I'm sat in a cafe, doing a little work and a chap has just come in from his morning ride. The chap has a lovely Giant (brand, not size) road bike (which he's parked outside with no lock) BUT...he's also wearing GIANT shorts, GIANT top and socks...that match his bike. How do I know all this, well, the word GIANT is written no less than 15 times on the clothing and a further 5 times on the bike. Judging by the gentleman's physique, I'm guessing that he's NOT a sponsored rider, so why wear something which says GIANT on EVERY surface? Why would you want to be a billboard? I is confused.
I go out of my way to chose clothing with as little visible branding as is possible, so perhaps that's why this drew my eye...I'm also a little bored, so...
I don't understand why people effectively offer free advertising. My favourite jersey has no logos and is just plain white with a subtle splash of colour with thin rainbow stripes on the chest
I don't understand why people get so concerned about what other people wear when on their bikes... live and let live and leave them to it, if it makes them happy.
[quote=jamiep ]I don't understand why people effectively offer free advertising. My favourite jersey has no logos and is just plain white with a subtle splash of colour with thin rainbow stripes on the chest
#humbleworldchampbrag
GIANT RAPHA SPECIALIZED
brands are everywhere, take a look at winter climbing gear we were proper labels everywhere, nobody actually cares
where I used to ride there was a bloke in full Cervelo Test team kit, from helmet to socks and shoes, and the bike...He was, let's say built for comfort not speed, but **** it, if he was having his road race fantasy work out on a Sunday morning, then good luck to him. I road down one hill yesterday and was instantly covered in wet sheep shit from head to toe, so who am I to criticise 😆
I agree - road riders seem to love teh corporate branding and advertising.
Get on with your work, slacker.
Is it a case of copying the pros? The road racers are all skinny billboards and so it is seen as 'normal' to ride around covered in corporate logos whereas mountain biking doesn't have the same level of sponsorship and so not as many logos on pros or weekend warriors!
Hmm.
Is it any different to wearing a t-shirt with Adidas or Nike on? Darn it, I'm wearing a top with Animal written on it at the moment. Just realised.
I don't have a bike jersey that relates to the brand of bike I ride but I can understand why people do it. On-One used to sell a load of MTB kit, so if you were really into the brand/bike you could get something that showed to the world your love.
Some people like to do this. Others don't. It doesn't matter.
Freebies included with bike sale? He works for Giant, a friend/family member works for Giant?
Did you ask him?
I dont like logos on my clothing.
The biggest annoyance is mens names on my underpants. At a push I can accept pictures of superheros or possibly the word Next but an other mans name no way!
Bike wear is appaling, covered in logos and often primary colours or worse still dayglo.
Its not suprising peope in normal clothing try to kill us.
Thankfully I notice Gore and Endura have brought out some plain colours this year.
Please choose carefully folks. When youre on a bike, civilians will associate you me. Its your duty to look good.
I know a chap who replaced all his kit when he changed his bike brand so it all matched. It makes him happy. Who am I to judge? Although it did make me chuckle when he asked why I had gone for such a stealthy no logo option when I had spent so much on my bike. He actually said "No one will know what you've shelled out".
[quote=cubist ]I know a chap who replaced all his kit when he changed his bike brand so it all matched. It makes him happy. Who am I to judge? Although it did make me chuckle when he asked why I had gone for such a stealthy no logo option when I had spent so much on my bike. He actually said "No one will know what you've shelled out".
don't kid yourself that you aren't also making a statement with your 'stealthy no logo option'.
you probably paid far more and the people you want to know will know...
I agree - road riders seem to love teh corporate branding and advertising.
That will be the newbies, big saddle bag, bike from Evans/cyclescheme, reflectors still on wheels, full trade team or manufacturer kit and an upright nodder position as that's what they like on their mountain bike.
Seasoned road cyclists usually wear club kit or discretely branded Rapha/castelli/assos (well the ones I know do)
I reckon the MTB world is as bad going by what you see round here. What you don't see, which is nice on the road , is club kit.
