Sixties....no padding....now padded saddles and shorts....why?

[Nearholmer]

Exactly.

I detest baggy and bright MTB stuff, especially baggy trousers, but found a pair that are nice and slim below the knee, and well cut above.

The very word will have some here puce in the face and foaming at the mouth, but stuff labelled “gravel” is often quite good for “cycling and general use”, because it’s not “full on”, and often it has muted colour options. Can be over-priced though, so definitely shop around and buy out of season.

[pjclinch]

As a teenager I wore jeans when I cycled. And because they weren't really suitable for the job, they wore thin in the saddle contact area. That is what finished off my jeans in those days. I've not had that problem with jeans since I stopped wearing them on the bike. Wrong garment for the job. They didn't feel great on the bike either. I reckon my purpose-made cycle shorts and trousers have given me a more comfortable ride than the "everyday" clothes I used to cycle with.

I've not had a problem with jeans since I abandoned them about 35 years ago, having realised that mass-produced heavy-duty workwear for miners, farmers from the nineteenth century can quite easily be improved upon for comfort, and that's in pretty much any context, not just while riding bikes.

When I was a teenager I told myself they were really comfortable, but actually that was a rationalisation for wearing what everybody wore.

Pete.

[willcee]

ok, I rode my mothers lt/wt ladys Rudge until my 10 plus grammar school entrance exam where i failed, promised a Raleigh Gran sport if i won a scholar entrance so Dad bought me a pair of steel drop bars which i proceeded to fit in the Rudge , she had from very hazy memory a leather saddle i never had any issues and i wasn't a 8 stones 10 year old. next year 11+ success and a £29 5 sp Campagnolo equipped RALEIGH, with Brooks swallow saddle, the Gran Sport in flamboyant red was my present, again never had Saddle issues, Dad tried it out he scowled after perching on that narrow Brooks Swallow saddle and slipped with his leather brogues on the rat trap pedals, next day a new pair of std rubber pedals were fitted.. so my days of doing perhaps up to 40mile rides alone, long ones alone ,short rides up to 15mile with a younger brother began without a patching kit or a tube between us , we never had a flat tyre and could have been rescued by either parent, both had vehicles..never had proper cycle shorts until the early 2000's rode in track suit bottoms or trousers or jeans, without any problems, now good shorts or longs and regularly replaced still using leather saddles today Berthoud in preference i have a tan and a black Menthe, Brooks quality has gone awol , i would say however that any lay off like during the past weeks because of bad chest cold and inclement wet daysi know for the first few rides i will be breaking my ass in again, yet my wheel builder Sammy Connor 84 and still out there said that back in the day club racers and clubmen hung the wheels from November until end of January depending on which early events they entered, like me he hadn't turned a crank since late October..w

[Bmblbzzz]

As a teenager I wore jeans when I cycled. And because they weren't really suitable for the job, they wore thin in the saddle contact area. That is what finished off my jeans in those days. I've not had that problem with jeans since I stopped wearing them on the bike. Wrong garment for the job. They didn't feel great on the bike either. I reckon my purpose-made cycle shorts and trousers have given me a more comfortable ride than the "everyday" clothes I used to cycle with.

I've not had a problem with jeans since I abandoned them about 35 years ago, having realised that mass-produced heavy-duty workwear for miners, farmers from the nineteenth century can quite easily be improved upon for comfort, and that's in pretty much any context, not just while riding bikes.

When I was a teenager I told myself they were really comfortable, but actually that was a rationalisation for wearing what everybody wore.

Pete.

I remember learning the word 'ubiquitous.' I was with my grandparents, maybe one of them had used the word so I asked what it meant. Granny gave the example of jeans as a ubiquitous item.

Which is a long -winded way of saying that jeans are good for riding relatively short distances simply because you probably already have them, they're easily available, and they fit in in most situations. Unless of course you're a Gen Zer, who from casual observation mostly don't wear jeans, or a Katharine Hamnett fan ("When I wear jeans, they make me feel uncaring")* or just someone who doesn't like them.

*Not a direct quote but she said something along those lines.

[pjclinch]

But do you use them for everyday use? For example what do you use if you cycle say to shops?

It depends a lot on what cycling specific stuff you use. In summer, I wear the same, nominally cycling specific, shorts for “everything”, just put padded-bum unders on for longer rides, I’ve recently got a pair of MTB long trousers that work fine as semi-ordinary wear, and have a quilted cycling jacket that is so practical for “everything” that it is going to get worn out from “ordinary” use, I think. I was wearing “cycling gear” while putting up Christmas lights in the rain yesterday!

I guess it also depends on the shops, but certainly hereabouts most people don’t dress formally to do their shopping. If I need to pick up something from the supermarket on the way back from a longer ride, I sometimes shop in very overtly ‘cycling’ togs, and nobody bats an eyelid, the other customers range from guys popping in during their break from a building site, to people wearing very smart business attire.

