Shaved or unshaved?



I do just out of habit.

There was this one girl in school that like guys without much hair, so I shaved. That was over 10 years ago and it's been habit since. Honestly, I don't know what my legs look like with hair. I have noticed that towelling off is easier (seem to dry faster) without much body hair.
 
I too just began to shave recently. I have naturally fairly hairy legs and the last time I did get a case of road rash, I actually wound up having to shave around the cuts so I could bandage them. Sure that and sweat-control are deciding factors but really, if I am honest, it is more a token of my committment to cycling and fitness than anything else I suppose. I can't very well sit on the couch and regain the 50 pounds I lost this year with freshly shaved legs so I had better get out there and keep training!

NW
 
I waxed my legs once. It is completely pointless. You can only wax when you have at least 1/4 inch of hair length. So you can wax exactly one time - then you must start shaving to maintain smooth legs. You cannot wax with little nubs sticking out because the wax won't grab the nubs. So if you must shave them every other day, why wax once to get started? Just grab a razor and go to work. My experience with shaving was bad. Sure shaved legs looked real neat until I got a BAD case of razor burn - hundreds of red painful bumps at each of the hair follicles. The ladies in the club thought it quite amusing. Now I think it's a huge waste of time. I'd rather spend 20 minutes a day tuning my bike for tomorrow's ride than sitting in the tub with my daughter's leg razors.
 
My cycling is more for triathlons vs. road races... hence, I pretty much shave for... get this: the convenience.

Sure, it's a pain in the butt to shave... especially since I have issues with in-growns... but, I do it anyway, because I prefer that to 2nd degree burns from splotchy sun screen application -- ever try applying water/sweat proof sunscreen to wet / sweaty hairy legs?

Last year, on an early AM July 4th solo ride -- with nary any traffic, I was taking a corner in Harvard Square, that's normally too traffic laden to go at any speed... Well, since the roads were empty, I was foolish and took the turn at a moderate speed of 18mph. Unfortunately, the bumpy asphault, which is barely noticeable at 5-10 mph behind cars was a bit more noticeable. In fact... it took me by surprise, and my front tire bounced up turned towards the outside of the turn... I tried to correct, but didn't react in time before the tire hit the asphault again and I slid right onto the inside side. I was amazed that my legs were unscathed, except for a bruise... my shorts, on the other-hand... were shredded... not quite through, but I still have it, and it's pretty much as transparent as plastic cling-wrap on the impact side.

Lessons learned:
1) Don't ride through city streets like a pro rider, when you're obviously not.
2) Louis Garneau cycling shorts are awesome body armor for cyclists.
3) I can't say for sure I avoided road-rash due to having no hair on the legs... but I somehow avoided it on that crash. My bar tape, saddle and shorts weren't so lucky.
 
I consider myself a fairly serious cyclist even though I dont race road bikes or compete in any competitions. I do about 1000 km a month on the bike. All the reasons seen here for shaving are good ones, especially for massage, but I have a next to nothing chance of getting a leg massage from my significant other after a long ride.

As Harvey Krumpet noted, as a man as you get older, hair falls off your head and grows in other places, eg shoulders, chest .... need I go on. So I don't shave my legs, cause where do you stop?

If leg hairs add to drag, then I would rather carry less on the bike.
 
Azulene said:
As a girl cyclist and a professional Esthetician have you guy thought about waxing your legs. I have a few male clients who I wax.

Let the warm weather come soon!!!!
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yeah it comes to my mind, i just feel somewhat awkward using that thing. Just for me to know, why would you happen to recommend it? is there an advantage?
 
Started in my 20s. First weekend crashed my brains out mountain biking and scarred up my legs big time. Healed much faster than previous injuries. Since then it has just become habit. I like the way my legs look and feel, and so does my wife. If you like your legs hairy, fine, but shaved is pretty ok too, and shaving once a week is only a minor inconvenience.
 
Unshaved! Of course, I just started cycling, so this may change over time.

For all those of you who say it helps to have them shaved when you crash, how often do you crash? I want to get into racing eventually, but if crashing is ineveitable, doesn't that kind of suck?
 
If you race hard and fast, this is bound to happen. Don't be afraid, just be ready to go down. If nothing is broken, get back up and back on the next day, bandages and all. This is when you will be thankful there is no fur in the way. To top it off, you will have to cure your head frist, then your body will follow. Fear takes longer to heal over than skin.

Unfortunately, shaving your head will not help this process.
 
It`s not just because falls! It`s a tradition and look as well. Another reason are massages, but mostly just pros have them.
 
Virenque said:
It`s not just because falls! It`s a tradition and look as well. Another reason are massages, but mostly just pros have them.
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The falls are just a part of it. I have gorilla legs and personally, I like the look of tan shaved legs.

Crazy as it seems, it looks faster and makes me think that as well.
 
roundsquare1 said:
The falls are just a part of it. I have gorilla legs and personally, I like the look of tan shaved legs.

Crazy as it seems, it looks faster and makes me think that as well.
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You've got the real reasons here. It looks good, easy massage, wife likes it, makes me feel faster etc. People only say it saves skin in crashes so they can justify doing it to people who don't cycle.

Vanity. ;)
 
Shaved. Mainly because of road rash and plus it looks better than the Chewbacca look as my wife describes what it looked like before! :D
 
all these are excuses to shave your legs. Medically hair does not slow down the healing process unless your cut's involve surgery or stitches. Even skin grows back around sutres. most importantly, water evaporation is a cooling process from the surface in which it is evaporating from.

Your excuse should be.... i shave my legs as a claim to being a cyclist and it makes the muscles in my legs look bigger.
 
Actually it makes your legs look smaller but if you have low body fat you look faster.

I think the healing/hair arguement is that the hairs can cause the would to get infected. Not sure this is a problem for the common person, so why for us?

Shaved legs are cooler in summer.
 
yadayadayada said:
all these are excuses to shave your legs. Medically hair does not slow down the healing process unless your cut's involve surgery or stitches.
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No but digging hair out of a rash or cut isn't fun either. :mad:
 
Brizza said:
Actually it makes your legs look smaller but if you have low body fat you look faster.

I think the healing/hair arguement is that the hairs can cause the would to get infected. Not sure this is a problem for the common person, so why for us?

Shaved legs are cooler in summer.
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I was wondering when someone was going to bring this one up. :D

So conversely, hairy legs make your legs warmer in winter. LOL.
 
Brizza said:
Definetly.

It's comparible to wearing a pair of thin trousers.
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So you are serious about being cooler with shaved legs. You must have fur like a kangaroo.

Next you'll be telling us that there are measurable time savings due to less drag. :rolleyes:
 
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