Why do cyclists have to wear all that lycra?

[NbyNW]

For certain types of riding, sure Lycra makes sense. But I also view it as a barrier to riding. When I was a kid, I never put on special clothes to ride my bike. And now that I spend most of my days chasing an almost-toddler, I don't really have time to change into a separate outfit to ride to the store. I purposely chose my latest bike to be something that I would be comfortable wearing street clothes on. Right now I'm doing mostly city riding, either to go to the store or some other errand, and I'm not doing very long rides. So there's no point in changing clothes. I sit more upright, so I don't need a ton of stretch in the seat, and the bike has a chain guard so I don't have to worry about getting grease on my pants. Pedals are flat so I can wear regular street shoes. This suits me just fine at this stage in my life.

Someday I'll go back to riding dozens of miles a day, and the Lycra will come out again.

[kris7047th]

I remember taking a nasty fall when I was a kid because my bike didn't have a chain guard and my jeans caught up in the chain. Jeans *choke* & rub the back of my knees when I ride with them. The loudly colored jerseys stand out for drivers to see the biker better. For me it's all about comfort and safety.

[shootingstar]

I'm sorry to hear that you perceive there is animosity in your town in your cycling garb. Perhaps it's a few glowering folks there? But not everyone?

There are still ways of dressing for cycling, without wearing much lycra but not truly street clothing on the bike. For example, I bike in walking shorts sometimes. Even for long distances around 50-80 km. ride. But then, I might be weird.

In cold weather I wear tights, though these tights are not smooth shiny lycra a lot of the times. It's stuff one can wear for other forms of exercise (yoga, aerobics, etc.). Cheap tights that I pay only $25.00 /pr. or less. I am cheap for bike commuting year-round, including winter. I have to be when it's cold, cycling shorter distances yet the weather is yuckier, wet, sloppy, etc. in winter.

I just prefer not to wear out a $100.00 pr. of jeans by being on the bike a lot. (I found jeans I liked and fit me..after over 3 frickin' years of casual searching around. That's how long it took and that's how fussy I am about jeans fit. Maybe I shouldn't have knowledge of fabric quality, worksmanship, when I used to sew, etc.) As someone else said in another earlier different thread, one disadvantage of wearing same pants or shorts over long period time of cycling often, is that the seat of the pants gets worn out.

REally.....I don't want to go for yet another frickin' search of 2nd pr. of jeans that I like just because I wore out my lst pr. of jeans on the bike. But walking shorts (with flat seams in the right non-irritating places) work well for me. I have different lengths of walking shorts for cycling. One requirement is that they must have front pockets that hold a set of keys for me when I bike.

Will I ever bike in a true skirt on the bike (I wear skorts when I bike for something "skirt-like")? No, I gave up wearing long flowing skirts over 15 years ago.

However I don't like emphasizing to wannabe cyclists or non-cyclists that a person must wear cycling clothing. Instead, wear clothing for exercise comfort and safety. That is a more flexible sounding way and gives people options, creativity to choose a wide selection of clothing that fits their lifestyle, budget, etc. Cycling clothing at the beginning can add up money-wise.

I actually wear lycra shorts sometimes.....for the days I think it might rain: it's less bulky to wear wind pants over the shorts if I have to suddenly pull them on and I can't find a washroom anywhere while I stop in the middle of my ride during spittin' rain.

[Owlie]

I've never been asked that question. I have been asked "Do I have to wear Spandex?" a whole lot, though.

I do agree that it can be a barrier to riding. It's expensive. It looks funny. You can't just go ride your bike. It sets expectations that you need a whole bunch of special gear to ride a bike.

As to why we get the comments, I think it's two-fold. It's a very visible mark of being "other," those brightly-colored jerseys and Lycra shorts. It's not mainstream like yoga or even martial arts. The other thing is that most people cannot imagine wanting to dress in such form-fitting clothes. I talked to so many people who said "I read that bike shorts help, but I'm not comfortable wearing something that tight."