I find it bizarre as well. I have no clothing with visible logos bar a shirt with that alligator thing on it ( can't remember whos logo it is but I know its someones) that I got from TKMaxx
Why anyone would wear sponsors logos when they are not sponsered is beyond me. But its not the first time I have been bemused by folks actions 🙂
The biggest annoyance is mens names on my underpants
Well, stop stealing clothing from your municipal sports centre 😉
It's no more a statement than the guys I see riding my local trails with their enduro-rigs, matching brand pyjama attired with knee and elbow pads on trails that can be safely negotiated with a CX bike.
It's their money, it makes them happy and no baby robins were killed in the process.
just plain white with a subtle splash of colour with thin rainbow stripes on the chest
stealth troll 😕
i prefer wearing national champions jerseys. with white shorts.
big bright logos on road kit is all part of the fun. on mountain bike kit not so much.
At least they're wearing all this branded kit to actually undertake a sporting activity. Unlike the people you see walking around/going to the pub wearing replica football shirts.
I see plenty of them where I live/ride (Bromley/north Kent) - all I can say is Rapha must have sold a lot of XXXL replica Sky jerseys.
I don't really like branded kit - I guess if I only had 'Giant' bikes I'd be more tempted to buy some Giant kit, but mixing up bikes/branded kit looks daft.
Ohhhhh the shame 😳
Yesterday I commuted in wearing full Lotto-Sudal team kit, except the socks, Planet-X flanders, and the bike is a Cannondale not a Ridley. And the kit was fake from China.
Today I rode in some B'Twin shorts and a Marmite jersey with "Good in Bread" on the back.
And my new helmet is dayglow yellow (mostly because I don't want to die).
Why do I wear this stuff? Because I think it looks cool* and I don't want to look like a [i]"Seasoned road cyclist .......wear[ing] club kit or discretely branded Rapha/castelli/assos"[/i] in a dick swinging 'my kit cost more than your bike' contest.
*and I get live out my spring classics breakaway fantasy every morning where Nine Mile Ride becomes a cobbled classic and the climb utto the A329 is the Koppenberg.
I was at in a restaurant yesterday behind a bloke who was enormous... he was wearing a brand that said 'elephant polo... took all of my restraint to resist asking him where his rider was?
It wasn't the fact that it was branded per say, like you say, no difference to an Adidas shirt or a Rapha jersey, but more that that it was overbranded. GIANT on the front AND back of the arms, GIANT on the chest, GIANT down the sides, GIANT [u]twice[/u] on the back. 5 GIANTS on the shorts, 4 on the socks...5 (at least on the bike). I guess it was more the quantity and the matchigness that made it stand out.
Like the chap above, I prefer a subtle approach with splash of colour.
I usually wear my dayglo yellow club kit. I'm seasoned, apparently 😆
Agree MTB is as bad but that tends to be full stormtrooper outfit for a lap of the woods.
I propose we set up some kind of enforcement agency for these transgressions, just a small fine to begin with.
Pick a look thats likely to suit you...
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I'm sure the road cycling forums would be laughing at MTB's love of pyjamas for cycling in the woods 🙂
My son's got it right: He has a single cycling outfit (Lycra shorts, club jersey) that he wears for everything: racing, mountain biking, road rides, family rides - the lot. When he can't wear it, he never seems to have the same spark as he does otherwise, so he has plenty of duplicate kit to ensure that the backup outfit rarely sees the light of day. The only variations are wet days (coat + waterproof socks) or colder days (when various layers go under the jersey) but 9 times out of 10, he looks exactly the same.
Now I just need to get his physique and I can follow his example...
Seasoned road cyclists usually wear club kit
Mine has Giant on it - we're sponsored by them. I ride a Giant too. 😆
Mind you, we're also sponsored by Evans.
BTW Giant bikes like to advertise on their frames - I think there are six on my Defy. Not so many on the Propels.
That will be the newbies, big saddle bag, bike from Evans/cyclescheme, reflectors still on wheels, full trade team or manufacturer kit and an upright nodder position as that's what they like on their mountain bike.Seasoned road cyclists usually wear club kit or discretely branded Rapha/castelli/assos (well the ones I know do)
...and this post perfectly sums up the exclusive attitude that seems so prevalent in road cycling.
Does it matter? Does any of it matter? It's all riding bikes, we should be applauding all of it. So what if it's a fat guy in team kit on a bike that cost more than a house, or a skinny 17 year old in some grubby old shorts down the woods.
