19th
September 2016: To Shave or Not to shave?
Every
time the Olympics roll around, there is an influx in people partaking in sports
that they enjoyed watching on the television.
Cycling
is no different… And with the internet at your fingertips there is no excuse
not to research how to be a pro… So you’ve bought the dream bike, you’ve got
the latest Rapha kit and your flouro yellow carbon soled shoes look the
business, but something still doesn’t look right, those hairy legs are
completely stopping you look like the master you aspire to be.
The
common belief is that is cyclists shave for aerodynamic reasons. This has
recently been proven to be the case, recent wind tunnel tests assessed six
cyclist’s performance in a 40KM time trial, once with hairy legs and then again
with shaved legs. Amazingly the participants with shaved legs averaged at a
seventy second tie reduction!
The
results speak for themselves, however this isn’t the sole reason why the pros
shave their legs. Being hair-free makes massaging easier and more effective, treating
road rash easier becomes less complicated and in the unfortunate event of
crashing, being clean shaven makes cleaning the grit and muck slightly easier.
At the end
of the day, let’s face it, who wants to look like a rookie on a bike? The main
reason that amateurs shave their legs, is show their muscle definition and look
like the pro’s they can only dream of being.
Source of information:
Specialized Bicycles. (2014). The Win
Tunnel: Shaved and Dangerous?. [Online Video]. 1 July 2014. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZnrE17Jg3I.
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