I recently posed the question to my Instagram following, “what is your sock height of choice?” The majority came back with roughly the same answer, below the calf muscle, or my favourite interpretation by a friend of mine; “[the] cuff sits just under the impregnated portion of the calves”. A few individuals came back with the longer the sock the better, and even fewer the complete opposite, the shorter the sock the better. While a number of people gave me an exact measurement of how high the perfect sock should be, this height would appear different on different individuals depending how tall or short you are.
When I then posed the question, “do you think about sock height when buying cycling socks?”, the majority came back with a hard “YES!”. On a whole, the reasons differed; from those wanting shorter socks to avoid tan lines, and those wanting the longer socks for #aerogainz, and a few exceptions bringing up the point that height matters and is considered due to warmth. However, the most
common answer was simply aesthetics. Cycling sock height resonates with us for mainly how they look, not really for any functional purpose.
For many of us cyclists, cycling is as much about looking and feeling good as it is about the sport… be honest about why you shave your legs; is it really for that post ride massage you have once or twice a year, for those #aerogainz on the Sunday club run, or for the off chance you might kiss the tarmac? Or is the real reason down to the fact that you feel it just looks better?
Don’t get me wrong, I care about my own look on the bike, and I wear or don’t wear certain things because I don’t like the style they project. I believe that as long as you’re not pushing your own expectations, rules, and regulations onto anyone else (unless you’re a governing body) and judging others for their choices, whether we care about sock height or not, it simply doesn’t matter as long as you’re happy. Choose the cycling socks that call out to you, be it for height, colour combo, warmth, or even aero gains.