One thing I've really noticed since starting to ride on the roads is the snobbery - maybe it's the MTBers that I usually hang out with are particularly casual, but up until I got a road bike, all I knew of riding was 'wear whatever, ride whatever, have fun'. Then I got a road bike, and suddenly I'm aware of the supposed crime of wearing baggies on a road bike (I understand why people where lycra, I do sometimes, but so what if people want to wear baggies, I do that too), the heinousness of discs, the ultimate offence of having a peak on your helmet, etc etc.
This never usually happened 'down the woods', and if comments were ever made, someone almost always took the commenter to task on it.
It's all bikes, it's all good. Ride what you like, wearing what you like, doing what you love.
That will be the newbies, big saddle bag, bike from Evans/cyclescheme, reflectors still on wheels, full trade team or manufacturer kit and an upright nodder position as that's what they like on their mountain bike.
This statement is proof that it's the attitude not the clothing that defines the bellend 🙁
Only person that gets away with commenting on my choice of cycle clothing is the missus when I get told to cover up as bib shorts are an obsenity.
...and this post perfectly sums up the exclusive attitude that seems so prevalent in road cycling.
merely stating fact, you can usually tell who has been riding for a while by the absence of superfluous kit and even how they wheel a bike. i watched a group of new cyclists leave a cafe on a led ride and it was all rugby shorts over lycra, bum bags, helmets on backwards and spatial dyspraxia as they clattered the bikes into each other/tables/other people bikes as they left.
you have to start somewhere, we were all one of them once..
merely stating fact, you can usually tell who has been riding for a while by the absence of superfluous kit and even how they wheel a bike. i watched a group of new cyclists leave a cafe on a led ride and it was all rugby shorts over lycra, bum bags, helmets on backwards and spatial dyspraxia as they clattered the bikes into each other/tables/other people bikes as they left.you have to start somewhere, we were all one of them once..
I've been riding over 20 years, I quite often wear cheap combat shorts over lycra if I haven't got any clean trail shorts, and only the other day I bounced the forks on my 3 day old bike off my dining room ceiling.
Maybe it's time to stop being a condescending ass, huh? You're perpetuating exactly the sort of attitude that discourages people like me from getting out on the road.
I shamelessly wore a Liquigas team top with a Liquigas team colours Cannondale.
I loved the bright colours, and the particular combination of colours, so why the hell not? The fact that I was advertising Italy's premier bottled gas distributor was neither here nor there.
Seasoned road cyclists usually wear club kit
From what i've seen, this does seem to be the case.
What I don't understand is, why 90% of clubs literally pick the sh*ttest design possible, to use for their kit?
It's like some weird, inverse mentality as to who's kit makes you want to be sick first.
I guess it's some tie in with the local primary schools 🙂
Maybe it's time to stop being a condescending ass, huh? You're perpetuating exactly the sort of attitude that discourages people like me from getting out on the road.
R U OK Poppet? dont let the nasty men get you down. 😐
Ah man, I was out on the road wearing a t-shirt promoting a small town 90's indie band the other day, I must have looked such a [i]fool[/i]. But I also had Lycra shorts. And Troy Lee socks. It must be so conflicting how to judge me!
Ah, it's OK, I had a peak on my helmet and a pack on my back, and the bike was an 'endurance' geo. Case closed.
Seasoned road cyclists usually wear club kit or discretely branded Rapha/castelli/assos
Naaah... Torm is the new discrete kit.
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R U OK Poppet? dont let the nasty men get you down.
Ah, good, the 'poppet' response. We've established the role in this game. You might want to also wheel out 'hand wringer', 'apologist', 'snowflake', and a few more (possibly 'libtard', depending on where you sit on that part of the internet commenter spectrum), just to get the full gamut 🙂
It's a bit like a new Godwin's law.
No different to MTB riders being plastered with Troy Lee, Fox, ONeal etc.
Motor cyclists wearing team/manufacturers leathers
The man in the Ford Focus with a Ford Fleece
Football fans
Rugby fans
.
.
.
.
