Personal Care – Why Do Cyclists Shave Their Legs?
It is an often-asked question by non-cyclists: why do male cyclists shave their legs? Is it for speed, is it for aerodynamics, is it hygiene, or is it style? Or is it just tradition? I have been removing my leg hair for over a decade, and it has become second nature now. Yet, when asked the reason for doing so, it is often hard to pin down an exact motivation. In this blog post, I thought I would try and sum-up my Top 5 reasons for why cyclists shave their legs: reasons from my own personal experience of riding a bike—both clean-shaven and hairy legged. (1) Hygiene For me, the main reason that cyclists should shave their legs is hygiene. If you have ever been tasked with cleaning the alloy wheels of a car, you will know how hard it is to remove the baked-on layer of brake dust, oil, road salt and general road grime. The front wheel of a bike sprays a cyclist's legs with a similar concoction of nasties when they ride on the road, as well as potentially a more rank mixture when...