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Having a difficult time finding some road shorts that don't have such a wide pad through the middle. I'm a smaller person and the shorts I've tried have to much material and just bunch up. I tried purchasing the castilli bibs from glorycycles but they can't get an extra small. I've heard that the kiss chamius is not to bad. I'm trying to not spend over a hundred. I know others have had this problem so if you could help me out I'd be very grateful!!:confused:
Yeah, the Kiss pad would be good for you (maybe) because it's really soft and flexible and not very thick (not so much that it's narrow). Not sure how much padding you need/like, but you might try the Shebeest models with the hourglass chamois -- also thin and flexible, and actually narrower than heavier-duty pads (narrower than the Kiss pad, too). Shebeest's SSS short is also a flexible chamois (compared to say, PI), which might be better, but it's definitely wider (and bulkier) than either their hourglass chamois or Castelli's Kiss chamois.
Good luck! Lots of folks here that have collectively tried lots of shorts, so I'm sure there will be more suggestions for you.
Triathlon shorts are very comfortable - small thin pad, just enough to keep you from getting irritated by the shorts themselves.
It might not be enough pad for you, though, if you like thick architectural padding and just want to find a smaller one.
TE sells a good selection of tri shorts. (I get mine here) http://www.teamestrogen.com/categories.asp?catID=65
I have the same problem you have, but for opposite reasons; in that my sit bones are so wide that they don't even land on the new architectural chamois, and the whole thing ends up between my sit bones (instead of under them) and works into a wad that crushes my soft tissues. Tri shorts solved the problem for me.
Edit to add: and tri shorts generally run kinda small so you shouldn't have a problem finding a pair small enough.
The first thing I thought of was tri shorts.
I don't like a lot of women's chamois, either, for that reason. But my favorite is the Giordana Tenax Laser bibshorts. The come in XS and run just a little over your budget at $129.
My team bibshorts are also quite comfortable. They are made by Voler, come in a women's XS and have a redesigned chamois for 2008.
If your sit bones are close together, you might also want to try some men's shorts. The padding on the chamois tends to be closer together, but the inseams tend to be long.
P.S. If your chamois is bunching up between your legs, you might want to check to see if the nose of the saddle is too wide, too.
Sounds crazy, and I'm sorry this isn't a TE product, but the Performance Bicycle women's "ultra" short solved the bunching chamois problem for me. They're actually really high quality shorts. I've been using 3 pairs of them over 2 years ... so washing each pair at least once a week & they're all still in great condition!
I also am rather narrow...
So I have a pair of those performance ultra shorts... like them okay, haven't had any problems, but the ... shall we say... wicking... with the pad isn't so great.
Ahem...
The sugar short by pearl izumi had a HUGE pad, but I like the short even so.
I just got a pair of the she beast tri shorts (small rather than xsmall - they do run tiny with tri stuff), and I think they are my favs! Small pad... shorts have a nice scoop in front - I hate stuff on my tummy, and they just fit... great!
Good luck!
I like a narrow chamois, too, and have been happy with the Sugoi RS. It's more of a dense chamois, as opposed to a thinner tri style. They are about $124, though. I also liked the Ricaro 2 chamois that was in last year's Sugoi Evolution shorts (under $100), but now I see that they've changed the chamois this year. Maybe someone else on the forum has tried those?