Why is it that cyclists wear their fancy racing uniforms at any chance they get?

No one complains about the guy at the local bball court wearing a Kobe jersey. Isn't that the same a a cyclist wearing a Radioshack(or whatever team he/she happens to like) kit? People play sports all the time at the recreational level while wearing pro replica apparel.

In addition, many amateur to sub-elite cyclists ride for club teams. These teams can provide huge discounts on gear (which can be insanely expensive) in exchange for the members wearing the sponsors logos. It might look silly to some, but if it saves you money and puts you in contact with other people to ride with, why not join?

^^^ Quite right. I don't even bike beyond tooling around doing errands, but I can still understand this pretty simply.

A good friend of mine rides with a group sponsored by a local coffee shop and a bike shop. (Even at the weekend warrior level, this is pretty common in biking -- maybe if runners weren't such pricks we could hook up something like this.)

Part of the hook-up is that they get massively discounted gear etc, and racing shorts/shirt/hat with the team/sponsor's logo. Why WOULDN'T they wear it.

Think of it as seeing runners in old tech Ts from races and teams they've been associated with. It's not obnoxious, it's just what you've got.

Disregarding performance in training rides, think of logistics. Cycling kit provides practical places to hold vital tools for when (not IF) you pop a tire or something needs tightening/loosening in the middle of a ride. Again, not if, but WHEN something like that happens if you ride as much as you should be riding to be even somewhat decent at cycling. If you're riding in a group on a training ride, you damn sure want to be able to keep up with the pack, which more often than not degenerates into racing. So yes, in that regard, the tight shirts and shorts are about performance, not to mention safety. As another poster mentioned, who the hell wants to ride with someone wearing clothing that could get caught and cause a crash? Plus, overly baggy clothing blocks the view of the person behind you, which is obviously unsafe. If you're by yourself, you need a tire repair kit and and/or a cell for when something pops, so you need the pockets.

Runners have no sense of cleanliness. A well cared-for bike, freshly washed and shining, together with a proper outfit, is the only grace way to face the public. "fare di volta", as the italians say -- promenading might be an english equivalent.

You american runners waer this beardy jesus-look all the time. This is not nice to look at!

[quote]In Question wrote:

(Especially what my coach makes us wear)

quote]

What your coach makes you wear? Explain that one.

[quote]In Question wrote:

No. I hate what runners wear. (Especially what my coach makes us wear) So I'm damned sure gonna hate on those cocky bikers, when I regularly bike 15 miles in baggy shorts and a t-shirt, with no problems. Now that's comfort. And don't try to make an argument that it makes you perform better on TRAINING RIDES, where the idea is to become a stronger athlete, and biking at x:xx per mile to set a new pr isn't relevant. How stupid do you think we are?

A 15 mile bike ride is the equivalent of a two mile run. Ass.

dagewfdsf wrote:

I feel like this thread has been done a number of times...

Yes, several dozen times before.

This, however, is the first time I've seen one in which the majority of responses range from neutral to positive re: cyclist douchebags.

What is going on, LR? Let's get the hate back on.

Let me educate you a bit, The main purpose of bike shorts is to provide comfort during long bike rides. Bike shorts are designed specifically for the needs of a cyclist. These needs include padding in the right places, strategically places seams, tight-fitting, flexible materials like Lycra and spandex that reduce air resistance and allow a full range of motion on the bike, and the right amount of breathability and wind block.

It is one thing to ride a bike at 15-20 MPH wearing everyday clothes, is an entirely different thing to ride at 25-33 MPH. Most people with cycling gear you see are doing 40-140 Mile rides, I know my low end miles are 30 miles and my long rides are 130 miles.

If you are a somewhat serious runner (which I know must of you never have been) you would run with split shorts so you can train at sub six minute pace with ease. The same goes with cycling, must club rides have the strong guys pulling the entire line of rider at close to 25 mph. Here in Irvine CA we have group rides with Pros riding at above 30 mph, with attacks at over 35 mph. I guarantee you, you would get drop in the first 35mph attack with everyday clothes, and once you loose the draft is over for you. And yes cyclist are fancy, in what they buy and wear, cycling is a very expensive sport, I have ride one of the cheapest in my group and is a bit over $5k. I know some of the serious racers in so. ca have $10k bikes and they can sprint at 70km/hour, 46+mph.

