WTF with all the fancy pants bike clothes?

[SB]

Even the SAC stuff is expensive. Think I paid $50 sumthin for gel padded shorts this year on Amazon.

[Roxtar]

Totally different.

Not so much.

I mean, pants are pants and a jacket's a jacket, right? Hell I'll bet denim last a hell of a lot longer than prima-gore-shield.
Why pay that stupid Marmot $ when Sears has these awesome deals.

[shirk]

Merino boxers and Dickies work shorts ftw. That has been my goto for about the last five years as long as it's not raining.

Long epics get a budget pair of liner shorts chamois and my new favourite short the Race Face Trigger.

The merino / Dickies combo sure are nice when you end up going for a beer post ride and you don't have to worry about finding a place to change or crotch rot from the chamois.

[Roxtar]

Slide baggies down, slide liners down, pull baggies up.
Not that hard

[shirk]

Slide baggies down, slide liners down, pull baggies up.
Not that hard

I have the good fortune of being able to ride from home to the mtn, then to the bar or a friends garage for beer, then ride home. Also the local mountains are surround by houses, so stopping to drop shorts and pull off chamois would be done in someone's front yard.

Short after work mid week rips are done in merino boxers. Long epics I reach for the short liners.

[jono]

This thread confuses me; the anti-elitist angst and the kooky insanity are awfully attractive. Better than buying stupid-priced clothes from coffee brewing hipsters with more fashion than biking sense. But mainly because those aren't the only options.

90+% of all bike specific clothing features can be had for about the same price as any other clothes. If your budget is Target then buy on sale. Nashbar FTW! The good news is you can still snicker at the Freds in their overpriced wardrobes because performance and price are not closely correlated here. My favorite chamois shorts/liners cost an average of about $15 when I stocked up a couple year's ago. My preferred pad is moderate thickness, no gel, and flat, so if you'd rather have a squishy, waterproof sculpture down there you might have to pay a little more. Vibes. But no whining if you actually like it.

[stuckathuntermtn]

Not so much.

I mean, pants are pants and a jacket's a jacket, right? Hell I'll bet denim last a hell of a lot longer than prima-gore-shield.
Why pay that stupid Marmot $ when Sears has these awesome deals.

Well if you wear a bunch of cotton skiing, you'll turn blue pretty quick.

[Roxtar]

Well if you wear a bunch of cotton skiing, you'll turn blue pretty quick.

So, to paraphrase, It'll work, but far from an ideal situation.
Kind of like cut off jeans and a cotton t-shirt on a bike.

[kidwoo]

It's a wonder we ever learned to how ride bikes on warm summer days in preschool without a preferred pad thickness


white people: where even pedaling a bike around on dirt demands a technical wardrobe


I'm usually not in too much danger of hypothermia on summer bike rides.

[creaky fossil]

so if you'd rather have a squishy, waterproof sculpture down there

hah

need portland hipster contingent to design a water seat

[stuckathuntermtn]

So, to paraphrase, It'll work, but far from an ideal situation.
Kind of like cut off jeans and a cotton t-shirt on a bike.

i have some little nylon shorts I got from Walmart for $8, chamwows from bike shorts that immediately ripped. And old t-shirts. It's also kinda dry here in the summer. I tend not to be riding my bike in the middle of a snowstorm of trail in several feet of snow when it's barely above 0F.

[Roxtar]

It's a wonder we ever learned to how ride bikes on warm summer days in preschool without a preferred pad thickness


white people: where even pedaling a bike around on dirt demands a technical wardrobe


I'm usually not in too much danger of hypothermia on summer bike rides.

Yea, yea, yea.
We also learned how to ski without din 18 bindings, $1000 skis, $600 boots, wearing $500 shells over $100 mid layers over $150 base layers.
We still can ski without these things but it's pretty nice to have them, isn't it?

To keep a perspective:

Most of us:
Learned to drive in rusty POS cars.
Learned to drink with cheap beer, MD2020, rotgut whisky, Boones Farm...
Learned self sufficiency in cheap ugly apartments/trailers/dorms.

All these things will still do the job but, given a choice, do you want to go back to them?

Same rules apply to cycling. Yes, the pedals will still make you move forward on any bike, wearing any clothes. Having good equipment does make things nicer though.
If you say there's no real difference between cut off jeans/cotton shirts and Assos chamois/Dakine shorts & jersey it's obvious you've never tried the latter choice.
The difference will be very clear by the end of a 3hr ride in August, dry climate or not.

[kidwoo]

Same rules apply to cycling. Yes, the pedals will still make you move forward on any bike, wearing any clothes. Having good equipment does make things nicer though.
If you say there's no real difference between cut off jeans/cotton shirts and Assos chamois/Dakine shorts & jersey it's obvious you've never tried the latter choice.

Oh come on. I've lived out of a bob trailer for a summer riding 40-120 miles a day. I do one or two 3+ hour rides a week. I won a 24 hr xc race in friggin dickies at one point for fucks sake (not solo, those freaks are nuts).

