A button inside the trouser leg, at the ankle, for cycling

[Makoto Chan]

Hey guys,

When I hop onto a bicycle in my chinos, I have to watch that they don't flap over the chain and get an ugly grease mark. I'm aware that some people buy little velcro straps to wrap around their ankles to solve this problem. I don't like them.

I was thinking that another solution would be to sew a little button inside the ankle on the outer side, either a real button or a snap button, that sort of clips the flap away from the chain.

I might talk to Peter Lee about making this for a new cotton suit, or talk to an alterationist about whether this is possible to add to a pair of pants (I doubt it). Yeah, I know I can always just roll up the cuff. It's just an idea. What do you think? Does this already exist?

 

[TheSizzle]

Hey guys,

When I hop onto a bicycle in my chinos, I have to watch that they don't flap over the chain and get an ugly grease mark. I'm aware that some people buy little velcro straps to wrap around their ankles to solve this problem. I don't like them.

I was thinking that another solution would be to sew a little button inside the ankle on the outer side, either a real button or a snap button, that sort of clips the flap away from the chain.

I might talk to Peter Lee about making this for a new cotton suit, or talk to an alterationist about whether this is possible to add to a pair of pants (I doubt it). Yeah, I know I can always just roll up the cuff. It's just an idea. What do you think? Does this already exist?

It's not exactly the greatest look, but without altering your trousers, you can get one of those velcro straps that goes over your pants.

Essentially, you wouldn't alter your pants, and you would have a setup for every pair of pants.

 

[GBR]

Ugly

 

[cyclingdutchman]

I just roll the pants, or depending on the style of the bike get a chain cover thingy

 

[JackAndy]

I use a teflon chain wax on my chain instead of oil. It actually cleans the chain when you spray it on and dirt won't stick to the chain so it's always clean and shiny. That would definetely make the chain area 100x less dirty and dangerous for your pants so it's a start. I'm assuming there's some reason you don't have or don't want a chain cover so I'll let that be.

Besides velcro straps over your ankles, have you ever seen blousing strips? They hook together and go inside your pants and you just roll the cuff over them. So it blouses your pants like a drawstring or something but it's stretchy and you can take them off and put them in your pocket, it would probably take too long to put on and off every time you want to ride though.

 

[McBindle]

From a standpoint of the physiological dynamics in cycling I would not recommend this. The chain grease does not get on the cuff so much from flapping or being unsecured as it does from a heel rotation or inward bend of the leg. To that end, you will notice that even in shorts chain grease has a habit of getting on your inner right ankle.

For this reason we mount the bike from the left and do not click into the right pedal (or place the right foot on the pedal) until we are in motion.
Similarly, when at rest we lean on the drive side foot with it on the ground and with the bike tilted to the right to avoid the "cat 5 tattoo" that comes with leaning the bike left with the right foot on the pedal and the left foot off. This creates a triangle of space between the bike and the off foot that looks like this from the back (/=bike, !=leg and foot): !/!.

Therefore: roll your trousers and or get a chain guard.

 

[Master Squirrel]

Tuck your pant leg into you sock. Geesh, Kids nowadays.

 

[GBR]



Tuck your pant leg into you sock. Geesh, Kids nowadays.

+1

 

[irgendwas]

Therefore: roll your trousers and or get a chain guard.

I'd also recommend a chain guard. As far as I know, chain guards are common on bicycles in Japanese cities. My bicycle has a chain guard and I've never had a problem with chain grease.
For cycling in a suit, the ideal bicycle would probably have a full chain case and allow an upright sitting position with a swept-back handlebar close to the body. Examples of such a bicycle would be traditional British or Dutch roadsters or their more modern counterparts.

 

[dan'l]

M-chan, have Peter make you one of these zip-away lowers next time:

But in all seriousness, if you don't like the Velcro straps you could consider a leather one:

 

[MikeDT]

Could just get a pair of good old fashioned bicycle clips.

 

[jrd617]



Could just get a pair of good old fashioned bicycle clips.

Or a chain guard... most US commuter bikes have them so that pants don't get torn/splashed with water

There's no aesthetic case against them

 

[Veremund]



But in all seriousness, if you don't like the Velcro straps you could consider a leather one:

+1. I have two of these, and they're great, especially when wearing brown leather shoes.