Do you guys wear lycra to commute?

EKE_38BPM

For the first time I counted the number of traffic lights I have to go through on my way to work.

17 in total, but 14 of those are in the last 2 miles! I also have to deal with a major roundabout leading towards the M25, a major A road and 5 zebra crossings. Considering that this is a 5 mile suburban commute, thats quite a lot of stuff in quite a short trip.

Headhuunter

EKE_38BPM wrote:

For the first time I counted the number of traffic lights I have to go through on my way to work.

17 in total, but 14 of those are in the last 2 miles! I also have to deal with a major roundabout leading towards the M25, a major A road and 5 zebra crossings. Considering that this is a 5 mile suburban commute, thats quite a lot of stuff in quite a short trip.

Yeah, yeah, excuses, excuses

brucebanner

reversing the question; do you girls wear lycra to commute?

Oddjob62

I wear lycra under my baggies and t-shirt. Hate even catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror with just lycra so it's covered asap.

Acutally since getting a brooks saddle i've not NEEDED to wear padded bibs for my commute so often just have boxers with baggies, but i put them on for longer rides.

slog

I don't honestly see the point in riding a bike if you don't wear lycra..........

vitesse169

Lycra is the only thing to wear on a commute - it was made for it.....!

EKE_38BPM

Headhuunter wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

For the first time I counted the number of traffic lights I have to go through on my way to work.

17 in total, but 14 of those are in the last 2 miles! I also have to deal with a major roundabout leading towards the M25, a major A road and 5 zebra crossings. Considering that this is a 5 mile suburban commute, thats quite a lot of stuff in quite a short trip.

Yeah, yeah, excuses, excuses

Reasons, not excuses.

redvee

I had to for the last few days of this week as I failed to wash one of my commuting tops at the weekend and only realised when I couldn't find it on the clothes horse :oops:

The Rookie

Asprilla wrote:

I stride majestically into my office each morning resplendent in lycra and safe in the knowledge that I look mighty fine.

Wow this care in the community lark really works!

I do 6.6 miles in 20-22 mins, Baggies and a sports top, no showers, no chance even to freshen, just change for a days work, I deliberately dress cool as I'd rather be cold than sweaty. Certainly no need for any fancy dress for 3 miles, my daughter does 4.5 miles to school in Jeans and Sweatshirt (although she's less prone to getting sweaty than me!)

Simon

pastryboy

No, unless it's a really hot day - feels a bit wrong wearing full on lycra kit cycling down a canal path when everyone else is wearing jeans/trainers. Baggies over padded shorts most of the time.

BDFun

I would if i could, but lycra is so expensive

flyingbanana

Lycra shorts and tops for me with the added secret weapon of merino vests and undercracklings.

Baggies are reserved for "SPD-days" when on the singlespeed or cranking the tourer into town for purposes of shopping / meeting people who don't want to see me in lycra etc.

beverick

Lycra here, the only concession is baggies in the winter because you don't get the same wind-chill across your thighs and hips.
Bob

flyingbanana

beverick wrote:

baggies in the winter because you don't get the same wind-chill across your thighs and hips.

Needs merino pants.

edhornby

full on lycra in the summer, baggies over lycra when it rains or gets cooler, and winter bibs in the depths

however the co-op offices in manchester have a proper bike shed, changing and drying facilities and I'm not walking through the densely populated office spaces in riding kit so that helps

overkill for a 4 mile journey? maybe but I do it 5 days a week and every week of the year

Lycra Man

Full on lycra 4 days a week, driving in Monday morning, and home Friday night, for my 15 mile commute.

The office doesn't have a shower, so I cool down for twenty mintutes and then change into fresh office clothes.

Bib tights in the winter.

It's purpose made clothing for the function. Very comfortable and I now have fabulous legs. And with a name like mine, what else could I possibly wear?

