PI Bib shorts & grippers

[Catrin]

I have three pair of PI Elite shorts, and ONE of those are giving me huge problems with the grippers. Huge rash, inflammation, looks really bad. The problem is that these are my bib shorts that I dearly love otherwise.

One assumes that all of the Elite shorts would have the same gripper? But, for some reason, only my bibs are a problem. They are a little short for me as it is, is there some way of dealing with this outside of rolling them up? I really can't replace them at this time, and I love the no-waistband thing.

I originally thought it was my sun block, but I forgot it today and the rash was worse than ever... Oddly enough - it is only on the top of my thigh, don't the grippers go all around?

[crazycanuck]

I have a small suggestion...You know you can roll the gripper part up & it doesn't affect your cycling..I have quite a few pairs of PI big nicks & just roll them up once.

Just a thought...

[Catrin]

They are so short anyway...I did roll them up after 3 hours or so, but it was so bad by then that it did not help. My thighs look just as bad this morning but at least they are no longer swollen...

I guess I am just perplexed why this only happens with one pair. I can roll the edges up and wear my baggies over my bibs now that it is getting cooler - but that defeats one of the purposes of having bibs to begin with - nothing to pull down in the corn field :)

[Becky]

Have you contacted Pearl Izumi yet? Maybe they can provide some insight...

These are the silicone grippers on all 3 pairs?

[Catrin]

Have you contacted Pearl Izumi yet? Maybe they can provide some insight...

These are the silicone grippers on all 3 pairs?

The grippers all LOOK the same, and they are all three PI Elite shorts or drop-tail bibs.

I think that turning the leg up yesterday may have been a mistake. Sure the skin was getting irritated, but I forgot to put on sunscreen yesterday. Because the PI Bibs are so much shorter than my other shorts, the exposed skin has not seen the sun, at all, for a long time. The sun was quite bright yesterday though it wasn't very hot....

I apparently mixed in a whopping good sunburn along with whatever contact reaction I had with the grippers - that is the only reason that I can think of why it is still warm to the touch...though not very painful, thankfully.

I've a 30 mile ride scheduled tomorrow, I don't think I will be wearing my bibs for it...

Good thought about contacting PI, they might have a thought. Seems to me that if I was sensitive to silicone that the others would cause a problem as well - perhaps they might switch them out for me? I know, I am dreaming, but you never know :)

[Becky]

Earlier this summer, I got a wicked sunburn right under the silicone gripper of a pair of Terry shorts. It was this little patch about an inch wide and ~4 inches long- very funny looking! I think that, although I vigorously lathered on the sunblock, the gripper moved and rubbed it off. I didn't realize this until much later...post-burn :eek:

Just thinking out loud here... The fact that the others don't bother you makes me think it's not an allergy or sensitivity...

[Catrin]

Earlier this summer, I got a wicked sunburn right under the silicone gripper of a pair of Terry shorts. It was this little patch about an inch wide and ~4 inches long- very funny looking! I think that, although I vigorously lathered on the sunblock, the gripper moved and rubbed it off. I didn't realize this until much later...post-burn :eek:

Just thinking out loud here... The fact that the others don't bother you makes me think it's not an allergy or sensitivity...

It is odd, but I always get this rash underneath the grippers whenever I wear the bibs - which is just weird. Generally it is gone very soon after taking them off, this is the first time I've actually burned and it is wicked.

I just looked at my naked legs - white calves, tanned knees and lower quads, wicked burns above the tan, and white skin above that - if I HAD a partner I would scare that person off :o :)

[Becky]

That is sooooo weird!

I was thinking of you and this dilemma today while wearing my Pearl bibs with the same gripper ;)

[Catrin]

I just came in from a 20 mile ride in 91+ temps with pretty high humidity. I wore another pair of my PI Elite shorts (the non-bibs) and there was no problem at all. Now these hit me closer to the knee than my bibs do- THEY hit me above my mid-thigh. They are a little short for my liking, but make my long rides so very much more comfortable!

If the grippers are the same, and they appear to be, then something else must be different. The fabric feels a little different between the two. I looked at the tag and, assuming that "main" means the actual shorts part, they seem to have the same fabric - but the bibs have nylon as part of the fabric. This might be in the "bib" part and not in the legs, but I do wonder. There has to be something different between these and my Elite liner and Elite regular shorts.

I am not giving up on the bibs - they cost too much and really do make a noticeable difference on my long rides. I just might call PI and talk with them about this. I don't expect anything out of them, but perhaps this has come up before and there is a solution.

[Dannielle]

I get rashes on the top of my thighs from shorts with grippers too. I have a couple pairs of shorts that have no grippers (so much more comfortable!) but they have thin pads. It's always a toss up whether I want thigh comfort or butt comfort lol.

I haven't figured out the rash yet either but I have found it gets a little scabby/dried out and goes away after I've been in the pool.

[withm]

I think it's just a heat rash. I get it intermittently regardless of the shorts or grippers.

[Catrin]

I think it's just a heat rash. I get it intermittently regardless of the shorts or grippers.

Never thought about this :o

[GLC1968]

I think it's just a heat rash. I get it intermittently regardless of the shorts or grippers.

I was going to suggest the same thing. If the bibs keep you warmer, that might be why they trigger it. I can't wear bibs except on cold rides - they make me too hot.

