Padded Bottoms - Necessary?

Americans usually say "shammy" IME. I want to say there's a car polishing product that spells it that way.

It's unfortunate that you have to spend so much money before you can try them out to see if they work. From this thread, it seems as if many people have several pair stuffed away in a "failure" drawer, and wear them when their favorites aren't available. It reminds me a lot of running shoes. I don't know how many fittings I went through and how many problems I had before finally finding a pair that worked for me.

It depends on your riding style, too. When I used to do a lot of 50+ mile rides (before my accident), the absolute best shorts I could afford were much more important. Now that I typically do shorter rides in the 15-30 mile range, any of my shorts will do, even the ones under cycling skorts that don't have nearly as much padding.

It also helps that my saddle works well for me. A bad saddle will make even the best shorts feel worse. It's difficult to get both of them right at the same time, but when you do -- nirvana! :D

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Originally Posted by emily_in_nc

It depends on your riding style, too. .....

It also helps that my saddle works well for me. A bad saddle will make even the best shorts feel worse. It's difficult to get both of them right at the same time, but when you do -- nirvana! :D

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I should have mentioned this - certainly shorter rides are more forgiving - and if we can find the perfect saddle it certainly does help :)

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Originally Posted by Jen12

I also purchased a skort with a chamois. What is the feeling on that? It certainly covers up the odd shape the chamois gives. Coming from a running background, I've always preferred running skirts to shorts, but haven't tried riding with the extra fabric. Anyone care to weigh in on that?

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Skorts are very nice for blending in with the non-athletic-wear crowd, if you like to ride to the grocery store, library, etc. For some of us, a skort feels more modest in those situations.

There are also some really cute skorts out there - a big step up from tight, plain black shorts!

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Originally Posted by soprano

Skorts are very nice for blending in with the non-athletic-wear crowd, if you like to ride to the grocery store, library, etc. For some of us, a skort feels more modest in those situations.

There are also some really cute skorts out there - a big step up from tight, plain black shorts!

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I thought a skort would be fun until someone pointed out that flapping fabric can be bee magnets. :eek:

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Originally Posted by zoom-zoom

I thought a skort would be fun until someone pointed out that flapping fabric can be bee magnets. :eek:

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AHHH!!! So now I have to worry about cars, potholes, other riders, runners, bike issues AND bees? Oy vey....:eek:

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Originally Posted by Jen12

AHHH!!! So now I have to worry about cars, potholes, other riders, runners, bike issues AND bees? Oy vey....:eek:

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Ha...but the funny part is that I've not been stung (yet) on the bike. But last Summer I got stung while plodding along on a run. Small bee flew into my cleavage and was unhappy...so I ended up with an itchy welt for my troubles. :p

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Originally Posted by zoom-zoom

Have you tried Pearl Izumi? I have this exact issue and they are the only brand that has really worked for me. I had several different brands of shorts where the widest part of the chamois fell behind my sit bones and my sit bones ended up on the seams in front of the butt part of the chamois. The only other brand that fit me OK was Gore, but the padding was not dense/thick enough under my sit bones.

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This should come as no surprise, but I have the same problem. :rolleyes: The issue I'm having is that the PI shorts I've worn for the past 5+ years are now no longer correct. I have no idea what happened but my sit bones are now in front of the widest part of the chamois on these as well! It may be the new saddles (which work GREAT with tri chamois but I need more padding for longer rides). It may be more aggressive positioning. I don't think it's weight loss as I'm not even down to where I was when I started cycling yet. FRUSTRATING!

Now I need new to find new bike shorts! Ugh!

And here I was going to ask for your recommendations and all you've got for me is PI? :p Crap.

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Originally Posted by GLC1968

And here I was going to ask for your recommendations and all you've got for me is PI? :p Crap.

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Ha, which short, in particular? I've been wearing the Symphony and Symphony Cut shorts with the orange "Elite 3D" chamois.

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Originally Posted by zoom-zoom

Ha, which short, in particular? I've been wearing the Symphony and Symphony Cut shorts with the orange "Elite 3D" chamois.

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Mine are old. Old Ultrasensors or Microsensors with a grey and green chamois. I think it was labeled the Elite 3D or the PRO 3D or something like that, but it looks totally different than the current versions. Actually, the current versions look even longer!

I just ordered a pair of Gore Oxygen shorts and a pair of Castelli Tyra's. My best (but not perfect) chamois is in a pair of Gore shorts but the shorts are a bit too large on me, so maybe they'll work if I get the right size. I've never tried Castelli, but the picture of the chamois made it look kind of short so I thought it was worth a shot. I just hope neither of them are too cushy. I like my chamois dense...like my men. :p J/K

Update: I finally found the perfect cycling shorts: Louis Garneau's Women Zone 3K Shorts. The fabric is very different than other shorts I've seen, it's very soft and stretchy. LG calls it "Alveo 3K" fabric if that means anything to you. The waistband is beyond comfortable and the bottom of the shorts don't ride up. Strongly recommend these shorts and if you wanted to look at them they're sold at Performance. Thanks everyone for your advice!

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