Loose Clothing?

[pooks]

On the Rivendell site they have an explanation of their approach to clothing.

It includes the following:

If you have any doubts that you can ride in normal clothing, consider that 200 million people worldwide do it every day. So it comes down to clothing for "serious, performance cycling," and that's when the clothing starts to look and feel funny. Based on the snug-fitting clothing of the famous comic book superheros, cycling clothing has continued to devolve to its current state, which is: Nobody in his or her right mind would wear the costume if they were the only ones.* That says something about it.

*Ain't that the truth!

We sell bike jerseys, and like them and wear them ourselves, when it’s appropriate or we just feel like it. The rear pockets are handy, but not essential, and a bag on a bike almost always carries whatever the pocket can carry, and does it better. Pockets are for getting at stuff while pedaling a bike that has no bags. Or, if you’re just going out for a short ride, a snack and a repair kit fit nicely in jersey pockets. Jerseys are good, but you don’t have to wear one all the time.

Starting now, we have our own line of bike clothing that doesn’t look like bike clothing, but works great for riding. It’s MUSA, and MUSA stands for Made In the U.S.A. So far the MUSA collection includes a top and two bottoms that are perfect for the cycling conditions for which they were designed, and don’t tag you as a cycler when you’re not around a bike. We’ll add to the MUSA ranges slowly as finances allow and there seems to be a need. Probably a rainshell will come next, or knickers.

Their clothes are baggy. The shirt is an oversized seersucker that is supposed to be very cool for summertime.

I'm just curious -- what do y'all think about it? Do you only ride seriously so are all about spandex? Or do you also ride recreationally and utility and still like spandex?

In a related aside, in an effort to find something longsleeved, lightweight and UV-protective I have worn one of my guide shirts (similar to this) over my cycling shorts and found it very loose and cool and comfortable, and it protected my arms really well. (It hasn't gotten hot here yet, though, so the jury is still out on how it will work in the heat of the summer.)

So, opinions? Anybody up for baggy seersucker?

By the way, I am not able to ride even short distances without padding, so if I were to wear regular clothes, I'd still have to have the padded underwear with it.

[Popoki_Nui]

I haven't raced in 30 years, and don't do the hi-tech cycling getup-plastered-with-logos thing. I like cotton or cotton/lycra, and I like it on the loose side (sports bra excepted). My tights and shorts are cycling-specific lycra blend from the bike shop, a little loose fitting; my t-shirts are regular off-the-shelf cotton T's from my favourite clothing store. Somehow I do manage to buy ones that match my bikes' colours.

Can't handle tight fitting clothes, no matter what fabric. The only downside I've found to loose fitting/baggy cycling clothes is wasps and bees can get in and sting in unfortunate places. (usually flying downhill at terminal velocity.....I've had bee-vs-boob encounters at least once a summer lately )

[Jenn]

I haven't raced in 30 years, and don't do the hi-tech cycling getup-plastered-with-logos thing. I like cotton or cotton/lycra, and I like it on the loose side (sports bra excepted). My tights and shorts are cycling-specific lycra blend from the bike shop, a little loose fitting; my t-shirts are regular off-the-shelf cotton T's from my favourite clothing store. Somehow I do manage to buy ones that match my bikes' colours.

Can't handle tight fitting clothes, no matter what fabric. The only downside I've found to loose fitting/baggy cycling clothes is wasps and bees can get in and sting in unfortunate places. (usually flying downhill at terminal velocity.....I've had bee-vs-boob encounters at least once a summer lately )

HAHA, OUCH sorry, don't mean to laugh, but the visual of that this just to funny.

I was having a problem with finding tops and bottoms. I'm broad shouldered, small waisted and pretty full hipped.... I got a Mt Borah jersy and it actually fits pretty good, just wish it was smaller in the waist. However, I made the mistake of buying some cycling bibs and they are tight and I don't know if I'm gonna like them.

[KnottedYet]

I have a pair of the Rivendell MUSA pants. (I think I wrote a review somewhere, too.)

They are very comfortable to ride in! I wear them on my commute to work, wear them at work, wear them on the commute home.

For longer rides I've worn bike shorts under them.

I've also worn baggy cotton shorts over my bike shorts, and those were fine. And loose skorts.

I wear wool knit shirts when I ride. Plain ol' Ibex long sleeved t-shirts or t-necks. If it's really hot I wear a bra-top with a loose baggy long-sleeved nylon sunblock shirt over it. (made by Kokotat)

Works for me!

[sgtiger]

I find it more comfortable to wear loose clothes while riding. For most of my shorter rides, under 15 miles, I usually wear my regular clothes with or without bike shorts underneath. Sometimes bike shorts alone, but I'll carry something to put over them if I'm planning to go in somewhere. I've even ridden in jeans which I have to make sure are loose enough in the thigh. For loose pants I have to make sure that there isn't anything that is likely to catch on/in anything. For longer rides, I like to wear my jerseys so that I can keep snacks and lip balm within an easy reach.

[jobob]

Much as I admire Grant Peterson of Rivendell, I don't take everything he says as gospel.

I wear what is comfortable for me. And, I find lycra cycling shorts to be comfortable, so I wear them. I wear wool tops, armwarmers, and legwarmers when it's cold out, but when it warms up, I switch to regular cycling jerseys, generally sleeveless.

Grant had a column in the Rivendell Reader a short time ago where he challenged riders to do a ride without gloves or sunglasses. Sorry, Grant darlin', I'll keep wearing my gloves because they keep my hands comfy and will hopefully keep them from getting cut up if I ever fall (and they come so in handy when my nose is running). And since I wear contacts, I'll almost always wear either sunglasses or clear lenses.

