Cycling clothes needed for a non-specialty rider?

[5555624]

“non-specialty rider”?

To me, it comes down to where am I going, when am I going, and what am I going to do when I get there.

If I am going to ride around doing a few errand, like getting a haircut, going to the Post Office, stopping for lunch, and going to the drugstore, I’d probably wear regular clothes. It’s a bunch of “short” rides, stop and go, and I might not sweat as much. Commuting to and from work? Longer rides and bike clothes. The time of year mattes, too. In the winter, I’d probably wear cycling tights when cycling to the grocery store, but in hte summer, I might wear regular shorts.

The bottom line is wear what you’re cmfortable wearing.

[acc]

Welcome, great questions and observations. I was wondering the same thing about a year ago.

The last thing I wanted to do was pull on skintight Lycra shorts and wear jerseys that made me look like a human NASCAR. But my sit bones complained so I caved about the shorts. The padding is a huge help and there is no chaffing or rubbing, a good thing when you make the same motion several thousand times over the course of a ride. Buy black, like a bathing suit the color hides a multitude of sins. And like a bathing suit you don’t wear anything underneath the shorts — yes, I gasped too when I heard that. If you ride around long enough you will see men wearing other colors besides black and their shorts invariably become transparent when they sweat, I always feel uncomfortable when I notice that and avert my eyes. Honest.

The great advantage of bike jerseys is visibility. The loud colors make you visible to drivers and other cyclists. If you are like me, you’re saying to yourself, “But I ride mostly on the trails.” Yes, I felt that way until I was hit by a car in a crosswalk. Now neon yellow and green are my favorite colors of all time. The other big advantage are the pockets in the back. I could carry around the entire contents of my purse if I wanted to. I carry my phone with my driver’s license and a $20 in one pocket, a bag of peanut M&Ms in another, and my bike tool and keys in the third. I can even roll up my windbreaker and stuff that in one of my pockets if necessary.

I sweat like a small barnyard animal and my bike clothes keep me comfortable. If you look for end-of-season sales, you will find affordable clothing. But until then, a good pair of bike shorts and one or two jerseys should be enough. Have fun.

Best wishes,
Ann

[jrenaut]

Another option, at least for a shirt, is just inexpensive general athletic shirts. I have a couple Champion t-shirts that I got from Target for less than $15 that wick moisture and don’t start to sag when they’re wet. They don’t have the advantage of the pocket in back, but I almost always have a backpack on, anyway, so that isn’t a big deal for me.

I’m starting to look for summer-weight pants that won’t get caught in a chain, but won’t get me dirty looks when I walk into the building at work before I get a chance to change.

[eminva]

I assume you want to look like you don’t stick out among non-cyclists? Because there is no team kit too garish not to be admired by your fellow cyclists.

Depending on how much you want to spend, there are some high end bicycle clothing manufacturers that make technical gear in somewhat more subdued designs (I’m thinking Rapha, there are probably others). $$$$

You could go the route of my brother the mountain bike enthusiast — he wears sunblock technical t-shirts and baggy shorts over his bike shorts. You could blend in with a crowd in that (see REI, Sierra Trading Post). $$$

You can also get plain jerseys that don’t have team names or bike store names, etc. plastered all over them (see Sierra Trading Post). $$

If you are a female and don’t like going about in bike shorts, you could get a couple of stretch minis (terrybicycles.com) to put on over your shorts. $$$

Liz

[CCrew]

And remember the biggest rule of specialty bike clothes… you look more odd the further away you get from the bike :cool::cool:

But, like the others, it really depends on what you’re doing and where you’re riding. I commute a lot of miles… I wear lycra. The jerseys I have great fun with though.

