Cycling gear and what it says about you!

lescol

please refer here for all your cycling apparel:- http://www.tweed.cc/style.html

dave2pvd

Lumen wrote: »

It is perhaps worth re-stating ............ that the Euro rules are largely an ironic joke.

How could you say such a thing?? I worship at that church!

hynesie

Where does the boards jersey fit into the euro rules?

(Not trying to troll here, I have some boards gear.)

Bikerbhoy

poolboy wrote: »

Op. wear a polka dot jersey with yellow shorts and a radioshack gillet if thats what you want! "Its not about the clothes";)

Ah it is .....

poolboy

As for Livestrong kit, I really don't know where this stands, frankly I don't want to know.

The only analogue I can think of is the guy who walks out onto the pitch wearing 200 euro nike mercurial vapors - he better have the skills to back it up or people will go out of their way to show him up.
I dont see the point of your analogy maybe the guy in the livestrong kit would just rather see the profits from the purchase of his gear go to a worthy charity than to some faceless multinational corporation said charity being led by a man whose recovery from cancer proved an inspiration to a loved one when they were at their lowest.

Beasty

Anyone fancy parading in this one?

pmg001

poolboy wrote: »

As for Livestrong kit, I really don't know where this stands, frankly I don't want to know.

The only analogue I can think of is the guy who walks out onto the pitch wearing 200 euro nike mercurial vapors - he better have the skills to back it up or people will go out of their way to show him up.

I dont see the point of your analogy maybe the guy in the livestrong kit would just rather see the profits from the purchase of his gear go to a worthy charity than to some faceless multinational corporation said charity being led by a man whose recovery from cancer proved an inspiration to a loved one when they were at their lowest.

I agree. This is a ridiculous statement when you consider that a lot of people here are dropping a couple of €k on bikes, wheels etc.

Lumen

poolboy wrote: »

I dont see the point of your analogy maybe the guy in the livestrong kit would just rather see the profits from the purchase of his gear go to a worthy charity than to some faceless multinational corporation said charity being led by a man whose recovery from cancer proved an inspiration to a loved one when they were at their lowest.

Indeed, Live Strong, or love cancer.

doozerie

As regards what kit to wear/not wear, it really doesn't matter. Regardless of what kit you choose some people will find some reason to sneer at it. If you buy "unbranded"/cheap kit, such as Aldi or Lidl, some cyclists will look down on you as being a rubbish/cheap cyclist and therefore beneath them. If you buy expensive kit, some cyclists (maybe even the same ones) will interpret that as you thinking you are a better cyclist than them and will look down on you for it. The truth is, cycling is often just a fashion show but with more sweat, and when it comes to kit suddenly every other person is Gok Wan (but with poor taste and a bad dose of PMT).

And even if you do find kit which doesn't elicit sneers from the road riders around you, remember that every "real" mountain biker will still look down on you. They get by on wearing nothing more than bermuda shorts and string vests themselves, all year round. They have a homophobe gene that prevents them from wearing anything tight or with lycra in it. They'll even look down on those mountain bikers that do sink so low as to wearing cycling-specific clothing (or carry a pump, wear a helmet, etc.). Take comfort from the fact though that they cry themselves to sleep 'cos the knobbly tyres on their bikes makes it too painful for them to hug it as it lies in bed beside them each night.

And the sneering doesn't stop with your kit either. Other targets are your bike frame, your wheels, whether you fit mudguards in the winter (you'll be made fun of, but you'll become the most popular rider in the group on wet days when everyone wants to be behind your wheel), whether you have a rear light on the bike, what cassette ratio you use, etc. Instead of expending energy trying to avoid derision, just use the derision as motivation to push yourself harder and make the whingers suffer during a ride.

The first consideration is whether the kit you are thinking of buying is comfortable, and effective. How it looks is further down the list of priorities. At the end of the day, you'll still look ridiculous (tight-fitting lycra plus the nappy effect of a chamois does little to flatter anyone's body), so you may as well be comfortable as some compensation.

Jawgap

Lumen wrote: »

It is perhaps worth re-stating (for any other lurkers who might get the wrong impression) that boards cyclists are, in general, the biggest bunch of Freds going, and that the Euro rules are largely an ironic joke.

What!!! Anyone know how to get a moderator fired??:)

I go for the retro stuff now - mostly because I'm of a vintage that when people see me with it on they think it's an original, rather than recently purchased!

I've a LiveStrong jersey - which has more to do with a mate who go testicular cancer rather than a Lance fetish!!

poolboy

[QUOTE=Jawgap;

I've a LiveStrong jersey - which has more to do with a mate who go testicular cancer rather than a Lance fetish!![/QUOTE]

careful such admissions are frowned upon around here by some

Tackleberry

On a slightly related topic, I came across a very quirky new take on bike helmets from Denmark, wonder would it go well on the streets of our cities?

http://www.yakkay.com/

shaungil

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

The REAL irony of course is that, no, this is not a joke. It is very, very serious. There are days I get out of bed and cry that my teeth are not nearly white enough, my tan not deep enough and my veins not varicose enough.

