Why Do Male Cyclists Shave Their Legs?
It's perplexing to non-cyclists why men already wearing tight shorts would want to look stranger by shaving their legs. Some believe it has something to do with aerodynamics, or heat dissipation---but they are wrong. The following are the reasons male cyclists shave their legs.
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Road Rash
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When you leave a layer of skin on the pavement in a crash, hairless legs are easier to clean. It is less painful to tear bandages off of smooth skin than hairy skin.
Massage
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As pro cyclist Rolf Aldag explains in the Tour de France documentary "Hell on Wheels," leg hair gets messy when slathered in massage oils, and it is easier for masseuses to work on bald legs.
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Hygiene
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It is easier to clean road grime, trail slime and bug guts off of hairless legs than woolly ones.
Vanity
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Muscle definition is easier to see on smooth legs. In a sport where "psyching out" the competition offers a tactical advantage, powerful-looking muscles and sexy legs may affect the race's outcome by intimidating other riders.
Tradition
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The main reason cyclists shave their legs is probably because it has always been done that way. Clean-shaven legs show that a rider is a serious cyclist, while fleecy shanks signal to a pack that a rider is inexperienced and may cause a crash.
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- Photo Credit © Mickael POUVREAU, fotolia.com
