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Road Cycling

There is a very strong case for tight-fitting clothes on a road bike:

  1. Wasps (I'm listing the reason that firmly converted me first.) A wasp entered my shirt while driving, and I momentarily lost control of the car from agony at the moment it stung me. A wasp sting on a bike would be a rather dangerous event.
  2. Crawling sweat On climbs or when the wind is so stale it doesn't evaporate one's sweat fast enough, cycling in street or baggy clothing results in the creepy feeling of drops of sweat crawling on one's back, chest, and under one's arms. Tight special fabrics quickly wick sweat, spread it to a larger area, and evaporate it without the cyclist ever feeling the moisture.
  3. Rain During drizzles or even downpours, there is really no reason to seek shelter unless there are thunderstorms. Cycling in the rain is thrilling (and, as an aside, the "casquette" helps a lot with keeping most of it away from glasses). Here tight-fitting clothes and their special fabrics also help significantly. They magically somehow keep one warm.
  4. Rashes If you've ever ridden a long distance with baggy shorts, you will have noticed inflamed skin where the hems touched you. Lifting then lowering the legs tens of thousands of times will do this. Tight-fitting hems solve the problem.
  5. Aerodynamics As long as one is riding with a leisurely group at 15-20 km/h, wearing sail-like clothes could sometimes be pleasantly refreshing. But ride over 20 km/h and the clothes will move up your limbs, and the sail-like clothes become irritating, not to mention that they will make it harder for you to keep up with a faster group.
  6. Fitting in Road cyclists typically do wear tight-fitting lycra. Concerns of lack of modesty quickly disappear with a group, and as a bonus one fits in.

Mountain/Trail Cycling

By comparison I see no reason to acquire specialized clothing for MTB, and all the reasons above still apply, except that aerodynamics matters more or less depending on speed, still as with road cycling.

Sports stores are of course happy to tell us that the pockets on tennis shorts make them unsuitable for doubling as soccer shorts.

Can you suggest any advantages to MTB's baggy clothing, besides "fitting in"?

Related

Wear fabrics that do not hold much water

This question has been edited to make its focus distinct from a similar question.

Sam7919
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    For some reason many people are afraid of wearing tight clothes. – Michael Aug 18 '22 at 18:34
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    @Michael I see. And their fear of wearing tight clothes exceeds their fear of a wasp entering their sleeve or their shorts and getting very angry because the draft makes it difficult to find the way out. – Sam7919 Aug 18 '22 at 19:17
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    @Michael That also makes me wonder (a question more suited for psychology.stackexchange): why might MTB cyclists be more afraid than road cyclists of tight clothes? – Sam7919 Aug 18 '22 at 19:30
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    I’m voting to close this question because its a rant framed with an opinion based question at the end. Also Dup of https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/30690/why-so-few-mountain-bikers-with-spandex – mattnz Aug 18 '22 at 19:51
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    @mattnz Thank you for voting openly, even if it's to close. If you feel it's a rant because you find that baggy (I chose 'baggy' with no intention of pejorative connotations—feel free to use an alternative term) MTB clothes fit the sport well, I'm even more interested in hearing from you. – Sam7919 Aug 18 '22 at 20:14
  • @AndyP Interesting... good catch... yes, the question is a duplicate, but the answers here provide a broader perspective. Solution? Is there a merge-the-present-answers-with-the-past-question button? – Sam7919 Aug 19 '22 at 00:30
  • @Sam - It would be acceptable for you to add an answer to the other question containing the aspects of the broader perspective, as long as you reference this question. - e.g. "From the answers to question , ......" (If this gets closed, it will not be deleted) – mattnz Aug 19 '22 at 01:27
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    @Sam That would make a good question for meta. Because this question certainly does have some good answers. I think the suggestion from mattnz above probably is the best we could do. – Andy P Aug 19 '22 at 07:17
  • @AndyP Another option is to edit the present question to make its focus distinct, but I got flamed in the past for doing exactly that. As you are probably aware, the crowd here is opinionated and vocal. – Sam7919 Aug 19 '22 at 08:22
  • @AndyP Okay... fixed... I really have to cut down on the time I spend on this group. – Sam7919 Aug 19 '22 at 09:15
  • My recent experience says wasps are mean no matter what you are wearing. They cant get trapped in tight clothes but they can sting right through them :( – Andy P Aug 19 '22 at 09:59
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    The long section about road bike clothes does nothing to the actual question beside "there are good reasons for road cycling clothes". Like @mattnz, for me this reads like a rant too. However, there is a good question. Can we get the emphasis on the question in an edit? – gschenk Aug 19 '22 at 11:51
  • Joined this stack purely to point out that wasps don’t bite, they sting. Thanks. – Darren Aug 20 '22 at 10:29
  • @Darren lol... good point... After using "biting" I asked google whether wasps bite or sting. Of course they have the same "tool" as bees, and so they sting, not bite. The point though is that their sting seems to momentarily overwhelm the central nervous system of homo-sapiens, and not just pain the point of the sting. – Sam7919 Aug 20 '22 at 16:37

