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Why is it considered wanky to wear sky kit

Apologies if the intricacies of the Scottish language is lost on you all  4
But I've noticed a few derisory comments about people wearing sky kit to sportives etc. why is it considered naff?

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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surfer35 | 10 years ago
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Aaaaaaargh..... Get a bloody grip. Go cycle, enjoy yourself.

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Cooks | 10 years ago
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Maybe you're proud of your nation's olympic achievements? Hence my olympic GB jersey?

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edster99 replied to Liam Cahill | 10 years ago
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liam.cahill1 wrote:

Wear any team kit you like, but not a rainbow one....please! This makes you a bit of a douche full stop.

And for those of you that will be going to Bourg d'Oisans and the surrounding area at the time of the TDF, be warned. If you are spotted my me or my mates in a polka-dot jersey, we will attack you, reach the top, descend back to where you are, then do it all again just for kicks! But as we go past, prepare to still hear encouragement from each and every one of us, because being a cyclist is hard enough without other cyclists abusing you on the road. We all do it mentally.

That gets my vote. Personally, I don't think you should wear a jersey that is awarded for acheivement (polka dot, yellow, pink, green, rainbow, etc) unless you did achieve it. Team kit, I couldn't care less about. There's no comeback if someone stuffs you repeatedly thats for sure.

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Ghedebrav | 10 years ago
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+1 for the club kit. I'm not a clubman myself (and I'm a hoodie/t-shirt & commuter-shorts person. Oh, and I have flat pedals, which you may admire as the recede into the distance) but I always reckoned that if I went serious 'roadie' I'd join a club and wear their colours.

Nowt particularly wanky about wearing any team kit IMO, though I suspect on some riders of more robust physique (not knocking that either, having lost five stone myself thanks in part to pedal power) aren't quite getting the performance boost they think they are...

But wear what you like. Admire the stylish and accept the others as fellow human beings on bicycles. There's (much) more to life than sock colour.

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NDD | 10 years ago
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Ride naked if you give a s***

Nonsense comments on the whole

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Ghedebrav | 10 years ago
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Oh, and as for the whole 'you can't wear the yellow/pink/rainbow/etc. unless you've actually won it' - seriously, get a grip. It's clothes.

(Though personally I'd want to be pretty secure in my climbing abilities before donning the polka dots  3 )

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Gkam84 | 10 years ago
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So at the moment, I am in possession of two genuine champion's tops. It would be alright to wear them on a sportive......NO

I have Colin Lynch's World Champ and James McCallum's Scottish Champs Jersey's.

It would under NO circumstance be ok for me to wear these...EVER. I didn't earn them and I shouldn't wear them

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Cooks | 10 years ago
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Jesus. Cyclists seem to be such snobs.

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Leviathan replied to Gkam84 | 10 years ago
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Gkam84 wrote:

I have Colin Lynch's World Champ and James McCallum's Scottish Champs Jersey's.

It would under NO circumstance be ok for me to wear these...EVER. I didn't earn them and I shouldn't wear them

If you were given these and didn't just acquire them for money then ABSOLUTELY wear them, what else are you supposed to do with them? They were given to you presumably, you would be honoring the rider and that gift to wear them. If you won't wear them throw them away, sell them, or just give them away to someone who will. Come on G, you are getting a bit grumpy lately.

In my experience club colours tend to be as awful as half the pro teams are. Sky is not a bad design if you don't mind the Sky logo and what it stands for. One main colour is always the best way to go.
Frankly this is the most exercised people have been here for a while with some sextuple quoting going on. Just chill and wear what you want.

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joc | 10 years ago
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I get that Sky stands for the galactico type mentality throwing money around much like Chelsea or Man City....to use a footballing comparison. but you can't underestimate what they have done for cycling in this country.

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Super Domestique | 10 years ago
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Keeping with the football analogy, what about people who have supported (for eg) Chelsea for years. Do they have to somehow prove they were there before the glory years?

One thing is for sure, if anyone new to cycling reads the polar opinions and regulations then it'll be enough to put them off! Then we will all miss the 'what first road bike' threads.

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nellybuck@msn.com replied to Ghedebrav | 10 years ago
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Ghedebrav wrote:

Oh, and as for the whole 'you can't wear the yellow/pink/rainbow/etc. unless you've actually won it' - seriously, get a grip. It's clothes.

