chamois reviews? In search of...

[jennrod12]

Now that my saddle search is over, I'm searching for the right shorts. It turns out I have 150mm sit bones and I just fit on the Brooks B17 saddle. Now that I'm riding a slightly wider saddle, I'm finding all kinds of issues with my previously favorite shorts. The main problem is that the chamois is not wide enough, so that I wind up sitting on a seam. Ouch! So I'm looking with shorts with wide chamois.

I'd also prefer more padding in the back and less padding in the front (since the Brooks doesn't have a cut-out, there's no where for the front padding to go but into me).

The Terry T short actually works pretty well, but it has one major problem - the chamois does not wick moisture! On long rides I wind up feeling like a baby with a wet diaper. My butt stays wet the whole time, yuck. I even notice that when I hang the laundry out, these shorts take the longest to dry (just the chamois part). And I haven't used anything like downey or dryer sheets on them, ever.

I just tried a 3 hour ride in Sugoi RS shorts (older model), but in the last half-hour or so, I was sitting on something that wasn't right - like a seam or maybe just where the chamois changes density - it definitely wasn't comfortable, although they started out comfortable.

If anyone has any advice or recommendations, I'd appreciate it!

Thanks, Jenn

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I have w-i-d-e sitbones and a Brooks B68 (wider than the B17), and I like the SheBeest Ultra D shorts best- great chamois.

[MillieNZ]

i love the Shebeest range as well...............:)

[Thorn]

Doesn't Shebeest use the same chamois as the Terry T-short?

I can't ride the Terry T-short :mad: I love the fabric, but the chamois isn't wide where I'm wide. I think that's the other thing--the placement of the chamois inside the short vs. you affects how you'll like the chamois.

The two shorts I've got that work for me (155mm sit bones) are last year's Craft Master short (TE had them on sale for a while). They're a really tight lycra so you get a bit of sausage leg, but the chamois was really wide at its widest and not to wide where it shouldn't be.

But, right now, my favorite chamois is Boure's Elite chamois ( http://www.boure.com/1650.html ) . Wide and not too thick. Not a TE purchase, but you are supporting a small manufacturer which is the next best thing to supporting TE? Can't say that I can tell you what it is like riding in hot weather--we haven't had it yet, but after washing it dries much faster than my T-shorts ever did.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Doesn't Shebeest use the same chamois as the Terry T-short?

No way. Why would they?- they are entirely separate brands with very different designs from each other.
In any case... my Terry-T short has a totally different chamois than any of my SB chamois. Different color, material, thickness, shape, everything. It's also thinner than any of my Lois Garneau or SheBeest chamois's, and so for me it's not my first choice for rides of over 3 hours. The Terry T short is nice for quick 20 mile neighborhood rides though, and the shorts fit me nicely- I have the longs and that helps avoid sausage leg effect. :)

[Thorn]

...uh...because somewhere on this forum someone once said they used the same chamois manufacturer? And, being the gullible person that I am, I believed them? :o

Well, then, I'll have to try a Shebeest short.

[VeloVT]

My Terry Bella shorts have a chamois that is very, very similar to the Shebeest SSS short. The Terry chamois is a different color, but they are reqlly very similar otherwise. The SSS short does have a softer, less dense chamois than the Ultra-D's Lisa mentioned, though.

It looks like this year's T-short has the pink Flex Air chamois (the one in my Bellas from last year), but I'm pretty sure the older T-shorts had a different, lower-end chamois...

I'm finding the chamois on my Castelli Visio shorts very, very comfortable -- as comfortable as their lower-end chamois, almost as thin, but much denser and thus more protective for longer rides. (The Kiss chamois is very comfortable too. It's seamless and very flexible, somewhat like the Shebeest chamois or the RS chamois, but depending on how much padding you like you may find it too thin. I have worn my short with the Kiss chamois up to maybe 60 miles comfortably; I haven't worn them on any rides longer than this though).

[Thorn]

OK, picture shopping....

Shebeest Ultra D
http://www.teamestrogen.com/images/products/SB-centurystretch07_xlg.jpg

Terry T-Short
http://www.teamestrogen.com/images/products/TY-flexair_xlg.jpg


Oh, and Jenrod...sigh...and shorts manufacturers like to "update" their chamios. Pearl Izumi's attack shorts used to have a nice wide thinner chamois, but now it comes with a narrower, thicker (13mm) chamois.

Lisa--does that look like your chamois?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

OK, picture shopping....

Shebeest Ultra D
http://www.teamestrogen.com/images/products/SB-centurystretch07_xlg.jpg

Terry T-Short
http://www.teamestrogen.com/images/products/TY-flexair_xlg.jpg

Lisa--does that look like your chamois?