11 Answers11

22

As someone who has been around long enough to have seen at least some of the early days of the MTB, I would have to surmise that the reasons for the baggy MTB attire can be one or more of the following (in no particular order):

  1. The perceived relative comfort of a looser fitting shirt and shorts. This could also be due to inexperience regarding how comfortable snug cycling clothing can be.
  2. Possible separation to establish an identity different from the "roadie" look. The perception of "no rules" MTB vs. the strict regimen that road riders had, and still have (not necessarily bad regimen, just a bit too rule-ridden for the free spirit MTB crowd). MTB riders are the "rebels," and therefore dress differently.
  3. If a rider's first foray into cycling is via MTB, and they don't have other clothing, then the use of just shorts and a shirt (baggy) seems natural. They are just riding a bike, not going for fashion points. Plus, they may not have taken time to invest in cycling-specific clothing yet, and are comfortable looking similar to their fellow MTB'ers.
  4. If a MTB rider is biking to a location where they may extend their adventure on foot (i.e., hiking), then the cargo shorts/t-shirt option serves that better than tighter-fitting clothing, and the cargo shorts would have plenty of pocket storage.
  5. The aerodynamic advantage of snug-fitting clothing used for road riding is not as much a factor at relatively slower speeds while mountain biking.
  6. Being a little self-conscious about wearing snug fitting clothing. It does reveal more than baggy clothing would.

There has to be additional reasons not listed above...

Ted Hohl
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  • I'd just like to point out that MTB riders can and do reach (and in certain cases) exceed the speeds of road riders. Speaking locally, on my local trail I (and others) routinely reach 35 to 40km/h. Looking at local road courses on Strava shows me an average of just around 35 to 40km/h as well. Additionally, there is a group of MTB riders that wear relatively snug fitting clothes, the Downhill racers, while it's not as snug as road or even Cross Country Spandex, it is a lot more snug than what you're average Freerider wears – MindSwipe Aug 22 '22 at 14:22
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    @MindSwipe as a roadie primarily (gravel and MTB to a lesser extent) I routinely can break 80km/h (50 mph). This is on long and fairly straight downhill sections, which is much faster than the speeds you stated. That said, the overall average speed is what should be applied to the comparison, and with terrain and fitness being equal, the road rider is going to be faster by some factor. I would agree that aero will help the MTBer by some measure and is a benefit when the speeds are higher. It’s not how wide your tires are. It’s how fast you are moving. – Ted Hohl Aug 22 '22 at 16:38
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One advantage is in the robustness of materials used.

For example on a wet muddy/gritty ride the spray coats the saddle with dirt which acts as a grinding paste. Given the nature of MTB riding, there can be a lot of small movements in the saddle due to the bumpy terrain. This can cause lycra cycling shorts to wear extremely quickly.

To combat this, MTB shorts often have a more robust material like cordura in the seat area.

