Time Crunched Cyclist 
-really that’s not me!
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After resisting for a really long time I finally started shaving. After trying it I quickly regretted not doing it sooner. Not sure if it really is a watt saver but I can see how that is possible. I had a minor crash shortly after shaving and it really made clean up and first aid a lot easier and less painful. That experience convinced me that if I ever do get major road rash, i definitely want to be shaved before hand. I don’t get massages but I do do self massage now and then and that is more comfortable being shaved. And, on the vanity side, it did feel nice to finally be in the “in” crowd. I had started feeling sheepish (pun intended) lining up for races with hairy legs and being shaved did help my mental game a bit. It sounds stupid but it shaving really is a sign, both outward and inward, that you are all in on the bike thing and it can give you a little mental boost.
All and all it was worth the effort. (After the first shave, keeping shaved is a pretty easy process).
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I recommend an epilator. Its painful the first time but you get used to it. Lasts a long time and less messy/painful than wax. Your hair only has to be long enough for it to grab so 2mm or so is enough. You can do it once weekly or biweekly.
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On the ingrown hairs, yes this can happen but scrub the skin with a loofa or other scrub ‘thingy’ the women use to remove the top layer of dead skin and the ingrowns will be dramatically fewer. And the more you wax, they less of a problem it is as less hair grows back.
Personally, and this is personal, I do ‘bikini’ because I swim. I usually wear a drag suit so ‘bikini’ isn’t necessary but in case I do go with a half-drag suit / speedo, then I don’t look (or at least feel) funny.
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Is your masseuse not using lotion? I’m pretty high on the chewbacca scale, and have never really had an issue with massages. Seems like there’s usually an extra application once it’s time to hit my legs.
I started shaving my legs a few years ago and absolutely love how it looks and feels. I don’t care about any pros it has for racing/riding, but my wife likes how it looks and so do I. Win win!
Oh yes, she is. It’s still a night and day difference. My arms and chest/back still plenty hairy, and the little time that goes into them relative to the legs are excruciating.
I’m not a fan of touch in general though. Getting stabbed or broken bones are no more painful to me than getting a massage.
Was against it for long time. One hot summer day just shaved and never looked back. Still have some older photos unshaved and it looks really wrong, just doesn’t go well together with the cycling gear, as mentioned earlier.
My wife made it very clear that shaving my legs was NOT an option!!!
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My wife said the same thing, but after I started shaving my legs she likes it.
I love having shaved legs, never going back to hairiness.
Looking better is a given. The massage thing is questionable, and the wound scrubbing thing is dubious at best. I’ve done the ER scrub thing and it hurts like crazy no matter how closely shorn you are.
I myself like how, when you’re sweating heavily, the sweat can sheet out on your skin and the evaporative cooling effect is greater. Otherwise the sweat clings to your hairs, forms into drops, and drips into the top of your socks.
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So the Specialized “Win Tunnel” tested it and found significant watt savings shaved legs vs hairy.
BikeRadar verified it in a separate, independent, wind tunnel test.
Simon Smart (in the above article) doesn’t actually dispute these findings, he just says that watt savings from shaved legs are lower down the list than things like position on the bike or a good quality skinsuit.
Conclusion: the fact that shaved legs make you faster has not changed.
Given that we’re all here for one reason - to be a faster cyclist - get shaving, guys!!!
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Wonder if they experimented with shaving the leg hair into little chevrons to create micro-vortices like the Speedo SharkSkin swim suits.
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Indeed.
The problem is not whether to shave, its where to stop shaving.
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Yep, that would be the only reason I still don’t shave my legs. I feel like a bot of a fool every time I line up for a race, but at least I am allowed to go home after the race is over…
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This is the first season I will do this. I have been slowly preparing my partner for about a year and she’s mostly on board (though she insists I get it waxed). Maybe it’ll look good or maybe not, but it’ll be yet another piece in her arsenal of jokes about prissy cyclists and their bro-ish overcompensation (can anyone think of a recent “documentary?”) and one ought not to underestimate the importance of making your partner laugh.
Amen brother!!!
