# See-thru Spandex, a disturbing sight



## SM-Rider (May 2, 2007)

Yes, I said it. Every now and then when I ride, I see other cyclists not aware that in the perfect wrong angle of sunlight I get a view of crack. Dear God. I immediately get paranoid and wonder if my bibs are see thru in the wrong circumstances.

I'd love to get a list of brands and models that do this so that I may avoid them. Anyone else noticed this?


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2009)

It is safe to assume that any with white in the back are a bad decision.


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## estone2 (Sep 25, 2005)

Very few bibs do this new out of the box. That usually means that the bib is old and in need of being replaced.


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## dekindy (Jul 7, 2006)

SM-Rider said:


> Yes, I said it. Every now and then when I ride, I see other cyclists not aware that in the perfect wrong angle of sunlight I get a view of crack. Dear God. I immediately get paranoid and wonder if my bibs are see thru in the wrong circumstances.
> 
> I'd love to get a list of brands and models that do this so that I may avoid them. Anyone else noticed this?


Someone noticed this on my bibs during the ride and made a very public announcement while we were riding. My neighbog was on the ride. He had noticed it also but was going to be more discreet about telling me about it later. He asked that I return the favor if I ever noticed a flaw in his cycling apparel.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

estone2 said:


> Very few bibs do this new out of the box. That usually means that the bib is old and in need of being replaced.


Usually it is the very lightweight fabric summer cycling shorts...and usually they are on too large a person.


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## cpark (Oct 13, 2004)

SM-Rider said:


> Yes, I said it. Every now and then when I ride, I see other cyclists not aware that in the perfect wrong angle of sunlight I get a view of crack. Dear God. I immediately get paranoid and wonder if my bibs are see thru in the wrong circumstances.
> 
> I'd love to get a list of brands and models that do this so that I may avoid them. Anyone else noticed this?


I agree although, not any worse than a pair of white shorts that shows too much......


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## Neo1975 (Aug 17, 2009)

This thread is making me paranoid.:blush2: I know my Cannondale shorts are definately thinner than my Sugoi shorts.


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## worst_shot_ever (Jul 27, 2009)

This is why I fight for the women riders' wheels. Huh huh, just kidding. I have noticed this, however, and I figure it's part of the cost of dressing up in lycra.


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## dontheclysdale (Aug 28, 2009)

I've seen a couple of riders in black that were almost as transparent as black pantyhose. I figured it was because the shorts/bibs were old, heavily washed, and a tad bit too small. Whatever the case, I check mine before each ride.


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## Andy69 (Jun 14, 2008)

why are you looking so often? eew.


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## SM-Rider (May 2, 2007)

I'm not looking... it just happens.

BTW...more often than not, it is with the black spandex that I see this issue.

Kytyree... I think I bought a pair of white bibs from you once (if that's the same name you use on Ebay). Thanks


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2009)

SM-Rider said:


> I'm not looking... it just happens.
> 
> BTW...more often than not, it is with the black spandex that I see this issue.
> 
> Kytyree... I think I bought a pair of white bibs from you once (if that's the same name you use on Ebay). Thanks



You may have, I did more than one swap on white bibs for people who felt they were too modest to wear them. A lot of it does comes down to how much the fabric is stretched and if you have dark skin and hair which both show through worse. You do see it in the other colors some though, I have a blue pair of bibs that at times are a little dicey in the back.


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## Kai Winters (Aug 23, 2009)

And you're looking...why?
Fascist see through lycra cops weird me out man.
Sheesh.


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2009)

Kai Winters said:


> And you're looking...why?
> Fascist see through lycra cops weird me out man.
> Sheesh.



I don't think I've ever intentionally looked for it. Its more one of those things that happens that you usually wish you could take back right away. I have a theory though, that when you are trying to think of something that you should know but can't remember, that memory has been replaced by the bone chilling image of someone's crack showing through spandex, and that you will never be able to shake.


