Ladies, check your tights!!!

[alexb]

I'm not sure if I should say anything to the young ladies I pass on my commute, but about 50% of them have essentially see through tights once the sun shines with any strength.

So to the three charming highlights of my ride home last night, I'd rank the black knickers with little white hearts a close winner over the very lacy number, followed closely by the pink knickers with red polkadots!!

Or is this like Fight Club...

[mike]

nooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dont tell them!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[marcusjb]

Love summer cycling in the city! I don't think it is good etiquette for a chap to mention it, but my girlfriend has mentioned it to a couple of serious offenders on her commute, with mixed response.

What does need cracking down on (pun intended) is rather too much of some hairy arsed bloke on display.

I followed a chap with rather too threadbare Lycra shorts for a while on the elenith. Not nice.

As for White Lycra shorts in the rain. Seriously gents?  

[henshaw11]

>So to the three charming highlights of my ride home last night, I'd rank the black knickers with little white hearts a close winner over the very lacy number, followed closely by the pink knickers with red polkadots!!


This thread is useless without pic...err...details of your commute route 

[Feline]

What I want to know is why someone in cycling gear is wearing knickers 
Why would you do that?

Personally I don't really care if my cycling gear is a bit see through since I am sure the chamois covers most bits and the rest would be pretty obvious by the outline anyway. I would feel sorry for anyone cycling behind me anyway because it would mean they are even slower than me 

[Deano]

It's not all bad, this commuting in London lark, then?

[Kim]

What I want to know is why someone in cycling gear is wearing knickers 
Why would you do that?

Ignorance and/or habit.

[Biggsy]

What I want to know is why someone in cycling gear is wearing knickers  
Why would you do that?

I'm not sure this is about cycling-specific tights.  I think we might be talking about more ordinary non-padded tights

[Andrew Br]

What I want to know is why someone in cycling gear is wearing knickers 
Why would you do that?

When I did Vatternrundan in '09 an extremely pretty girl overtook me in one of the bike club pelotons.
She was wearing grey lycra shorts over very lacy, white knickers.
My immediate thought was "Ouch, that must chafe."

I'd like to be able to say that I saw it for the next 50 miles but I was on domestique duties so I didn't speed up to follow 

[mattc]

What I want to know is why someone in cycling gear is wearing knickers 
Why would you do that?

When I did Vatternrundan in '09 an extremely pretty girl overtook me in one of the bike club pelotons.
She was wearing grey lycra shorts over very lacy, white knickers.
My immediate thought was "Ouch, that must chafe."

Of course it was - we believe you.
i was going to answer Feline's point with the comment that on short rides it probably isn't a problem (and I guess people wear lycra to commute, cos they don't want to wear their smart office trousers/skirt, so why not wear "cycling" gear?)

However, the only time I've noticed this er ... phenomenon was on an Extremely Long Ride, so I assume the lady in question knew exactly what she was doing (and I know she finished before me, so to speak).

[her_welshness]

As Butterfly and I have pointed out on this forum before, the majority of seethroughness are god awful males in their worn through lycra shorts. They cannot bear to get rid of it because normally it advertises the Randonee/Etape that they completed over 7 years ago and its a badge of honour to them.

Men: don't bloody wear them in this state or I will tell you about it.

[teethgrinder]

As Butterfly and I have pointed out on this forum before, the majority of seethroughness are god awful males in their worn through lycra shorts. They cannot bear to get rid of it because normally it advertises the Randonee/Etape that they completed over 7 years ago and its a badge of honour to them.

Men: don't bloody wear them in this state or I will tell you about it.

Guilty as charged m'lud.

It was the 1999 Paris Brest Paris and I had this fantastically comfortable pair of very well worn red Lusso shorts. It had nothing to do with bragging about any ride I'd done, they were the most comortable shorts I had and probably ever have had.
Before I set off for Paris, I considered their threadbareness, considered how comy they were and concluded that I'd be on a ride surrounded by foreigners, so if anyone did complain, I probably wouldn't understand them anyway. So I decided to wear them.
So nyer!

I have been on the recieving end though. I can still remember Brian Walker wearing white (or was it very pale blue?) shorts in a 24 hour TT, passing me several times.

