commuting clothes get washed once a week, no matter how muddy/wet they get.

MTB gear, after each ride.

The only thing that I don't wash after every ride is my jacket. Oh and my helmet.

You really should wash your helmet after every ride. There's nothing worse than a mucky helmet that hums of your last ride at the beginning of the next one.

Dirty bunch of stinky mingers. 😉

Everything other than Jacket and gloves gets washed after every ride, If stuff is really muddy then it get hosed down before going in the washing machine. Did the same when commuting daily too.

Stuff gets washed when it's covered in mud or smells. Right now that's after every ride 🙁

OP- do you wear lycra underneath? and if so, do you find the gigantic boils on your bum cramp your riding style?

Shorts - every ride (unless I'm touring, in which case a week is my record as I was camping in Iceland and the spares wouldn't dry. Normally I do two or three days happily).
Trousers - every two weeks, at three rides a week.
Merino t - every couple of months.
Gore jacket or Buffalo - depending on conditions - every 3-6 months.
Socks - every second day unless they get soaked.
Gloves and buff - weekly
I have a utility room with a tiled floor - hang everything in there to dry, pull on & go ride.
If I put on new gear it's muddy within seconds of leaving the door.

It upsets the neighbours but I'm not allowed over the doorstep until[s]l[/s] I am free of all mud and associated clothing

so that would be a house then...like the place you live in?

You are taking the piss aren't you?, if not then i'll politely decline from offering any advice, except wash a bit more eh?.

Padded shorts and synthetic layers always get washed except when on road trips, merino when they begin to hum but really why would I bother washing something that will be filthy within 5 mins of leaving the house? I've been out to sniff the Zymes and there is literally just an earthy scent coming from them.
Maybe it is just me (and a small minority)
I guess then, nobody has an ingenious way of drying the filthy kit in the house? That's really what I was looking for

You wash after everyride types either aint riding very much or spend too much time washing-think of the planet will you!

Re drying- tend to get change in the garage and hang my stuff up there ready for next time.

Padded shorts and base layer, washed after every ride. Cough.

Waterproof/breathable winter jacket, has never been washed and never will be. Hosed down only if really really muddy.

Waterproof/breathable trousers, washed once. Never again.

Merino, don't need washing imo they have magical properties. The Mrs frickin washed it once and barely escaped with her life.

Get a new wife OP & man up, it's your house too.

Bow to the inevitable and get a winter road bike. Worst case your clothes might be damp but at least not caked in thick layers of gloop.

I bring a complete change of clothes on every ride. It's part of the lifestyle - you gotta look the part on the bike. You don't see any grubby looking men at the golf club do you? No you bloody don't.

I can highly recommend a mtb fashion/hygiene skills day. It'll transform your appearance.

But jekkyl if I did that I'd have to eat my other testicle. I guess it's off to the laundrette for me then. Now where's the Carling Black Label?

Here's an idea for the washing machine phobics ...

More than one set of clothes to go cycling in...Radical idea I know, but you never can tell, might just catch on.

If I can't see what colour it is, gets dunked outside and then put through a rinse cycle. Dries a lot quicker without a 1/4" of muck on it too.
Anything next to the skin will get washed, as a permanently warm person, not even merino will survive a couple of rides without a whiff.

Why would anyone wash out the mud from their outer wear?

It both waterproofs the garment and holds it together.

Lycra shorts/base layers that don't stink at a push but washed with soap flakes after each ride if possible...

More kit to rotate is the best way to avoid wearing anything that's still wet through.

So how often do you washing machine lovers wash your shoes?
That could be considered a trolling question but for me I fail to see the difference between my 'over' shorts and shoes....... Apart from the blatant obvious

My rule is if it touches my skin it gets washed after each ride. So thats base layers, undershorts, socks and tops. Non waterproof shorts as well.

Anything else hosed down and never touches the washing machine

Find it interesting that somefolks think its ok to not wash a merino base layer, but would feel shorts need washed every ride. I'm completely the opposite

what about commuting? - should i insist that my employer installs a washing machine + dryer at work so that i can wash all my clothes after 'every ride'?

I wonder how often the "everything after every ride" contingent do ride? I ride my bike every day and I wash kit when I think it needs it, and not a moment sooner. For the bits next to the skin, this may be every day, but isn't always, depending on the weather, length of ride, sweat levels etc. For the outer layers, it could be weeks. I particularly try my hardest to avoid having to wash waterproofs.

If I washed everything after every ride, I'd be replacing all my clothes (worn out) every month or two!

I wonder how often the "everything after every ride" contingent do ride?

At the moment it's about three times a week. When I used to commute by bike to work I would be riding 6 days out of 7. I do have a fair few pairs of cycle shorts so it was rare that any single pair would get used more than twice a week. I am cheating a little as practicality dictated that the ride in and the ride home would be in the same kit.

Nothing wore out extra quick, sweat is pretty nasty stuff and will degrade most fabrics in double quick time so there is a sound argument to say that washing more often, on a gentle cycle will prolong the life of sportswear.

I wonder how often the "everything after every ride" contingent do ride?

3x a week (mon, tues, thurs, sat, usualy 3oo4)

Strip of on the doormat and everything goes in on the rinse cycle, shower, cup of tea, throw in the days office clothes and anything else lying around the bedroom to fill up the drum, throw some soap in and wash it. Wake up in the morning and hang it up on the airer. Usually dry by the time I get home from work then either put away or put on and out the door again.