Now why should we wear fancy helmets, I'm alive because of those stupid fancy helmets. When you have 150 racers going 30MPH in a crit and you fall, well, guess what saves you from dying when you land head first. We use these gear for confort, we use it for speed, we use it to look cool and for safety; and we buy the expensive gear because we can afford it.

Dick. Try fly-fishing, chess, or some other real sport. And also shut up.

wow, offended in some way? well I won't get into an argument with you, as your only response was "Dick. Try fly-fishing, chess, or some other real sport. And also shut up." But, if you think cycling is not a sport, then watch the Tour De France or Giro d'Italia, and the hundreds-of-thousands of fans whom travel to watch it. I love track and cross-country, much the way I love cycling.

Yeah, that's another good point -- running is a fitness-based sport. Cycling is only partly fitness-based -- the tactical aspects of riding in a group are VERY subtle and hard for many runners to understand (hell, even cyclists argue about them all the time). Group riding is practiced a lot, not just for fitness purposes but also for the technical aspects that you can't learn on your own. Being steady through turns, staying in the draft, minimizing energy, etc.

My 10 year old calls my husband's cycling shorts his "stretchy underpants" Hahahaha

Indeed cycling is a lot more tactical than running, I have gotten destroyed this year by guys who would not even touch me one-one. I have destroyed break-aways, only to get caught by the peloton and barely hanging on to top 10s. Not the same at all, there is a lot I need to learn from this sport, only reason I enjoy it more than running now, is because I can go out and do 80+ miles everyday w/o pounding my legs, which is very cool. And of course I was never a good runner, only manage to run around a 4:15 mile which is crap in comparison to world class.

ohhay wrote:

Most riders who are on an official racing team are required by contract to wear their racing uniform anytime they are riding, especially when a lot of people will see them. When I was asked to join a team, this was the case.

What team was this? As a former pro cyclist, I call bullshit.

They don't. You see, one lady on the lead bike wearing cycling clothes at a time you do not feel is appropriate does not equate to all cyclists wearing "their fancy clothes at every opportunity".

This is a simple fallacy of induction. Don't feel bad.

I definitely wear my team kit every time I ride. One, the clothes were free. Two, it's the least I can do as thanks for getting bikes for free.

Wearing pro team kits is a totally different story - radioshack, postal, garmin, etc - but it's not that different than people wearing a pro football or pro bball jersey.

The guys I run with who are sponsored by a shop or have a shoe contract wear clothes from those places. If it's a store, they're always wearing a dri fit shirt or singlet with the store's name on it.

That said, if I wasn't sponsored I'd probably keep things simple instead of TRYING to look legit - buying a pro team kit or a jersey with PEARL IZUMI in giant letters all over and some fancy design. It's difficult to justify paying someone to let you advertise their stuff, and if I was the lead bike in the race, I probably would not be wearing cycling clothes. That's a bit silly.

who cares? wrote:

No one complains about the guy at the local bball court wearing a Kobe jersey. Isn't that the same a a cyclist wearing a Radioshack(or whatever team he/she happens to like) kit? People play sports all the time at the recreational level while wearing pro replica apparel.

i was wearing an Oregon Cross Country hoodie at a party once and this girl started giving me crap for not having attended Oregon. She was wearing a Bears jersey.

Riders who wear pro kits are "freds". It's looked down upon by other cyclists.

But even local cycling clubs have full kits (socks, leg/arm warmers, shorts, bibs, short and long sleeve jerseys, jackets, all branded) with sponsors of the local club. Even though I save the current year clothes for the races, I have tons of stuff from years past (old sponsors, different design/layout), so that is the stuff I wear on training rides.

It (1) identifies me as a member of the club (2) it's functional (as pointed out by others) (3) it's economical (i.e. why would I buy "generic Nashbar" clothes when I have all my old club kits.

Similar but different to a local runner from the area club that has singlets from the past 20 years. Mostly the same sponsors, but different color/design each year. Although I see him and his teammates at races sporting old school singlets from the 80s and 90s, I never see them wearing them when training.

Big difference in price between singlet and cycling shorts/jersey (the latter is min of $100 just for one of each)

It probably has something to do with the fact you cannot go out and buy proper biking clothes that DOESN'T have a bunch of pro-looking sponsorship type b.s. all over it. Just a guess.