(Though personally I'd want to be pretty secure in my climbing abilities before donning the polka dots  3 )

I have a polka dot jersey which my wife bought me for our anniversary last year. As I weigh in excess of 90kg, and am as far removed from a climber as you can get, I like to wear it in an ironic way and hope other people see the humour. If not, I couldn't care less! Plus it's a really nice, comfortable jersey...

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thebungle | 10 years ago
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Back in 2000 after having bought my first road bike, a Giant OCR in ONCE inspired black & yellow I decided that I need to wear suitable kit, yup you guessed it, off I went to PBK and ordered the ONCE top & bottom, I wasn't a huge fan of them but it seemed appropriate and at least the colours matched.

Certainly in the bike shops in the Aberdeen area there wasn't a great deal of (nice) roadie kit available so it made sense at the time.

Would I do the same again? No, but that's not to say those who are venturing into this sport are wrong to do the same, wearing lycra for the first time is awkward enough, if by wearing replica kit the whole experience becomes easier then I'm all for it.

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Argos74 | 10 years ago
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Just to make things clear, the requirements for wearing the following shirts are:
//i.imgur.com/Ipvgyle.jpg)
Sing the full version of Bohemian Rhapsody acapello, on the start line, with appropriate head banging movements. Acceptable to sing in finishing straight if a TT.
//i.imgur.com/IxIh7df.jpg)
See above, but Portal credits song.
//i.imgur.com/5HtKdwS.jpg)
Ride a fixie. No brakes or gears allowed. Hoxton quiff strongly encouraged.
//i.imgur.com/LjNRqbL.jpg)
Bitch, please.

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700c | 10 years ago
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Quite a lot of anti Sky sentiment, it's a typically British thing, to try to undermine success, or to slate successful individuals.

Don't forget what Sky have done for British cycling, their investment has enabled a lot of success, increased cycling popularity here and put Britain on the cycling map.

I have a few tops, one of them is Sky. I'm always conscious when I'm wearing it that some snobs following 'the rules' may look down on me, but quite honestly I CGAF. I am not very often overtaken on sportifs so I don't get to hear derisory remarks anyway  3

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700c | 10 years ago
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Right. have just read some more comments. It's inspired me to get a polka dot Jersey, champions Jersey, or similar.

If any of you snobs do drop me on a climb, making comments as you pass, be very sure you can stay away, as there's a strong likelihood I will embarrass you when the road flattens out!  3

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Some Fella | 10 years ago
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I wear an AG2R jersey - mainly because it was in the sale and was dead cheap and its a really nice jersey but also because AG2R are a bit rubbish and im sure some of their riders dope. Which appeals to me.

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robert_obrien | 10 years ago
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If you look the part you can get away with it. If you're carrying a few extra pounds then you look like those people who wear 'Van Persie' replica shirts. Or worse, someone (over 16) playing football in replica shirt. I always say when we see someone out shopping in a, for instance, a 'Lampard' shirt 'There's only one person we can be absolutely sure that isn't'. If you want to wear kit, join a club and wear their kit whatever your shape.

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Fixie Girl replied to joc | 10 years ago
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Murdoch

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Ghedebrav replied to nellybuck@msn.com | 10 years ago
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nellybuck [at] msn.com wrote:
Ghedebrav wrote:

Oh, and as for the whole 'you can't wear the yellow/pink/rainbow/etc. unless you've actually won it' - seriously, get a grip. It's clothes.

(Though personally I'd want to be pretty secure in my climbing abilities before donning the polka dots  3 )

I have a polka dot jersey which my wife bought me for our anniversary last year. As I weigh in excess of 90kg, and am as far removed from a climber as you can get, I like to wear it in an ironic way and hope other people see the humour. If not, I couldn't care less! Plus it's a really nice, comfortable jersey...

And more power to your elbow, sir!  4

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Cooks | 10 years ago
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I've been inspired. I'm gonna buy that Chinese knock off Garmin WC jersey (Hushovd fan) and I'm gonna wear it. Feel free to drop me on climbs, or on the flat. Good job I love riding my bike, or I would've quit long ago.

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Municipal Waste replied to Charlie96 | 10 years ago
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Charlie96 wrote:

Does no one ride in their club colours? Looks way better than anything you'll buy in a shop!

All the clubs in my area are full of idiots, that's why.

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TheHatter | 10 years ago
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Count me in!

I presume From the number of comments this is a Schwag grab right...?

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Chameleon78 | 10 years ago
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If you've got time to look and assess another's clothing choices then put simply you aren't riding hard enough.

