Shaving your legs

I do believe that, other than for injuries, majority of elite cyclists (the ones that aren't doped up) do it for drag and aerodynamic purposes. More hair on the leg/arm creates drag which slows you down, especially when moving at some of the speeds those guys do. I remember reading somewhere where Lance Armstrong once raced in a time trial on a bike with no logos on it because the logos weighed something like .2 of an ounce.

bluRunner wrote:

i think it is especially gay when a guy runner shaves his legs. im not going to knock the pros for doing it, but it really annoys me when college guys who arent amazing do it. i think it takes away from a guys masculinity and i am personally pretty turned off by it. The girls you date are probably lying

No one thinks its a big deal when a dude shaves his hairy back, why should legs be any different? I shave my pit hair because I think muffin tops under my arms are more gross than closely trimmed hair. I don't like to be hairy, some people like my legs shaved, some don't...I guess we just won't date, damn.

ok, now for some science. There are 2 reasons swimmers shave thier bodies, one the obvious reason of drag, and 2 the lesser known physiological reason. When you shave your body or legs you increase the wet surface area of nerve ending tissue(skin), which can in turn stimulate a response to the water as it moves past the body. The brain will take the increased sensory data, and produce more competitive "juices" like adrenaline as a response. The same (although to a lesser extent) occurs for runners, with air moving over the legs during a race.

I know of almost zero runners who shave their legs. I can only think of one. I do know some tri guys who shave their legs, but that is the whole bike thing. I think it is odd. I have yet to hear even a remotely good reason to do it.

By the way, I don't think that it has been proven that hair increases drag for cyclists. I've read about a study that suggested the opposite. The hair creates some sort of votex around your legs that decreases drag.

It's one thing to have a little hair on your legs, it's another to have a 1"+ force field of hair around your legs like I do. It's hideous, makes my legs hot esp. in warm weather, hides my beautiful legs, and probably creates a good amount of drag. I trim it down to about 1/8"-1/4" of an inch like I said. My wife likes me to keep it short as well.

I do...Originally I did it because I thought it would make me faster, then I realized it does not. Now I think it's more so because I don't like body hair...And a lot of girls like it, so f*** it if guys don't like it :-P

^o^

Blaze

i pr'd by 5 seconds in the mile when i shaved my legs.

slave of required education wrote:

i pr'd by 5 seconds in the mile when i shaved my legs.

You are a 12 minute miler though, right?

I am faster than most of you and am gay. I have never saved my legs. When I suggested saving my legs to my boyfriend (because the massages hurt) he begged me not to. I know no gay people that save their legs. The only men I know that save their legs are straight, and slower than me.

mike hunt wrote:

guess im gay wrote:

Then I guess you'd call Hall, Webb, Ritz, and a slew of other pros who shave/have shaved their legs gay too.

yeah webb definately shaves his legs

http://i.usatoday.net/sports/_photos/2007/07/22/webbx-large.jpg

Ya, Webb does shave his legs:

I have seen pictures of him with and without hair. Sometimes you feel like a monkey, sometimes you don't, I guess.

I have shaved my legs in the summer a coupl of times. It does feel good and it makes it easier to clean all the mud and dirt off your legs froma trail run.

The answer for runners is pretty simple and has been said before but no one seems to be listening, runners, well elite runners do it because of the amount of massages that they have (2+ a week). I’m guessing most college kids on here haven’t had massive amounts of massage as if my college experience is anything to go by the training room would give you a bag of ice or you could jump in the ice bath and that would be about that. So if you’re anything like that you have no idea how painful regular massage is.

mike hunt wrote:

yeah webb definately shaves his legs

http://i.usatoday.net/sports/_photos/2007/07/22/webbx-large.jpg

Look at that profile. I didn't know horseys could make fists!!

runningcyclist wrote:

Cyclists have many reasons to shave, and they all fall under the 'general leg care' category. One of those reasons is that (pro) cyclists get a massage almost every day, and it's WAY easier to massage legs without all that hair. So, if you are a runner and get massages frequently, then I would think that would be reason enough to shave.

I bike a lot and have never considered shaving my legs. I don't get massages, don't care what my legs look like and am not scared by what it may feel like to have my hairs tugged on if I crash & subsequent treatment. I've yet to hear a convincing argument to sway me to the dark side of shaving...and I sure as hell don't care if my legs look like the vast majority of guys I race with.

I HAVE considered upgrading equipment, logging more miles and mixing it up more often w/the boys on the Tues nite ride.

Funny how the participants in so many activities look alike.

I will shave in the summer time when riding in cycling shorts - the elastic band pulls leg hair and hurts like hell. also in summer the legs hair gets all sweaty and nasty and makes my legs feel hotter. so my preference is to shave in warm weather. ALL the women i know think its SO HOT!

[quote]fishywishy wrote:

If they say it's for "sanitary" reasons and they hairs can cause infection, than ever 12 year old in the world would have shaved legs, because they get scraped up all the time.

quote]

Wait a minute! Do today's 12 year-olds have anything to shave?? I certainly didn't. That's like 6th grade.

I don't shave my legs, but I do shave my chest and keep it really, really well maintained. Using a lift & cut electric razor it's fast, unnoticeable and, for me, well worth it.

What about the urban legend that shaving makes hair grow back thicker and denser?

Perhaps wrote:

As a chick, I must wholeheartedly disagree. Guys who shave their legs are a turn-off.

I agree. If I want to feel smooth legs I'll feel myself up.

I gotta say, I've been around awhile and I don't know any male runners who shave their legs. The subject never even comes up.