It's not so much that folk have Special Shopping Clothes (now, is that a new market for overpriced clothes?), but whether or not a journey is worth changing clothes for. If one spends the days at home in e.g. one's PJs or birthday suit then I suppose you'd probably put on something different in the legwear department to go out, but I'll usually be wearing whatever trousers/shorts I have on in the house to ride to the shops. If I'm popping down to the shops at lunchtime on a work day I'll wear my working clothes (not actually that different to my home clothes aside from a button-up smarter shirt).

As someone that wears "hillwalking clothes" much of the time I can see how other outdoorsy clothes can have a similar "actually they're just good as clothes in general" vibe, but it remains the case that the line being drawn here is between what you're wearing anyway and something you can be bothered to change in to to make the ride a little nicer. My padded lycra shorts got two outings this year, both overnight off-road camping rides, otherwise it's been my "standard" everyday trews/shorts.

Pete.

[pwa]

As a teenager I wore jeans when I cycled. And because they weren't really suitable for the job, they wore thin in the saddle contact area. That is what finished off my jeans in those days. I've not had that problem with jeans since I stopped wearing them on the bike. Wrong garment for the job. They didn't feel great on the bike either. I reckon my purpose-made cycle shorts and trousers have given me a more comfortable ride than the "everyday" clothes I used to cycle with.

I've not had a problem with jeans since I abandoned them about 35 years ago, having realised that mass-produced heavy-duty workwear for miners, farmers from the nineteenth century can quite easily be improved upon for comfort, and that's in pretty much any context, not just while riding bikes.

When I was a teenager I told myself they were really comfortable, but actually that was a rationalisation for wearing what everybody wore.

Pete.

I wear jeans during most of my waking hours, off the bike. I'm wearing them now. So comfortable that I can't really feel them. Okay, on a long hike I will wear dedicated walking trousers from an "outdoor" shop, lighter and much quicker drying. But again, they are dedicated clothing designed for a specific activity.

And just as you might tell folk they don't absolutely need cycle clothing to go cycling, you could also tell them they don't need hiking trousers to go hiking. Personally, I wear what feels best for the activity I'm doing. Hiking trousers are generally a bit short at the back for leaning over a bike and pedalling, so the shirt works its way out and a gap appears, which I hate. Hiking trousers are also another "look", just as dedicated cycle clothing is.

Dedicated cycle wear works better for me on the bike, with a higher belt line and more give in the right areas. Hiking trousers also tend not to retain cycle clips very well, which is another irritation. Cycle wear can eliminate these little niggles and free me up to enjoy the activity.

The main reason dedicated cycle clothing wasn't much in evidence a long time ago is that it wasn't readily available to most people. If we had had it there in front of us to buy, maybe we would have gone for it. Now we do, so we can.

[pjclinch]

I wear jeans during most of my waking hours, off the bike. I'm wearing them now. So comfortable that I can't really feel them. Okay, on a long hike I will wear dedicated walking trousers from an "outdoor" shop, lighter and much quicker drying. But again, they are dedicated clothing designed for a specific activity.

And just as you might tell folk they don't absolutely need cycle clothing to go cycling, you could also tell them they don't need hiking trousers to go hiking.

Up to a point, Lord Copper. They're designed to sell to folk who perceive them as The Thing To Wear Hiking, which isn't necessarily the same thing. A pair of Tracksters is quite typically a better option for hiking than lots of "hiking trousers": lighter, cheaper, quicker drying, less restrictive and unadorned with thigh pockets that make them heavier, slower drying and if used for much impede walking slightly... As you say, a lot of it is "a look".

Dedicated cycle wear works better for me on the bike, with a higher belt line and more give in the right areas. Hiking trousers also tend not to retain cycle clips very well, which is another irritation. Cycle wear can eliminate these little niggles and free me up to enjoy the activity.

The main reason dedicated cycle clothing wasn't much in evidence a long time ago is that it wasn't readily available to most people. If we had had it there in front of us to buy, maybe we would have gone for it. Now we do, so we can.

Again, this depends on the journey. Yes, my lycra shorts are better on the bike than my day-to-day trousers... but to trundle down to the shops not better to the point where it's worth changing out of one and in to the other and relocating the contents of my pockets, and then doing the reverse when I get back home.

Pete.

[pwa]

......Again, this depends on the journey. Yes, my lycra shorts are better on the bike than my day-to-day trousers... but to trundle down to the shops not better to the point where it's worth changing out of one and in to the other and relocating the contents of my pockets, and then doing the reverse when I get back home.

Pete.

Yes, and to be clear, when cycling half a mile to a friend's house I don't bother with all the cycle clothing, I just pop on cycle clips and balance my ordinary footwear on my SPD pedals, because I can make do for that short distance.

