When I first started bike commuting to work, I would dress every morning as a “Spandex Sally.” When people look like freaks, there’s usually logic behind it. As it is so with the Spandex Sally look. Bicycling specific tights have a chamois pad in it. The chamois (or “shammy”) is roughly the difference of sleeping on a wood floor or sleeping on a mattress. Shammies are super comfy. The downside to the tights are that 1) you look like a freak and 2) formunda cheese manufacturing.
Time’s progressed, and now I usually wear my underwear for the day and a pair of Arc Teryx shorts. The shorts are lightweight. The fabric, of the shorts, is highly bomb-resistant. My boxers, on the other hand, are not:
Sometimes for short errands, I wear pants. For this reason, I now look for pants with gusseted crotches:
It’s also fun to say gusseted crotches.
When I told others about my idea of repairing my underwear, one reoccurring statement I heard was “Why don’t you just buy new underwear? It’s not like underwear is expensive!” I like to think I’m the Bill Bowerman of bicycling underwear. Even though there are products similar to a gusseted crotch boxer on the market, it’s not quite what I want.
I see it as reducing my consumption as well as preventing future failures. Buying new underwear will just fail in the same spot. I borrowed dre’s sewing machine and ripped up the failed jeans.
So far I have about 3 miles on “Version 1.”
Rooster said,
April 27, 2010 @ 5:28 am
Nice work! I borrowed my gf’s sewing machine this winter to make a fleece liner sleeping bag. It can be used for hot summer camping or to double up in the winter.
The benefits of making your own gear:
- learn something new (sewing machines have adjustable frequency and amplitude)
- customize to your needs (efficiency for your body’s characteristics)
- have unique item (social currency)
- cheaper (all materials were 20% of what I would’ve paid for a non-custom item)
*Next goal, making a handlebar bag for my bike. No commercial brands fit my setup.
I like how you used two “junk” items to make one “better than before” item.
Tweets that mention Bike Commuting Boxers « AdventuresInMissingThePoint.com -- Topsy.com said,
April 29, 2010 @ 9:46 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Michael Deming. Michael Deming said: Pete is cool. RT @andreanalyne: pete used my sewing machine yesterday…found out why *shakes head* http://bit.ly/djKXAy [...]