I’m just wondering…
Are we supposed to be shaved/waxed for the cycling season ?
I know it has nothing to do with aerodynamic but maybe for safety purposes.
Obviously you do, and don’t listen to Ben’s subversive mtb propaganda.
Truly, it’s mostly the peer pressure, but yeah, it helps for post crash reasons too 
And it gives us bar talk topics
my girlfriend loves it too…
I’m fairly sure that there is zero credible evidence that shaved legs are safer.
The argument is that its marginally easier to clean wounds with no leg hair but IMO thats largely bs. I’ve cleaned all manner of wounds through leg hair. The issue is more about the depressing quality of first aid supplies brought on rides.
Application of a good field dressing and then high tech post accident dressings like tegaderm once the wound has been thoroughly cleaned at home is way more relevant than shaving.
Personally, when I have serious injuries they take the hair off on their way to taking several layers of skin off.
Me, I’m just curious. Wonder what it would feel like to not be isolated by a layer of fuzz.
Who knows whether or not shaving has any real reason. All I know is my girlfriend also likes it, and once you shave, you never want to go back 8) So my answer is yes, you are supposed to shave for racing season, and year long.
This too, unless you fall on coarse gravel, in which case it looks like a really shallow, hairy, shotgun blast. Picking rocks out of your thigh and knee is no fun, trust me.
There will be NO PRESSURE from the team executives to shave your legs. it is a totally personal decision. I personally do not shave my legs, because I am strong willed and do not succomb to peer pressure. If peer pressure is your cup of tea, be my guest.
Jason I agree with you wholeheartedly. I just can’t see having leg hair being that big of a deal if I’m already peeling back skin to remove embedded debris.
Also can you imagine how hilarious it would be if there was pressure to shave our legs from the team execs?
I guess many of us will be wearing leg warmers anyway…
shave your legs.
it helps with all the massages we’ll be getting after each race. you don’t want your legs to get all “pimply”
I’m pretty sure the only valid reason is that when you’re a pro and you’re getting frequent massages, having hair on your legs makes it irritating for both the masseuse’s (sp?) hands and your skin.
Considering that only applies to about 2% of cyclists, I think most of us do it because it looks better, it feels better, and it’s a culture thing… And yes, girls seem to like it.
“One of the simple pleasures unknown to most men is having a set of freshly shaven legs between your sheets. Even better than that is two sets of freshly shaven legs between your sheets”
- I forget who said that.
Dave, you crack me up.
My wife forbids me to shave my legs. She’s the only peer to whose pressure I will succumb.
You might notice that at the ECCC the amount of leg hair is inversely proportional to the speed of the rider, generally. Ie a lot of the newbies don’t shave their legs but as you move from D to A the leg hair becomes more sparse.
I pride myself on being a statistical outlier.
im with u on this one…haha…no shaving for me
I think I might just shave racing stripes into my leg thickets.
I’m totally with Gruber! THere’s nothing like sheets over freshly shaved legs. It simply feels spectacular. It made me shave the rest too (JOKE :oops: )
An advantage to shaving in my opinion is psychological. Your leg muscles will be better defined and will help to intimidate your opponents riding behind you! 8)
a girl on the rowing team told me that one of the coaches told the guys to shave their legs just to intimidate their opponents, cause nothing’s scarier than a well defined smooth wet calf glistening in the sunlight… i can’t think of any other reason why rowers would have to shave their legs. i know track athletes do for the same reason as us, for the massages.
but nick you’re right, it just looks damn intimidating!
and pete, don’t worry, my mom won’t let my dad shave either. that’s where she draws the line with all of his cycling-related activities.