How old is too old for Lycra 🥴

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ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
I get slagged at work a lot for wearing cycle gear , I have always worn the gear even when everything was wool 😁😁. I am 58 , I like my retro gear and bikes . I am not a racing snake , I like to feel comfortable on the bike , like my white socks and black shorts as that’s what I was used to back in the day . Struggling to get white socks these days😂😂. Wear what you feel comfortable in , also if you look the part in your mind , you will feel the part , keeping you motivated is also important . Hell I love watching my chrome spokes in the sun . You are doing it for yourself at the end of the day . I have larger kits for the start of the season and aim to get my nicer kits on for mid season …,, alot of other friends admire that I am still keen to be out on my bike. Negative comments usually from a minority ! Wear with pride , I say 👍👍

Shutt VR have some nice white socks
 

tinywheels

Über Member
Location
South of hades
As a Brompton rider,I shall be sticking to my tweed two piece suit and sensible shoes.
If the weather affords it,possibly a blazer and smart shorts,knee length of course.
Those of you without the physique of a racing snake, should steer clear of lycra.
 

rustybolts

pedalling tediously
Location
Ireland
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French cyclist Robert Marchand, 105, reacts after setting a record for distance cycled in one hour, at the velodrome of Saint-Quentin en Yvelines, outside Paris on Wednesday.
Thibault Camus/AP
Frenchman Robert Marchand set a new world record Wednesday when he cycled 22.547 kilometers (about 14 miles) in an hour — at the age of 105.

Wearing a purple and yellow cycling suit, pink helmet and yellow glasses, Marchand completed 92 laps at the Velodrome National, an indoor track near Paris that's used for elite cycling events. According to The Associated Press, he set a new record for the 105-plus age group and received a standing ovation from people in the crowd, who chanted "Robert, Robert" as he rolled to a stop.

Still, he said he could have done better.

"I did not see the sign warning me I had 10 minutes left," Marchand said, according to the AP. "Otherwise I would have gone faster, I would have posted a better time. I'm now waiting for a rival."

For comparison, the U.K.'s Bradley Wiggins rode 54.526 kilometers (about 34 miles) in 2015 and holds the record for the men's hour, the BBC reported.

"I am not here to be champion. I am here to prove that at 105 years old you can still ride a bike," Marchand said, per Eurosport.
 

icowden

Veteran
Location
Surrey
70 years old, going to be wearing lycra for a few years yet. wear what you like, nobody really gives a shoot.
100% agree. The social group that I ride with on a Saturday is generally populated by people between 60 and 80 (they are still reasonably quick - our average pace is about 12mph - I'm the youngster in the group; not even 50 yet!). All of them with the exception of me and one other wear lycra irrespective of body shape. I technically wear lycra but under baggy shorts (Endura Humvees) and I like a loose fitting shirt, although I often wear the tighter fitting club gilet over the top.

The thing is, especially on longer rides, the Humvees can get quite uncomfortable and I'm serious considering just getting some lycra cycling shorts. It's about comfort and whereas I'd have felt uncomfortable commuting in Lycra 5 years ago, I couldn't really care less when I'm out with a friendly group of people puffing up hills and zooming down them.
 

icowden

Veteran
Location
Surrey
Whenever anyone bumps a thread from years ago, I think "shall I just reply, or shall I check all 15 pages first to see if I've already said it".

I've often thought that some sort of banner indicating a resurrected thread would be useful along with a filter to show any posts that you have made in that thread :whistle: (or just an AI - "you have already made this point 2 years ago -are you sure you want to re-state")
 
I wear lycra but not exactly aerodynamic stuff...I am not trying to shave seconds off my ride times.

I was in TKMaxx yesterday and saw a nice looking Italian lycra full-zip jersey at a very good price so I went to try it on, thinking that at size L it would be fine...I am 5'8" and 150lbs. When I tried it on I couldn't stop laughing. I looked like a badly stuffed sausage. My wife was upset that I didn't show her what it looked like, but there was no way I was going to step out of that changing room wearing it.

I then noticed it was Team Fit. There is lycra... and there is lycra.
 

youngoldbloke

The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
Just look for yourself in the search box. Now 2 years on from my first post (now 75), still much the same - in fact I think I look better in 'lycra' than other clothing. I don't mind popping into a supermarket in cycling kit, or stopping to put fuel in the car after a ride. No comments received, no problem :okay:

edit - and I'm still shaving my legs ^_^
 

Oldhippy

Cynical idealist
Unless you race, lycra is hideous in my opinion. Bit like wearing a F1 fire suit to go driving.
 

icowden

Veteran
Location
Surrey
Unless you race, lycra is hideous in my opinion. Bit like wearing a F1 fire suit to go driving.

I'm going to go out on a limb and both agree and disagree. It's far from my favourite look - I agree with you there. But it is *by far* the most comfortable over a distance. Sure, if you are just doing a few miles, but 40 or 50 miles or more and lycra / spandex whatever is really comfy, wicks the sweat, stops chafing etc. You don't have to be going fast to get the benefits - in fact when I tried to do a 100 mile sportive, I found the baggies really problematic - hot and chafing at my knees, even with the lycra underneath

The driving analogy just doesn't work for me.
 
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