Shaved or unshaved?

[bike4miles2]

I have found that not shaving in the winter helps keep your wet pants off the skin and therefore making for a more comfortable ride. Since you are wearing pats, the reasoning for shaving is much less. Unless you are masaging, non shaved is a good way to go in the cold.

 

[Virenque]

Yes, I don`t shave in the winter too..

 

[bike4miles2]

Waxed.........

Have yet to try that. Would be nice for a stage race to be ultra smooth for a week with no shaving.

 

[Perennial_Quest]

I love reading people say that they shave for massages and for ease of cleaning wounds.Maybe if you keep saying it you will believe it,mmm,but i reckon not.
Lets all be honest,its looks better,and thats it,vanity.Im not in the habbit of falling off my bike so thats not a reason to shave and also I dont get my legs massaged and come to think of it I know very few people who df course baldy legs would make it easier to clean wounds and massage but surly not the main reason.Most will crumble under peer preasure

 

[noonievut]

It's like being in a biker gang without a tatoo. It's a right of passage...

That's why I don't belong to a biker gang. I'm also thinking the head hancho of the gang has tatoos because he want's them, not to fit in...LOL

 

[accurise]

I shave my legs because I can't stand the look or feel of hairy legs! I also shave my neck.

 

[babybirdie]

I think Im gonna try it just to see what its like.
Of course being a penguin, my legs are only 3 inches long so it should only take a minute. Ill also check to see if the lady penguins think its seksee.

 

[Virenque]

Do we have any giraffes there?I would like to hear their experiences with shaving hehe!

 

[babybirdie]

EEK!!! I shaved one leg today... it took 45 min. I guess I should have used a trimmer first to remove the longer hair. Now I have one Sexy leg and one hairy leg. Would have done both but I ran outa time and hot water. Gotta stock up on draino too...lol


Shaving tip of the day: Use clippers to remove longer hair before shaving with a razor.


Quote Virenque: Do we have any giraffes there?I would like to hear their experiences with shaving hehe!

My human self is 6'2" so it has Giraffe legs

 

[Saucy]

This thread is depressing.

Why do you people hate hair so much? Hair has been good to you! Its kept you warm, protected you, made you look grown up and sexy. Its what made you "men".

And now you want to throw it all away! Is this how you repay your hair for years of dedicated service?! No respect, no respect... its sad. Hair has never done anything bad in its life. It doesn't deserve to be treated like this.

You are only hurting yourselves, really. Hair is sexy and cool. Your loss.

Keep it real.

 

[big Pete]

Wow no one has mentioned aerodynamics yet!!

surely there must be some nut around here that thinks shaving his legs will give him a 10% advantage in a 40k TT

I don't shave because its a major hassle and i don't race and i've never fallen off a road bike (MTB a different story)

But being a personal trainer and all i probably should so that i fit in with the rest of the buffed beach bods posing in gyms

There is a theory out there that says if you save your legs hair to a certain length it will give you an advantage because the vertices created by the hair will push the hair more than the drag it made. (i.e. you leg hair will act as sails).


Pete

 

[Julian Radowsky]

I was always told that shaving will save you ZERO time....infact a little stubble on the fronts of your legs is better. I have no idea of the foundations of this, just what I was always tought.

If stubble on the front is an aerodynamic benefit (and I am not saying it is), the reasons would be the same as for a golf ball - a surface that is not completely smooth (e.g. dimples on a golf ball) reduces laminar drag in air.

Of course then stubble on the back and sides would be a good thing as well, to reduce the drag on the sides and to disturb the vacuum created behind the leg, however, since the leg is reciprocating at a relatively slow rate, as well as moving forwards at almost the same velocity as the bike, I do not think that it makes any difference whether you have stubble or not (unless you are in a tuck position at 80kph downhill) since the air flow over the leg surface is irregular anyway.

 

[JAPANic]

Prior to shaving:

I came:
36th/50
28th/50
11th/50
445th/1000
37/132

After shaving:

4th/50
3rd/58

What do I have to do now?

Shave my head?

 

[Johnny O-R]

Prior to shaving:

I came:
36th/50
28th/50
11th/50
445th/1000
37/132

After shaving:

4th/50
3rd/58

What do I have to do now?

Shave my head?

Gee - how much leg hair did you have? We talking apres ski boots here?

 

[WVSeminole]

So many excuses and very few realities. I shaved my legs 19 years ago when I was 18 just to see what the A group had going for them, nothing really but an emphasis on their killer quads and calves. I have since shaved my legs regularly, mainly because it feels and looks better, not to mention my girlfriend/nurse/massage therapist can't keep her hands off them. Call it vanity or whatever but at age 37 my legs are pedaling on average 175/week and looking better after every ride.

 

[GERARDO]

Neither shaved nor unshaved: WAXED

I recently found out that waxing is much better option than shaving. I do it every 4 weeks and it works great. Skin irritation, itching, ingrown hair, etc. are things from the past!!.

And since I have a great looking pair of legs after years of cycling I would admit a little vanity here too. WHO CARES??.

 

[carmoda]

a few extra cents...

1. why wont anyone here admit they shave because it makes them feel sexy?
i often overtake guys with $10k road bikes on my hybrid and they always seem to be shaven, even when they quite obviously don't ride that often. ~ being in touch with your femine side makes you a better lover, fact. that's gotta be good. a happy wife means more time to ride!

2. i would like another option added to the poll as i 'clip' my legs.

3. the accident health issue is a bit far fetched. it was always about aerodynamics!

 

[JAPANic]

I think more than anything, it is a constant reminder that 'you' are a cyclist.

A constant reminder to try, ride fast, have an edge, a part of a cyclists uniform.....

Before I shaved, I was a beginner, afraid to shave because I wasn't really a cyclist, a guy that doesn't wear any jewelry and wouldn't be seen dead with shaved legs....

THe more serious I took my cycling the more I wanted to be one....

Fast cyclists shave their legs....

It is a badge.

 

[djcorneliuz]

Shaved or waxed, depending on how much effort i want to put in and how much pain i don't mind suffering....

I think the main reason i do it no is that its kinda like the cyclists uniform. True, its better to crash with smooth legs than hairy, but personally, i don't crash often enough to warrant that on its own. I believe it's more of a sign that you're proud to belong to a certain group, and you're somewhat serious about what you do.

- And the chicks kinda dig it....!

Dj C

 

[cyclo2000]

I shave everything below the waist.

Why? It looks better! Last year I tried training in the gym with a pal who is a powerlifter. The gym we went to was frequented by a lot of body builder types, not one of whom had a single hair on their body (many had none on their head either but I think that might have to do with those special "vitamins" they're all taking...). The reason? Simple! It makes yer muscles look bigger! These guys shave their arms, chest, legs, everything! Plus shaving round yer funny muscle puts about an inch on the way it looks, too.

The real guys do it cos of massages and road rash. For the rest of us, it just looks better. And there's nothing wrong with that...