Yes, the pink one is in my last year's Terry T short. The grey one is in my SheBeest UltraD short. Of these two chamois, the UltraD is much denser foam and suitable for very long ride, the T short chamois squashes down easily and feels much more lightweight when you're sitting on it. They are about the same 'puffiness' but the D protects better. Both are wide enough for my VERY wide sitbones. They are both good for different types of rides.

[jennrod12]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Our Sports Basement is having a 20% off thing on Wednesday, so I am hoping they might have one of these shorts there (but they are not on the SB website, so I'm doubting it).

By the way, someone has to make the stuff for Terry, so I suppose they could have the same chamois as someone else.

Looks like I might be making the rounds of the local bike shops this weekend.

Jenn

[OakLeaf]

Just a comment - chamois may be made of different materials in the same shape. The old Shelastic chamois (in the SSS shorts) was the same shape as the current Century Stretch (in the Ultra-D shorts), but supposedly the Century Stretch has "Added Protection." :p Antibacterial silver threads, and apparently higher density in certain areas. The new Shelastic has updated channels (frankly I preferred the old shape):

but appears to be the same material as the old one.

So just maybe the old Shelastic is the same one as is in the Terry shorts.

[VeloVT]

I think Oakleaf is right. I have some older SSS shorts (with the older style of Shelastic chamois) and some Ultra-D's -- the chamois in both shorts is the same shape and has the same channel pattern -- but the Ultra-D chamois is considerably denser.

As mentioned above, the Terry Flex Air chamois (in my 2007 Bellas, anyway) is virtually identical in shape and feel to the older Shelastic chamois.

Between the two Shebeest shorts -- both chamois styles are comfortable for me, but I like the Shelastic slightly better (it's fine for any length ride for me). However, the fabric and construction of the Ultra-D's seems a bit nicer.

[malkin]

<font= R&B> Ain't no chamois wide enough...</font>

My sit bones pay extra for a long distance calling plan. I do better with less chamois, and more squirming and shifting. As long as the bones don't end up right on a big seam or a huge offset San Andreas-like displacement in the pad, I'm ok.

My current favorite: the little pad in the Voler demo shorts from velo-wear that someone linked to from TE

Current least favorite: Pampers-like atrocity in the Ibex wool knickers

[Zen]

AAIIEEEEEE!
My eyes are crossed and my head is spinning from this :eek:

[malkin]

*passing eye bleach to zen*

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

AAIIEEEEEE!
My eyes are crossed and my head is spinning from this :eek:

Hey don't go all Linda Blair on us now!! :eek:

[jennrod12]

I got a pair of the Castelli Visio shorts and they work pretty well. The shorts material is a little thin, so I'm still looking for some shorts that might be better in colder weather, too. I have the Shebeast Ultra D on order, it should come in this weekend.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Jenn

[blueskies]

I was just going to recommend the Castelli shorts. I've got some of the old YPro Donna shorts & a pair of the Visio shorts, as well as a pair of tights. Love them all. They've got just the right padding in just the right spot for me.

[North14]

I see a lot of information about how comfortable a chamois is on the sit bones. What about the soft tissue and chafing issues. I need something that works for 4 hours and up. Many of the web sites don''t show pictures of the chamois. N-14

[jennrod12]

I got the Shebeest Ultra D shorts and found them superior to the Castelli. After a few rides, the Castelli's developed the annoying tendency to stick to me. The Shebeest take an amazingly long time to dry on the laundry line, but when I wear them, I don't feel sweaty or wet at all.

As for chamois comfort on the soft tissue, I've generally thought that was more of a saddle issue. The Shebeest Ultra D is comfortable up there, but a little thick if you don't have a saddle with a cut-out. It seems to improve after a couple of rides, though.

Jenn

[mayanorange]

So is the Terry chamois the same size as the new She-lastic? I adore my Shebeest shorts, but with my new properly fitting saddle, I need about a 3-3.5 inch width at the front. Rear cushioning is perfect- couldn't go much skinnier as I have wide sitbones. Suggestions?

[jennrod12]

So is the Terry chamois the same size as the new She-lastic? I adore my Shebeest shorts, but with my new properly fitting saddle, I need about a 3-3.5 inch width at the front. Rear cushioning is perfect- couldn't go much skinnier as I have wide sitbones. Suggestions?

On my Terry T shorts (bought last year) the chamois is exactly the same size as on my Shebeest Ultra D shorts (bought this year).

Jenn

[mayanorange]

Thanks! Guess that eliminates that one from the list...