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2009)

SM-Rider said:


> I'm not looking... it just happens.
> 
> BTW...more often than not, it is with the black spandex that I see this issue.
> 
> Kytyree... I think I bought a pair of white bibs from you once (if that's the same name you use on Ebay). Thanks



SM-Rider, those white bibs were popular though, I never had any trouble selling them at all. Other than odd sizes I never had any on hand for any length of time.


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## maximum7 (Apr 24, 2008)

This is too funny. Lately me and some of the guys in my club have started to notice this. It usually happens to most anyone when the sun is to your back-side. 
One afternoon, coming back from a ride, me and a buddy were riding side by side. I said, "Look!" and pointed to the guy in front of us and we cringed. I said,"Hold on" and I slowed up and sure enough my buddy had the same thing. Then we started noticing it on more and more riders....Now it's just a big joke for some of us on our rides.


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## SM-Rider (May 2, 2007)

Kytyree, I'm not complaining. Those Giordana Forma's in White are great bibs. The chamois is huge and covers nicely. I also got them from you when microsoft cashback was paying some big bucks. And through some funny stuff in the transaction, they paid me twice (not my doing). You got your $150 and I got them for $60!

Anyway, I'm glad to hear that it is old, overstretched lycra. I do have a pair of Performance Ultras that are pretty thin. I suspect they are betraying my faith in their function. Are there any other factors that contribute to this awful phenomenon?

Yes, I am paranoid about this stuff and feel great comfort knowing that I am not the only one.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

*Crack Kills!*


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

I was doing the ride of silence. It started about an hour before sunset on a bright clear day. Within the first mike of the ride we climbed over a bridge. There was a girl in front of me. When we climbed out of the evening shade up the bridge, the sunlight lit her up. She was wearing a shiny red thong under her old thin shorts and it lit up like neon. It was very hard to stay silent.


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## worst_shot_ever (Jul 27, 2009)

Just as an aside, how on earth can one comfortably ride a road bike any distance at all with a thong under their shorts? It's not altogether uncommon, either -- I've seen at least two other women doing so.


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## milkbaby (Aug 14, 2009)

worst_shot_ever said:


> Just as an aside, how on earth can one comfortably ride a road bike any distance at all with a thong under their shorts? It's not altogether uncommon, either -- I've seen at least two other women doing so.


They must've travelled back in time after reading this thread to don the thongs... thanks for ruining it you guyz...


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## Zachariah (Jan 29, 2009)

White bibs and long rides just don't mix. Nothing WORSE than drafting a guy with leaky butt syndrome...


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## BikeRider (Aug 5, 2003)

Zachariah said:


> White bibs and long rides just don't mix. Nothing WORSE than drafting a guy with leaky butt syndrome...


I think you've found out the real reason why so many guys are wearing see-thru shorts - they're trying to get rid of wheel suckers!


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## ccroy2001 (May 20, 2002)

*Me too!*



dekindy said:


> Someone noticed this on my bibs during the ride and made a very public announcement while we were riding. My neighbog was on the ride. He had noticed it also but was going to be more discreet about telling me about it later. He asked that I return the favor if I ever noticed a flaw in his cycling apparel.


Me too! It's started with "Dude WTF!?" but nothing specific so I was left wondering until someone was blunt enough to say: "Dude! You're wearing see through shorts!". Of course I was 35 miles from home at this point naturally.

They were bibs (black) and they were worn away in um, strategic areas.

I bought a new pair, but I kept the old ones, I have this really elastic glue called "Anna's Fabric Glue" or something I used to fix the torn lining of my motorcycle boots. I'm thinking it's worth a try gluing a piece of black pantyhose inside and see if it goes back to unnoticably opaque, or a horrible mess. The shorts are going to be trashed anyway.


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## cdhbrad (Feb 18, 2003)

I usually ride with the same guys all the time and, every so often, one will have reached way back in the closet and put on a pair of bibs where the rear is almost transparent. If someone notices, we jokingly tell them to mark those for "Night Riding" or "Trainer Only." They know what we mean.....and I've had it happen to me too. No one gets offended.


