Help with shorts/jeans alternative... for a lycra virgin

I was just wondering what the proportion of people on here who wear lycra on a daily basis was?

I smoked about 4 or 5 people this morning n/h on my way into work and they were clad top to bottom in the stuff, hi-vis jackets, dust masks, the works.

Flying past Fire it looked like they were heading into the place rather than riding past it.

What is the attraction of lycra??

I didn't want to start a day with the "grr I hate people in lycra" feeling, but I can't deny it. The man in front of me today down Railton Road was head to toe in the stuff and was riding like a pillock. And three, yes, three people in masks on Brixton Road...

19.5st man in Lycra, there are some images you just don't inflict on people!!

I've got some 3/4 length bib shorts that i quite like when riding off road. I wear them under a pair of endura baggies and it feels nice.

Head to toe? My flabby bit's would look ridiculous. The full body condom look should be reserved for lean, mean racing machine types.

I find masks very restrictive, of course this is appealing to some....

It's more comfortable specially for long rides. Maybe those people have to ride over an hour into work each day. I always prefered it. Hell, my first 7 working months in London I could be seen in colourfull lycra every day !

Hmmmm those were the days.

(also see the topic about the eurocyclists)

I agree with Jos, if you ride a long way then you'll understand the benefits of wearing cycling shorts. If you're embarrassed about people seeing your package then you can always wear some baggy shorts on top.

I think hi-viz waistcoats, dust masks and mountain bike helmets are to be made compulsory on the UCI protour this year.

Used to ride around in a pair of lycra shorts and a MTB race jersey. Looked pretty bad.

Nowadays an old pair of jeans and a wicking top seems to work. Use those Endura padded liners to ease the pain on longer rides.

Seen some real shockers of top to toe lycra though

My favorite mask.

baggies or 3/4's over lycra
i can't ride more than a few miles without a padded short
lycra knee warmers are the business.

If you're gonna be on the bike for more than an hour without any padded shorts you're going to get some serious discomfort.
I've got no problem wearing lycra when I go out for a ride, though I generally wear another short over them.
And Smithy, you damn right about knee warmers!

it is more comfortable for longer rides. i feel like a pillock wearing it but hey!

lycra isn't an indicator of talent though. just because someone has all the kit don't mean they know how to use it. you can smoke lycra types on your commute easy. it works the other way though. i once got thrashed climbing a hill by some bloke on the oldist, noisiest, crappiest mountain bike i've ever seen. i was a bit annoyed by that!

I wear some Nike running leggings under a pair of shorts...I don't like wearing jeans/other trousers for riding and the leggings work well (got the Nikes cause they were cheaper than Pearl or Sugino ones) and under a pair of shorts they don't look too ridiculous...they keep the knees nice and warm too, which is important in winter...never had a lycra top though...full lycra does look pretty silly for a commute...

I've got to go out now, in winter tights with 3/4 shorts over the top and fucking overshoes.

I will look like a complete cunt, but it's pissing it down out there

Function over form.

I probably look like an idiot in some people's eyes as I wear lycra bib tights/shorts as appropriate, but so what?

Its comfortable and stops me getting sore in those oh so delicate places.

I'd rather not have raw nads then be a "fashion" icon

Toodle pip

comfort also depends on how hot it is outside...lycra is a whole lot more comfortable under a blazing tropical sun as I've found touring. riding around London is obviously a rather different story

getting into work, no. the lycra comes out for anything over 40-50 miles though. and i like it.

i like to think the full lycra lot i see of a morning have come in from the sticks so are putting in 20 miles each way or something so fair enough. i suspect some just like wearing it even if they only do a couple of miles.

i don't give a monkeys what people wear when they are riding their bikes. how they ride is more important

I wear lycra, for all the comfort reasons outlined above. I'm just about skinny enough to get away with it. The downside is the "porsche effect" whereby people want to race you the whole time. Still, if they insist on a whuppin'......

Lycra shorts or longs under baggies only for me. Merino on the top half.

Don't really want to give the office full of laydeez an eyefull of the meat & 2 veg every morning & evening.

Has anyone seen the old boy who comes in from Sth London in zebra stripe lycra - shorts & top? Makes me feel very sick if I come up behind him of a morning.

head to toe lycra is the key. where's that picture of stompy?!? :p

Done, done and done.
http://www.londonfgss.com/discussion/290/3/is-wearing-lycra-a-bit-gay/

for long distance rides id go for lycra everytime. those who come to work in lycra prob dont care so much about image...

im bit conscious about it, depending on company and where i go. eg. on the train on my way home from caterham (after stack that broke my collar bone). a muslim family of 5 sat in the bay i was in. mother of about 50s, headscarf and all, look down my nether regions...no less than 3secs! then her kids, prob bout 10yo and one prob early teen looked down as well...and giggled and chatted in whatever their language was. couldve entertained em some more but i was in pain

just to chime in with me tuppence worth, wear lycra under shorts, have done since getting very saddle sore, back in the day, during the winter months have the 3/4 bibs on under shorts/jeans, got to keep the knees warm, as the metal in my right knee doesn't like the cold.
I don't like wearing just lycra cause I don't like people looking at me nads, and I always need somewhere to put my keys and wallet, hence the shorts over the top.

I tried it, didn't like it, I can ride a 100km in jeans no problem

I'm with Mr Blackfoot: Lycra beneath 3/4-length baggies is the way to go in traffic. It keeps you warm, but doesn't attract all the unwelcome attention that comes with the stretchy stuff. I used to wear tights all the time when I was riding in town. I was positive that they were better and warmer than 3/4s. Not so sure now. In fact, I've done a bit of a U-turn. Maybe I'm more self-conscious. I dunno. Tights and overshoes on REALLY wet days only or for long rides into the country.

"I tried it, didn't like it, I can ride a 100km in jeans no problem"

60 miles in jeans? don't the seams cause chaffing? what about in the wet? jeans are horrible in the rain (or any other cotton item of clothing) synthetic or merino all the way.