Shaving your legs?

[BFloFoxRider.]

Haha ok so now that i do cross country people ask why i dont shave my legs... like kids at my school think that all bikers shave their legs and ask why i still have hair on mine
so why do cross country riders shave their legs and what does it do?
i never understood it... well maybe that TINY bit of less wind resistance but it doesnt seem like it would be that big of a deal?

[ocrider]

its for wind resistance. its more of a roadie thing. I'm a xc racer and I have never shaved my legs.

[thephat]

Roadies shave because they don't want to pick hair out of the road rash. Shaving helps the scrapes heal better.

You know some folks do it to better show off thier calf muscles.

[BFloFoxRider.]

Originally Posted by ocrider

its for wind resistance. its more of a roadie thing. I'm a xc racer and I have never shaved my legs.

im pretty sure my godfather used to shave his when he raced cross country... but thanks
i've been thinking about a road bike when i get money, which will probably be never

[CPATCRASH]

NO! It's so when you crash you don't get asphalt and hair in the road rash. Also less chance for infection. It will also heal better/faster without as much scaring.

[Pain Freak]

Real roadies (me) don't shave their legs!

Naw, I have a few friends that do it and I still get varying answers as to why they do it. Myself, I'll stick with my good ol short hairy legs.

[HUGH]

My last road crash I lost 3/4 of a square foot of skin!! The doctor was pleased that my legs were freshly shaven. His quote was "well it could have been worse, you could have had hair on your legs!" Too funny.
If you have any tats it makes them look better. Ticks can't latch on that easy. I think (but not proven) it makes you faster. Oh and it feels great when you wear jeans(did I just say that out loud??)

HUGH

[BFloFoxRider.]

Originally Posted by Pain Freak

Real roadies (me) don't shave their legs!

Naw, I have a few friends that do it and I still get varying answers as to why they do it. Myself, I'll stick with my good ol short hairy legs.

yea im thinking about doing it cuz hairy legs look kinda funny in lycra
maybe if i race DH with shaved legs i could start a new trrend?
well maybe not me but if bighead raced with shaved legs he would definitely start a new trend

[roadkillross]

i had mine shaved for sea otter last year. helped with the mud hahaa.

[JamR]

For me,
#1 Cuts and scrapes are easier to take care of (and I get cut a lot!)
#2 Ticks......I can't recall the last time I picked up a tick while riding. I get them on my pant legs quite often while working on the trails, but not not my legs when wearing shorts.

Cuts and scrapes are the #1 for me though. Easier to clean, easier to bandage, and they seem to heal faster.

Someone also told me that supposedly there is a benefit of increased blood-flow to the skin due to shaving, but I'm not really convinced of that one.

[BFloFoxRider.]

Originally Posted by JamR

For me,
#1 Cuts and scrapes are easier to take care of (and I get cut a lot!)
#2 Ticks......I can't recall the last time I picked up a tick while riding. I get them on my pant legs quite often while working on the trails, but not not my legs when wearing shorts.

Cuts and scrapes are the #1 for me though. Easier to clean, easier to bandage, and they seem to heal faster.

Someone also told me that supposedly there is a benefit of increased blood-flow to the skin due to shaving, but I'm not really convinced of that one.

hmm i dont fall much, rarely, but maybe i should shave them in case i wash out during an xc race....

[JamR]

Originally Posted by BFloFoxRider.

hmm i dont fall much, rarely, but maybe i should shave them in case i wash out during an xc race....

I fall a lot.....mostly a lot of slow-mo crashes, but I almost always have one cut or scrape in some various stage of healing at any point in time.

Got a nice 3" grind running down my left shin right now.....Lost traction climbing Camarillo this morning and tanked it to the left onto the rocks. But it's still all fun.

[BFloFoxRider.]

Originally Posted by JamR

I fall a lot.....mostly a lot of slow-mo crashes, but I almost always have one cut or scrape in some various stage of healing at any point in time.

Got a nice 3" grind running down my left shin right now.....Lost traction climbing Camarillo this morning and tanked it to the left onto the rocks. But it's still all fun.

well, i do slip pedals when i ride bikes around town alot... and get scraped...
so i probably will
but i wont hear the end of it from my dad
oh well i guess he'll have to deal with it when im bringing in win after win after win, in my cross country races

[foofighter]

the recurring reason that i read is that the hairs somehow slow down the healing process. so is it safe to say that hairs have things on them that slows down the healing process and are breeding ground for infections? I used to shave when i rode a lot and was accident prone, and i must admit that my wounds did seem to heal alot faster and the painful removal of bandage from the hairy legs makes it pretty painful.

And Hugh, i do agree that when i wore dress slacks it felt weird on the legs.

[LBmtb]

For those that shave their legs - do you stop there or also shave your arms for the same reasons (cuts/ticks/speed)?

[BFloFoxRider.]

Originally Posted by LBmtb

For those that shave their legs - do you stop there or also shave your arms for the same reasons (cuts/ticks/speed)?

good point didnt think of that

[surlygal]

Neil shaves his legs more often than I do (comes from his roadie days) - he does it on the side of the tub every other day, Maddie has always seen Daddy shave. One time she saw me shaving and was like "you shave your legs too?"