Are your clothes suppose to match your bike?

[caligirl2]

In other words, my bike is yellow and black. Should I try to at least wear coordinating accessories (i.e. helmet, gloves, shoes....)??

What is the cycling "Rule Of Thumb"?

Thanks:rolleyes:

[SadieKate]

Well, it's a little too cold for just a helmet.

[Pedal Wench]

She said gloves and shoes too. That's one approach to avoiding the dreaded biker tans!:p

[SadieKate]

But trying to attach cleats to my feets . . . :eek:

[Minty]

I refuse to wear advertising (which is most jerseys) and I don't wear fluroescent colours unless I'm in low light or at night - kind of limiting when it comes to clothes.

My bike is blue, silver and black so I tend to keep to black knicks and my other gear either blue, grey, white or pink. I like to match or co-ordinate.

Actually just 30 mins ago bought some new Pearl Izumi shoes in blue!

Most cyclists I see around either dress to match the bike or dress in an outfit that co-ordinates jersey, knicks, socks, gloves etc but not with the bike.

[mimitabby]

and some of us revel in flourescent colors, because they are VISIBLE!

if you can match your bike sometime, that's cool. I don't match my bike except when i wear my raincoat (hmm, that's 8 months out of the year)

:D

[RoadRaven]

Heck yes... where possible...

But dayam... only a few of my tops do...

[KnottedYet]

Nothing matches anything. Heck, even my socks don't match! :D

[caligirl2]

:D Thanks everyone for all your input, I am glad to hear that most of you try to coordinate with the bike.

I just had to ask!;)

[salsabike]

Nothing matches anything. Heck, even my socks don't match! :D

Knot, you made my day. I bet the bike works just as well if the clothes don't match...

[light_sabe_r]

I've only JUST bought a pink jersey and I've had my pink bike for a few months. Too bad my shoes are light metallic blue.

Matching=good
Not matching=Just as good.

[Bad JuJu]

I dress to be comfortable and visible. If something ends up matching, it's purely by chance.:D

[Kimmyt]

I refuse to wear advertising (which is most jerseys)


But if you wear a jersey that has billboards all over it, EVERYTHING matches! :)

Our company wouldn't let us put their logo on our company team. But we could plaster just about every drug we produce. I love being nothing but a walking billboard. OTOH, on big organized rides, it's nice to look like a group. Even if that means wearing a giant ad for Levitra on my back.

[Velobambina]

Wear whatever colors you like and enjoy the ride. Why worry about whether or not you match, as long as your comfortable?

[IFjane]

Wear whatever colors you like and enjoy the ride. Why worry about whether or not you match, as long as your comfortable?


What she said!

My bike is naked titanium. If I dressed to match the bike I'd be wearing grey all the time.....heck, if I rode in San Francisco, I'd disappear into the fog! My favorite color is blue and I tend to buy lots of stuff in blue, though I also have neon green & reds & yellows too (can you tell I'm a jersey freak?). And I don't mind wearing ads as long as the jersey is from an event I've participated in or from the team my son rides with (insert proud mom grin here). Oh, and my shoes are green....so do I match? heck no - but riding is fun anyway.

[alpinerabbit]

I buy my shorts for the insert, and jerseys for the sale price and the size of back pockets.

Heck my favorite jersey matches the yellow stripes on my stelvio tires, so I just conradicted myself.

[caligurl]

good lord YES.... match or coordinate! (never wear orange on a red bike!)

now if you have a black bike.... you are lucky... you can wear sleek, sexy black... or any other color! but if you have a blue bike.... the majority of your wardrobe and accessories must be blue!!!!! (and when you change bikes.... you must change wardrobe and accessories!!!!)

[GLC1968]

Lately, I've been looking all coordinated, but that's just because my jacket happens to match my bike and I wear it every ride. Actually, I have a LOT of matching clothing now. Blue is my favorite color so I've always bought a lot of blue clothing. Then I ended up with a blue and white bike, so now I match a lot more than I used to!