Andy P
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  • Upvoted. Thank you. "Fitting in" is not a reason for me to bother placing an order for MTB clothing (and find yet more closet storage mini-containers). Padding is likewise definitely not a reason. And of course the wasps-to-aerodynamic listed in the question are reasons for avoiding MTB clothing. Your answer here provides the first reason. – Sam7919 Aug 19 '22 at 13:47
  • Moving on. Hopefully I won't be shoved around past this point. – Sam7919 Aug 19 '22 at 13:48
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One fairly important aspect of MTB clothing is indeed the visuals. I think the other answers have elaborated on the psychological and social explanations of this very well already. I just wanted to bring up an interesting piece of supporting evidence: in competitive DH racing, the baggy clothing is mandated by UCI regulations! When casual riders see their heroes wearing a certain clothing style, they are naturally drawn to replicate that look.

Found in this document (UCI Regulations, Part IV: Mountain Bike), the section concerning DH racing says this:

4.3.011 All lycra-elastane based tight-fitting clothing is not permitted. (p. 25)

I didn't write the rulebook so I can't say exactly why this is, but I would imagine it has to do with the culture and optics surrounding downhill riding. Interestingly enough, modern DH outfits appear to be pushing this rule as much as possible by being tight-fit while still non-stretchy. The aerodynamic benefits of tighter clothing are undoubtedly significant when average speeds are often in excess of 45km/h. Take Loïc Bruni for example (2021 image):

enter image description here

This rule regarding clothing does not apply to XC races, and so as expected, everyone is wearing skintight lycra there.

As a somewhat related side point, here's the rest of the clothing specification section:

4.3.012 A full-face helmet must be worn properly both when racing and when training on the course. The helmet must be fitted with a peak. Open-face helmets may not be worn.

4.3.013 The UCI strongly recommends that riders wear the following protection:

  • back, elbow, knee and shoulder protectors made of rigid materials;
  • protection for the nape of the neck and the cervical vertebrae;
  • padding on shins and thighs;
  • broad full-length trousers made from rip-resistant material incorporating protection for the knees and calves, or broad-cut shorts made from rip-resistant material plus knee and calf protectors with a rigid surface;
  • long sleeved shirt;
  • full finger gloves.

(p. 26)

While not as clear-cut as the lycra ban, I think all these recommendations do contribute to creating an overall theme for what DH racing looks like.