If I'm commuting too then I might not wash outer shorts unless it's rained, I'd just wear them on a proper ride too, so at most they might go 48 hours (2 days commutes and a ride) without a wash.

So how often do you washing machine lovers wash your shoes?
That could be considered a trolling question but for me I fail to see the difference between my 'over' shorts and shoes....... Apart from the blatant obvious

Because smelly shoes, whilst socially unacceptable to leave near the air events in a car if getting a lift, aren't a health hazard as they tend not to get quite as sweaty as your crotch, and then don't rub your sensitive areas. If you ride regularly then the last thing you want is nappy rash/saddle sores/cysts/other abrasions or skin conditions then putting them into hot, sweaty close proximity with unwashed clothes? I'd rather spend 5 min washing my shorts than weeks off the bike with infected saddle sores.

You don't have to wash it, synthetic fibres don't rot for years!

So if your not washing the clothes you exert yourself in, do you bother washing all your other clothes?

Basil - Member

So if your not washing the clothes you exert yourself in, do you bother washing all your other clothes?

Yep- in my normal clothes, I can wear them all day and they're still basically clean and fresh, so it's a reasonable investment in time to clean them- i get a day's worth of freshnes. Whereas cycling clothes are muddy and sweaty 5 minutes after I put them on, so you only get a tiny amount of freshness, and the rest of the time they're manky. Once you hit the saturation point, they don't get dirtier. Like dreadlocks.

Science innit.

Man Science

Dreadlock logic is fitting

My aim is that if it touches my skin it gets washed after each ride. Doesn't always happen but definitely no more than 2 days in a row. Stuff like jackets and shorts outers just get hosed down. I commute by bike 4 times a week.

If I washed everything after every ride, I'd be replacing all my clothes (worn out) every month or two!

I've got a few base layers, jerseys and bib tights that are years old and still absolutely fine, they get washed after every ride. The oldest of them is a Pearl Izumi base layer that's 17 years old.

Jackets, waterproofs etc get washed when they no longer bead water. Contrary to what some of the filthy feral creatures above seem to believe, waterproof/breathable fabrics tend to work better when the pores aren't clogged with a years worth of mud...

Shoes off at the door, walk into the kitchen, strip off and kit goes straight into the washing machine - maybe give it a rinse under the tap first or bash off the worst of it outside if they're really filthy. Kit is out the wash in an hour, hang it up, dry overnight, ready to wear again. Then sweep up in the kitchen if needed.

Shorts, base layers and socks get washed every ride. Tights/baggy shorts etc can often last 2 or 3 rides, jackets get washed whenever they need it - usually every 6 months or so.

Surely it just adds character?
[img] [/img]

You don't have to wash it, synthetic fibres don't rot for years!

True, but the cotton fabric holding it all together doesn't fair so well you dirty boy. 🙂

Just checked when I bought my O-O merino long-sleeve top and it was May 2011...probably due it's first wash 8)

Once you hit the saturation point, they don't get dirtier.

Leaving it to fester for weeks is like rubbing your crotch in a well used petri dish.

*shudders*
It's dawned on me that we dont all wear baggy shorts over our padded lycra. I think everyones in agreement about washing the 'cloth you touch'.

I go MTBing once a week so that means I wash my outer clothes once a month. As for shoes, can't really wash those, I remove the laces and take the insoles out to dry them. However I always wear clean socks before a ride and this helps reduce the festering.

I do think the OP has a point though, since it's the base layers and under shorts that soak up most of the sweat. Out clothes tends to stay clean (mud aside). The thing is though it's winter; I also have a pair of zymes and I remember in the summer they would smell bad, but they don't smell now, as I tend to sweat much less in winter.

An example here I remember not washing my 661 knee pads for about 6 months, they smelt rank, and the smell would cling to my knees even after a shower, they also made my skin a bit itchy.

Washing all my clothes after every ride wastes energy and water.

I wash base layers after each ride, gloves and knee pads every time they start to stink (maybe 8-10 rides), outer layers (waterproof type stuff) every 4-6 rides or if its proper minging hose them off and chuck them through a low temp synthetic cycle.

Shoes get hosed off if saturated and caked in mud otherwise left to dry in the garage stuffed with newspaper

Normally dry most of my stuff on hangers in the airing cupboard.

I started washing my gloves regularly when I noticed they were attracting flies.

/"That and they last longer because they're not washed to death." Actually it's the grit and mud grinding which wears out clothes..and chains, cogs and suspension...
How many of you none washers also don't clean their bikes after a ride, just brush the dried mud off before the next ride then?

Sadoldsamurai - Member

How many of you none washers also don't clean their bikes after a ride, just brush the dried mud off before the next ride then?

I clean the chain and suspension parts. [i]Sometimes[/i] I brush the mud off.

How many of you none washers also don't clean their bikes after a ride, just brush the dried mud off before the next ride then?

I may just be quilty of that too. Although i do soak the chain in petrol periodically and i have washed the bike more recently than some of my (outer)kit

How many of you none washers also don't clean their bikes after a ride, just brush the dried mud off before the next ride then?

Got a point there; I do that or hose it down if it's wet already. However important moving parts get regular servicing.

If cleaning it isn't vital then why bother, it's a mountain bike not a ferrari 458.