[mattc]

(I generally relegate my more elderly shorts to winter use i.e. hidden under other - rather non-eyecatching - layers. Hopefully this gets me off the hook :fingerscrossed: )

My other thought is that summer-weight lycra is probably somewhat see-through from new, once you stretch it a bit over the average behind. Most people have unobtrusive skin colouring, so this only becomes an issue when riders are wearing interesting undies.

_{(I really can't deal with the idea of commuting amongst ladies who are actually wearing tights that are worn well beyond their usual opaqueness. Where are my tablets ... )}

[Feline]

I don't mind at all if male riders lycra is see-through, it makes the ride all the more interesting
I accept that the average commuting behind might not be quite as toned as the average Audaxing arse though 

[Notsototalnewbie]

I tell women if it's really bad. They're usually grateful. I'd prefer to be told if it was me. It may be better coming from me than some potentially pervy bloke though.

Should probably have said something to the hairy-arsed bloke whose crack was hanging out of his baggy shorts this morning, but was too busy trying not to 

[her_welshness]

I don't mind at all if male riders lycra is see-through, it makes the ride all the more interesting
I accept that the average commuting behind might not be quite as toned as the average Audaxing arse though 

Quite. It's the hairy behinds that I object to - the view at the traffic lights is not edifying.

[Chris S]

I don't mind at all if male riders lycra is see-through, it makes the ride all the more interesting
I accept that the average commuting behind might not be quite as toned as the average Audaxing arse though  

Quite. It's the hairy behinds that I object to - the view at the traffic lights is not edifying.

What about us with hairy audaxers behinds?

* note to self. check shorts *

[arvid]

What I want to know is why someone in cycling gear is wearing knickers 
Why would you do that?

Because I don't need padded shorts on a recumbent. And it's easier to carry a clean set of underwear than pants on multi-day rides. I have special sportknickers though.

[Feline]

I don't mind at all if male riders lycra is see-through, it makes the ride all the more interesting
I accept that the average commuting behind might not be quite as toned as the average Audaxing arse though  

Quite. It's the hairy behinds that I object to - the view at the traffic lights is not edifying.

What about us with hairy audaxers behinds?

* note to self. check shorts *

Hairy audaxing arses are more than acceptable 
I would rather not see hairy backs though!

[her_welshness]

I don't mind at all if male riders lycra is see-through, it makes the ride all the more interesting
I accept that the average commuting behind might not be quite as toned as the average Audaxing arse though  

Quite. It's the hairy behinds that I object to - the view at the traffic lights is not edifying.

What about us with hairy audaxers behinds?

* note to self. check shorts *

Hairy audaxing arses are more than acceptable 
I would rather not see hairy backs though!

This is true. Poor men with their hairy bodies.

[Jasmine]

My other thought is that summer-weight lycra is probably somewhat see-through from new, once you stretch it a bit over the average behind. Most people have unobtrusive skin colouring, so this only becomes an issue when riders are wearing interesting undies.

No.  This is why shorts have sizes.  If it's stretched to see through, it's too small.  The only exception is white shorts, which should be worn with great care.

[dasmoth]

The only exception is white shorts, which should be worn with great care.

You mean, they come in colours other than black? 

[Tim Hall]

When I did Vatternrundan in '09 an extremely pretty girl overtook me in one of the bike club pelotons.
She was wearing grey lycra shorts over very lacy, white knickers.
My immediate thought was "Ouch, that must chafe."

Of course it was - we believe you.

Similarly, I was behind a svelte lady cyclist, watching her lycra clad derriere swinging back and forth with the elegance of a Swiss watch.
"Blimey" I thought "her saddle's too high."

[Kim]

You mean, they come in colours other than black? 

Only until the revolution, when non-black shorts will be banned along with long seatpost accessory mounting smugness.

[henshaw11]

>red Lusso shorts

That reminds me. Some years ago my mother - whilst out somewhere (some sort of fayre thing ?) picked up some lycra shorts from, I guess, a fitness stand, thinking I'd use them for cycling.

Except they were *very, very* red and not a pad to be seen...not so much budgie-smugglers but the rest of the aviary too
Dunno what some old dear at Oxfam made of them...