A hotel in New Zealand has banned lycra cycling shorts due to inappropriate "bumps and bulges".

In a bid to “raise dress standards” the Plough Hotel in Rangiora, North Canterbury put out of a sign on Thursday that reads: "The bicycle is a beautiful object but they should never have invented lycra! No lycra shorts allowed please.”

Co-owner Mike Saunders said he is trying to establish the cafe as a family friendly meeting place, and has banned Lycra shorts for revealing too many “unsightly bumps and bulges” of the human body.

"We get a nice group of customers out here, some of them elderly, and they might think they get enough sausages in their breakfast," he said, giving a cheeky wink to the camera.

"I am not against Lycra in general, just Lycra shorts. A lot of our customers are elderly or children and they don’t need to know that much detail about the shape of somebody," he told the Guardian.

Saunders said Lycra shorts were the only item of clothing he planned to ban.

“Muddy football boots are fine. Tracksuit pants are fine. Jandels [flip flops] are fine.

"So far locals have respected the fact we are trying to enforce a dress code so they can eat their meals surrounded by people wearing trousers."

 Another former employee added that they had a number of experiences with children inappropriately seeing "large men in tiny shorts".