Here’s the one I’m wearing today….(albeit not in an xxxl) http://www.love2pedal.com/Items/Item.aspx?SKU=su.oldfart.3xl&caSKU=su.oldfart.3xl&caTitle=Old%20Fart%20Cycling%20Team%20Cycling%20Jersey%20Mens%203XL%20XXXL

[jrenaut]

You can also try Bonktown and ChainLove – they sell all sorts of cycling accessories, Woot-style. You might have to keep watching for a few days or so before something you want comes around, but they have great deals.

[chris_s]

On short errands around town, I wear “normal clothes” (t-shirts and cargo shorts). On my commute or on longer riders, I wear these baggier style bike shorts, and those same Champion Wicking Shirts from Target that jrenaut mentioned. I bought mine in fire engine red for visibility.

[acc]

Oh what a great site, love the pirates! (@ CCrew)

Another piece of clothing I should mention are bandannas worn under helmets. I didn’t catch on to this at first. And once again, along with the god awful shoes, not exactly the most attractive look. But they help keep the sweat from dripping down into my eyes. Another little feminine tip I figured out was to wear waterproof mascara. I see no point in taking off makeup in the afternoon before I ride, it just adds one more step to the process.

Best wishes,

Ann

[brendan]

I concur with the suggestions of blaze/fluorescent green/yellow/orange tops for anywhere you’re going to be cycling with or intersecting with traffic. I have a couple of these that I wear 99% of the time (w/ pockets & side/underarm venting – in “killer yellow”): http://www.amazon.com/Canari-Mens-Commuter-Cycling-Jersey/dp/B002UBU8U4

I also concur with the suggestion of using general wicking activewear tops in a pinch, but I’d avoid black if you’re going to be out in traffic (mine’s red+grey).

I have a 16? 17? year old set of REI-brand double shorts I still wear most of the time for general cycling. Crotch/Seat padding, lycra on the inside layer and nylon shorts on the outside. It even has front zipper pockets, which I don’t know if you can find any more. I wear underwear with them, even though you’re not supposed to, just in case I need to wear them for more than one day w/o washing.

I only go standard lycra shorts if I still can’t get the wash done in time, or for road bike training.

Brendan

[CCrew]

@acc 3844 wrote:

wear waterproof mascara. I see no point in taking off makeup in the afternoon before I ride, it just adds one more step to the process.

Oh, I always wear my mascara and find a bit of rouge works wonders (grin)

On the serious side, like the bandanna idea there’s a product out there called “headsweats” that come in a variety of designs that I wear all the time since my bald head is a sweat generator and needless to say gets some strange tan lines from the helmet vents.

[StopMeansStop]

I wanted to avoid looking like looking like a d-bag wearing all of those fancy clothes, but after getting some unpleasant chafing I caved and got some padded Lycra shorts. Well worth it. They also make padded Lycra underwear which you can use under street clothes.

I also find those biker shirts with the back pockets very handy for carrying stuff like your phone and wallet. Fortunately I found one in white without all that goofy advertising crap that people wear.

[jrenaut]

@StopMeansStop 3867 wrote:

They also make padded Lycra underwear which you can use under street clothes.

Are you sure the padded underwear is intended for biking?

[baiskeli]

@jrenaut 3834 wrote:

Another option, at least for a shirt, is just inexpensive general athletic shirts. I have a couple Champion t-shirts that I got from Target for less than $15 that wick moisture and don’t start to sag when they’re wet.

Beat me too it. The fabric is key. Cotton grabs sweat, but then it won’t let go of it. Synthetics are much better.

[baiskeli]

@StopMeansStop 3867 wrote:

I wanted to avoid looking like looking like a d-bag wearing all of those fancy clothes, but after getting some unpleasant chafing I caved and got some padded Lycra shorts. Well worth it. They also make padded Lycra underwear which you can use under street clothes.

I also find those biker shirts with the back pockets very handy for carrying stuff like your phone and wallet. Fortunately I found one in white without all that goofy advertising crap that people wear.

+1 on both of these.

[baiskeli]

@jrenaut 3868 wrote:

Are you sure the padded underwear is intended for biking?

Depends.

(Get it?)

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