Yup Iāve been shaving my arms for over 12 years. Started when I started swimming and now I do it for vanity reasons. Having shaved legs and hairy arms looks weird to me. Iām probably hairy than most so it more necessary for me.
It takes 2 seconds in the shower.
I lost a bet while I was camping with friends when I was 17/18. The penalty was to have one leg shaved. Getting into my sleeping bag that night was very weird. I could only feel my hairy leg and the other was devoid of sensitivity. It felt like I had one leg.
Do it. Itās a crack.
Iām not going to disappoint my wife so I can theoretically gain 4 seconds over a TT, when my position and clothing would likely cost me 60+ seconds alone. If youāre racing at a level where youāve accounted for all other major variables, or you like the look/feel, rock on. If you are shaving your limbs to āget fasterā and have not tweaked your position, clothing, helmet, etc. then LOL
Bike, position, helmet and clothing are pretty well optimised. Iām sure if I spent a wedge of cash at a wind tunnel I could shave a bit more off but thereās certainly no low hanging fruit. The saving in the link I pasted was 19 seconds over 40k, Iāve had multiple occasions where Iāve missed a podium or could have been a step higher on a podium by smaller margins than that, itās a meaningful amount of time. If my wife is disappointed at the fact that I trim my leg hair and spend a large amount of time hanging out in garish lycra outfits with other men then sheās hiding it very well, and Iām sure a bit of arm trimming isnāt going to tip her over the edge.
For my wife, itās a no go, and frankly not something I personally want to keep up with either. Iām also skeptical of any meaningful figures unless your usual look is that of Robin Williams. If youāre at the level where it makes or breaks a race win, by all means. However I think most cyclists just do this because they think its just something you have to do to fit in in the cycling community. Some videos I saw (I believe from GCN tests) showed a savings being there, but much less significant, I seem to recall 4 seconds or .4w or something of that nature.
One more reason to ride gravel. Save on razor blades to buy more tires.
The only issue with LS SS is that they can get very hot. Skin is slow. So that can be a balancing act. May depend on how much you sweat, how hot it is etc.
I have started wearing UV sun sleeves to cover my super hairy arms. They not only provide UV protection so that I donāt have to put on sunscreen, but also provide (I hope) some level of improved aerodynamics.
You can get aero arm sleeves for not too much money. Iāve never tried them tho
Always shave them in the summer. Easier for sunscreen, easier to bandage in the case of road rash.
iām surprised at that aero! i trim them, but when i shaved them I didnāt like how it looked when they started growing back inā¦
Can confirm. Iāve removed bandages from a hairy arm that was more painful than the crash that required 12 stitches in it. Fark. Now = trim.
I clipper my upper arms as I donāt want to look like a gorilla. Iām 53, it happens to us all eventually
Shaving is just part of the pre-battle ritual - Today is a good day to Tri.
You start with the legs, then wonder about the hairy feet, then how high do I go? Then the armsā¦armpits? Yeah ok, now your body looks too hairyā¦and so on.
Then you google Veet and have a good laugh.