You'd be surprised about how much bacteria is - quite literally - incubating in the ideal environment of your clothes. Imagine an actual sponge for the bacteria to live in... and that sponge happens to be nestled tight in a hot, moist environment (perfect for bacteria) that also is a particularly vulnerable part of the human anatomy.

That sponge is called a chamois pad.

The rest of the clothes? Wash them.

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Exp001

depending on how much you ride, you can definitely get away with 2 sets. i personally have 15-20 sets (bibs + jersey + gloves + socks), but i'm just generaly a clothes whore. i have each set packed into a big ziplock freezer bag, so that i can just pull one out before a ride and get completely dressed from that one bag. i also have ~15-20 underlayers of different thicknesses that i wear year round.

at one point i was going to get a separate set of warmers (at least arm and knee) for each set of kit, but i had to draw the line somewhere. . .or better yet, my wife drew the line there =)

but then, those sets also last forever because i have so many to swap out between. and let's not even talk about winter gear, jackets, vests, sunglasses, warmers, and other accessories. that's another 2 big bins of stuff. . .

i can't imagine ever wearing kit more than once before a wash. . .i throw everything in the wash within an hour of getting home. that way it ensures that there's no funky smell that is super hard to get out if you leave it for a few days before washing it. i also clean my helmet straps and pads after every ride. . .helmet straps get super gross if i don't. same goes for my hr strap.

but then again. . .i'm a bit ocd too.

Maybe he is French? I kid I kid.

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"Sacred to the god Aesculapius"

I'm with you geedawg

Jerseys - never counted but probably 12 or more short sleeve and 4 long sleeve.
It rains in winter here, so I like to have a clean dry jersey for every day
In summer it is often 30 - 40 deg C, so you sweat a lot. I have 5 pairs summer gloves and 3 winter for the same reason.
Socks - a drawer full. Winter, summer, short, long etc.
The kit has accumulated over a few years, getting added to each season or whenever I see something really nice that I have to have, and old kit rotates to training / commuting then indoor trainer duties before getting chucked out.

Got to agree on the hygiene thing - kit gets worn ONCE and into the wash. helmet often goes into
the shower with me and gets rinsed or washed to get rid of sweat.

If you are going to spend $10 000 plus on a bike why skimp on the accessories.
I would say that when you first start out 2 jerseys and 2 bib shorts is the way to start off, but as you go along you add team kits, winter gear, new kit, etc and before long tou have more kit than you know what to do with.

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Ozrider - Western Australia
Parlee Z5 XL 2011 (6055g/13.32lbs) Raleigh RC Ltd 2008 (7.6kg) Reynolds 653 Custom 1990 (9.8kg, now 8.8kg)
The accumulation of marginal gains is what makes the difference between winning and losing

I have a lot of jerseys that I use, mainly Castelli because I like them and they're generally on sale somewhere.
Mountain bike gear is completely separate from road bike gear, but I just wear whatever I can find a deal on.
I have far too many pairs of socks, I can never have enough of them because they always get lost. (Damn you washing machine!)

Unbelievable. There is no excuse.

+1 I was my shorts thoroughly after every ride. Take them right into the shower with me. Get a bout of saddle sores and you will see why some of us get fanatical about cleanliness.
Jerseys: One could probably get by with two. (Again, wash after every ride). But I have accumulated a couple dozen over the years.
Same with headbands, socks.
I'll wear the same gloves more than one ride, depending upon how cruddy they got. Sometimes I just "wash my hands" with gloves on immediately after the ride then hang the gloves out to dry for the next day.

4 full zip synthetic
1 black sportwool for rainy days

Keep a bucket beside the shower with a small aqua bottle filled with mild detergent. Get home, strip off the HRM, empty pockets onto countertop. Toss everything into the bucket save for bibs. Wash oil off legs, and toss bibs into said bucket with the rest of the sweaty mess. While showering fill bucket, add detergent and agitate. Leave to soak, while you weigh in and have a drink/shake/meal/rice/yams/gin&mango juice/whatever turns your crank. Rinse your mess and toss the bucket into the washer to spin out the water. Hang up and hit the sack for 20 minutes before the bike gets washed. Done. Hydrated. Clean. No excuse to ride in dirty kit, unless you dig saddle sores, fungal infections and smelling like cheese.

Monkeyburger

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http://ocdlikeme.blogspot.com/

I currently rotate three Jerseys and two bibs. At one point I had ten jerseys but lost a lot of weight and had to start buying smaller sizes.

After that experience with bad hygiene, I now wash all clothes immediately after every ride. The Garmin HRM strap goes in along with it too.

One of the Assos retailers here had a year-end, 3 hour only sale where everything was 50% off. Stocked up on a few pairs of bibs, long-sleeved and short-sleeved jerseys and jackets. I also tend to buy Castelli jerseys if I see them on sale. I now have something like 10 jerseys and 5 pairs of bibs.

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Flickr
2012 Cannondale CAAD10

I only have two really worthy of wearing, but I usually use just one of them for a few weeks, then switch. Washed after each ride of course.
Same for the bibs.

My laundry room would reek if I waited a week to wash kits. No worry about teams. I rotate 4 kits (2 club, Capo, Charity) 2 pair of black shorts and 4 random, mostly cheap commuting jerseys. Now gloves on the other hand. I typically have 1 pair at a time. Last year I had white bar tape and replaced tape and gloves every 2 months. This year black tape so we will see.

I've got a red/black kit and a red/white kit...got another red/white/black jersey and another pair of black shorts so I've got a few different combinations to work with if I want:

I ride or run almost every day (3-4 days a well riding) and but only do the wash when I have enough for a full load...usually that's 10-14 days. All the people talking about bacteria and what-not are probably cringing right about now.

For my cycling clothes, I hop in the shower after each ride and rinse them off by hand. Then I'll let them dry and continue the rotation. For running shorts I do the same thing but I won't wear them again before they're washed...I do this because the lining in running shorts isn't anti-bacterial so they get pretty rank if left to fester for a week before washing.

I like to think I've got a pretty good system going here...I only rinse my clothes in the shower because it's convenient and much harder to forget this way...my housemates think it's pretty strange though. What do you guys think?

Blimey.....looks like I'm going to have to clean up my act after hearing this lot. Clean being the operative word!

I had over 40 kits, 4 helmets and 5 pair of road shoes. I sold a few kits and a helmet since it always took me to long to decide what to wear, and ofcorse to make room for some new ones.

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Pfeiffer's Rennrad Camp and Cycling Coach
Independent HED Wheels/Powertap Dealer