What is that piece of cloth some road bikes have on the center bar that runs from the handlebars to the seat??

Question

like the one in the upper right corner in this...

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/bik/716254112.html

Answer 1

i think your talking about a bike thong. its kinda Y shaped, right? its used mainly for riding your bike on a stationary trainer, to prevent the sweat dripping from your body from contacting the bike. sweat causes corrosion, no one likes corrosion. all you do is wash the cloth every couple uses.

Answer 2

That posting on craigslist is flagged for removal, so I can't see what you're talking about.  The other guys have a great guess....but if you're talking about something that wraps around the top tube, it may be one of those bike messenger gang-colors things.  They've gotten to be more trendy and popular now that the singlespeed/fixed gear craze is fully underway.   I've even seen some new bikes that had them (Specialized, I think....maybe Felt).   They don't really mean much unless you're sporting the cloth of a particular group/club.

Answer 3

This is designed to catch sweat but I have never seen one on an outdoor bike.  They are often used when cyclists hook their bikes up to an indoor trainer and want to keep the sweat from corroding their components.

Answer 4

A bike bra.