Socks over or under: the great leg warmer debate

Leg warmers
(Image credit: Rapha)

Cyclists and comic book fans have a lot in common. We idolize people, places, and things that the vast majority of the population has never heard of and spend hours debating hypothetical situations, and minuscule details about equipment and clothing.

Whether it is the rim or disc brakes, tubed or tubeless tires, or if gravel bikes are just hardtail mountain bikes from the 1990s; debates like these will rage on for as long as we continue to exercise in stretchy pants — which is also a subject of discussion. With winter settling in for the next few months and riders prepping their cold-weather gear, the latest seasonal debate of whether your socks go over or under your leg warmers has once again picked up steam - thanks in part to Wout van Aert, who stirred up the debate with a recent Instagram story. 

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Based on the Gold Coast of Australia, Colin has written tech content for cycling publication for a decade. With hundreds of buyer's guides, reviews and how-tos published in Bike Radar, Cyclingnews, Bike Perfect and Cycling Weekly, as well as in numerous publications dedicated to his other passion, skiing. 


Colin was a key contributor to Cyclingnews between 2019 and 2021, during which time he helped build the site's tech coverage from the ground up. Nowadays he works full-time as the news and content editor of Flow MTB magazine.