Hmmm interesting regarding varicose veins. Dirk what is the protocol here, looks like mine are starting to develop. This is good right? Will I need to shave my legs though?

poolboy

Lumen wrote: »

Indeed, Live Strong, or love cancer.

???

DirkVoodoo

shaungil wrote: »

Hmmm interesting regarding varicose veins. Dirk what is the protocol here, looks like mine are starting to develop. This is good right? Will I need to shave my legs though?

Oh God yes, essential step, show those veins off with pride..."blood pumps" as tom is so fond of saying.

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Then there is the case of the "tour" jerseys. If they handed out a "top goalscorer" or "hardet tackler" jersey in other sports then this might apply. After all, I can imagine that the looks of disgust would be even more severe if you went out to play 18 holes in the local golf club wearing a green blazer. You are not supporting anything, you are not even saying anything, but damn you better be able to back it up. Wear a green jersey, you better be able to kick ass in a sprint. Wear the polka dot and you should be able to glide up any hill in the big ring like a feather on the breeze. Unless of course you are making an ironic statement.

As for Livestrong kit, I really don't know where this stands, frankly I don't want to know.

The only analogue I can think of is the guy who walks out onto the pitch wearing 200 euro nike mercurial vapors - he better have the skills to back it up or people will go out of their way to show him up.

The last paragraph was referring to the tour jerseys again, which is why there is the odd repetition and poor spelling, I was throwing thoughts out. Next time I'll structure it better.

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Then there is the case of the "tour" jerseys. If they handed out a "top goalscorer" or "hardet tackler" jersey in other sports then this might apply. After all, I can imagine that the looks of disgust would be even more severe if you went out to play 18 holes in the local golf club wearing a green blazer. You are not supporting anything, you are not even saying anything, but damn you better be able to back it up. Wear a green jersey, you better be able to kick ass in a sprint. Wear the polka dot and you should be able to glide up any hill in the big ring like a feather on the breeze. Unless of course you are making an ironic statement.

The only analoguey I can think of is the guy who walks out onto the pitch wearing 200 euro nike mercurial vapors - he better have the skills to back it up or people will go out of their way to show him up.

As for Livestrong kit, I really don't know where this stands, frankly I don't want to know.

It should look like that. I don't know too many riders who would be expected to have skills because they wear livestrong kit. Go, get your livestrong kit, I honestly couldn't have a care in the world about what you wear, I just would never ever buy it. I have fashion sense, it overrides my charitable one. After all, I could just donate money to cancer research without shouting about it to everyone through my kit.

EDIT: You do realise that Nike make the Livestrong kit, as well as the 10/2 (as important a milestone in history of the gregorian calendar as "A.D.") cycling range? It's good to see that Nike are so charitable though, I have no issue with that, I mean it's nice to see a "faceless multinational" with a track record of human rights violations trying to do some good and not carve out a profit at the same time.

Lumen

poolboy wrote: »

As for Livestrong kit, I really don't know where this stands, frankly I don't want to know....maybe the guy in the livestrong kit would just rather see the profits from the purchase of his gear go to a worthy charity than to some faceless multinational corporation said charity being led by a man whose recovery from cancer proved an inspiration to a loved one when they were at their lowest.

Lumen wrote: »

Indeed, Live Strong, or love cancer.

poolboy wrote: »

???

It's a reference to (I think) this quite famous satirical cartoon.

Lance is known for portraying any criticism of himself as criticism of his cancer-fighting crusade and therefore an attack on cancer suffers everywhere. See here, for instance, where Kimmage is attempting to draw Lance on doping issues.

Hence when someone in this thread criticizes the wearing of Lance gear for whatever reason, and you respond with arguments about faceless multinationals vs cancer victims, I see ironic parallels.

Now I'm am utterly unfussed what you wear, honestly, but some people see Lance as a sanctimonious egotistical bellend, and you must therefore expect that a subset of those people would judge you negatively for wearing his gear.

As I say, I'm well past caring what I* or anyone looks like on the bike, but since this thread is about perceptions I thought it worth saying.

* ok, this may be a small fib

gimmeaminute

Lumen wrote: »

Now I'm am utterly unfussed what you wear, honestly, but some people see Lance as a sanctimonious egotistical bellend, and you must therefore expect that a subset of those people would judge you negatively for wearing his gear.

Sanctimonious egotistical bellend doper who uses the suffering of others for his own financial gain. Some people, just some people.

But on the original question I got this for Christmas and I'm still not entirely sure what it says about me:



but it may also include the words 'sanctimonious bellend'. Or possibly just 'what was he thinking?'