MaplePanda
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  • All modern/quality MTB kit is stretchy in the directions needed for cycling (along with quality chamois, and tailoring detail such as sleeves and trouser legs with bends, pockets such - just the same as Lycra road outfits. Its highly specalised and technical clothing designed to perform and look a certain way, just like Lycra.. A lot of non-MTB folk appear to think that MTBers go to the local department store and buy a cotton tee shirt and shorts off the casual clothing rack. – mattnz Aug 19 '22 at 01:33
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    @mattnz I'm totally unfamiliar with high-end MTB gear, so I may very well have made some false assumptions in my answer, but I'm unsure as to whether such stretchy gear as you describe is legal for racing use. – MaplePanda Aug 19 '22 at 01:43
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    That's really a fabulous photo. Illustrates a few things most of us could do better. Keeping the outside pedal loaded (leaning the bike and not the rider), looking ahead where he wants to go not immediately in front of the bike. – Andy P Aug 19 '22 at 12:11
  • @AndyP There’s a reason he is DH world champion and you/I are not :D – MaplePanda Aug 19 '22 at 22:35
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    The MTB style of clothing offers room for the protective equipment as well. – Jeff Aug 20 '22 at 15:22
  • One of the most thrilling aspects besides cleaning a difficult jump or getting down a steep section still on the bike is when the rear wheel breaks loose a moment before the side knobs gain purchase---and you've just railed that corner. I'm not yet skilled enough to purposely rooster tail, but when there can be even an inkling of anticipation of the possibility of it happening and it does, what a rush! The unanticipated rear wheel breaking loose is also a rush--but a much different one---like there's 2 different kinds of adrenaline. – Jeff Aug 20 '22 at 15:41
  • That's fascinating.. but let me make sure I understood. Basically you're saying that all other things being equal, UCI is (at least partly) responsible for devising a specific uniform for mountain biking, and they made sure it is sufficiently distinct from what road cyclists are wearing to make the audience recognize, from as little as one shot, which sport they are observing; is that right? Marathon running and long-distance swimming are also completely different sports from the corresponding short-sprint versions, and yet you never hear an organizing body requiring a given attire for each. – Sam7919 Aug 21 '22 at 09:27
  • @Sam That’s my interpretation yeah. – MaplePanda Aug 21 '22 at 15:54
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    @Sam I'd disagree that the ruling was made to visually distinguish between DH and Road cycling, just take a look at a DH skinsuit, to me there's still a major difference between it and road cyclists and I'd argue even a newer viewer can tell the difference at a glance. It was also a "gentleman's agreement" to not wear lycra-elastane clothes even before it became a UCI rule in 2008, and UCI have actually lifted the ban in 2019 because "the clothing is now very fitted and streamlined" – MindSwipe Aug 23 '22 at 05:47
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    @Sam so it seems (at least to me) that the only reason other than distinguishing DH/ MTB in general from road cycling is that you used to need loose fitting clothes to be able to wear armour underneath. In the early days MTB riders would strap on Motocross armour which was/ is much bulkier than modern MTB armour. But since there is now purpose made MTB armour, and that armour is now slimmer than ever before, manufacturers can (and do) make tighter and tighter fitting clothing. But I don't think we'll ever see skinsuits again, as MTB now has a certain literal image, it's "part of the brand" – MindSwipe Aug 23 '22 at 05:50
  • @MindSwipe .. and that's quite alright. As consumers of cycling race videos we don't mind that the look of the racers is identifiable outside of context (on the podiums)—although the context makes it clear enough. The image here reminds me of suits worn, by necessity, if not perhaps by mandate, by downhill ski racers. There they don't want a draft or snow inside if/when they fall—basically the same as with MTB racers, except that mud and sand replace snow. But note that the issue here is not why racers are wearing different clothing, but why we as amateurs might want to duplicate a wardrobe. – Sam7919 Aug 23 '22 at 06:44
  • @Sam Swim attire absolutely is regulated (for buoyancy). Running shoes are similarly regulated. – Paul H Aug 26 '22 at 00:09
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I mix and match road and mtb stuff, often wearing road jerseys on trails, but sometimes mtb-specific or even hiking kit to ride.

In terms of sweat running down, it doesn't make much difference. MTB clothes move around enough that almost any covered area comes into contact with fabric pretty soon, while even my close-fitting road jerseys leave plenty of places uncovered to get sweaty. Most mtb and a lot of hiking or general outdoors kit is as good at wicking sweat as road kit.

Baggy shorts are often worn over close fitting liners anyway.

The snag hazard is more of an issue - on some trails - while on others you never get near the vegetation.

Plenty of mtb riders do wear road jerseys, but the pockets can't always be trusted to retain their contents in hard landings; the pocket contents can also clash with hydration backpacks.

Chris H
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    Uh oh... the three answers so far are all good and give different perspectives to the problem—how to choose..? – Sam7919 Aug 18 '22 at 20:48
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    @Sam that's good, and they may well evolve to include more points (I tried not to overlap with others). Sometimes the answer that says the most to you won't be the most popular and that's fine too – Chris H Aug 18 '22 at 20:50
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    @Sam no need to choose one (I also tried to not overlap with Ted's answer). Depending on who reads the answer, an answer can be better than another. – Rеnаud Aug 18 '22 at 21:01
  • @Renaud I knew there were many other factors that I couldn't recall at the time... which is why I finished my answer open ended. All good answers so far! – Ted Hohl Aug 18 '22 at 22:04
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As far as I'm concerned, there's one practical reason: on some trails you get flogged with brambles, thistles, nettles, etc. The spines absolutely poke through tight cycling shorts.

Baggy shorts offer much better protection against this, mostly because they're a bit further away from the skin, so the spines don't take off a chunk of meat. They're also thicker, which helps.

