Shaved legs on a MTB

[Pizzaz]

I shave my legs because they look fucking sexy without hair.

Saw an article by Sean Eadie Which basically came to the same conclusion...

Personally... I wax

 

[Steve-0]

Shaving legs is part of the code, an unwritten rule. However I ride alot and raced heaps before and my legs are hairy as.

Shaved legs in school or at work is not fun and there's no real benefit for me. I don't get massages (who does??) and I don't injure my legs at all.

I've tried shaving just the top of the leg to the knee to help with lycra but stopped because it was a pain in the arse.

I think it's for riders that fall off every ride (there's heaps) or it's just something that has caught on, You don't look the part without it.

 

[Norco Maniac]

i'm a remedial therapist - and massaging shaved legs is not fun. it's rather like massaging spiky sandpaper. i'd rather work on a hairy-legged man (or woman for that matter) any day.


hairy backs, however, gents - wax, please! think of your therapist!

 

[pinkbike]

I think having waxed legs makes it easier for the mozzies to get me , that fur that covers my bf's legs seems to tangle the mozzies before they can get to skin. But even if I let mine grow, I don't think I'd have quite the same protective fuzz... it also protects from sharp grasses, sticks, stinging nettles etc etc.

The main advantage for hairless legs I can see is in the TdF when the boys take off skin and get patched while still riding. Dressings stick way better to hairless skin and taking them off is way nicer if there's no hair. I guess even in smaller races and TMB races, if you take skin off and it needs dressing with something adhesive - hairless is definitely easier.

 

[Hugor]

I shaved my legs once out of curiosity. Can't say I noticed a performance difference.
The problem was that I got a little carried away and shaved my balls as well.
Now thats a problem!
I found out that hair there actually keeps your scrotum and inner thigh apart.
Without hair your balls stick to your inner leg and that slows you down big time, as well as create the constant need for readjustments.
You're then not only slow but a social lepar.

 

[adaib]

I shaved my legs once out of curiosity. Can't say I noticed a performance difference.
The problem was that I got a little carried away and shaved my balls as well.
Now thats a problem!
I found out that hair there actually keeps your scrotum and inner thigh apart.
Without hair your balls stick to your inner leg and that slows you down big time, as well as create the constant need for readjustments.
You're then not only slow but a social lepar.

Hmmmmm :/
Thanks for the heads up about that.....

 

[morrisan]

I like to shave , I do not know why ,but I started about 15 years ago and since then I have not been able to stop.Maybe is the feeling or the image I do not know but it is something that makes me remember that I have to do my best on the bike it is like a commitment, so I do not mind what the people say.

 

[thecat]

Theory I have heard with gravel rash is that when you slide on a hairy bit of skin the hair will actually increase the friction and area pulling the hair and skin at the same time. If you look at the area after crashing the hair will be locally ripped out. More of a problem on smooth roads etc. Also it is obviously easier to treat without hair in the way

That's the current excuse for roadies. The hair in a road crash drags on the bitumin and "sucks down" more contact area thus causinh a bigger area of ripped skin. There are also a bunch of counter arguments re recovery from such an injury. One camp says hair helps trap and congeal the blood and thus seals the wound faster while the other camp says hair gets in the scab and makes it heal slower....


However as for the original question of when is it ok to shave your legs?

When you feel comfortable and confident with the fact that you are doing it because

A)You have a deep seated desire to fit in with you roadie friends

or

b)You just like the way it feels

and not because of some unfounded excuses involving aerodynamics, gravel rash or massage

 

[anth69]

I gain an inch when i shave 'it' .... i wonder if my legs will look longer if i shave them too ??

 

[Pizzaz]

I shaved my legs once out of curiosity. Can't say I noticed a performance difference.
The problem was that I got a little carried away and shaved my balls as well.
Now thats a problem!
I found out that hair there actually keeps your scrotum and inner thigh apart.
Without hair your balls stick to your inner leg and that slows you down big time, as well as create the constant need for readjustments.
You're then not only slow but a social lepar.

I call overshare!

 

[gorezilla]

How about:

It's ok to shave your legs if you want to.
It's not ok to shave your legs if you don't want to.

You care if other people shave their legs? That's lame.

 

[0psi]

I call overshare!

I call public service announcement!

 

[Antsonline]

I gain an inch when i shave 'it' .... i wonder if my legs will look longer if i shave them too ??

the giant 'man-fro' meaning you gain an inch when you lose it.

I think this thread is shite, but I loved that.
"the hidden inch"

 

[thecat]

You care if other people shave their legs? That's lame.

No, we just find it funny that people come on here trying to justify their choice. Now that's what's lame

 

[Beej1]

The massaging thing is bunk. I get my legs massaged all the time and she just uses more oil for my forest-laden trunks. She confirmed an earlier post that unless freshly shaven, rubbing shaved legs is like rubbing sandpaper on some folk, since they're generally rubbing 'against the grain'.

Only time I take a razor to my legs is post crash, in the shower while washing all the blood, dirt & dead skin away. Shave whatever wasn't ripped out, plus a little around the area. Saline gel, then non-stick dressing, then that white stretchy elastoplast stuff over the top. Heals MUCH faster (due to the gel, not the shaving part - shaving's just to make the elastoplast stuff stay stuck for longer, sealing in the gel and keeping the wound moist).

Having said that, nothing wrong with shaving your legs if you want to. Too much effort as far as I'm concerned, but then I take no longer than 5 minutes to walk out the door each day, so grooming isn't really my bag.

 

[jathanas]

I shave my legs for the same reason that a dog will lick his balls... because I can!

 

[scblack]

I gain an inch when i shave 'it' .... i wonder if my legs will look longer if i shave them too ??

Ah, so when you shave you can actually see 'it'?

 

[anth69]

Ah, so when you shave you can actually see 'it'?

ay, come on ! im not a friggin hairy gorilla !! lol

 

[HerdingCats]

Corker thread ...

I can't top any of the recent posts.

I did shave off once for a 24 thinking it would make it easier to clean up after each lap. It worked (ish), but it probably wasn't worth the effort.

Besides, my wife put me on stoppage 'cause the spiky leg bit weirded her out. Now that's a reason *not* to shave off ...

 

[Norco Maniac]

snip

i'll second the public service announcement besides, i'm old-school, i prefer a man who looks like a man, not a pre-pubescent boy... manicured is good, bald is...well...not my cup of tea.