Lumen

gimmeaminute wrote: »

Sanctimonious egotistical bellend doper

Yeah, well I didn't want to drag this any more off-topic.

edit:

A timely pisstake from BikeSnob, which mentions the Rapha Rules of the Road, which itself refers to the Euro rules. Gaaah, vicious circle of irony! In the immortal words of the Simpsons, "Are you being sarcastic, dude?....I don't even know anymore".

Chips Lovell

You're all just a bunch of sneering elitists.

Lumen

el tonto wrote: »

You're all just a bunch of sneering elitists.

How we see ourselves:





How other people see us:

RobFowl

shaungil wrote: »

Hmmm interesting regarding varicose veins. Dirk what is the protocol here, looks like mine are starting to develop. This is good right? Will I need to shave my legs though?

All those weeknight intervals and you still have hairy legs ....

Shame on you

Jawgap

poolboy wrote: »

careful such admissions are frowned upon around here by some

....and probably to make it worse he's a keen MTB'er.

Anyway, I quite like the colour and graphics on it.

ednwireland

Lumen wrote: »

wish you'd stop posting that photo of me !

one day i'll scan some race photos me you can see some real retro chic then

shaungil

RobFowl wrote: »

All those weeknight intervals and you still have hairy legs ....

Shame on you

I know the shame, you're not the first to mention it. But

1) An A4 club cyclist with shaved legs is it not like someone turning up to the club race in the pro gear and matching bike with a pot belly and going off in the first group and getting dropped on the first hill.
2) Where do you stop, knees thighs ?
3) My missus would say that there are much more important places I could shave first , back, shoulders palms of hands etc.

I understand the reasons why but could it just be, and I know cyclists might recoil in shock, an image thing???

poolboy

Lumen wrote: »

It's a reference to (I think) this quite famous satirical cartoon.

Lance is known for portraying any criticism of himself as criticism of his cancer-fighting crusade and therefore an attack on cancer suffers everywhere. See here, for instance, where Kimmage is attempting to draw Lance on doping issues.

Hence when someone in this thread criticizes the wearing of Lance gear for whatever reason, and you respond with arguments about faceless multinationals vs cancer victims, I see ironic parallels.

Now I'm am utterly unfussed what you wear, honestly, but some people see Lance as a sanctimonious egotistical bellend, and you must therefore expect that a subset of those people would judge you negatively for wearing his gear.

As I say, I'm well past caring what I* or anyone looks like on the bike, but since this thread is about perceptions I thought it worth saying.

* ok, this may be a small fib

Mmmm.. Thats funny? My sense of humour must be broken.

You obviously are not unfussed by what someone else wears given the effort you,ve put into demonstrating how a livestrong kit maybe judged.

Lumen

shaungil wrote: »

Where do you stop, knees thighs ?

There is no stopping. How are you going to apply your testosterone patches to a set of hairy peaches?

poolboy

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Oh God yes, essential step, show those veins off with pride..."blood pumps" as tom is so fond of saying.



The last paragraph was referring to the tour jerseys again, which is why there is the odd repetition and poor spelling, I was throwing thoughts out. Next time I'll structure it better.



It should look like that. I don't know too many riders who would be expected to have skills because they wear livestrong kit. Go, get your livestrong kit, I honestly couldn't have a care in the world about what you wear, I just would never ever buy it. I have fashion sense, it overrides my charitable one. After all, I could just donate money to cancer research without shouting about it to everyone through my kit.

EDIT: You do realise that Nike make the Livestrong kit, as well as the 10/2 (as important a milestone in history of the gregorian calendar as "A.D.") cycling range? It's good to see that Nike are so charitable though, I have no issue with that, I mean it's nice to see a "faceless multinational" with a track record of human rights violations trying to do some good and not carve out a profit at the same time.

Some company has to make every kit i never suggested 100% of your money goes to charity thats just ridculous my point is if you are going to spend money on a jersey some people may choose to buy a jersey where a portion of that money goes to charity for that decision to be sneered by cycling snobs is what annoys me. This was my point to the op ignore the snobs and their rules and sneers wear what you want and enjoy your bike we are not kids

shaungil

Lumen wrote: »

There is no stopping. How are you going to apply your testosterone patches to a set of hairy peaches?

Someone told me (not a poster here don't worry Raam your secret is safe) that they go for the entire below waist for cycling and are not comfortable with out getting the crack and sac done.

I was weirded out by this so quickly changed the subject. Surely not?

Chips Lovell

shaungil wrote: »

Surely not?

Why wouldn't they?

ednwireland

shaungil wrote: »

I was weirded out by this so quickly changed the subject. Surely not?

never heard of back sac and crack

i got really weirded out when someone started talking about a**l bleaching on another cycling forum eugggh