I've owned plenty of that stuff. And yes, a pair of 20 dollar dickies and a free t-shirt provide no 'performance disadvantage'. I spend money on better forks and shocks and tires to the point that it's a character flaw. I spend so much damn money on sleds and skis and overpriced funky lens goggles it's a problem. When something matters, I'll do it. This doesn't. Not in warm sunny weather. Not for me, here. The idea that's it's just because I haven't 'tried it' is laughable. Half my clothes used to consist of that stuff. It's not like I'm awaiting some awakening.

I have MANtaint!

I don't even really care about that though. I just like saying 'my preferred pad thickness'. preferred pad thickness...........hehheeeee

[shirk]

maxi pads.

[creaky fossil]

somehow this thread is


man up, sissy!

along with


hah hah hah... chafe? not when you're made of granite!

[Hugh Conway]

maxi pads.

what thread in sprocket rockets doesn't need copious quantities?

[Roxtar]

Oh come on. I've lived out of a bob trailer for a summer riding 40-120 miles a day. I do one or two 3+ hour rides a week. I won a 24 hr xc race in friggin dickies at one point for fucks sake (not solo, those freaks are nuts).

I've owned plenty of that stuff. And yes, a pair of 20 dollar dickies and a free t-shirt provide no 'performance disadvantage'. I spend money on better forks and shocks and tires to the point that it's a character flaw. I spend so much damn money on sleds and skis and overpriced funky lens goggles it's a problem. When something matters, I'll do it. This doesn't. Not in warm sunny weather. Not for me, here. The idea that's it's just because I haven't 'tried it' is laughable. Half my clothes used to consist of that stuff. It's not like I'm awaiting some awakening.

I have MANtaint!

I don't even really care about that though. I just like saying 'my preferred pad thickness'. preferred pad thickness...........hehheeeee

I completely understand where you're coming from. I have no doubt as to the toughness of your taint
I'm guessing you wipe with sandpaper.

However

Those of us with mere mortal taints can actually feel the difference between quality junkwear and crap.

[scrublover]

Meh.

I like my taint pad shorts, and my tech shirts. Some actual "bike" jerseys. I can, and have ridden plenty without them. Just prefer with.

Now that I'm somewhere with disgustingly nasty humidity in the summers and cold/wet in the winter, I far prefer the non-cotton options.

After the bottom layers, the upper stuff for when cold and wet weather hits: EMS/REI/MEC or the like house brand stuff, or basic cheapy poly pro from your local big box sports store can work really well. Yeah, it'll get a little funkier more quickly, but whatever. Doesn't need to be bike specific by any stretch.

Buy what you prefer and what fits your budget.

[kidwoo]

I'm guessing you wipe with sandpaper.

round file with griptape accents

Like I said, I don't do the cotton boxer arse thing. That's just too swampy. I just quit wearing my preferred pad and .......nothing nothing happened. I didn't get rawbutt so I quit wearing the things. No sanding required. I'm willing to bet the same thing would happen to 90% of people who ride bikes frequently. It's not like I wouldn't wear the things if it made a big difference, one that involved skin missing from my taint. That's serious bidness.


I still think we should have a taint off. Just on principle.

[Catch22]

I must be cursed with a weak, sensitive taint. Ha, that felt great to write. Even with a chamois I've had some bad experiences on all day rides down in Fruita and Moab where you're in the saddle a fair amount getting bounced around. Sucks having to choose between standing on the pedals for hours or sitting and being in pain (and knowing it's going to be just as bad the next day). I never would have thought myself the type but I swear by Chamois Butter now. Haven't had an issue since i started with that stuff. i even keep one of those little single serving packets in my pack in case I forget the tube at home (or need to butter up a Stinger Waffle).

[Roxtar]

I swear by Chamois Butter now. Haven't had an issue since i started with that stuff. i even keep one of those little single serving packets in my pack in case I forget the tube at home (or need to butter up a Stinger Waffle).

Ha, reminds me of one of the team names we used for 24Hrs of Moab; Team "Cooking with Chamois Butter"

[jono]

round file with griptape accents.

I lol'd

I just quit wearing my preferred pad and .......nothing nothing happened. I didn't get rawbutt so I quit wearing the things. No sanding required. I'm willing to bet the same thing would happen to 90% of people who ride bikes frequently.

Nope. I ride without one at least a few times a year, not far; notice it every time. I won't detail whether there's a seam involved cause I don't want to be invited to any upcoming taint offs.

Of course some people sweat more than others and cotton vs poly is kinda personal (I hear some people even like Under Armor). But in this case...maybe the rest of us live in places where it occasionally snows?

[abraham]

But in this case...maybe the rest of us live in places where it occasionally snows?

Evil

[shirk]

If anyone wants to win the real hard ass award they need to find a way to one up the infamous team Hugh Jass from the 24hrs of Cannon.

Whole team shares the same pair of chamois for the whole race. In the transition zone it's strip down and hand off the worn shorts to the next rider.

Same shorts worn for several years and never washed.

[kidwoo]

Whole team shares the same pair of chamois for the whole race. In the transition zone it's strip down and hand off the worn shorts to the next rider.

Same shorts worn for several years and never washed.

See? You can't trust mountain bikers. They're fucking idiots.

But in this case...maybe the rest of us live in places where it occasionally snows?

I can feel my taint going soft already!!



That almost included a goatse taint shot. Watch it.