Watching the various road races on telly at the mo’ after watching some “extreme” mtb dvd’s. The rad young things on mtb’s looked a right state with their baggy shorts hanging off their arses – all dull and grunge. However the roadies are all immaculately turned out in nice camera friendly bright outfits. I think I’ll go out on the Sun’ morn mtb ride in full matching Liquigas bright green, should be a laugh!

mtb’ers call it progress 🙂

roadies call it aerodynamics

Roadies – worried about appearances.
MTBers – have fun

🙂

Moses, I’d actually argue the opposite. Lycra is much more practical for riding in but looks bad on most normal people. The baggy thing is definately a fashion or an attempt to look less wierd.

Hmmmmmmmmmm +1 on the MTBers trying to be fashionable; how else to explain the numpties riding in baggy shorts when it’s below freezing; it’s because they can’t think of what else to wear because the mags don’t show it.

roadies are ingronent and sad mtb live there lives to the max

taka pmls 😀

what?

Dress to kill always.

Road, mtb, job hunting, casual night with friends or dating.

Look like a scruffy skagg-so what? you shouldn’t be judged though;
but people will so it’s up to you-dress in what you choose.

Lycra absorbs vibrations-evidence it helps exists too. Feels snug too hidden under mtb garments.

Lycra?

oh please think of the children, their tiny fragile eggshell like minds!

and a tiny other thing in your pants 😆

Look like a scruffy skagg-so what? you shouldn’t be judged though

Is that why so many MTBers wear lycra shorts?

and a tiny other thing in your pants

It’d still make your eyes water if I put it up yer bum…

I’ll swing both ways 😯
Lycra looks good if its matching (eg club kit), if not it will be tights under baggies and a jersey. Also depends on the weather, and how much I ate for lunch. And what I have that is clean!

I thought this had been done to death after the DH World Cup. Yes – the riders wore lycra skin suits as that made them quicker, but guess what? They’ve now been banned as they don’t fit the “image” of DH. I’d say that proves who’s more worried about their appearance.

delicate and effete lycra pansies vs rugged baggies mtb heroes. Where’s that stickman fighting thing to settle it?

Middle-aged MTBers in ‘too fat for lycra’ shocker.

😆

numpties riding in baggy shorts when it’s below freezing

what a crock of shit, i ride in baggies and T shirt in sub zero becuase I get too hot in lycra/tights, plus lycra does nothing to stop wind chill so I can see why others would like a baggy over-covering.

I think roadies tend to enjoy looking “part of the group/team” just as much as MTBers like MTB fashion.

Why can’t people just get on with enjoying themselves instead of trying to pidgeon-hole and put people down. Get over yourselves.

Unless its cold there is nothing tiny! did my nude charity works calendar shots in Dec brr still impressed the ladies at work. Bigger than my boss who is 6ft 4 -his wife told me haha!

You can wear it under mtb shorts/baggies beats wearing boxers when riding.

Rode with a guy who always wore jeans on his rides-any location and winter or summer. Didn’t hamper him and was a fast rider.

Much prefer the xc jeyboy look myself. Just find it more comfortable generally.

I wear baggies with a padded insert for MTB as they don’t fall to pieces whan I crash, and Lycra would/does. Always lycra for the road though.

I’d say both disciplines have their own fashion identity, although that probably tips more towards mtb in terms of fashion over function. You just have to look at snowboarding to see how fashion can really influence sports equipment – £400 waterproof trousers with your arse hanging out so far that snow just pours inside them.

Just about to head out for a road ride. Ensemble includes bib-knickers, LS jersey, branded ankle socks and mitts, all from the same manufacturer so I look ‘factory’. I believe I look rather dapper!

I am a MTBer and I wear Lycra – there it is out now (in more ways than one).

I find Lycra far more practical and comfortable TBH

The fashion thing is a pain with MTB and the gear costs more. The Road stuff is so functional with more pockets. It is warmer too if you buy the right gear.

Can I now make my usual moan about baggies being too trendy and baggy? road kit is primarily functionable with the only nod towards appearance being colour whereas mtb gear is often of a daft design because the industry is led by those who want to sell to others. fair enough. Those who are most impressionable are young and trendy and those who wish they still were.
The downhill/lycra thing is the perfect example of fashion over common sense and whats so funny is that all those agreeing with it spout on about image and individuality yet all where the same uniform. (all genaralisations are there to prove a point not to provoke some one who can’t see that to argue with)

I wear Lycra under Baggies, as most baggies have inserts anyways, wen the weather is cold, Ron Hill Bikesters, long leggins that are windproof and virtually waterproof but still breath. On the local trails up around here regardless of the weather, most mtb’rs wear leg and elbow protection too as a minimum. Your gonna have an “off” pretty regularly due to the rough trails, I never used to wear protection for years till I moved and had a nasty “off” last Summer. Ploughed a half inch deep furrow up my forarm with a stick and had a five inch diameter hole over my hip bone. The wounds bled for 10 days. Personally, on an mtb, I don’t give a fig for looks and if you do you ain’t riding it properly. I’m no spring chicken either, past the half century and was there at the birth of mtb, how you look? Roadie or otherwise, if you care your just a poser anyways. Oh and I don’t have a gut or fat legs either, still a whippet! Just Ride On.

