il padrone wrote:newie wrote:I have never bothered to change into lycra kit for short (< 5km) trips and I would be suprised if there are many cyclists out there who would. So really what you are saying I should do differently is engage in more short trips by bike myself and encourage other to do so too. This is totally irrelevant to clothing choice. I am still failing to see the point.
Well, maybe try riding to work in casual or work clothing?? It's only 10kms after all.
You asked the question, I was just giving you some ideas. If you don't want it, fine, just go on riding in lycra.
I'm really not going to get into an argument with you about this
ip, I don't really think we are arguing.
Neither of us are really concerned about what other people wear.
Both of us think more people cycling would be good.
My original question was motivated by the fact I couldn't see the point of how some people might be put off by the lycra image was at all relevant to my choice of cycling clothes.
I don't think the suggestions you made were about clothing choice, even though I agree that as individuals encouraging our friends to cycle (in a friendly, non-evangelical manner) is a good thing.
But, sure, if more people were making short trips by bike, the proportion of lycra wearers might go down.
As for my choice to (mostly) wear lycra when I do my short commute, work clothes are not an option for me. I have worn other non-cycling clothes many times, which is how I know I find knicks more comfortable. Many days I add on some extra miles or hill repeats anyway and sometimes the decision of what ride I will be doing occurs after I have left the house. So I don't even think about it in the mornings - just pull on the knicks and go. (BTW I am not arguing against you here - just telling anyone who may be interested in my reasons).
I suspect my path to a predominantly lycra wearer was similar to many people. As an occasional short-distance rider I just wore whatever and had no intention of getting some of those "funny shorts". But then I got a bit more serious, started to do some longer rides. From talking to people and reading forums such as this, it seemed that lots of people recommended them for longer rides. So once my rides started to get up around the 40-50km mark, I felt I needed to test out that option. Off to the LBS to try on and buy a pair. Well, the first ride in my new knicks - wow - all those people were right. So I kept an eye out for specials and a couple more pairs ended up in the drawer. I was still riding normal clothes for the short commute and knicks only for the longer rides. But then some of my rides started getting up round the 150km+ length. It was time to revisit the LBS. A change of saddle and some better fitting, quality knicks and I was back to blissful comfort for rides of any duration. Then those super comfy knicks were on a big special so an extra couple of pairs ended up in the drawer. Now I had a draw full of those funny shorts - one for every day of the week. So why not wear them and be extra comfortable, even on the commute? As for cycling tops, again, I had no intention of going down that path. But then I was struggling to find room in the saddle bag to take all the stuff I needed on longer rides. I don't like backpacks and my new roadie couldn't take panniers. Gee - people are right, those back pockets really are handy. So I invested in a couple of cheapies. A few cycling events with free jerseys - what do you know - now I have a drawer full of the things. And here I am, a fully fledged lycra lout..... if you told me a few years ago that this is where I would be, I wouldn't have believed you.
Can't win at the moment.
I hope mine never get to that point,