Why do cyclists wear Lycra?

Comfort and practicality are the reason for wearing Lycra clothing that is specifically designed for cycling. You don’t have to wear special clothing to enjoy cycling, but if you wear a cotton tee-shirt for example it will flap around in the wind which is both distracting and annoying after a time.

When the tee-shirt becomes soaking wet with sweat it becomes extremely uncomfortable. Lycra is a stretchy material that if the clothing is the correct size it will fit tight and not flap around in the wind. Also as the rider sweats, the fabric dries immediately in the wind. It keeps the rider warm on a chilly day and cool on a hot day.

Because this fabric dries quickly, the clothing is easy to launder. Just throw the shorts and jersey in a cold wash and they are practically dry when they come out of the spin cycle. They can go in the dryer without any adverse affects, or can be hung up to dry.

Cyclists sometimes wear the team issue jerseys that the pros use, or they may have a club jersey. Either way these are usually brightly colored because the cyclist want to been seen by other road users simply for safety reasons.