is it the saddle or the shorts?

[CyborgQueen]

I need a bit of detective help and help me figure out what exactly is the problem.

I have had issues with several different saddles, and I believe I have found the one, but there's still that one small persisting issue that seems to bother me for all the saddles, hence why I think its the bike shorts.

I have tried the following saddles: (I have tested a few others but for 20-30 mins, so they don't count)
Terry Butterfly - I still have this saddle. The back portion was just a little too domed, causing my sit bones to rock side to side
Fizik Airzone - it was OK, but didn't like the back
Selle Italia Diva - I had this one for a long while, but felt the back was a little too hard for longer rides
Specialized Jett - I liked this saddle for a long time. This is the saddle that I started to notice shorts issues. After about 40 miles, the saddle feels just a bit too hard, hence why I switched to my current saddle and changed shorts. I liked the narrower nose.

Current saddle is Sells Italia Ldy gel flow. The moment I rode on this saddle, I fell in love. Enough that 2 days later I did a Century. The last 10 miles was when my butt started to hurt. That's saying something!

However, I'm faced with the issues of my shorts getting bunched/pinched up right at the crease of my leg and hoo-ha. I changed my shorts to Desoto 400 mile shorts prior into getting the current saddle, it had somewhat the bunching up issue, but not as much. Now its more frequent. I never have gotten saddle sores, it would be just slightly red from the pinching.

I have a small feeling that there's really nothing to do because I have thick thighs (fat, not muscles), and losing weight so the extra skin there is bothersome. Any shorts recommendations? Any sort of test that I can really determine the culprit? I used to slather a lot of chamois cream, it does help a bit, but it seeps through my DeSoto shorts and it is embarrassing (never happens to my other shorts), and you can see light gray wet spots all over the waist band, and crease of the leg due to sweat. So im looking for a replacement. Thanks for any help in advance!! I love my saddle, but its just this issue I want to overcome, and hope its not the saddle.

[OakLeaf]

Does it happen with all your shorts?

The two possibilities that occur to me are (1) shorts are just too big (which is consistent with your weight loss) or (2) legs riding up (which can be the result of them being overall too big, or just the wrong shape, length or gripper type for your legs). Trying out shorts is ALMOST as expensive as trying out saddles - but at least you should be able to see whether the legs are riding up on your thighs by paying attention to where the grippers fall at the beginning of your ride vs. where they are when you start to notice a problem.

Basically, when you put your shorts on, they should fit like pantyhose - not binding or so tight they're suspended off your crotch, but NO excess fabric anywhere when you move your legs around. So if they fit like that when you first put them on, then the excess fabric has to be coming from somewhere, and where it's likely coming from is the legs riding up.


ETA - I looked up the DeSoto 400 mile shorts and it seems to me that legs riding up is a huge possibility. They're relatively short, they're gripperless AND the leg "cuff" (not sure what it's called!) is pretty narrow (unlike e.g. the LG Neo Power). What shorts were you wearing before that?

[CyborgQueen]

Does it happen with all your shorts?

The two possibilities that occur to me are (1) shorts are just too big (which is consistent with your weight loss) or (2) legs riding up (which can be the result of them being overall too big, or just the wrong shape, length or gripper type for your legs). Trying out shorts is ALMOST as expensive as trying out saddles - but at least you should be able to see whether the legs are riding up on your thighs by paying attention to where the grippers fall at the beginning of your ride vs. where they are when you start to notice a problem.

Basically, when you put your shorts on, they should fit like pantyhose - not binding or so tight they're suspended off your crotch, but NO excess fabric anywhere when you move your legs around. So if they fit like that when you first put them on, then the excess fabric has to be coming from somewhere, and where it's likely coming from is the legs riding up.


ETA - I looked up the DeSoto 400 mile shorts and it seems to me that legs riding up is a huge possibility. They're relatively short, they're gripperless AND the leg "cuff" (not sure what it's called!) is pretty narrow (unlike e.g. the LG Neo Power). What shorts were you wearing before that?


Previous shorts was PI Elite. It was ok for hundreds of miles, then it would really bunch up, and knew they were getting too big. With that in mind, I just put on my Desto (I like the fact that it has no grippers, and I can use for my triathlons), the compression around my legs feels good, but noticed that there is slight extra fabric that's right by the crease of my butt and leg. It may be just enough to cause bunching up in the area. I didn't go small, because I didn't think I would fit in them. Is the shorts suppose to hug your every curve/crease with no "folding" of the fabric in the creases? Hope that make sense. LOL. LG power shorts is on my list to try as well as Terry Bella shorts. Should I go small?

[OakLeaf]

LG Neo Power runs smaller than most. I'm 5'3", 118#, about 29" waist and 37" hips and I take a Large (though others about my size are comfortable in Medium). Not sure about the Terry, last pair of Terry I bought was Small and they were way big on me, but that was several years ago and models change.


Is the shorts suppose to hug your every curve/crease with no "folding" of the fabric in the creases?

Yep. :)

[goldfinch]

I generally wear small shorts but have the LG Neo Power in medium and they fit pretty good. My waist is 27 and my hips are 35.

It really does sound like a shorts problem.

[CyborgQueen]

Wanted to sort of update on my shorts. It was DEFINITELY the shorts! I got Terry Bella and I highly doubt that I'll ever change. I love it so much that I bought another pair. I also bought Terry Breakaway shorts that is slightly shorter than the Bellas AND has no silicone leg grippers. I rode with it once, and I was disappointed with the pad. It was the Flex Air Chamois pad on the Bellas that won me over. Everything else about the breakaway I really liked (no silicone grippers, a little bit shorter than the Bellas). Sadly, I had to return the shorts because it was giving me the similar issues that I've had with the other shorts.

Regardless of what happened - Terry Bella Shorts + Selle Italia Ldy Gel Flow saddle = HEAVEN!