I admit that I don't like to clash...but I also don't feel that I *have* to match. Most of my accessories are either black or silver, so they go with anything. And all my shorts/bottoms are black as well, so really, the only thing I'm 'matching' is jersey and socks. :)

[Pedal Wench]

I was doing great for a while. My first love was a black and pink bike, which I accessorized completely. Bought as much pink stuff as possible. Next bike was purple. Still good. Next bike, celeste. Still okay in a Miami Vice kind of way. Blue bike. Still good. Pink and blue bike, good, pink/purpley bike, still all good.

Problem is I joined a club whose colors are blue and orange. ORANGE! You know how awful all my pink stuff and all my pink gear looks in an ORANGE kit? Trust me - it's bad. Really bad.

[caligurl]

oh pedal wench! i feel your pain!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you know.... i took clothes (both future and current) into consideration when i changed my mind from a pink and black mountain bike to the "goes with everything and especially with pink accessories" grey! i already had a cute red oakly mtb outfit.... now if i bought a PINK mtb and pink helmet... i woudn't be able to wear it anymore!!! that made me sad.... i know.... i'm pathetic................. (i do wear my orange *gasp* and blue bikejournal jersey on occasion... although it looked MUCH better with my blue dolce than with my RED ruby!) just don't tell the fashion police!!!!!!!

[Kitsune06]

I match, to a degree. Bike is black and blue. I like black (duh) and blue. Everything falls into place. ;) ;) :D

[HillSlugger]

When I bought my first bike I bought a dark red helmet to go with it. I ended up with yellow jerseys for a while because I liked them to coordinate with my favorite shorts that had a yellow panel. I've since ditched the shorts for all black shorts (anything goes with them) and I now ride a silver and black bike. I wear whatever jerseys catch my eye. When it's time for a new helmet I might consider something in silver/black/grey hues.

[violette]

I wish...
I just bought myself a Giant OCR3 in November. Beautiful black and blue bike. I would love to find a cycling shirt to match (Giant on the front).

But yes, the law is, if your a pro, you should match ha!ha!ha!

Just joking. I am guilty in trying to match, I have red bike shoes so my shirts pretty much all have red on them.::rolleyes: :D

[SouthernBelle]

My Giant is black but is trimmed out in a little orange and white. At first I paid no attention to the orange. I even wore pink. But now I have slowly morphed into an orange wearing nut.

[East Hill]

Even if that means wearing a giant ad for Levitra on my back.

Kimmyt, you're not SERIOUS :eek: !

Really?

By the way, I am also lucky if my socks match.

East Hill

[KSH]

I dress to be comfortable and visible. If something ends up matching, it's purely by chance.:D

What she said.

[lauraelmore1033]

Nothing matches anything. Heck, even my socks don't match! :D

up till now, I was the only person I knew that didn't give a rip about whether his/her socks matched or not. 's not very...um...girly. Nice to know there is another one out there...

[Mimosa]

That's why I bought a white bike and helmet. It goes with almost every colour :D . When training I do not care about coordinating but when in competition then I do want to watch if everything matches. Luckely the club I (probably) am going to join has a full line of matching team clothing, from shorts and shirts to arm/leg warmers, gloves, jackets, vests, timetrail suits, caps ... you name it. So I can get really get good matching stuff (if I want). And the white bike (and white helmet) coordinates well with the blue/white team clothing. :p

[Kimmyt]

Kimmyt, you're not SERIOUS :eek: !

Really?

By the way, I am also lucky if my socks match.

East Hill

:D I'm afraid I am totally serious!

