Cyclists shave their legs not for aerodynamics but for two other reasons:
- it looks cool--the average cyclist's legs are cut and well defined, and shaving them brings out the definition. In this case, it's the same reason bodybuilders shave.
- It hurts less when you crash--without hair, you get less road rash and what you get can be more easily bandaged, and you don't have to suffer the agony of pulling off the bandages when you're hairy.
When I was once training for a
century, I got an
injury on my
knee and shaved the area around it to make it easier to put on
bandages. I then noticed my leg was
cooler where I shaved. So I said, "
What the hell" and shaved them all. I was quite a bit more comfortable for the summer. That may also be a reason why it's done.