It's easy to recognize Grant toodling up Mt. Diablo. He'll usually be wearing a floppy brimmed hat, seersucker shirt, baggy shorts, and Converse All-Star sneakers. And he'll be going faster than about 90% of the folks climbing that freakin' hill

Anyhoo, all that I'm saying is, wear seersucker if that's what you want to wear. Wear lycra if that's what you want to wear. Simple, eh?

[Python]

One of the issues is sole stiffness. There’s a misconception (lie) that cycling shoes need to have super stiff soles. They do if the pedals are tiny, like some clipless pedals, because the pedaling force is so concentrated. But if you use a wider pedal, it’s not that important that your shoe be super stiff. Actually, I (Grant) much prefer a sole that lets me feel the pedal, not painfully, but enough to know where it is under my foot. That’s an important thing to know when you’re not connected to the pedal.


The shoes I prefer for cycling are a pair of Hush Puppies. I think they're possibly aerobic shoes. Nice soft leather on the upper and they have a rubber sole which doesn't slip off the pedals and seem to grip the pedals quite nicely.

At the moment my favourite cycling gear is just my cotton T-shirts with a fleece over the top if it's cool. I wear narrow legged tracksuit bottoms (don't know what you call them in the USA - tights maybe?) which are comfortable and don't snag the crank case. If I jump on the bike wearing jeans I've got a wonderful pair of reflective cycle clips to stop the jeans bottoms flapping about.

I do have a pair of shorts but am not overly keen on them.

Mind you, when bikes ruled the road, people didn't have "cycling clothes" and just wore normal clothes.

Like most people I prefer to wear what I'm comfy in

[pooks]

I find the cycling shorts comfy, too. I do think looser tops are more comfortable, though. I just found it an interesting concept, since it pretty much flies in the face of standard advice.

Seersucker tempts me. It is the traditional summer fabric, but then, like other cotton, it might get too clingy and clammy when it's wet. Not sure about that.

[jobob]

Seersucker is supposedly a lot cooler than regular cotton. Worth a try.

My husband has been talking about getting a seersucker shirt for summer riding, either from Riv or elsewhere. He wears baggy tops when riding, either loose-fitting wool jerseys (lighter weight ones in the summer) or mtn bike style jerseys. He can't stand anything snug on top. Plus loose tops camouflage his belly

He still wears the lycra shorts though; he didn't ride with lycra shorts for quite some time, but then once he tried them he liked 'em and now always wears the lycra shorts for any sort of distance ride.

[Zen]

I used to laugh at cycling shorts (HA-ha!) but now I see them as a necessity. as for jerseys, I like the pockets in the back for chapstick, gum, car key and mad money. I also like the jerseys because not much else comes in hi-vis yellow.

But wearing a Discovery channel jersey? Well...

[aicabsolut]

I like performance clothing usually in sport fabrics. I don't even like running (when I used to run) in a huge T. I certainly don't want any extra fabric to worry about on the bottom. Plus, my racing saddle isn't super comfy for riding without the right bottoms. Cotton retains sweat. I'd rather be in some semi-dry UnderArmour than in a sogged cotton Tshirt.

I will use a bag, but I also like having things in pockets that are easier to access. I like that jerseys zip.

As for sole stiffness, there's much greater efficiency of power transfer in using a stiff sole. It also helps to stabilize the foot which can be important for people with biomechanical injuries, as it allows them to retain proper leg alignment.

If I were out riding around on a beach cruiser, then I wouldn't need much athletic apparel, but I still don't like my clothes to be very loose.

[DarcyInOregon]

I can't put in the miles unless I am wearing the right type of clothing. Street clothing or loose fitting clothing might be fine for shorter rides under 15 miles, but I can't remember the last time I did a ride that short. I wear spandex shorts or knickers, and cycling jerseys. The jerseys are semi-loose to tight.

Darcy

[KayTee]

Yeah, performance fabrics and bike clothes for me, too. I sweat buckets and get chilled and clammy in soaking wet cotton. And I just hate to flap and billow, too.

Cycling has given me an entire community of friends, most of whom have only ever seen me dressed like a sweaty sausage with no makeup and really, really bad hair. I love it!

[margo49]

All my touring ( 3 month stint in NZ and two 2 month tours in USA and Europe and various shorter tours) and my 2 years messengering in London I wore totally regular clothes - cotton or denim shorts and cotton shirts (with associated rain-gear as necessary). No helmet - it was the late 70's-early 80's and nothing was going to happen to any of us!
Only started wearing lycra padded shorts after I had had the babies. I wear thin nylon running-type shorts over them as I feel naked otherwise. Tops I wear sporty wicking-fabric shirts. On my feet boring running shoes with a stiff sole.
Money, you know. If I had more I would buy more. Also I live in a very small place outside a small town and do not buy on the internet for various good reasons (like I'm scared it might lead to needing "plastic surgery" , lol!)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

[B][I]
Like most people I prefer to wear what I'm comfy in

I agree. But though I can be "comfy all day in jeans and a loose cotten pullover, this would be very uncomfortable for me on a 40 mile ride. The big jeans seams would kill my crotch, and the loose top would be flapping all over me in the wind and driving me crazy. I find jeans to be very restrictive to my leg movements, particularly my knees, even when they are relaxed fit. I also dislike jeans for walking and hiking for that reason. I feel more comfortable and move better when I am not distracted by chafing and flapping clothes. Love my stretch bike knickers and shorts, whether wool or lycra, love my plain comfy thin wool tops that fit me right.