I had this problem when I lived and rode in NC where it was much hotter. If my core temp got too high, I broke out in an UGLY rash of huge whelts on my legs. It didn't matter which shorts I wore, what the grippers were made of or where they ended on my legs. It was purely body temp related. The rash would be angry and swollen and hot to the touch (sometimes days later) and it would often be a full week before all traces of it were gone. It also always happened right at the edge of my tan lines, but that might have been coincindence.

The only thing that permanently solved it? Moving to the PNW. ;) Actually, I only had the problem during the hot summers...never during the spring or fall in which I also wore the same shorts. Dumping lots of cold water on myself and ice in my sports bra during the hottest rides helped keep the core temp down sometimes. I could tell when the rash was forming though and then I knew that I'd failed at keeping cool! ;)

[OakLeaf]

I don't know why I only get the rash on the top of my thighs, either, but it's definitely from the silicone grippers. I don't get it when I turn the legs up or when I wear other shorts.

My only guess is that it's actually a sort of abrasion, that the silicone grips so hard that it damages the skin when my legs move. But that's a total guess... I suppose if it were correct, then the amount of rash would correlate inversely with the number of panels of the shorts.

[Catrin]

I was going to suggest the same thing. If the bibs keep you warmer, that might be why they trigger it. I can't wear bibs except on cold rides - they make me too hot........ Dumping lots of cold water on myself and ice in my sports bra during the hottest rides helped keep the core temp down sometimes. I could tell when the rash was forming though and then I knew that I'd failed at keeping cool! ;)

I have been riding in some very hot weather - and it is the long rides on which I pull out the bibs. Didn't think about this possibility - and I don't "feel" any hotter in my bibs than regular shorts. I've two long rides this holiday weekend, so will experiment with my other shorts to see if the same thing happens.


I don't know why I only get the rash on the top of my thighs, either, but it's definitely from the silicone grippers. I don't get it when I turn the legs up or when I wear other shorts.

My only guess is that it's actually a sort of abrasion, that the silicone grips so hard that it damages the skin when my legs move. But that's a total guess... I suppose if it were correct, then the amount of rash would correlate inversely with the number of panels of the shorts.

The rash I got Friday, which is indeed a rash and not the sunburn I thought it to be, covers the top of half my thigh :eek: It was red and swollen for several days, looking better today but more itchy so I keep putting lotion on it. It is almost gone now though, and it didn't bother me on my recovery ride yesterday. The reason I know it isn't a sunburn is that it doesn't bother me to have clothes touching it - and as bad as it looked that would not have been possible.

Thanks for the input on this...

[GLC1968]

The rash I got Friday, which is indeed a rash and not the sunburn I thought it to be, covers the top of half my thigh :eek: It was red and swollen for several days, looking better today but more itchy so I keep putting lotion on it. It is almost gone now though, and it didn't bother me on my recovery ride yesterday. The reason I know it isn't a sunburn is that it doesn't bother me to have clothes touching it - and as bad as it looked that would not have been possible.

Thanks for the input on this...

It really sounds similiar to what I had. I did some research at the time, and lots of reading pointed towards a histamine reaction of some sort. In my case, triggered by heat, but I imagine any number of things could do it. And yeah, mine was only on the front of my thighs, too. No where else on my body even though plenty of other places were hotter or more exposed or whatever. Very odd!

I *think* there is an old thread here somewhere where I posted photos. I know we had a big discussion about this back in the day and I had planned to post pictures (I can't remember if I did or not!). Let me see if I can locate the thread...

Edited to add: I found the thread. I guess I never took photos but there are lots of descriptions here.
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=8165&highlight=heat+rash+thighs

[Catrin]

Thanks for the link. What seems different about this rash is that for the first day or so when I got in the shower the rash hurt when the water hit it. I DO, however, have sensitive skin, do get contact dermatitis, have psoriasis, etc. My skin, at times, can get quite unhappy for no apparent reason - it just is part of having very sensitive skin.

The rash is almost gone now, but the skin still doesn't feel quite "right" there. Still a little itchy and trying not to rub it - but the ride Sunday didn't make it worse :)

Have a 70 mile ride scheduled for Saturday and another on Monday and will try head out in the morning - Friday I couldn't get started until 2:30 in the afternoon and was on the bike for 5 hours... Between work schedule and the heat I may be relegated to the spinning bike at my club between now and then :(

It is only supposed to be in the 80's this weekend so if this is related to my core temperature then that should be less of a problem. Will have extra water with me if I need to pour it over my head.

[Catrin]

Everyone was right about it not actually being the fault of my bib shorts :D

Yesterday I met with my fitter to adjust saddle & to install/adjust new pedals so I needed to go in bike clothes. Normally I wouldn't wear my bibs - but I did as a test. I knew it would take a few hours and that over-heating just was not a factor at all.

Not one problem at all. No redness, no rash, no....nothing! There is STILL just a very slight discoloration from last Friday and the tiniest bit of itch remaining, but nothing appears to aggravate it. I certainly did not FEEL overheated at the time, but it certainly appears to have been heat related.

Today it is currently 57 degrees and I am headed out in 30 minutes, it will still be in the mid-60's by the time I finish my 75 miles. Considering that I have knee warmers on today, wearing my Swobo wool jersey with my bibs, thermal jacket, and smartwool socks with my sandals I do not think that over-heating will be a problem today...


Added: No problems today either - with any of my PI grippers. I never would have thought it a heat issue, but that seems to be what it was! I didn't have enough clothes on today though...