For the same reason a shirt with slightly longer sleeves that are not skin-tight is a plus.

I also need pockets. Usually I'll be using a Camelbak, so I can't use the traditional pocket at the back of the cycling t-shirt, because the backpack would rest on it. It's nice to have pockets with zippers in the shorts, so whatever I put in them doesn't fall off.

Sam7919
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bobflux
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  • You just provided actual reason #2 (after Andy P's answer). (Still omitting "fitting in" as a good reason—though it of course is, especially during intermissions at cafes and such.) – Sam7919 Aug 19 '22 at 14:07
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I wear baggy mountain bike shorts to protect against branches, bushes, crashes, etc. The thicker material is more durable, and because it is less stretchy it tends not to snag as much. It can't be too tight or else the thicker, non-stretch material would be hard to move around in. If I am on a trail with little possibility of crashing and not a lot of plant growth on the sides of the trail I will often just wear road bike shorts.

Kevin Davies
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  • It seems we have so many ideas in the answers we could partition them into classes of ideas. Your answer is very similar to Marbry's, but you're also pointing out that it's a mistake (started by me) to bundle all mountain biking variants into one set of clothing. That makes sense, and it's very wise to choose clothes for MTB that depend on the terrain. – Sam7919 Aug 21 '22 at 09:59
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Cross country riders have clothes that are very close to the ones of roadies. Maybe a bit reinforced, but 'tight with some sponsors written of them' is common.

Baggy clothes have an advantage when one wears padding and special protections: a branch/stone between a protection and yourself can be very uncomfortable. They are more likely to come back at the right position: with tight clothes, you may end with a gap between the protection and the short.

I also haven't tried it personally, but for the sections that look closer to what you might have in enduro/downhill, it's much more of a "static effort" kind of exercice rather than the dynamic one with wind that you might have in road/cross-country. I think that baggy clothes are more confortable for this kind of effort, especially to evacuate the sweat: they create an illusion of wind, rather than having clothes staying tight.

Rеnаud
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    Regarding the last point - as someone who rides both on and off road - MTB does seem to involve a lot of hanging around off the bike: fiddling with kit, talking about the ride in car parks, recovering in cafés, etc. But my road rides tend to be with a long distance club, unlike my mtb. – Chris H Aug 18 '22 at 20:53
  • "More likely to have tight clothes under the baggy ones." Isn’t that only for looks? The baggy overlay doesn’t serve any purpose, does it? – Michael Aug 19 '22 at 05:18
  • @Michael pockets (if you wear a backpack and want to access quickly energy gels), protection, "availability" (MTB shorts are often sold with lycra underpants). Style also. – Rеnаud Aug 19 '22 at 05:49
  • @Renaud: It’s possible to make pockets in skin tight pants. I have tight running pants with huge pockets. – Michael Aug 19 '22 at 05:55
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    @Michael It's possible yes, I've also seen some road shorts with pockets. But personally I just don't care about aero (and I'd assume that a good proportion of MTBers don't either), so I won't be looking for something tight, except if it has a fabric performance advantage (winter pants for example). Pockets are actually more useful when I'm not on the bike (on the bike, I put everything in a hip bag, I don't think a short pocket is a safe place for a phone when biking — in case of fall), and for the off the bike use, non-tight has an advantage. – Rеnаud Aug 19 '22 at 06:14
  • What do you mean by "tight with sponsors"? – Sam7919 Aug 19 '22 at 13:43
  • @Sam maybe different in North America, here cycling is quite popular (and competitives in some circles) and loads of road bikers like to wear the kit of their favourite teams, or the club's kit - that often have some sponsors. – Rеnаud Aug 19 '22 at 13:50
  • Yes, yes, I know. Compared to Europe cycling often seems backwards in North America. Don't rub it in. We have our share of extradordinarily obese politicians, mayors, and city counselors who fancy themselves fit for choosing for cyclists the "appropriate cycling routes", and they add that to their platforms. Invariably they just add lanes to the worst, most poluted roads that no cyclist who likes their peace-of-mind would want to use. – Sam7919 Aug 19 '22 at 14:01
  • Okay... now that was a rant. – Sam7919 Aug 19 '22 at 14:01
  • Got it.. so you really meant corporate sponsorship. I'm not sure "tight with" is the right expression. Good for me though. – Sam7919 Aug 19 '22 at 14:02
  • @Sam corporate is not the word I would used, sometimes it's a local brewery/store. I actually I realised that there's no link between popularity and "corporate sponsorship". In Italy for example, the infra is inequal, so the only way to practice "safely" in some places is in group rides. So you see proportionally more these in Italy (where infrastructure is worst) than in Benelux. – Rеnаud Aug 19 '22 at 14:06
  • Encore une fois je ne suis pas capable de trop deviner ce que tu veux dire. Est-ce qu'on utilise ces jours-ci "infra" comme abréviation pour "infrastructure" parmi les francophones autour de la France? – Sam7919 Aug 19 '22 at 14:11
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    Yes, sorry. Trying to reply fast between two work-related mails, not the best idea ;) – Rеnаud Aug 19 '22 at 14:12
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Durability, protection from the terrain and plants. Especially if you're not just riding well developed trails. I think a lot of the other less practical reasons kind of developed out of that over time.

