Mountain biking is one of the well-known sports in today’s generation. There are many mountain bikers around the world, between ages 15-50 years old. Yes! Even the 15 years old kids or even younger are riding on their mountain bike on the mountain or road already! That is how famous mountain biking is!
Since mountain biking is famous today, there are lots of questions appearing on forums related to mountain biking. One of the famous questions I have read is: “do mountain bikers shave their legs?” Shaving legs is very essential, especially for athletes and other people that get irritated with the hairs on their legs. However, how about mountain bikers? Do mountain bikers shave their legs? Let us find out!
Do mountain bikers shave their legs? Yes! Some mountain bikers shave their legs. However, there are still some mountain bikers who don’t shave their legs. We have different preferences. Some mountain bikers don’t get irritated with the hair on their legs while others get irritated. Those mountain bikers who get irritated with the hair on their legs shave it.
I know that most of you mountain bikers out there, reading this article right now, searched for this which is why you are here. You will not only know if mountain bikers shave their legs because I will give you more information related to this subject. I will tell you how often and high a mountain biker shaves his/her legs and many more! If you are ready to learn more, let us move on!
Why Do Mountain Bikers Shave Their Legs?
Mountain bikers that shave their legs seem absurd when you think about it. Why would mountain bikers shave their legs? Right? Mountain bikers usually wear long pants or shorts. So why should they shave their legs?
Why do mountain bikers shave their legs? Mountain bikers shave their legs to make it easier for them to clean and treat their wound or cut. If they need to put bandages on their wound, removing the bandage the next day is less painful. Also, it helps mountain bikers to prevent ticks and tick bites when they shave their legs.
Why Does Not Shaving Your Legs Can Be Dangerous?
You might think that shaving your legs is not essential. Well, you are wrong! It can be dangerous for mountain bikers that don’t shave their legs. How is it dangerous? Let me tell you why.
If you go for a ride in the forest or places that have lots of trees, there will be some ticks for sure. One of the worst things that might happen to a mountain biker that doesn’t shave legs is to get tick bites on the skin. If you are a mountain biker that has hairy legs, it increases your chance of picking up a tick while in the forest or woods, which can lead to Lyme disease.
When you rub against a branch or bush, the tick could hook onto a leg hair or two. It will be difficult to grab onto smooth skin. Also, there are other insects such as mites that can cause severe itching on your legs. The itching can last for several days.
Crashing is inevitable. Sometimes, mountain bikers do crash on the trail. These crashes can tear up your skin and create a wound! If you have lots of hair on your legs and you did not shave the likelihood of infection is higher!
It can be difficult for you to scrape out and dirt and grime that landed into the cut or wound on your legs. Pulling individual hairs on your legs to clean the wound or scratch you got from mountain biking can be painful and slow down the cleaning process of your wound.
If you are into mountain biking and looking forward to competing, then it is a must to shave your legs and get them massaged. Mountain bikers that have lots of hair on their legs will make the job of the masseuse harder. It is hard to dig into the muscles of your legs if you have lots of hair on it. This will reduce the effectiveness of the massage and reduce your ability to recover quickly.
How Should Mountain Bikers Shave Their Legs?
Now that you know that it can be dangerous for you not to shave your legs, you are surely finding instructions on how to shave your legs properly as a mountain biker. Well, let me tell you how you should shave your legs.
Mountain bikers that have not shaved their legs before and have hairy legs should use a hair removal cream first. You can also use a hair trimmer. If you use a razor for the first time, it will clog up the blades quickly and make your shaving experience frustrating.
The best way to shave your legs is to use a hair trimmer to get a lot of the bushy hair off. After that, you can use hair removal cream. By doing this, there is less hair that needs to be dissolved by the hair cream. Also, you will not need to use as much hair removal cream to do the job.
However, if the hair on your legs is not that much, then you can start using a razor. Never use an old razor! You must use a new blade! If it is dull, you will need to push harder on your skin and you have a high chance of cutting yourself.
You can also use the shaving cream that you use on your face on your legs. Some mountain bikers do this. If any hair on your legs gets stuck, you can use an old toothbrush to brush out the hair from the razor.
After you finish cutting out all the hair on your legs, you need to apply lotion to keep your skin soft. However, this is not required. But I highly suggest that you execute this. Putting lotion will moisturize your skin and keep it hydrated.
How Often Should Mountain Bikers Shave Their Legs?
So, how often should mountain bikers like you shave the hair on the legs? After you shave your legs for the first time, let your hair grow back. Keep track of how fast and how long your leg hair gets. You must know at which point your leg hair stops being stubble and turns into a strand of hair.
You must shave the hair on your legs before it starts to become strands of hair again. The reason why you should do this is that once it becomes a strand of hair, you will lose the benefits of shaving your legs in the first place.
How High Should Mountain Bikers Shave Their Legs?
So, how high should you shave your legs? Should you shave your whole lower body? Or you should just shave your legs and knees? Well, let us find out!
Mountain bikers that do minimum trail should shave up their legs above their knees. Most mountain bikers wear baggy shorts or lycra which don’t go any lower than above the knees.
However, if mountain bikers want to shave the thighs and upper thighs, that is a personal preference. People will never see the part of your legs when you are riding on your mountain bike. If you have no hair on your legs, it will be easy for you to shave your entire leg.
However, if your legs are hairy and it is a hassle for you to shave, then you may want to only shave the part of your body that you need to be shaved. If you will go to public wearing shorts and have dirty legs, then people will see this as unattractive. However, this is still on you.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Shaving Your Legs?
After you shave the hair on your legs for the first time, you must be consistent in doing it if your leg hair starts to grow again. If you grow hair quickly and in large amounts, then shaving the hair on your legs can be time-consuming. You need to buy many disposable razors. That is why it is a good idea to save some money on new razors every month.
After shaving the hair on your legs, you might feel some skin irritation because you are shaving consistently. There may be some itching, redness, and even pimples because some dirt landed on your skin. You might also gain some cuts due to mistakes when shaving. Lastly, it might feel uncomfortable when you go to sleep at night and your legs touch each other.
Final Words
Not all mountain bikers shave their legs. The reason why is because some do not have too much hair on their legs because of their genes while some are because of their personal preference. But some mountain bikers do shave their legs. Shaving your legs is essential to avoid getting hurt on the trail, forest, or woods.
