how long do your shorts last?

Hi ladies. I was wondering how long your shorts last? I have the PI 3d shorts. Bought 2 pairs last spring and between them got about 5000 miles. They are a bit smelly and "flat". Of course when I PMS i feel like I have a pineapple between my legs so was looking for added padding.
Anyway, I bought another 2 pairs (they were on sale!!!!) and wore one today and it felt so good (isn't it funny what we think feels good between the legs - especially after 1 husband and 3 kids!!! So much traffic passes thru that area).

Now I'm wondering if I could go back to wearing the old ones. I might just use them on shorter rides but will not let "happy valley" turn to "death valley" on those longer rides.
This whole thing got me wondering what the general lifespan of cycling shorts might be????

Depends on how often you use them. If you have two pairs of shorts, you ride everyday, launder every night, probably not very long.:p

I, too, have flat, stretched out shorts. I use them for shorter rides. When they start to cause pain under 20 miles, they get thrown out.

it depends on how many times you wear and wash them just look in the mirror after you put them on to see if they are see thur......not a good look

I don't have much patience for worn biking shorts... Over the years I've learned to plan on buying at least one new pair of shorts each year. This year I bought 2, and I have 2 pairs of older shorts that are still in a condition that I consider wearable. Four works, although it means in the summer that I can't get through a whole week without washing shorts. I wash them every time I wear them, and for the most part they go in the washer and the dryer.

When I tour, I only take 2 pairs of shorts with me. I wash the "worn" pair out at night, and if they don't dry overnight I still have a dry pair to wear while the damp ones are hanging from my trailer or panniers. So I suppose I could get by with less than 4 pairs of shorts that are in decent condition. But I really prefer to machine wash them.

With 4 pairs, I can generally get a couple of years on a pair of shorts. But when I rode my bike across the US, I had to replace my shorts in Colorado. Somehow 2 pairs of shorts just couldn't take the strain of being worn every other day, cycling all day long...

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Originally Posted by Dogmama

I, too, have flat, stretched out shorts. I use them for shorter rides. When they start to cause pain under 20 miles, they get thrown out.

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Sounds like my plan. Worn out chamois go to spin class, too. And, like Denise, I plan on buying one top o' the line pair per year. That way I have one cushy chamois for Looong rides (I don't get to do many of those), one or two less cushy chamois for medium rides, and a bunch of mature chamois for shorter mtb rides, spin class, towing my son on the tag-along, jaunts on my fixed, and so on.

Depending on circumstances and luck, I also pick up a "bargain" pair or two, whether at a yard sale, consignment shop or on ebay. I probably get rid of one-two pairs a year.

up until about 2 hrs ago - I had 3 pairs - all over 10 yrs old! :eek: As of 2 hrs ago I just bought 2 pairs of Bellweathers O2s on sale. Please by all means feel free to tell me I'm just not right in the head but when I was checking out the chamois it was bright red and that just cracked me up. I just kept wondering - if Bellweather made the chamois in their Womens Shorts bright red...what colour was the chamois in their mens???...I also wondered whos brilliant idea it was to put bright red chamois in the womens shorts?? (a womans or a mans idea?).....the poor kid at the LBS had Not a clue what I thought was so hysterical about the chamois....and I was Not about to enlighten him! This will also be my very first pair of Womens shorts so wish me luck! They did have some PIs but I've worn mens bellweathers in the past and was very comfortable with them so thought I would try a known brand for my first pair of womens. (I also had to go down a size *sigh* isn't that sad?!! :rolleyes: )

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Originally Posted by DeniseGoldberg

I wash them every time I wear them, and for the most part they go in the washer and the dryer.

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Denise, really? You put them in the dryer? I was afraid that would wear them down faster, so I line dry mine in the laundry room. They dry pretty quickly that way (overnight is good.)

On a side track, I tried several less expensive shorts, but the PI Attack are so perfect for me I'd rather have fewer of them and treat with care. They just work.

I always wash (with fabric softener) and dry mine. Never had any problem.

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Originally Posted by CorsairMac

I just kept wondering - if Bellweather made the chamois in their Womens Shorts bright red...what colour was the chamois in their mens )

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Yellow.


Maybe they were on sale because they needed to sell the red chamois shorts?

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Originally Posted by spazzdog

I always wash (with fabric softener) and dry mine. Never had any problem.

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It doesn't really cause a 'problem', but I find that anything with some kind of spandex in it really looses many of its stretchy characteristics after many washes. It could make the difference between 2 and 5 years of use (or 10!!! as I've seen on this thread!!)

Also, I'd beware of fabric softener, unless you find an unscented one... (to keep the risk of infection low)

Supposedly, fabric softener has also some tricky effect on spandex (plus: I was told that spandex + some fabric softeners + very hot dryer = risk of fire, haven't checked with a scientist though...).

Enjoy the season!

My Castellis have a red chamois.

V.

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Originally Posted by shewhobikes

Denise, really? You put them in the dryer?

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Really! I've been throwing my shorts in the dryer for years... When I first started wearing bike shorts I was afraid the dryer would kill the shorts, but somewhere along the line I decided to believe the care instructions in the shorts (machine wash cold, tumble dry low) - so I gave it a try. No problem! My shorts are all PI Ultrasensors.

yep. me too (on the dryer).

and most all my shorts are PI, mostly mens but one pair of womens PERLs.

spazz

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Originally Posted by DeniseGoldberg

... When I first started wearing bike shorts I was afraid the dryer would kill the shorts, but somewhere along the line I decided to believe the care instructions in the shorts (machine wash cold, tumble dry low) - so I gave it a try. No problem! My shorts are all PI Ultrasensors.

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I had to go check my labels!!...Very interesting discovery:

The Bellweathers: "machine wash cold, do not bleach, do not dry clean." Now it doesn't say do not tumble dry, but it doesn't say tumble dry low either. Hmmm...personal choice there I guess??

My first pair of PI (attacks): "machine wash cold, tumble dry low"

My 10 yr old Cannondales: "machine wash cold, mild detergent, do not bleach, line dry"

Fabric softener inhibits wicking properties. That smoothness fabric softener lends comes most commonly from beef tallow. Yes, ladies, fat. Think of the repellant properties of something with oil on it. I also know from my experience as a housekeeper at a small resort, that fabric softener accumulates. We found that the towels weren't absorbent if we used Bounce every single time we dried them. Using fabric softener about every other time worked well, kept the static down but let the towels remain absorbent.

I've been afraid to tumble dry my shorts, didn't want to shorten the life span of the spandex, but reading that so many of you do, I will tumble dry more often. It may also help *fluff* the chamois, is my guess. Now that I think about it, I've only gotten rid of shorts because the chamois is shot, and never had a shorts-career-ending spandex issue.

You learn something new every day! Especially around here!!

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Originally Posted by fixedgeargirl

I've only gotten rid of shorts because the chamois is shot, and never had a shorts-career-ending spandex issue.

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Same for me. The shorts are going strong long after the chamois dies. I also line dry everything I can as I find it lasts longer and is more environmentally friendly (not to mention I don't have to pay the power company when Mother Nature will do it for me). Only time I use the dryer is when I'm on vacation and we're having multiple days of bad weather and I only have that one pair of knickers or tights.

I do find that half-dead chamois work just fine for mtbiking so I can get lots more wear out of the shorts. Last year, I finally realized that 10 yrs was about the max I could expect.

I have never used fabric softener in my towels because it made them less absorbant - I didnt even think about the same effect in cycling gear tho!!! Great point!