What to Wear for Cycling

There's a whole industry devoted to convincing you that to ride down the street you need to be wearing head-to-toe lycra. That simply isn't the case, as evidenced by the countless European cyclists who ride every day but don't own a stitch of 'cycling clothing'. The only thing you really need to do is tuck your right trouser leg into your sock, or secure it with a trouser strap. Even this is unnecessary if you're riding a traditional Dutch- or English-style bicycle with a chainguard. There are however a number of things you can do to make yourself more comfortable on the bike.

Trousers

You're probably wearing jeans right now - they're the most popular trousers in the western world. They're practical, durable and classless, but they do have a number of caveats to be aware of when cycling. The first is crotch seams. Many styles of jean have a thick seam exactly where you don't want one, which can cause pressure and chafing in a rather delicate area. Either choose your jeans carefully, or look for a cutaway saddle that has a slot down the middle - they're designed to alleviate pressure on your soft tissue, but they also do a very good job of preventing chafing due to trouser seams.

About the perfect casual cycling trouser is a light cotton chino with tapered legs. Fortunately they're bang on trend at the moment and easy to find in most fashion retailers.

Tops

If you're comfortable in it you'll probably be comfortable on the bike, with the following caveats. Many bicycles put you in a hunched-over position, so you'll want to make sure that whatever you're wearing is long enough at the back to keep you covered. You'll warm up quickly on the bike, so wear less than you would normally - if you feel slightly too cold when you leave your front door, you'll probably be perfectly comfortable after a couple of minutes riding. If you're even a moderately quick rider, it's worth giving some consideration to aerodynamics. Lycra is obviously unnecessary, but anything very baggy will flap about like a sail and slow you down. Hoods in particular can flap up and act like a parachute. Be careful of anything that might become snagged or trapped on your bicycle - scarves are a real hazard and if trapped in your front wheel can cause serious injury.

On Mudguards (Fenders)

Mudguards (or Fenders, as they're known in the colonies) are perhaps the most essential tool in practical cycling. Without them, you're just a rainshower away from being covered in mud, grime and who-knows-what flung up by your wheels. Unfortunately, bike manufacturers don't seem to have got the message. Many otherwise useful road bikes have no eyelets for mounting mudguards, or have eyelets but lack enough frame or brake clearance. Fortunately there are ways around this, as we'll discuss in this post.

If you do have Eyelets

If the manufacturer of your bicycle was considerate enough to imagine someone riding in the rain, you're in luck. Standard SKS Fenders are inexpensive, durable and will fit on just about any frame with eyelets. The downside is that they're incredibly fiddly to fit properly and it'll probably take you most of an afternoon to get right, but on the plus side it's a job that demands more patience than skill and once they're fitted you shouldn't need to do it again for years. Do make sure that you've got sufficient clearance between your tires and your brakes - you'll need several millimetres of clear space to fit them without rubbing.

You can spend a lot more on mudguards, but you won't get a better product. There are lots of fancy metal fenders available, but they rattle terribly and are much harder to fit into frames with only marginal clearance.

If you don't have Eyelets

You're not stuck if your frame doesn't have mountings for mudguards. You have two real choices - one is to bodge on a pair of standard mudguards using cable ties and p-clips. The other is to use a guard like the SKS Raceblade that is designed to fit without eyelets. Bodging on standard guards is likely to be a real fiddle and involve cutting up your guards to fit them onto the frame, but you're likely to get the best possible protection from spray. Raceblades are easy to fit and remove to your bike so are ideal for racers, but that also makes them very easy to steal if you park your bike. Raceblades also offer fairly basic coverage and although they're infinitely better than nothing, you're likely to get very wet feet. 

Whatever kind of frame you have, mudguards make all the difference for a utility bicycle. Although they won't keep you dry in the rain they will keep your clothes clean, which can mean the difference between carrying a change of clothes and not. If you're dressed suitably a rainshower on the bike is no more inconvenient than if you're walking, but mudguards prevent that 'skunk stripe' of filthy black awfulness up your back that can ruin your day along with your jacket.

What is Baggy Cycling?

Baggy cycling is about cycling as a means of transport, not a sport or a leisure activity. It's about mudguards, pannier racks, platform pedals, trailers and all the brilliant stuff that makes cycling a practical means of getting yourself and your stuff from here to there. It's about more miles for less sweat, it's about snow and sleet and hail and getting there anyway, it's about cycling as a tool for living, not as a way of life.

Over the coming months, I intend to build this blog into a comprehensive reference on the tools and techniques of everyday cycling. I hope you'll join me for the ride.