Matching clothing and bikes?

[Mr.Gib]

I am surprised that this is still debated.

It should be common knowledge to all that it is simply against the rules, forbidden, totally Fred, etc. to wear pro team kit of an active team. If the team is defunct the ridicule may be reduced by 50% but it is still bad form.

Wearing the team kit of an obscure, low level, local team can be considered cool but should be done outside of jurisdiction in which that team competes or trains.

Occasionally a favourite team jersey may be worn with plain black shorts, however any attempt to add matching shorts or other matching accessories such as gloves or socks is a quick trip back to Fredsville.

As for doing something like riding a Trek and wear Specialized clothing - don't even think about it.

[Liggero]

Way to go man, well said. I also dislike specialized saddles in non specialized bikes. I actually hate anything specialized, or trek, I just dont get low quality brands like these (specialized and trek, you can't go lower than those).

It's also true that you can wear a team kit from let's say 20 years ago, like PDM, or Molteni, etc... that is not that bad. For the rest, because i have a lot of style (ton of style) i ride giro helmets, sidi shoes and oakley glasses. I don't get the nike glasses, specialized helmets or bianchi jerseys... style is everything. Of course I don't ride crap like Rapha, you can't go lower than that. I also like to wear other countries kits, even countries where i´m not from, like the swiss kit, or australia, or brasil... those are nice. I

[TTP]

The high concentration of judgemental whackjobs on ths forum cracks me up Who really gives a *f##k*. Really?

[Kjetil]

But this is soooo important.

I'm very happy that our club kit is free of sponsor logos though.

[eordman]

What about defunct teams that have been out of the picture for a while. Like, 20+ years ago? I feel like that may have an element of retro-cool whereas if I see someone wearing, say an HTC-highroad jersey, I shake my head more than I would if it were a current team. How old do you think is old enough.

[Liggero]

+1

10 years it's either old enough or in the way to be old enough. Any Parentini kit from Pantani for instance has a status and can be wore with any neutral bike. Also team Carrera, or... there are a few.

[kevinkalis]

The high concentration of judgemental whackjobs on ths forum cracks me up Who really gives a *f##k*. Really?

+1

Let's get real here. All these rules makes cyclists sounds like a bunch of douchebags.

[rustychain]

Back around my first race in the early 70's it was explained to me that wearing "colors" that you were not entitled to was tacky at best and would lead to "public ridicule" depending on how bad the "offense" was. I was never sure how serious the guys telling me were but I still cringe seeing someone riding a current teams kit and even more so the champions strips or jersey. In my opinion wearing just the jersey and not the full team kit/ Kit and bike is more acceptable as your showing support but not posing as a team member. Yes you are free to wear what you want but I'm free to LMAO

related, I am an old guy living in the US. I think old guys living in the US trying to look like Euro pros is even worse. Hell, even my socks don't match. On the other hand guys over 300lbs can wear SaxoBank colors anytime. Even more so parked outside a steak house. It just looks right




Not a Bert fan

[shoemakerpom2010]

This post is awsome! I felt like this at the last 100 mile charity ride in my area. I must have been 1 in about 400 wearing a non logo pro jersey (castelli brand). In fact the only clothes I like at the moment are Castelli since they fit me well. Most everybody during the ride had either a prokit or prokit wannabe outfit that matched or didn't match their bike. I could care less myself since it was very amusing to see a couple of prokit wearers on cheap walmart bikes.

[KH1]

I believe in a totally egalitarian approach to cycle wear.
For example I try to wear an LG left shoe and Shimano right along with my Pearl Izumi right sock and Sock Guy left. I will match that with a Teo and Fox glove combo and always ensure that my Colnago jerseys have brands that I'm not wearing or using on my bike which needless to say is not a Colnago. Bibs are always yellow to go with my blue or white bike.

[konky]

Seriously? What does it matter what a guy wears?

It doesn't really matter per se. People can and do wear what they like.

Having said that just as some people know how to dress stylishly in normal cloths it's true with cycling kit. Some people just look rubish and others look great in cycling kit. Having the right physique, i.e. pro thin is vital too. A fat boy just can't look good on a bike.

[OJ]

It's also true that you can wear a team kit from let's say 20 years ago, like PDM, or Molteni, etc... that is not that bad. For the rest, because i have a lot of style (ton of style) i ride giro helmets, sidi shoes and oakley glasses. I don't get the nike glasses, specialized helmets or bianchi jerseys... style is everything. Of course I don't ride crap like Rapha, you can't go lower than that. I also like to wear other countries kits, even countries where i´m not from, like the swiss kit, or australia, or brasil... those are nice. I

Carefull there! Sidi shoes are uber-fred and old kits are nu-fred. You will need to heavily compensate these code infractions.

Doesn't really matter, we're all freds regardless of how hard we try to convince ourselves otherwise. Dresscode just adds few different shades of Fred.

I've worn and ridden black, red and white kits and bikes since 1998 with some exceptions so I'll stick with those colors even if that combo is probably as fred as it gets. I also have specialized saddle and my helmet is complete mis-match special-ed swooorks helmet.

[c50jim]

I remember riding up the Stelvio in 2003. At the top, I commented negatively to our tour guide about a guy wearing a Mapei kit and riding a Saeco badged Cannondale. Then I pointed out a guy in a Quick Step kit, riding the correct Time bike, socks and all the other trimmings. Heather said, it gets really expensive when you have the car too. In a couple of minutes, there were half a dozen Quick Step guys, including Museeuw, getting bottles and jackets out of the car. The funniest thing was that there was one guy in Telekom kit riding the requisite Pinarello getting looked after by the car. It turned out that they were on a camp at Livigno. One of our guys tried to follow them down but they dropped him after about 3 km. Pros descend faster too.

I'm working my way out of any marked stuff but won't throw it out while it still has wear left. I've gone to plain colours and am happy with the switch. On the other hand, I have a Mapei Colnago and do wear my last Mapei stuff with it occasionally. If you're going to wear the kit, at least wear it with a bike of the right brand.

[daj]

Sure, people can wear whatever they want.

But this is the WW forum. Here, bike gear matters and style matters. You don't put a Shimano crank on your otherwise Campagnolo equipped bike and you don't wear a pro kit if you don't ride for that team. It's basically the same thing!
I love bike fashion and I love criticizing cyclists on their clothes as much as women can criticize their peers on fashion. Is there anything wrong with that?

Anyway, there are no style rules, but people with a sense of style will often easily agree to what you can and cannot wear on the bike. Wearing a pro kit is bad, wearing a pro kit 2-4 years old is worse, but riding a vintage pro kit on an appropriate bike (some exceptions here and there) is usually pretty cool.

[konky]

I have never worn a pro kit but I have seen people wearing a pro shirt and still looking cool.