One other consideration would be footwear. You might need to do a fair amount of hiking in some cases in addition to just riding. Having some shoes/boots that are comfortable to use off the bike with a good tread can make a big difference.

Marbry
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    You're saying that baggy MTB styles are better at protecting from plants? With tight road-style clothing you'd need to be running directly into the plants; wouldn't MTB clothing be more likely to snag? – DavidW Aug 19 '22 at 16:29
  • On the trails in WA state where I often ride (Capitol Forest), if I wore road kit, the trailside brambles and stickers would poke thru thin lycra and make things uncomfortable for the rest of the ride. And oh, those nasty blackberry thorns in WA state! Not so much a problem in say, Utah or Arizona. But in WA with the lush forests and heavy vegetation on trails, the baggy gear provides real protection. – Developer63 Aug 21 '22 at 05:33
  • Andy P (robustness) and bobflux (encounters with plants, some unpleasant) mentioned the two reasons. You gave both reasons why someone (myself, at least—this is personal) would want to divide a given "cycling clothing budget" (see my comment to Paul Garrett's answer) and purchase additional MTB clothing rather than additional cycling clothing in general that I can use in both sports. Excellent point about footwear, also because I've always wondered whether the two classes of footwear interfaces (SPD vs Look, etc..) are really necessary or there could have been a common design. – Sam7919 Aug 21 '22 at 09:55
2

A very minor answer: whatever the styles in various sports, by this year there are very good fabrics that wick away sweat, tight-fitting or not. And I can vouch that they really do work. And, in heat, they do function to make evaporation "through" a shirt more effective. In cooler weather, where it is often the case that evaporation-cooling is not desired, and does not occur, the effect is not so much "cooling" as just getting the sweat away from one's body. So, actually, more comfortable if it's chilly.

But, as I've always said, my book budget is based on what I save on my clothing budget. :)

paul garrett
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    But if the fabrics have the same performance, why are the styles so different? – DavidW Aug 19 '22 at 04:04
  • @DavidW, I can't help but suspect that marketing issues, and style issues, are dominant. People are trying to, and, well, kinda-do need to, make money. – paul garrett Aug 19 '22 at 04:13
  • In the Pacific Northwest, WA state, an hour south of Seattle, road rides and road kit are well-matched. However, on the MTB forest trails in WA with the dense trailside vegetation, thorns, and stickers, road kit would be a poor choice. In other areas, maybe Utah, Arizona, areas without dense trailside vegetation, the road kit (and styles) would work just fine for recreational MTB riders. – Developer63 Aug 21 '22 at 05:38
  • 1/2 In essence you probably suggest what MaplePanda argues above. Cool. Now, even if we fix one variable ("I have a given budget for cycling clothing"), I would still not want to break that budget between the different variants of cycling. For one thing, that will just mean shorter laundry intervals (and the clothes are so tiny, it takes very many sets to fill a washing machine). – Sam7919 Aug 21 '22 at 09:47
  • 2/2 Also, skiers have always worn a second-skin layer (often called baselayer) for exactly the reason you mention (sweat chills, because the subsequent sweat evaporation is endothermic), but the governing bodies do not go around mandating the look of the variants of each sport to make them visually unique (or at least I'm not aware of it). – Sam7919 Aug 21 '22 at 09:47
0

