Kilts on bikes?

[wscottmac]

Anyone had any experience riding a bicycle when kilted? Is this a really bad idea? Thinking about taking the bike to the pub tonight
Not far, not busy roads, but was wondering about all those pleats.....

[way2fractious]

Anyone had any experience riding a bicycle when kilted? Is this a really bad idea? Thinking about taking the bike to the pub tonight (to prevent a DUI).
Not far, not busy roads, but was wondering about all those pleats.....

I believe all states' vehicle codes recognize bicycles as vehicles operated on public roadways, with only a few different rules from automobiles. As such, you will not be able to avoid a DUI citation if intoxicated and stopped by the police.

I rode a bike around Victoria, B.C. one rainy afternoon in a camo kilt. Not the most pleasant experience, probably because of the weather rather than the outfit. Casual riding might be O.K. (but I never ride casually - totally serious, always defensive.)

[Raphael]

Just ride to the pub in shorts and change to your kilt when you get there.

[James MacMillan]

Just ride to the pub in shorts and change to your kilt when you get there.

No, no, no! Stand, stradle, sweep, tuck and ride. - but not very fast nor very far.

And don't drink so much that you can't arrange your kilt!

[TheKiltedWonder]

I'd be afraid of the wheels wearing on the kilt a little. But other than that, it sounds entirely possible.

[Retro Red]

I'm kilted full-time, but not when I ride my bicycle. I use my bicycle regularly for commuting & other short-range (15 miles or less) trips around town. When I'm riding I wear bike shorts & carry my kilt in a kilt roll & change at my destination. Here's the problems with mixing kilts & bicycles.

1. Hard to be modest when mounting the bike (especially if you're regimental)
2. Good chance pleats will rub on back tire & spokes
3. Riding very fast could be an "up lifting" experience for your apron
4. Squishing your pleats between your legs & the horn of your saddle will create some nasty creases!
.

[MartinGrenoble]

quoth Retro Red

1. Hard to be modest when mounting the bike

-- Rubbish !!!

2. Good chance pleats will rub on back tire & spokes

-- Keep your saddle high.

3. Riding very fast could be an "up lifting" experience for your apron

-- Rubbish !!!

4. Squishing your pleats between your legs & the horn of your saddle will create some nasty creases!

-- Depends on quality of the cloth.

Martin,
(kilted full time, on my cycle like anywhere else.
No problems at all.)

[Hamish]

quoth Retro Red

1. Hard to be modest when mounting the bike

-- Rubbish !!!

2. Good chance pleats will rub on back tire & spokes

-- Keep your saddle high.

3. Riding very fast could be an "up lifting" experience for your apron

-- Rubbish !!!

4. Squishing your pleats between your legs & the horn of your saddle will create some nasty creases!

-- Depends on quality of the cloth.

Martin,
(kilted full time, on my cycle like anywhere else.
No problems at all.)

Excellent responses, Martin. I agree wholeheartedly!

[way2fractious]

The subject of kilts and bikes has been approached before and this conversation has predictably proceeded down the same path as the others. What I see developing are the familiar two camps - the "yes you can" and the "no you can't" groups. Please allow me to add a few more thoughts.

It appears to me that certain bicycles, and certain riding styles, and even certain reasons for mounting the machine, all lend themselves to kilted riding - and others do not. There is no way I would wear a kilt on a road bike frame (10-speed, racer, touring, etc.) with a narrow saddle and a "dropped" riding position, but I would on a mountain bike frame, a beach cruiser, or any other "comfort bike" with the wider seat and a more upright riding position.

Perhaps it as much to do with the purpose of the ride as anything else. The question is (no, not "The Question"!) whether you are going for an all-out bike ride, or whether you are going out for a short errand, to see a friend, or to show off your kilt.

Yes, there is a kilted wrestler, a kilted dancer with the stars, and maybe even a kilted skydiver somewhere, but I'll never join the ranks of kilted commuter or kilted cross-country cyclo-tourist (I'm kilted off-bike, but not on-bike.)

w2f

[Mael Coluim]

It depends.

I couldn't do it on my Trek 2120 road back doing a 15 mph clip along the road.

Around town on my Electra Townie, no problem.