I wear Rapha, Castelli and assos, sue me dickheads!

The new Paul Smith designed giro jerseys are also v nice.

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joc replied to Chameleon78 | 10 years ago
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Chameleon78 wrote:

If you've got time to look and assess another's clothing choices then put simply you aren't riding hard enough.

I wear Rapha, Castelli and assos, sue me dickheads!

The new Paul Smith designed giro jerseys are also v nice.

think i'll get me that nice pink one...people might think that i've won the giro...i could wear it with my olympic time trial gold medal  1

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andyp | 10 years ago
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'Wearing a yellow Jersey is not the same as wearing an Olympic Gold metal... Are you serious. Because that's like the worse comparison ever'

Assuming you mean 'medal' and 'worst' - indeed. Two totally different competitions.

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CapriciousZephyr | 10 years ago
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We had a brief spate of some people wearing their uniforms in a slightly slovenly way on my old school softball team many years ago. Our coach laid down the law and boiled it down to this: "If you look good, you feel good; if you feel good, you play good." (He appreciated that it's sometimes worth sacrificing grammatical accuracy for rhetorical effect.)

Applying this maxim to cycling, and acknowledging that everyone has their own individual sense of style, one could rephrase this as: "If you think you look good, you feel good; if you feel good, you ride good, or at least enjoy it more." (I accept that I don't have such a good turn of phrase.)

That about sums it up for me. Wearing something I consider nice, in looks, feel, function, whatever, makes me feel good. It makes me more likely to get on my bike and have a better time while I'm on it. Someone else might not agree that what I'm wearing looks good, but I don't go riding to get others' approval of my fashion sense. I imagine everyone I see on a bike has made a choice about what clothes to buy and then wear (pros excepted, of course, but I don't think I see any of them around), so one has to assume they like it. Why anyone feels they need to criticise someone else's taste, particularly directly to them when out riding, is beyond me. Are people still so pitifully juvenile that they feel the need to derive satisfaction from ridiculing someone else? On the odd occasion, I might let someone know I admire their jersey or bike, or, as happened some months ago, remark that they're commuting on the same old mtb as I am. But go out of my way to be negative to someone? That's pretty twisted.

I loved the anecdote about the three-year-old and his Superman shirt. It's wonderful for adults sometimes still to be able to tap into that childlike exuberance, and if it takes pulling on a rainbow-striped jersey to imagine you're Mark Cavendish, or a Sky jersey so you can pretend to be Brad Wiggins, or a GB top to picture yourself as Laura Trott, I really don't mind. If the fat guy in his polka-dot jersey is panting for breath at the side of the road half-way up the climb, so what? Donning that jersey might have been the thing that gave him the mental strength to get that far in the first place.

Would I go around in a world champion's jersey myself? Probably not (although having written all this out, I'm less sure of that now!). I've never had much objection to the idea of wearing a yellow, polka-dot, pink, etc. jersey, though. I don't believe they get worn officially outside of the competition of which they are a part, and it's pretty obvious whether a cyclist is in the middle of riding a grand tour stage or not.

And I, too, really liked the ONCE logo; I even have a quick look on the 'bay every now and then to see if one of their jerseys is available, to make a change from my old Telekom one.

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Kapelmuur | 10 years ago
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Following the comments about whether it is appropriate to wear a polka dot jersey when one is not a good climber I realise that I can turn this into a positive by wearing a green jersey. Then, as I am passed on climbs, I can invite riders to join the autobus - surely this will be acceptable.

Taking this idea further, wearing a Mercatone Uno would excuse me climbing off before the ascents.

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Charlie96 replied to Municipal Waste | 10 years ago
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Municipal Waste wrote:
Charlie96 wrote:

Does no one ride in their club colours? Looks way better than anything you'll buy in a shop!

All the clubs in my area are full of idiots, that's why.

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/article/group-riding-skills-gap-makin...

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titusrider | 10 years ago
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Ride in what you like,

I don't wear much team kit as I think its mostly looks a bit naff but that's just my taste.

I do like the look of the new rapha/sky kit but I couldn't bring myself to buy something which promotes Murdock and his cronies (rapha plz do a blue and black but unbranded version!)

My wardrobe has:
90's alfa romeo jersey
old cannondale top (not team)
Assos cow pattern top
scott jersey (not team)
windy milla jersery (local shop team)
castelli that my wife got me

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