# Shorts or tights



## chillyuk (10 Jun 2011)

I am doing a charity ride on Sunday and expect to be riding for about 3 hours. Rain is forecast so I am expecting the worst. Would I be better wearing tights to retain some warmth in my legs or shorts to allow my legs to drain and dry. I can take both and decide when I get there how conditions look, but would be interested in other's opinions.


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## Fnaar (10 Jun 2011)

For me it all depends on temperature... if above 14 deg C I'd go for shorts... the wet doesn't really bother me...


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## Chris.IOW (10 Jun 2011)

Fnaar said:


> For me it all depends on temperature... if above 14 deg C I'd go for shorts... the wet doesn't really bother me...



+1

Have you got leg warmers...best of both worlds.


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## 2Loose (10 Jun 2011)

Shorts. It should be plenty warm enough, even with the rain. 

Anyway, there is nothing worse than wet fabric when you change position - fine while actually cycling, but a big 'yukk' when you get off.


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## italiafirenze (10 Jun 2011)

2Loose said:


> Shorts. It should be plenty warm enough, even with the rain.
> 
> Anyway, there is nothing worse than wet fabric when you change position - fine while actually cycling, but a big 'yukk' when you get off.



Once it gets past April the tights should be confined to the drawer, regardless of temperature. This advice is hemisphere dependent.


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## david1701 (10 Jun 2011)

italiafirenze said:


> Once it gets past April the tights should be confined to the drawer, regardless of temperature. This advice is hemisphere dependent.



don't knock night riding, it gets coooollldddd


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## phil_hg_uk (10 Jun 2011)

Chris.IOW said:


> +1
> 
> Have you got leg warmers...best of both worlds.



+1 shorts with leg or knee warmers (same thing if your a short arse like me )



not like these though


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## Dan B (10 Jun 2011)

The older I get[*] the more important I find it to keep my knees warm. So I'll often cycle in tights at any temperature up to "I can feel the sun warming my legs"

[*] or maybe just, the more often I fall on them. Will stem cell researchers _please_ hurry up and figure out how to regrow knee cartilage?


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## Bicycle (10 Jun 2011)

I have knees that are troubled by the cold - a result of youthful motorcycling excess and unsuccessful attempts to re-define the laws of Physics.

So... I wear bib tights almost all year long, lined or unlined.

Shorts only come out when the grass is brown and the footpath to the High Street is littered with the skeletons of dead camels..... not a frequent occurence in Herefordshire.

I've just done a training ride with my daughter and was in tights while she was v happy in shorts.

Also... shorts give me yet another silly tan line.... One for wetsuits, one for cycling shorts, one for short-sleeved tops....


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## lulubel (10 Jun 2011)

For me, it would depend on whether it was windy. Rain alone doesn't make me cold, but rain and wind together just seems to really make me chilled.


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## cyberknight (10 Jun 2011)

david1701 said:


> don't knock night riding, it gets coooollldddd



it was 6 degrees at 5 am , definitely cold enough for tights , i carry an old pair old running tights that pack down really small just in case .


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## david1701 (10 Jun 2011)

only time I've used mountaineering kit on a bike was riding at night


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## jayonabike (10 Jun 2011)

I really feel the cold and hate it, so I wear longs most of the year. I don't own a pair of shorts, if it's really hot then I wear 3/4 lengths as I still like to keep my knees covered.


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## Bluebell72 (10 Jun 2011)

Shorts about 9 months of the year for me.

They dry faster than longs and when you're really wet, the bit behind the knee doesn't dry so fast - I hate that, and of course it stays cold.

Skin; drip-dry, non-iron, non-wring brilliance!


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## zacklaws (10 Jun 2011)

I did a long ride in the hills today, the average temperature was 12.3c, and it was freezing. I could not even blame the wind speed as it only averaged 5mph. Usually above 10c I wear shorts, but today I wished I had my 3/4's on.

Even my poor "little man" had shrivelled up with the cold when I went for a shower


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## youngoldbloke (10 Jun 2011)

Thin tights - they dry off really quickly. Also thin full finger gloves, under your mitts, with plastic disposable gloves under. Thin plastic bags over your socks, and shoe covers too. Nothing worse than cold wet hands and feet, painful even at this time of the year.


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## cloggsy (11 Jun 2011)

zacklaws said:


> Even my poor "little man" had shrivelled up with the cold when I went for a shower



TMI!


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## pepecat (11 Jun 2011)

Shorts for me.... (not all year round, but i would this time of year). I did a ride in Oct last year in the rain ('nother charity one) and wore shorts and it was fine. I rekcon if i'd have had wet fabric sticking to my legs all the way round i'd have felt colder than i did in the shorts.


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## MoG (11 Jun 2011)

Dan B said:


> The older I get[*] the more important I find it to keep my knees warm. So I'll often cycle in tights at any temperature up to "I can feel the sun warming my legs"
> 
> [*] or maybe just, the more often I fall on them. Will stem cell researchers _please_ hurry up and figure out how to regrow knee cartilage?



+1.


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## chillyuk (13 Jun 2011)

Wore shorts for the event. We had some light drizzle but I was hardly aware of it on my legs. It didn't rain enough to cause any road spray so my feet stayed dry.


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## The Dwaff Family (13 Jun 2011)

Absolutely peed it down Aylesbury way yesterday when my lad was doing his charity ride, arm warmers, leg warmers and waterproofs all very much required  You were a lucky one!!


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## chillyuk (13 Jun 2011)

The Dwaff Family said:


> Absolutely peed it down Aylesbury way yesterday when my lad was doing his charity ride, arm warmers, leg warmers and waterproofs all very much required  You were a lucky one!!



Big congratulations to your littl'un, he did well!


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## The Dwaff Family (13 Jun 2011)

Thanks chillyuk, I was surprised initially that it wasn't cancelled and then worried sick he wasn't gonna cope, but boy oh boy, there's something even more victorious about doing it in the crappy rain


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## HLaB (14 Jun 2011)

I prefer shorts too (bib shorts to be precise) for riding over 1/2 an hour and anything over 5-6deg'ish; not that I watch the exact temperature just what feels right. It also depends what I'm doing if I'm riding high tempo with the club I'm more inclined to wear shorts. Quite a few times I've took leg warmers to a sportive but left them in the car :-)


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