I wear Mtb clothing whether on trails or roads. Why? Because I primarily ride mtb and like the Sam I don't see any good reason for buying two sets of kit. I find the reasoning for buying just road cycling gear a bit suspect.

  • Wasps The anecdote is driving. Do you now only drive in tight clothing? I have yet to be stung on a bike. I'm quite certain a wasp could sting you through lycra or a tight jersey if motivated enough. Getting into clothes is a rare situation period. Weird way to start that this was the deciding factor on road attire. No wasp could sting me through my winter baggies from the outside and if they got under they'd have liners to content with. Wasp stings are rare, with an estimated frequency of one sting every 15-20 years. The recommended clothing to prevent wasp stings is it being light in color and full coverage. If you look at what bee keepers wear to prevent bee stings you'll find it's white, full coverage and loose fitting.

  • Crawling sweat I have never experienced this, mind you I wear proper jerseys that wick sweat not cotton t-shirts. Maybe it is happening but I've never noticed it. With loose clothing you are also not relying 100% on the fabric's ability to wick sweat which some may find more refreshing. I know some mtbers that wear tight, some loose, some it depends on what they are riding (e.g. xc vs enduro). Sweat isn't the reason why.

  • Rain I'm in the PNW, I ride in the rain and temps down to 4c/39F. I'll conceded that I will wear a tighter fitting cycling jacket made of jersey material. While it's snugger there is no way it would be mistaken for road gear. I wear sports specific compression socks for warmth but with water resistant baggies and on the rare ocassion cycling pants. I also love cycling in the rain whether trails or road.

  • Rashes I've never had this issue, but I wear liners. I tend to have more issues with knee pads with unshaven legs. The solution is shaving.

  • Aerodynamics Got any numbers on "harder to keep up with the group"? I really doubt there's a big enough difference for that, sounds like an excuse if anything. Concern with aerodynmics often seems to be the worry of people on casual rides who would gain more from losing some weight than a tighter jersey. I'll definitely conceded that if you race then shaving 10ths of a second are a true concern, but for your average rider on a casual ride (even a fast ride) you are choosing the road gear to fit in than anything else. Personally I've never had a jersey ride up because it was loose, quite the opposite.

  • Fitting in Who cares about fitting in? Wear what's comfortable for you. You might get looks for showing up in jorts, but will definitely get some respect when you keep up (apparently Handup the glove maker makes cycling jorts, I have not tried them but I'm tempted).

All jesting aside, there are different clothes for different type of riding for actual functional and performance reasons. Other posters have covered those. For casual riders you can wear pretty much anything (though I'd strongly recommend sports clothing that properly wicks sweat and doesn't chaff). If someone is starting out riding I'd suggest wearing workout clothes or jogging clothes rather than buying specific and often expensive cycling specific clothing.