.
just to get the full gamut
you forgot 'treacle'
is that man hiding an ostrich egg or something under his Torm cap?
sorry- I meant casquette
I really don't get the anti-saddle bag thing. I ride my road bike all over the world, sometimes 8 hr rides miles from anywhere. I always have 2 tubes, decent multi tool, emergency gel, tyre lever in a saddle bag, 2 bottles in cages, pump on the frame (one that can actually pump up a tyre rather than a tiny style statement) saving room for food, money & phone in the jersey pockets, maybe my gilet too when it warms up.
I'm not a big fan of large branding on any clothing, but that's my choice.
As for dayglo - surely that's for visibility? Having come across a stealth ninja recently (dusk, full camouflage kit, no lights) it reinforced my choice of dayglo yellow arm warmers & pink gilet.
Assume this has already been pointed out but the title should probably be "Clothing and Advertising".
Most I see riding on the road tend to be in club kit or fairly plain kit. A few FKW but not many.
TBH I don't understand why anyone, on a bike or off a bike, would choose to wear clothes with very obvious branding on them (unless it's sponsorship or club kit) but that's just me. Each to their own.
My guess is the chap you saw probably worked for Giant in some capacity.
I'm sure the road cycling forums would be laughing at MTB's love of pyjamas for cycling in the wood
*I'm* still laughing at the pyjamas some wear in the woods...
*I'm* still laughing at the pyjamas some wear in the woods...
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One thing I've really noticed since starting to ride on the roads is the snobbery - maybe it's the MTBers that I usually hang out with are particularly casual, but up until I got a road bike, all I knew of riding was 'wear whatever, ride whatever, have fun'. Then I got a road bike, and suddenly I'm aware of the supposed crime of wearing baggies on a road bike (I understand why people where lycra, I do sometimes, but so what if people want to wear baggies, I do that too), the heinousness of discs, the ultimate offence of having a peak on your helmet, etc etc.
Has anyone ever actually been told any of this in real life?
Or did you just stumble across the Velominati site and think it was serious?
It's about as valid as people saying brown shoes should never be worn, or pretending that they'd never have dared worn a white tie dress shirt to drink blue WKD's and vomit all over their ex at their black tie student ball.
What I don't understand is, why 90% of clubs literally pick the sh*ttest design possible, to use for their kit?
The same reason most small businesses have crap design too, I would imagine - no money to pay a professional, and anyway anyone can design a logo, right? How hard can it be?
Now, I love this forum and its inhabitants, but there really are a lot of social rejects on here.
I've just had to Google velominati. **** me! It's like satire, but without the humour
My reference points are from comments made by actual real people.
Including the one where someone from a pack of what I think were club riders going the other way yelled 'take the peak off fella' at me.
And the guy at work who have me a lecture about how dangerous discs where when I revealed I'd just bought a disc bike in preference to a higher spec rim braked on. It's all a bit puzzling tbh.
Or did you just stumble across the Velominati site and think it was serious?
Look, I *know* it's not serious, but I'll still tut if I see a bike upside down on the side of the road... 😉
Look, I *know* it's not serious, but I'll still tut if I see a bike upside down on the side of the road
I must have stopped reading by that bit. What's the matter with that one?
Is it time for this pic again?
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I must have stopped reading by that bit. What's the matter with that one?
Scratches the brake levers.
TBH it's all good advice, it's the unwritten rules about how to make your bike/kit look 'right' written down.
You wouldn't call an architect elitist for designing a house around magic ratio numbers, it's just the way things look right. In the same way it takes a bit of thought to coordinate the colour of bar tape, rims, frames etc without it looking horrible.
Meh.
I bought a cheap, knock off version of the Direct-Energie team kit purely because it matches my bike. Same with my Mavic 'summer' helmet.
My saddlebag has 2xtubes,repair kit,multi-tool,CO2 charger,chain tool,tyre levers & split link.
Because my rides vary between 25 mile evening runs & 100+mile all day rides I prefer to have all the kit I need permanently on the bike. It's just easier that way & it doesn't get left behind.
If any über-cool road warrior wants to sneer they can.
is that man hiding an ostrich egg or something under his Torm cap?
sorry- I meant casquette
That's not a Torm cap, it's a Red Dots cap. (And the chap wearing it "is" Red Dots.)