I figure between the ad and me walking around clad in lycra, we'll succeed yet in getting those suffering from ED up and at 'em!! :p

[Crankin]

Uh, I don't really think about color coordinating my bike and clothes. I am pretty "fashion conscious," but really. My bike is mostly black, with a little red on it. But my first road bike was yellow and the second one was carbon colored... I buy my jerseys for the style and print. No ads, please. I like bright colors on top. I don't want elastic on the bottom either. I have a small waist and hips that are a bit bigger. Elastic on the bottom just rides up to my waist, unless I get a bigger sized jersey and then it's too big on the top. Not too many comapnies make x-smalls, so all of my jerseys are Terrys. My husband bought me a Voler jersey in xs through a discount program at his work. I spend the whole time pulling it down, even though it sort of fits. It's going in the trash...
I always wear black shorts. I bought one pair of blue, but they split when I was on tour in Europe and I sewed them up, but the place where it was patched rubs my skin, so those went out too. I have a few socks that match well with my jerseys, but they were not bought for that reason. I just like cool socks.
I have one olive green helmet that i wear for cold weather riding and for mtb and a bright blue helmet. Neither match anything. My mtb is brown and I seriously do not match anything with that!

[lph]

I don't match anything either, but that's not to say I'll wear or ride any colour. My bike, as I like to point out to people frequently, is a beautiful bright strong red. Black shorts or tights and black helmet, black and grey jacket, jerseys that are mostly muted green or blue-grey, or... black.

I own one single light-coloured sleeveless top, that for some obscure and magic reason makes me look like I have a waist.. ;)

And I have one neon green sleeveless, almost never used, which I bought after an autumn spent playing Tomb Raider, as I fancied it made me look a bit like Lara Croft. It doesn't. :p

The flat chest *might* have something to do with it.

[Velobambina]

... My husband bought me a Voler jersey in xs through a discount program at his work. I spend the whole time pulling it down, even though it sort of fits. It's going in the trash...


Robyn--Have you tried Voler's club cut tops for ladies, as those have no elastic at the bottom? I got this one:

http://www.velowear.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ITEMNO=1020378%20LEM%20XSM

I love how it fits and feels (fabric, nice colors, etc.). Best of all, IT'S ON SALE!!!

[KayTee]

I am absolutely not a fan of big logos, and I really don't make any effort to matchy-match either my bikes (all different colors) or DH when we ride tandem. What JuJu said! Between us DH and I have a lot of bike clothes, and he ends up doing the laundry more than I do nowadays. It's just been more practical for me to go with clothes and accessories in colors I like (black and blue) that are different from what he likes (red and yellow) so he can better tell 'em apart in the laundry. I have to mark my tights and some shorts with a Sharpie, however, 'cause they're too similar in size or configuration to his.

[logdiva32]

from an ex ball player. Those who come to the court with the latest and most expensive, matching outfit, and shoes, headband, LOL....

Usually have no game, if that is a hint.

I wear what I found on sale. Trying to get skills not looks..

[lauraelmore1033]

good lord YES.... match or coordinate! (never wear orange on a red bike!)

now if you have a black bike.... you are lucky... you can wear sleek, sexy black... or any other color! but if you have a blue bike.... the majority of your wardrobe and accessories must be blue!!!!! (and when you change bikes.... you must change wardrobe and accessories!!!!)

I thought I didn't care how the clothes looked, but your remark about orange reminded me that I bought an orange hoodie thingie which I haven't mustered up the courage to wear because, well, because it's butt-ugly orange:eek: ! And now I have a red bike, so I guess I'll never wear it!:o

[lauraelmore1033]

from an ex ball player. Those who come to the court with the latest and most expensive, matching outfit, and shoes, headband, LOL....

Usually have no game, if that is a hint.

I wear what I found on sale. Trying to get skills not looks..

My husband used to say that about running. By your standard, I might pass for sombody that actually knew what she was doing(?) rather than a hopeless noob...

[Crankin]

Thanks, Velo, I looked at that jersey and it definitely would fit; it's the same cut that I like in the Terry jerseys. My husband didn't have any choice in jersey cut when he bought it. Voler made up jereys with his company logo (of course no women's cut) and then they worked out a deal to buy other ones.
I think my cycling attire looks good, but not outrageously matched. So, I guess I qualify to say that I sort of look like i know what I'm doing. Sometimes I think people think I'm a weird poseur with my Kuota bike, but it fits and I like the way it rides. People constantly ask me if I do triathalons because of this bike. I guess Kuota is heavy into tri bikes, but I don't have aero bars on it, so I'm not sure why people ask me this. They wouldn't ask if they knew me.... can barely swim and I hate running!