Use to wear lycar, no I jsut can’t, too tight all but comfy.
My choice baggy all the time. Comfy, has pocket. When it’s called I use an item of clothing called ‘trousers’ and it works very well.

My choice, just don’t stand lycra. Nothign to do with pride or anything I jsut don’t like the feel of it. Plus I am very light/skinny, so I don’t need padding.

Each to their own…

Like the double diamond frame, a good cycle jersey is a classic bit of design that is just perfect when you’re wearing it.

I wear it for comfort, even though I’m probably carrying a few more pounds than I should be.

Lycra shorts for local rides, lycra under baggies when I’m more likely to come off.

i ride on the road to trails, and find that most stuff that is baggy is dark colours or black, i wish to stay alive and like to be seen so have to wear lycra to get something colourfull

I wear baggies, on and off road, when it’s not a serious ride, say with a couple of pub stops.

Lycra when I’m training or racing – on and off road

You’re in the wrong country my friend. Come to Spain where both Roadies and MTBers love their colourful and full length lycra kits.

im offended crikey!
the reason i ride baggy shorts in mid winter, is because my 3 quid matalan baggies are all I have, and im too cheap to buy some proper riding trousers!
that and if you keep moving your legs shouldnt get cold, if theyre getting cold your pedaling too slowly…

(and when the legs of whatever you choose are rattling around the chainset, MTB specific trousers are the only thing that will do i think, shorts can be any old shape?)

that and coming off in baggies hurts considerably less, the reason baggy jeans came into fashion in the first place is skaters wanted a trouser than, when they landed on concrete, would let them slide on the softer jeans, while the trousers didt slide on the concrete and shred.

i know ide rather be sliding on my arse in baggies over lycra.

Do people really wear trousers for riding, or is it just over a certain age?(which i have no problems with just dont understand it at only 26).
I always ride in baggies, 3/4 if its cold, your calves cant get cold if you’re pedalling. Dont like anything rubbing on the crank-arms/chainrings. Quite often a nice road style jersey with baggies, but never trousers.

And yes i’ve tried bike specific trousers, and they still dont offer the freedom of movement of shorts.

And No, its not a fashion thing, we all look silly on bikes, trying to look cool on one is slightly oxymoronic.

When I read threads like this I’m so glad I’m a cyclist and not a mountain biker or a roadie. For what its worth I like to look good whatever bike I ride. But I don’t consider full team kit the epitome of fashionable cycle wear.

yep, you’re right – I think they should get Contador in to stylize the outfits for the next Redbull Rampage

flatback – Member

i ride on the road to trails, and find that most stuff that is baggy is dark colours or black, i wish to stay alive and like to be seen so have to wear lycra to get something colourfull

Weird you should say that. I was just thinking yesterday on our Etape Caledonia recce that almost else seemed to be wearing black/dark clothing and that some brighter colours would have been more appropriate in the murky weather. Mibbe it’s because we’re all MTB riders too.

Anyone advocating lycra only on an mtb is either – so amazingly talented that they’ll never have a crash or……they ride such safe, tame, featureless trails that it would barely constitute mountainbiking as I see it. I strongly suspect the latter.

If you crash at any speed in lycra there is a very good chance you’ll be riding home with your bits (be they massive or tiny) flapping in the wind as lycra provides NO protection in a crash whatsoever and it rips very very easily when you’re skidding along the trail on your hole.

If you want warm, practical, functional, durable, protective clothing for cycling in places other than fireroads and fields then baggies fit the bill. Oh and you wont look like a pervert either. Bonus!

druidh – Member
I thought this had been done to death after the DH World Cup. Yes – the riders wore lycra skin suits as that made them quicker, but guess what? They’ve now been banned as they don’t fit the “image” of DH. I’d say that proves who’s more worried about their appearance.

So does the UCI speak for every single person who rides a mountain bike? Yes they are worried about the image of DH but you make that sound like a terrible thing. DH as a sport is young and still evolving, it’s currently experiencing a huge surge in popularity and it’s the UCI’s responsibility to develop and build on that.

Skinsuits were hated by the majority of racers, but had they been allowed it would have led to an inevitable situation were everyone (scrambling for whatever edge they can find) would be wearing them, leading to a situation where DH, at least to the casual observer would appear to be much the same as xc or road racing apart the bikes and helmets.

DH, unlike other cycling disciplines is an extreme sport, it needs to be marketed differently, the skin suit ban is just a reflection of this. I hardly think it’s definitive proof that everyone who rides in baggy clothes is an egotistical image freak.

If road riders discovered riding nude gave them an advantage and it became the latest craze I’d imagine the UCI might do something to protect that sport’s image too.

GNARGNAR – Member

DH, unlike other cycling disciplines is an extreme sport, it needs to be marketed differently,

a ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

What a deep and perceptive, not to mention witty retort.

Man in “extreme sport” pose

Note the baggy protective clothing

Note the abrasive surface.

VERY abrasive surface actually.