HIM shorts with some padding?

[JTri's]

I'v worked my way up to a HIM and am strating to get concerend about the ummm....butt pain factor with riding 56 miles in tri shorts. Ack. That sounds terrible to me.

Are there any regular bike shorts I could wear that would dry out fairly quickly? I don't want to spend the time changing in and out of clothing (I considered it, but I really don't need the added stress), so whatever I swim in is what I'll ride in. I'm considering the LG shorts with the "air gel" insert because it looks like it would be comfortable and would dry quickly.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Thanks a lot,
Justine

[Veronica]

Do you have time to test out your tri shorts on a longer ride?

I think I have the predecessor to those LG shorts. I would not want to swim or run in them - especially not 13 miles! Although I did wear them on a double century wherein it rained all morning and they were still comfy on the bike even when totally soaked.

I got these for my tris

http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=31947

and have been pretty happy with them. They will get their HIM test on Saturday.

V

[KSH]

I had that SAME fear. I'm really sensitive and I hate wearing shorts that don't have a lot of padding.

About a month before my race I started wearing my tri shorts on some 20-30 mile rides. My butt was fine. I think it was broken in from 400 miles a month on the bike.

So I wore tri shorts in the race and my butt didn't hurt AT ALL. You would be surprised.

Good luck!

[VeloVT]

I remember seeing the Shebeest Racegear tri short in a store once and thinking that it had a lot more padding than the average tri short... somebody who has worn them may be able to give better advice though.

[JTri's]

Yeah, I still have time to test them.

And you may be right about the one's I have being OK. I pretty much never wear them for training, because to be honest the training itself is getting to be hard enough that I just don't need even one more thing (like no padding shorts) in the "I really wish I weren't doing this" pile. I don't know. I'm at the depressed stage right now, but still training! I haven't given in yet.

I did wear my tri shorts in my last oly race and I was shocked that they were fine. But that was 26 miles, and this is 56 so once again I am concerned. Maybe my butt is more durable than I think.

[Tri Girl]

Give your butt some credit, as it IS probably more durable than you think. ;)
I've ridden 100 miles in my tri shorts with no discomfort. I wear them all the time (running, riding, even swimming). I put on the one "real" bike shorts I have with all the padding the other day because all my tri shorts were dirty and my bits were more uncomfortable than in the thinner shorts. I think your body adjusts to the conditions you put it under, and that if you'll wear your tri shorts on all your training rides, your lower half will be more than ready come race day. Just my thoughts.

[Wahine]

I'll add my vote to going out and training in your tri shorts. I've done 100 plus miles in mine and like Tri Girl I am uncomfortable with more padding now.

[skinny_kitty]

I read somewhere a while back that the more you have going for you under your butt, the more you're in for a painful ride. The wider the seat, the more padding you have, etc., the more it's going to hurt.

I always pooh-poohed this advice, I loved having extra gel everywhere, and then I got into triathlons and somehow ended up trading in shorts with more and more padding for those that had less and less. And my saddle got smaller. Suddenly, I realized that all of that anticipation over what could have been was over nothing.

Now I ride in LG tri shorts that have just a little shammy and even on century rides, I'm fine. I never, ever would have thought it possible...