[Brandi]

Nothing matches anything. Heck, even my socks don't match! :D
Yea what she said!

[MomOnBike]

Mostly my stuff matches, but that's just because I'm lazy and buy everything in blue, bikes, helmet, duds, socks, even my shoes are a greyey-blue. I'm a bit tired of blue, but when I go to the store...

This is why the SS exchange is so nice for me. I get actual colors in socks! Pink, for example, which I would never buy for myself, but which I kind of enjoy wearing.

I've been known to head out with mis-matched socks, I figure that if I keep spinning, nobody will be able to tell the two different blue socks apart. :rolleyes:

[DeniseGoldberg]

You gals who dress to match your bikes are blowing my mind! At first I thought that this was a joke, but as I read on it became clear that it's no joke. That's something that I've never considered, not going to happen. Ah, I think this is just more proof that we need different people, different outlooks, to make an interesting world.


I've been known to head out with mis-matched socks, I figure that if I keep spinning, nobody will be able to tell the two different blue socks apart. :rolleyes:
I suspect that no one will even notice.

One day in late November I decided to see if anyone would notice if I wore two different colored shoes to work. (Yup, you're right, I can be a little nutty sometimes.) Two shoes, same style, one blue, one green (OK, OK, maybe the colors were too similar.) My odd feet weren't noticed until very late in the day - and the person who noticed assumed that my mismatched shoes were an accident. When he noticed I couldn't contain my laughter anymore... The story of my mismatched feet along with a photo is in my blog if you're interested. It's at http://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com/2006/11/tale-of-two-shoes.html.

--- Denise

[Pedal Wench]

Robyn--Have you tried Voler's club cut tops for ladies, as those have no elastic at the bottom? I got this one:

http://www.velowear.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ITEMNO=1020378%20LEM%20XSM

I love how it fits and feels (fabric, nice colors, etc.). Best of all, IT'S ON SALE!!!

Hmmm, proof that maybe my pink stuff isn't quite as bad as I thought with my orange team kit!

[jobob]

:D Thanks everyone for all your input, I am glad to hear that most of you try to coordinate with the bike.

:confused: most of us? :confused:


My main bike is a mauve/dusty rose and pretty much nothing goes with it. Matters not to me. :)

[SadieKate]

A response of 4 is not a good statiscal sampling.

I like my clothes to match each other but don't really care about the bike - socks match the jersey. Water bottles match the bike. Bike match the clothes???? Nope.

[Eden]

I dressed my plain jane ti bike up with bar tape that matches my team kit - does that count?? (too much time on my hands mainly......)

Just for the record - I never in the past tried to coordinate with my bike, now I wear team kit and don't have any input on the colors of that.

[Susan126]

My road bike is candy apple red and nothing I own matches it. But I do attempt to at least match my tops with my socks. And of course the basic black biking shorts that go with anything. Actually, I just grab a jersey and off I go. I do try to get a pair of socks to match but if I can't find a pair to match I can cycle without! :D Now my mountain bike is a greyish silver . . . and anything goes with riding it. It's going to get pretty dang muddy and dirty anyway so who cares? I do own a lot of cycling clothes. DH always pokes fun at me about it too. Especially when I say something like this, "I can't find a pair of socks to match my top!" And he replies, "You've got to be kidding! You own a cycling clothes store in those drawers!" And then I'll grab a pair of purple, orange, and green socks to wear with my blue, pink, and white jersey! :eek:

[bmccasland]

I don't bother to try to match. Buy what you like, buy the team jersey if you're on one. Biker shorts tend to be basic black, so when I can get some other color, I try to buy them - same for arm and knee warmers (red and navy blue).

Besides I've changed bikes three times in the past few years - started on my old college 10-speed (maroon), moved up to an Ironhorse (white with red and blue) who's frame cracked, and now ride a cherry red Specialized. Not fond of pink, especially with a red bike, BUT big brother gave me some nifty pink bikergirl duds (jersey and matching shorts), what me complain?