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## The Weasel (Jul 20, 2006)

cdhbrad said:


> If someone notices, we jokingly tell them to mark those for "Night Riding" or "Trainer Only."


I usually relegate mine to winter duty when a pair of tights takes care of the problem.


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## My Own Private Idaho (Aug 14, 2007)

I got behind a woman on a charity 100 mile ride who was wearing a thong under some see-through shorts. 100 miles in a thong?

I have a buddy that wears shorts that are too thin. I keep threatening to give him a can of black shoe polish to put on his butt if he's going to wear those shorts. He still wears them sometimes though.


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## SM-Rider (May 2, 2007)

So there's no correlation to brand and price?


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## melusive (Sep 18, 2008)

how are those white voler campione bibs then? Anybody have experience with them?
voler claims you can stand out in the crowd with confidence.


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## Pirx (Aug 9, 2009)

My Own Private Idaho said:


> I got behind a woman on a charity 100 mile ride who was wearing a thong under some see-through shorts. 100 miles in a thong?


Uhmm, to the guys whining about women wearing thongs: When did you guys ever wear a thong on a bicycle, or in any other situation? So what do you people know about the comfort, or lack thereof, of such underwear? Finally, in case you want to know, many women wear these under their bike shorts/bibs. They have a reason for doing so, too. I'll just leave it at that.


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## Sylint (Jul 27, 2009)

Pirx said:


> Uhmm, to the guys whining about women wearing thongs: When did you guys ever wear a thong on a bicycle, or in any other situation? So what do you people know about the comfort, or lack thereof, of such underwear? Finally, in case you want to know, many women wear these under their bike shorts/bibs. They have a reason for doing so, too. I'll just leave it at that.


From the few women I've felt comfortable enough talking to about that. (my wife..and 1 ex...) guys would be surprised how comfortable they are.

And someone whose capable of riding a century...I doubt I'd complain about the view, but she might complain about the drafting.


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## worst_shot_ever (Jul 27, 2009)

Pirx said:


> Uhmm, to the guys whining about women wearing thongs: When did you guys ever wear a thong on a bicycle, or in any other situation? So what do you people know about the comfort, or lack thereof, of such underwear? Finally, in case you want to know, many women wear these under their bike shorts/bibs. They have a reason for doing so, too. I'll just leave it at that.


Umm, who's whining? I'm all for it. :thumbsup:


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## kmunny19 (Aug 13, 2008)

so is it true that once you try wearing see through, white bibs, you'll never wear see through, white shorts again?


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## Guest (Oct 21, 2009)

For those of us who prefer not to see lots of azz crack in public, yes.


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## SlowMo (Apr 18, 2006)

Ouch! I've been called out. 

Our group got these cool "uniforms" for the MS150 ride last year. I liked the blue with white look, it all matched! However, the white was in the back. THEN CAME THE RAIN. I've never been more paranoid on a bike before. Wet at mile 15 and ended the century loop without any physical pain, but the mental stress was killing me. Bibs that will never be worn unless I'm riding solo again! (Maybe I should have laid off the idea of riding with the lead group and hanging back with some of the lady riders? Lose, lose situation)


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## Spinfinity (Feb 3, 2004)

dontheclysdale said:


> I've seen a couple of riders in black that were almost as transparent as black pantyhose. I figured it was because the shorts/bibs were old, heavily washed, and a tad bit too small. Whatever the case, I check mine before each ride.


how do you check them?


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## ccroy2001 (May 20, 2002)

Spinfinity said:


> how do you check them?


Before you put them on turn them around so you're looking at the back and stretch them a little. If it's worn in the butt you'll see through to the inside.

Before I knew mine were worn out I'd also occasionally notice a nice cooling breeze while out riding.


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## danahs (May 24, 2008)

i don't think its the wear of the material, its how much it is being stretched combined with the right light conditions (I noticed it last night at the rose bowl on about 10 different people and I doubt they all were wornout shorts)


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