Woods? Daft outfit? Even the OAB household is at it...
[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4298/35871903242_00529f859f_h.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4298/35871903242_00529f859f_h.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/WDST5o ]Les Gets, Geneva and Paris 2017[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/ ]Matt Robinson[/url], on Flickr
is that man hiding an ostrich egg or something under his Torm cap?
sorry- I meant casquette
its all about the ‘luft’
Is it time for this pic again?
How about this one?
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Luft on his casquette?
Best. Euphemism. Ever.
https://www.thelocal.no/20150701/norway-police-pic-sends-temperatures-soaring
This is how I look in road gear. Honestly
The same reason most small businesses have crap design too
I would also suggest, a bit like football kit, much of the 'fashion' of cycle kit for clubs (both in graphic design and materials/features) is about a historic sense of 'fashion' too. Fitting in with your mates, innit?
I have a heavy, comfy but functional road bike. On Sunday it will be propped up outside various cafes while I go inside wearing kit declaring "Fat Lad at the Back" in 10 places.
I do look like I'm sponsored by them though. 😆
If I were to write down the unwritten rules of road couture for you all then they wouldn't be unwritten.
So just feel sure that you're doing it wrong [i]and[/i] I am looking down on you.
Always amuses me this type of thread. Why would I expect somebody that looks like a sack of shit tied up with string off a bike to look any better on it? Some people don't care about their appearance and that's their prerogative. They're wrong, but it's still their prerogative!
The same reason most small businesses have crap design too, I would imagine - no money to pay a professional, and anyway anyone can design a logo, right? How hard can it be?
Yes, some are awful, but some clubs are also very old (ours is pushing 100 years) and the kit designs are modern evolution of designs with a lot of heritage. For some clubs, this means a great deal and the members enjoy wearing them, especially the junior members who wear them with a great deal of pride.
If any über-cool road warrior wants to sneer they can.
It's interesting that most of the sneering on here seems to be coming from the other side...
As I mentioned in about the third of fourth comment, I simply can't understand why anyone should give a monkey's toss what anyone else wears on a bike, whatever their discipline. It's their choice and, frankly, nothing to do with anyone else.
(The only time I get vexed is when people are riding unlit bikes in dark clothing at night, doing their very best to make themselves completely invisible to other road users. That does wind me up a little.)
Alternatively, maybe 'Giant' the person in question was doing it for some sort of reason.
Endura were kind enough to give my NC500 charity group a good deal on kit, so when we do a group event i make a point of dressing to make myself a rolling Endura advert. Kinda seems fair in my view of things.
Including the one where someone from a pack of what I think were club riders going the other way yelled 'take the peak off fella' at me.
He's not wrong though, so I'd take that as handy advice 🙂
I stubbornly refused to take my peak off when I started road riding ("Pah, what do they know?!") and quickly realised that I couldn't see where I was going. I sheepishly pulled out the spare helmet and consigned its peak to history...
You should see the looks of bemusement / disgust I get from 'proper' mountain bikers when they see me ride past on my MTB wearing lycra shorts and jersey, just as I've been wearing since the 90's!
Some people don't care about their appearance and that's their prerogative. They're wrong, but it's still their prerogative!
So true, hence my comment. I'm not a roadie but a lot of people on here really don't mind looking a state. Fair play to you.
[quote=Ladders ]You should see the looks of bemusement / disgust I get from 'proper' mountain bikers when they see me ride past on my MTB wearing lycra shorts and jersey, just as I've been wearing since the 90's!
is that because its worn a bit thin in places...
Just want to add to this thread, you're all cock ends, unless you dress in exactly the same way I do in all circumstances.
And you're cock ends for judging me when I dress differently.
And if you can't tell that the velominati (and ribbing from roadies - or for that matter from MTBers when in full lycra) is meant to be a bit tongue in cheek, well...
We are all fully grown adults playing about on bikes, what we wear is the absolute last thing that makes us look stupid.
Personally I think your'e better off in some brightly coloured 'sponsor' kit than the all black outfits I see pillocks riding round in these days in some sort of ninja deathwish. Yes you rapha man. Honestly are you asking to get mowed down?
Too cool for their own survival some folk