Oh, and my socks don't match anything either. I currently especially like my yellow and black mosquito "Bite Me" socks. Goes rather nice with the retro Rosie the Riviter jersey.

[Eden]

Since I don't have any choice about the kit anymore socks are my last bit of self expression. The cooler the better - my favorites right now are probably my Lin Koi ones and my pink flamingos. (nope they don't match the bike or the kit)

[roadfix]

In other words, my bike is yellow and black. Should I try to at least wear coordinating accessories (i.e. helmet, gloves, shoes....)??

There's absolutely nothing wrong with being an OCP, so I'd say go for it. We all are OCP's one degree or another.....:p

[Aggie_Ama]

Since I don't have any choice about the kit anymore socks are my last bit of self expression. The cooler the better - my favorites right now are probably my Lin Koi ones and my pink flamingos. (nope they don't match the bike or the kit)

Eden- Where did you get the pink flamingos? I got a great pink jersey for my birthday and I would love some cute pink socks! (Mentally surveying sock collection- nope no pink).

[lacyliz]

Sometimes yes and sometimes no. I usaully just coordinate within my clothing and not the bike - but it looks nice when I see other riders do it. I try to keep it simple with color - but bright so I can be seen easily...

[DarcyInOregon]

I went to my optometrist to get sports glasses for my cycling. I wanted cycling glasses with my presription in them. My optometrist referred me to another optical company that specializes in cycling glasses. So that is where I went this afternoon. And guess what? Yep, Oakley has a pink and white frame. So I got it, and a different pair, thus two pair, to be fitted with my prescription. Two weeks until the glasses are ready. I can hardly wait.

The Oakley web page is under maintenance right now, but the pink and white glasses are there in the female sunglass category, showing it in blue and white. Click on it and you will see the pink and white also.

Darcy

[DarcyInOregon]

Here is the link to the Oakley cycling sunglasses. The site is very slow.

http://oakley.com/o/o4278d

One feature about the glasses is you can get whatever color lens you want, or switch the lens colors around. That is impractical for me since I have prescription lens.

Here is the photo:

[Mimosa]

I went to my optometrist to get sports glasses for my cycling. I wanted cycling glasses with my presription in them. My optometrist referred me to another optical company that specializes in cycling glasses. So that is where I went this afternoon. And guess what? Yep, Oakley has a pink and white frame. So I got it, and a different pair, thus two pair, to be fitted with my prescription. Two weeks until the glasses are ready. I can hardly wait.

Cool :D

How does it work with oakley. My rudyproject has some kind of small frame for the perscription lenses to be fitted in. And this frames fits behind the sunglass part. But the perscription frame does not really fit well behind the sunglass part.

[DarcyInOregon]

Cool :D

How does it work with oakley. My rudyproject has some kind of small frame for the perscription lenses to be fitted in. And this frames fits behind the sunglass part. But the perscription frame does not really fit well behind the sunglass part.

The lens contains the actual prescription and it is the actual Oakley colored lens. It can't be done for everyone. People with real high magnification needs can't have an Oakley.

For people who don't need a prescription, they have it easy. They can just walk into REI and buy something that will do. However I need to wear glasses all the time. When I wear my glasses when I bike, on some days I have real uncomfortable problems. In winter, the sun is low on the horizon. The sun comes in behind my lens and bounced back into my eyes and blinds me, even though I wear transitions. And the glasses slide around on my face, dropping lower, and I end up peering out over the top of the glasses at critical times, like going fast down a steep hill because I don't want to take a hand off the bar to nudge the glasses back up.

I should say I wear bifocals, but for the Oakleys, the lens will be just for distance.

Also, the color of lens you pick is important, and has to do with how much light or changes of light you encounter on your rides.

Darcy

[Mimosa]

The lens contains the actual prescription and it is the actual Oakley colored lens. It can't be done for everyone. People with real high magnification needs can't have an Oakley.
Is high more then let's say -2? (I have -4,5 and a cilinder deviation of 1)
But still could that they can make it in the actual lens. I choose to wear contact because with normal perscription glasses the glass kept getting dirty on the inside (sweat) and clouding my vision when the sun was shining into my eyes.