Lycra Man

MarkS1980

I started a few weeks ago and have gone from jeans and t-shirt to lycra. When I bought my bike I didn't think I'd wear lycra because of the whole image thing but after a couple of 12 mile commutes I started to think again. Jeans were uncomfortable so I switched to some light tracksuit bottoms. Better but still not right so I had a pair of lycra shorts delivered today. They feel far more comfortable than I was expecting but I think they'll only be worn below the tracksuit bottoms for now or maybe some regular shorts. I changed to proper cycling tops because normal t-shirts hold far too much sweat. I tried a climalite one first but that was still much heavier than the real thing so I now have a short sleeved and long sleeved cycling top and they are a massive improvement. If I only had to ride a few miles I wouldn't bother but for any kind of distance I think it makes sense to wear clothing designed for the purpose. It makes you feel much more comfortable and lets you get on with riding without getting distracted by your clothes.

hells

I use baggies and a cycling top, I don't feel I need padded shorts for anything under 15 miles each way personally but everyone is different. I ride bikes every day of the week and get no sore arse issues except on my longer training rides (70 miles plus). I think a good saddle is better for alieviating discomfort than padded shorts until you start racking up the miles. However I don't generally ride particularily fast when commuting as I have two full panier bags with some rather heavy kit in them and a completely full large backpack as well.

andrewc3142

28 miles each way so yes

iPete

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/m/cycle/7/Surface/

Surface clothing, done! Its only 3 miles so just take is easy.

bearfraser

Yes but have shower faucilities, appx 8 miles in and 10 home .Getting tooooooooooooooo bloody cold for shorts up-here now,snow on them thare hills now.

bakerstreet

Lycra for me. Used to cycle places in jeans and I had to tuvck the botto of my jeans into my sock and that is not a cool look.

Since I started the commute to work last week, I have been a happy lycra user and I just change at work. I also have one of those micro fibre towels at work, so I can clean up. I do wear the leggings though. Bit too chilly for shorts.

Also wear a different t-shirt underneath the cycling top, so I'm pretty fresh by the time I get changed. No shower at my office

andrewc3142

Also wear a different t-shirt underneath the cycling top

Merino base layer solves the problem well.

deffler

ive gone from baggies & soprts tshirts to full on lycra, lycra is far more comfy & dries quicker.

i would not cycle into work if there wasnt a shower at work

rich_e

I wear lycra, but then I'm also on a proper road bike and I find that baggy shorts cause too many hangups on the saddle. I got annoyed with it and decided lycra was the better option.

The other reasons I prefer lycra have already been mentioned...

I like to cycle in quickly and I sweat. Lycra gear is much better at wicking and will also dryout a lot quicker, so by the time you leave work it's all nice and dry. Even more so, I've had conversations with fellow work colleagues who moan a lot about wet weather and their baggy gear or trousers not drying out... again, it's not really so much of an issue if you wear lycra, but most want something that's full waterproof but looks like normal clothing.

The only negatives to cycling in lycra gear are that there are obviously some other cyclists, I'm really talking London here who will be Fakenger types, going hell for a leather on a fixie in hipster jeans and regular clothing who will want to be faster than you just because you wear lycra. It's probably more a psychological thing than anything. I always look at them though and think....

"You are bombing it along, you MUST be sweating.... are you just going to get to work and be a sweaty mess like that, without a shower or at the very least going to change your clothes?"

Sure, it's fine if you are just pootling and not really getting up a sweat, but so many are going just as fast or faster than I am... I wouldn't want to be working with them!

The other issue is when you get off the bike. If I wasn't going straight to the shower and had to walk to my desk, I tended to put on a pair of shorts over my lycra shorts. At the end of the day when there were less colleagues around I didn't care so much though.

Clarion

My commute is about an hour, and I'm a sweaty chap. I do wear lycra. There's a shower at work so I can get changed, but just as often I wash in a sink in a cubicle.

I keep office clothes at work in a spare desk, and take shirt, pants & socks home every night to wash. I have a microfibre towel, shower gel and deodorant here, and I bring a clean towel every monday. Mocrofibre towels dry fast enough not to get smelly.

I used not to change for riding, but I worked as a lighting technician, so I lived/worked/rode in Ron Hills or other climbing tights. Work was sweatier even than riding over Sheffield hills, so it wasn't an issue.

silverpigeon

I'll wear lycra when I'm planning to go home a different (longer) way and do a training ride. Otherwise it's just some 3/4 length shorts for a 3 mile commute.

Where I currently work has showers and changing rooms - but if it didn't I'd carry clean clothes in my rucksack and a small wash bag and just get changed in the toilets.

wyadvd

it seems to be a little taboo, but a major reason for wearing proper cycling shorts is that they sort out your tackle and prevent the painful trapping of a bollock between leg and saddle.

A nice pair of assos shorts does that nicely and consistently . One of the reasons bib shorts are such a good idea is that the bib, combined with tight leg fitting means that the chamois is maintained in a consitent postion with respect to the nads. very important.