|
People will give you a ton of reasons why cyclists shave their legs. In my opinion, it comes down to these three reasons, in this order of importance.
1-Intimidation/Show Off - If you ride a couple hundred miles a week and race, your legs are going to get pretty chiseled. By shaving, you show off your definition to fellow competitiors as well as anyone who will look. It's the same reason why a body builder shaves their body. It's to better show off the goods. It's also hard to be taken seriously by racers if you pull up to the line with hairy legs.
2-Bandaging - If you race, you're going to crash. It's part of the sport. It's a lot easier to bandage/tape your legs with no hair on them. Also, with no hair, you don't have to worry about hair growing into the scabs which can lead to infection or scarring.
3-Massage - I'm not a pro, so I rarely get them, but massaging hair-free legs is a lot easier, less painful and more enjoyable than massaging hairy legs.
The aerodynamics change between shaved and unshaved legs is really very small. I guess if you're time trialing, maybe you could make a fuss about it.
|