shox
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  • I did witness a wasp stinging a student on the last year's rector's sports day group ride. She did not have lycra, she was allergic. Fortunately, she did not have any further problems but she was not happy when she had to undress very quickly. – Vladimir F Героям слава May 08 '23 at 09:42
  • The numbers for aerodynamics are readily available. There is even significant difference between normal casual road lycra and racing skin suits. – Vladimir F Героям слава May 08 '23 at 09:43
  • I didn't say numbers for racing, I said for casual riding. I doubt it makes enough of a difference in watts to make a notable difference for casual riders. A watt here or there based on clothing but meanwhile a non-aero bike, possibly fenders or other aspects where gains could be made (e.g. rider weight). It doesn't make any sense to focus on clothing aerodynamics. You could gain 5 watts from running latex tubes, but there is no way that's worth the hassle for most. It'd make a difference in a race but would just lead to being on the side of a road changing a tire on a group ride. – shox May 08 '23 at 16:29
  • I don't understand the stinging anecdote. So she would have been ok if in lycra? Or just you think she wouldn't have had to undress? It's really difficult to see what point you are trying to make. – shox May 08 '23 at 16:32
  • I did not brough up the wasp stings here. The asker of the question did and you brought the fact that they rarely happen anyway. I just added they they do happen. Tighter fitting clothes might make it less likely for the wasp to get under them. Might, who knows. – Vladimir F Героям слава May 08 '23 at 18:50
  • The effect of casual clothing on areodynamics wáll be much bigger than a pair of fenders. This is not a watt here or there by any means. It will slow down even a casual rider. Of course, the difference will be much less at a casual pace than at racing speeds. But also the power that the casual cyclist is willing to produce is much less. The difference will be more noticeable in the wind which can blow fast even if you ride slow. cycling weekly once measured 28 W difference at 40 km/h in baggies vs. lycra. I stress that by causual I still mean a sporty casual cyclist. – Vladimir F Героям слава May 08 '23 at 19:01
  • Wasp stings can happen anywhere and the original author had it happen in a car. Feel free to wear lyrca everywhere is you feel it will prevent a rare sting. – shox May 08 '23 at 19:04
  • I repeat I did not bring the wasp stings into the conversation and never claimed they would prevent anything. Please do not build strawmen. – Vladimir F Героям слава May 08 '23 at 19:06
  • Show a link to your claimed 28w. The numbers I found estimate 3% making a difference of 30 second on a 40km race. With an FTP of 410 watts your 28w number is claiming a optional loss of 7%. We are talking about potential numbers of a svelt racer that put down serious watts. If you are shaped like a pear and avg 200w or less the difference is going to be negligible. I question if it could even make a 6w difference. Riding in the drops rather than on the hoods probably makes a bigger difference in aero. – shox May 08 '23 at 19:17
  • Sure https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leLgmwcz0dU BTW, hoods are faster than drops, but you must hold them with the forearms horizontal. It is a more strenuous position to hold than the drops. But it is irrelevant here as the question here is about why using special clothing on MTB, not what to wear on a road bike. – Vladimir F Героям слава May 08 '23 at 19:54
  • The question says "There is a very strong case for tight-fitting clothes on a road bike" and my position is that the arguments given do not actually make a strong case. I appreciate the link. That was not exactly scientific (not enough samples) and the rider wasn't wearing cycling clothes, but rather normal shorts and a cotton t-shirt. You can't extrapolate from that to a loose proper jersey and proper cycling baggies, it wasn't even proper workout attire. Cotton?! Interesting about the hoods, but around here it seems most sit up right on the hoods like a big wind brake. – shox May 08 '23 at 20:10
  • I'll discuss this all you want, but it would be more properly addressed in chat. To the the OPs question is one big false premise. – shox May 08 '23 at 20:12
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There is no reason, it is just fashion and the fitting in. Unless you do stuff where you need extra protection like full face helmets and the spine thingies, or hardened layers against thorns and scratches, you are fine with lycra on an MTB.

Many mountain bikers do no want to associate themself with the road bikers, or worse MAMILs. At least in some countries. However XC racers use lycra clothes that very much look like the road ones just fine. And around here many cross country mountain bikers wear the same lycra that road cyclists wear as well. The must-wear baggies attire you see, e.g., in GMBN vs. GCN is not too prevalent among the local general cycling enthusiasts who mix XC, some trails and roads and often use the some clothes on all their bikes.

bikers
Example photo from the official gallery of a czech amateur XC series Kolo pro život. These are the average ranks, not the top racers and they (most people like them) wear similar clothing for their normal rides too.

Vladimir F Героям слава
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