[DarcyInOregon]

Is high more then let's say -2? (I have -4,5 and a cilinder deviation of 1)
But still could that they can make it in the actual lens. I choose to wear contact because with normal perscription glasses the glass kept getting dirty on the inside (sweat) and clouding my vision when the sun was shining into my eyes.

I would get your prescription printed out, and ask for a referral to an optometrist who has a specialty in sports glasses. There are other brands besides Oakley, and maybe because you are in the Netherlands you get entirely different brands from what is available in the USA. I was told by the lady who sold me the two Oakley glasses that the lens can't take a prescription higher than 5-6.

If it works for you to wear contacts, then continue wearing the contacts and get a good pair of cycling glasses with an appropriate color lens for your light conditions, and you won't have to put the prescription into the lens.

I am really looking forward to getting my cycling glasses, to have it fit tight up against my eye sockets and around my face, with no light leaking in and around, and the glasses not slipping down my nose when my head is angled downwards.

For anyone reading this who is a cyclist in the USA, the optometrist told me that getting a pair of prescription cycling glasses is a medical deduction on the taxes, so save your receipt.

Darcy

[madscot13]

I own one single light-coloured sleeveless top, that for some obscure and magic reason makes me look like I have a waist.. ;)

And I have one neon green sleeveless, almost never used, which I bought after an autumn spent playing Tomb Raider, as I fancied it made me look a bit like Lara Croft. It doesn't. :p

The flat chest *might* have something to do with it.

Okay this kills me. I am not sure what to say other than I empathize because I will hesitatingly say I've been there.

Sorry I am so late to post on the whether to coordinate or not, but I do not match up with my bike and am happy to be wearing clothes that make me feel decent while biking. These include soccer shorts, UK soccer jersey (I have to find a reason to wear it now that going to pubs to root is a bit out of the way), and a nice neon green sleeveless a bit reminsicent of lph's Tomb Raider outfit. Toni sent me that last one for no apparent reason other than I think she is nice. Of course I have some wool longsleeves that are absolute bliss.

[Jiffer]

YES!

YES, YES and YESSSS!!!! :D

Okay, not really. ;) It's just something that I'm anal about. I tease my friend all the time for not being color coordinated and, therefore, not "really really good looking" like me. :)

I have a black bike with silver and white on it. I added pink accessories and I have been going through a great deal of trouble to find perfect pink jerseys.

Hubs and I have a red tandem with white and black on it. We have matching red, black and white jerseys.

But you do whatever you darn well please!

[Jiffer]

I noticed my friend, who rides a black and pink bike also, has a blue and yellow jersey that says MTB on it. I said, "Do you have a MTB?" She said, "No." I said, "Then why does your jersey say MTB on it?" She said, "It was on sale and it's cute."

Completely different world than me!

I, also, refuse to wear advertisements. I told my husband I'm not going to be a billboard going down the road!

[gnat23]

I have a black bike with silver and white on it. I added pink accessories and I have been going through a great deal of trouble to find perfect pink jerseys.


My bike is blue because that's the color it came in. Stupid yearly frame colors with no options. It's a fun happy bike, but the boring blue makes me sad. It really needs to be pink. One of these seasons I'll invest the time to repair that.

Then again, I'm sometimes lucky when I have matching colors of *anything* on. (The shoes, also, they are red and the gloves are purple. The goggles, they do nothing!)

-- gnat!

[wurkit_gurl]

I don't match my bike all the time. I like pink and my bike is white and purple, so sometimes I sort of coordinate. But I never match the bike. All of my bike shorts are black, with the exception of one pair of Descentes, that have a pink stripe, so I can only wear pink tops with those. My helmet however, is white and silver, so it matches the bike. I don't have actual cycling shoes yet, so we'll see what I end up with.

[Zen]

You gals who dress to match your bikes are blowing my mind! ....


What she said