How come bicycle clothing looks so silly?

On Jan 27, 4:22*pm, "
wrote:
On Jan 26, 1:36*pm, Andre Jute wrote:



On Jan 25, 4:01*pm, Lou Holtman wrote:

Frank Krygowski schreef:
Frank Krygowski schreef:

On Jan 25, 7:32 am, Lou Holtman wrote:
Clive George schreef:

"terryc" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:53:04 -0800, Frank Krygowski wrote:
But I agree that riders may want different choices. *Maybe the
ultimate is a custom bike with all accessories you want designed and
built as a system... for those who can afford such a thing.
Different people, = different touring = different bicycles.
The Q is "Is there enough people who want a particular combo to justify it
being prebuilt"?
I'd suggest that if it was, then it would have been already done..
And it has - just in places where cyling for transport is the norm, not the
exception.
Indeed. As a Dutchman I scratch my head everytime when I see what is
considered a commuter bike in the US.

But aren't some of the differences explained by the Netherlands' dead
flat terrain and much shorter commuting distances?

My commuter, modified and used for 30+ years, works very well for my 7
mile (each way) ride with the long climb out of the valley. *I
wouldn't want to haul a standard Dutch bike up that hill, nor ride at
the slow speed such a bike promotes.

- Frank Krygowski

Frank, I'm not talking about a city bike. A 7 mile commute is even in
the Netherlands very common. I live close to my work and I have to ride
10 km one way. Yes it's dead flat out here but most commuter bikes have
3x9 gears (I don't know why but still) or a 8 speed gearhub, but they
also have standard fenders, full light system, luggage rack, chaincase,
kickstand, pump, saddlebag etc. People would not accept a bike with less.

Lou

And a frame lock. Both my Dutch town and country bikes came with
fitted frame locks as standard. I was annoyed when my new German bike
came without a lock. It isn't the extra expense but the nuisance of
having to order the thing.

And coat protectors. Both my Dutch town and country bikes came with
coat protectors too. My new German bike could do with those too, even
after I fit spoilers and crud-catchers to the mudguards.

It really is very useful to be able to ride the bicycle in the same
clothes you will wear to the office, or church, or a restaurant. But
that concept is unknown in America, where cycling is hard and dirty
and lacks the common graces, if our friends here on RBT are
representative witnesses.

I commute in cycling clothes. *Sweating in the clothes I will wear all
day at work is not for me. *The idea of puttering along at such a
pathetic slow speed you would not sweat at all would be torture. *No
joy at all in riding a bike like that. *Might as well drive the car.

The very purpose of my bicycle is to raise my respiration rate to an
aerobic level and keep it there for forty minutes or longer (with a
ten minute break in every hour for longer rides). That means a light
film of sweat.

So what if you are sweaty? It won't smell unless you let it get old.
Anyway, sweat is an honest smell. Americans are far too concerned
about how others perceive them. Douglas Sutherland, with whom I shared
a publisher and delightful lunches whenever we met in London, wrote in
his book An English Gentleman that a gentleman doesn't wear deodorant.
I'm not a gentleman (an intellectual of my stripe can't be) but I
don't see the point of deodorant either.

Furthermore, some of us are lucky. Our sweat conveys the pheromones
which women are attracted to.

In short: I leave hairy footprints where I go, and I see no reason to
become an effete walking perfumery just because I cycle. It's bad
enough that the general public associates men who shave their legs
with me just because I also cycle.

On the other hand, I don't see the point of, as Grant the Rivendell
puts it, cycling in clothes that make your sweat smell worse. If you
insist on lycra and other plastic crap instead of honest cotton, of
course you need to worry about how you smell, because you will smell.

Andre Jute
There's a difference between being civilized and being limp