Caps – good for rain and a bit of warmth.

Not an every ride item but they have their place.

Shorts over tights makes sense to me. Same reason mtbers first started wearing baggies over lycra. Tights are relatively fragile. Good baggies stop you destroying the arse of them on a muddy ride.

Still don’t like trousers for xc as I’ve yet to find any a good fit. I’d still want bibs in any case which would be two items to wash.

Ref shorts over bibs, do you never fall off or ride through those bastard big brambles?  Bibs are expensive and fragile. I’d be going through a pair a fortnight without shorts on top.

Still weird though.

I don’t think it is really though is it (bibs under baggies).

Baggies are the conventional uniform of general purpose off-road cycling, have been for about 25 odd years now, being a bit less conspicuous than lycra, more flattering for tubby IT managers, providing a bit of upper leg protection and blending better with the bulk of a kneepad, bibs are the best way to position and hold a pad next to your arse…

So the combination makes functional and aesthetic sense…

Personally I tend to only wear already knackered (getting a bit translucent) bibs under my baggies when MTBing and save the ‘nice’ non see-through bibs for road/gravel type riding, thus extending their useful life…

Ref shorts over bibs, do you never fall off or ride through those bastard big brambles?

yes – point of contact with the floor generally the knee, sharp flora is often around calf level.
I did use “tights” to encompass all skintight long bottoms, before we get into a debate about the relative durability of fabrics.

Like giblets, arm and knee warmers, until you use one you just think they are roadie affectation.

Arm warmers are where it is at for night riding, I find.

Mine are self-made mind- cut the heels out of some old merino knee-length socks. Great over the top of a jersey.

Re: the shorts discussion – in summer I have my Race face on top, which are very crash resistant, winter I have my water resistant Enduras.

Endura under shorts for both.

Layers are good – don’t want to go commando all the time! 😉

Massively led by fashion it would seem, the amount of nouveau roadies you see decked out like an insta shoot with their casquettes on under their helemts when it’s proper warm does make me chuckle, virtually negates all “the science” that has gone into air flow in modern helmets designed to keep you cool.

When the weather is shite, wet, cold & windy I totally get it, but in summer, nah

bib tights under mtb shorts

When MTB’ing, why not? I’ve never ridden MTB in just lycra, always have bibs under a pair of (non-lined) shorts. If it’s really cold the winter bibs come out, under the same shorts.

Road riding, I’ll happily wear just lycra – cycle fast enough, and never stop, and nobody really notices that you look like a badly packed sausage.

Massively led by fashion it would seem, the amount of nouveau roadies you see decked out like an insta shoot with their casquettes on under their helemts when it’s proper warm does make me chuckle, virtually negates all “the science” that has gone into air flow in modern helmets designed to keep you cool.

quite a few people seem to think they are a pointless fashion item or just an affectation but thats usually from no experience of using them.
But they actually work, especially if you are a slaphead. i wear them year round and find in hot weather they stop the sweat running down into my eyes or onto my glasses, the cap gets drenched being cotton but then as soon as you go down hill or pick up speed they cool you down really quickly.
much better than a peak in use, i just flip it when in the drops or for rain/low sun.

Another baldy cap wearer here, albeit for road and gravel. My head is cold for forty weeks a year, fine for two and the prone to sunburn for the remaining ten. It doesn’t even have to be hot, just the first sign of the sun and my bonce is crackling.

There is of course the story from the ’67 tour where Colin Lewis had to donate his freshly starched cap to Tom Simpson for a less than savoury purpose.

Massively led by fashion it would seem, the amount of nouveau roadies you see decked out like an insta shoot with their casquettes on under their helemts when it’s proper warm does make me chuckle, virtually negates all “the science” that has gone into air flow in modern helmets designed to keep you cool.

The only time my head has been too hot has been on the turbo, and then I’ve still appreciated a cap (or shock! a Pantani-esque bandana) for sweat collection.

You can buy very light synthetic ones for summer, UV rated to prevent burnt bonces, still got a sweat band and peak for those low sun moments.

And yes, I’ve learned very quickly that the peak of a cap is much more useful for actually protecting your eyes than the peak of a helmet.

Truly a multi-purpose garment!

I thought they were a bit weird until I did an overnight road ride. Then I realised it was good for keeping my noggin a bit warmer, stopped sweat running into my eyes or onto my umpty-billion prescription glasses, and kept the low sun (both sunset and dawn out of my eyes. So I find it quite good to have one in a jersey pocket at least on the increasingly rare occasion I’m on gravel or road.

I love buffs, but find even the thin gimme ones handed out at races get far too warm in even the coldest weather – I’ll often start a winter night ride or run with them around my neck and lose it after about 20 minutes. Again, I’d not go without one, though – they’re proper multi-use things.

Baggies and lycra? I only go full lycra for very rare races / long distance XC rides, not least to save everyone’s eyes but also because I tend to land on my hips or bum when crashing and the baggy tends to be a lot more robust. I’ve got holes in knee warmers where I’ve landed on them – everything covered by the baggy has been just fine.

Mine are self-made mind- cut the heels out of some old merino knee-length socks

Wouldn’t cutting the toes off have made more sense?

I’m assuming those arguing for just lycra instead of baggies never wear knee pads? In a world where cyclists never look good, knee pads and lycra still looks bad.

Loads of good reasons to wear a cap under a helmet as already mentioned.

But if im honest…

It’s to make you look like a Belgian cyclo cross hardman. Or a hipster.

Is the main reason why i do it.

One of the numerous benefits of a cap (and FWIW I don’t wear a helmet over the top of it) is that any cooling/warming effect is uniform. With a helmet I find my head is divided into a number of regions that are a bit too cold, separated by other regions that are a bit too hot and also a bit itchy (and can’t be scratched).

my head is divided into a number of regions that are a bit too cold, separated by other regions that are a bit too hot

Bloody hell, how big is your head?