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Strange. When I was racing, we never thought about drag, except as a joke. We shave because it helps reduce road rash when you go down on asphalt (slide easier
by jmadsen 12y ago
Strange. When I was racing, we never thought about drag, except as a joke.
We shave because it helps reduce road rash when you go down on asphalt (slide easier) & easier to keep the wounds clean afterwards.
- pdxandi 12y agoExactly. I'm an active racer and have witnessed people get yelled at in the medic tent for not shaving their legs. Treating road rash is awful with leg air.
- andygates 12y agoAnd the fact that everyone else does it; it's a badge of seriousness. "Reduce drag" is always the jokey reason I'd use for non-cyclists :)
- jaynos 12y agoAlso, for cold weather riding and racing, applying embrocation (warming balm) is much easier without hair.
- AndrewKemendo 12y agoExactly right. I raced in college and it was well known that shaving was for making it easier to deal with injuries/massage. A bit of it is also in-group/out-group signaling.
- erbo 12y agoWhat's interesting here is that the practice of cyclists doing so goes back a century. By contrast, the fashion of women shaving their legs dates back primarily to around World War II, and the influence of pinup model Betty Grable. See: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/625/who-decided-women-should-shave-their-legs-and-underarms http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/625/who-decided-wom...