[Bmblbzzz]

One of the advantages, for me, of dual sided pedals such as Shimano M324 is that they allow to use cycling clippy shoes or general flat shoes, whichever is most suitable at the time.

[mattheus]

ok, I rode my mothers lt/wt ladys Rudge until my 10 plus grammar school entrance exam where i failed, promised a Raleigh Gran sport if i won a scholar entrance so Dad bought me a pair of steel drop bars which i proceeded to fit in the Rudge , she had from very hazy memory a leather saddle i never had any issues and i wasn't a 8 stones 10 year old. next year 11+ success and a £29 5 sp Campagnolo equipped RALEIGH, with Brooks swallow saddle, the Gran Sport in flamboyant red was my present, again never had Saddle issues, Dad tried it out he scowled after perching on that narrow Brooks Swallow saddle and slipped with his leather brogues on the rat trap pedals, next day a new pair of std rubber pedals were fitted.. so my days of doing perhaps up to 40mile rides alone, long ones alone ,short rides up to 15mile with a younger brother began without a patching kit or a tube between us , we never had a flat tyre and could have been rescued by either parent, both had vehicles..never had proper cycle shorts until the early 2000's rode in track suit bottoms or trousers or jeans, without any problems, now good shorts or longs and regularly replaced still using leather saddles today Berthoud in preference i have a tan and a black Menthe, Brooks quality has gone awol , i would say however that any lay off like during the past weeks because of bad chest cold and inclement wet daysi know for the first few rides i will be breaking my ass in again, yet my wheel builder Sammy Connor 84 and still out there said that back in the day club racers and clubmen hung the wheels from November until end of January depending on which early events they entered, like me he hadn't turned a crank since late October..w

Do let us know how you get on in 2024, and whether you discover indexed gears or carriage returns first!

[pjclinch]

One of the advantages, for me, of dual sided pedals such as Shimano M324 is that they allow to use cycling clippy shoes or general flat shoes, whichever is most suitable at the time.

I have Time ATAC Links on my hack bike for much the same reason.
One thing I have learned over the years is that having one-side-only mech SPuDs on a mountain bike used for Actual Mountain Biking hasn't been the best idea I ever had. The chances of getting the right side up when you really want it is as close to zero as makes no odds.

Pete.

[Nearholmer]

The main reason dedicated cycle clothing wasn't much in evidence a long time ago is that it wasn't readily available to most people. If we had had it there in front of us to buy, maybe we would have gone for it. Now we do, so we can.

I was such a “small town boy” that I didn’t even know cycling specific clothing existed. I’d dimly heard of cycling shoes, but didn’t really know what was different about them - in pictures they just looked like slim leather shoes with plenty of room around the ankle bones. Our local bike shop didn’t stock any garments at all to my recollection (maybe some already seriously old-fashioned capes) and I wasn’t a club member so had nobody to tell me. In fact, I’d cycled for many years, and moved to a much larger town, before the idea of “specific” began to very slowly seep in.

One instance is gloves. Once I was trundling over some distances, I decided I wanted light-weight, but grippy, and somewhat protective in the event of a sudden unplanned dismount, gloves. I’d never heard of cycling mitts, so I bought a pair of lightweight goalkeeper gloves and cut the fingers down. For shorts I used well worn-in cotton trousers, cut-off and hemmed above the knee, because short-shorts always looked blasted ridiculous to me.

If I’d known about specific stuff, and there’d been some short of “total Tour de France wannabe” I would probably have bought it once I could afford to.

[rareposter]

If I’d known about specific stuff, and there’d been some short of “total Tour de France wannabe” I would probably have bought it once I could afford to.

I remember those days when what you had to wear was either club kit (the wild choice of either a LS thin lycra top or a SS thin lycra top) or TdF wannabe kit. There was a shop in Croydon (Geoffrey Butler maybe??) that had its entire window full of every TdF kit you could think of.

And that was your lot.

Touring cyclists usually wore Ronhill and similar outdoorsy / walking kit.

There simply wasn't much else. You either looked like a walking billboard for some obscure French team or you wore your club kit. And as for decent wet weather gear, forget it!

My first few MTB races were in trainers (with toe clips and straps) before the club explained the benefits of SPDs. What a difference!

[Nearholmer]

Woolworths plimsolls, followed by Dunlop Green Flash, which were considered seriously upmarket, always with and toecaps with straps

[Pendodave]

One instance is gloves. Once I was trundling over some distances, I decided I wanted light-weight, but grippy, and somewhat protective in the event of a sudden unplanned dismount, gloves. I’d never heard of cycling mitts, so I bought a pair of lightweight goalkeeper gloves and cut the fingers down.

Haha
I use leather golf gloves even now for a couple of circumstances - if it's a long day in the sun to keep my fingers from burning, or in the shoulder season between mitts and old ski gloves when a little bit of extra warmth is required.
I find that the cut and the nice leather works better for me than cycling specific kit.