The *HIP club

[yellow]

(*HIP = Hole in Pants)

I had something happen today that I have never had happen to any pair of cycling shorts I've ever owned. I wore a hole plum through the fabric of the shorts fabric. It is in the upper inner thigh area, where I happen to have a bit of a "bulge".

I'm not a very big person but I do have pretty big legs. And the ride wasn't incredibly long or anything and it's my same ol' saddle. Has anyone else ever had this happen? Have I just been "lucky" thus far? I'm considering taking the shorts to my local dealer and talking to them about it as this is the method PI recommends for warranty issues. The shorts are only about a year old and get rotated with all my other pairs. And it's not like I ride a gajillion miles a year like V and MP. I know that the worst they can say is "no", but I have other PI shorts that have lasted a whole lot longer than these.

The biggest bummer is that I recently decided that these are my favorite shorts and that they would be the ones for the 2nd half of my first double in August. Oh, the panic! Now I need to go through the process of finding a new pair (since they changed the chamois in the PI shorts this year, I can't just assume that they will work like my beloved, now not usable, ones).

Off to do some inner thigh reduction exercises!

[Running Mommy]

Same thing happened to my high dollar PI shorts. It was in a wierd spot too. It was on the back of my thigh, but not in a place that would rub?? It was like the material just failed. It made me mad too because they were my fave most comfy shorts!
But I've since moved on...Sugoi is the current star in my closet.

[Veronica]

Try the LG shorts Yellow. I never changed shorts on either double. They are pricey, but cost per mile is pretty minimal.

V.

[aka_kim]

You could be like MP and wear the shorts anyway .

If a HIP would help me ride like MP I'd cut out the hole myself.

[yellow]

On my salary the LG shorts are out, as are the Assos bibs . I'm going to try the warranty thing, but I don't expect it to work out. I loved my Sugois for a long time, but the chamois wore really fast and in a weird way (they are still fine for shorter rides). I think the little extra padding on the PI shorts was just what I needed for the longer rides. Since I make less than most high school kids, I am not really going to be able to cycle through a bunch of different brands. I guess I'll just take along my dead PIs and compare chamois sizes and thicknesses and hope I can find something similar.

I did look at my other shorts and while they do show some wear in the same area, none of them are in danger of HIP at this point. I think I must just have enough fat there for it to rub and, eventually, rub all the fabric away. Oh joy, another specific body area to feel extra-conscious about.

[CyclaSutra]

Yellow, I haven't had any bike shorts "fail" in that spot, but oh, I have a zillion pairs of jeans that have rubbed through and ripped in the upper thigh area. The latest pair? Just today.

Driving home from an evening of eating and drinking and soaking at Chico Hot Springs, Montana, through Yellowstone National Park, we came upon a traffic "bear jam." So we parked a quarter mile away and walked back to find a distant view (150 yards?) of a black bear mother and her cubs. Being short, I had to hop up on some fallen tree trunks to see over the crowd. Riip, the left leg upper thigh area gave.

Of course, these are my favorite 2-year-old Lucky jeans, and I patched the right thigh about four months ago. Time to quit with the wine, dessert and baked goods!

[Dok-torr]

I had the same thing happen to my lovely Pearl Izumi shorts. They were black with red stitching and matched my bike/outfit perfectly.....sigh.
I found the culprit: My saddle wedgie!
I had changed to a slightly larger one to accommodate my cell and pack-lite but the velcro strap had a corner that curled out. As the wedgie was slightly wider than my old one, it rubbed the back of my thigh at the extreme pedal down-stroke. I wasn't aware of it until it wore a hole.
I have reverted to my old wedgie and have darned my shorts - the padding is too good and they were too expensive to discard!

[SR500]

I doubt PI will do anything for what I assume they will call a "wear" issue, but I bet they could be repaired. Might not look as nice, but if they still have lots of life otherwise...

[makbike]

Yellow:

I had a new pair of Trek Crit shorts fail on me recently. The stitching that held the pad in place broke. I contacted the LBS where I purchased them but because they had been worn they would not exchange them. I then contacted Trek directly via email. I explained that I had, like you, rotated these shorts, that they were only 8 weeks old, had minimual miles on them, etc and asked if this was normal for their shorts. I received a very quick reply of no this was not normal and they would gladly replace them if I sent the shorts and receipt to them. I, of course, no longer had the receipt but the store kindly reprinted me a duplicate one. I sent the defective shorts and receipt off and within a week received a pair of Nike shorts in the mail. I love these new shorts, much nicer than the ones I returned. It was nice to know that the company stands behind their goods and more importantly values me as a customer. If the LBS won't work with you contact the company directly and explain the situation, I bet they will work you just as Trek worked with me on my issue.

Good luck!

[Dok-torr]

I thought that consumer law dictated that the shop is responsible for replacement and they should deal with the manufacturer themselves not leave it to you to sort out?

[Cari]

Yellow,

What size & model shorts were they? I've found several of the older PI models here and there, so maybe I can help.

On the few occasions when I've had trouble with this sort of thing, I find that it really matters where you shop. Team Estrogen and REI, for example, are very good about standing behind their stuff. Plus they'll have all of your purchases on record so you don't even need to bother with receipts. I guess they in turn deal with the manufacturer, which saves you the trouble. Unfortunately, some local shops either don't know what to do, or don't want to take the time to deal with it.

Let me know about the shorts, ok?

~Cari

[yellow]

I will let you know what happens. I may be lucky as I got them at REI last spring.

I cruised through a nice shop in Park City today and they had the Assos shorts and the LGs that V likes. Nooooooooo! Must not look at the fancy shorts! Those Assos shorts sure are purty...

[Blueberry]

yellow-

You should be good - I've had REI take stuff back that had failed for a random reason no questions asked. You won't hear "we can't take them back b/c they've been worn." That's why I tend to buy a lot of stuff there - plus, they're local (so I can try before I buy).

Thanks for sharing - now I need to go check all my shorts to make sure I'm not in danger

[yellow]

Well, REI ended up taking the shorts back. I talked it through with the sales/returns lady and we both felt that it wasn't unreasonable. So I got a credit.

Then...I tried on a gajillion shorts. I don't like the shorty shorts, but I tried them on anyway for chamois purposes. Still hate them, no matter the chamois. I did also try on this years' PI Ultrasensors and the small was too tight in the legs and the medium went half way up my back and the chamois did not fit close to my body. They didn't have the microsensors, so the PI shorts were out.

I ended up with these. The chamois is almost identical to the one in the Shebeest shorts they had there...but the inseam is more reasonable for my standards (the Shebeest shorts they had in store were the shorty ones. Uh, no. ). The fabric is a little "shiny" and may be slippery, so we'll see how that goes. I thought that perhaps it might be better for this rubbing issue I seem to have. The conversation with the salesgal closed with her telling me that I could return them if I didn't like them. I'll try them on my long ride this weekend.

[velogirl]

Rubbing on your saddle bag (or the velcro that wraps around the seatpost) is an obvious cause of the dreaded inner thigh hole. Usually, you notice scratches or pilling on the fabric before they rub all the way through. Or, you'll feel the shorts rub/pull on the velcro.

However, I've also found that the repetitive motion of my shorts rubbing on my saddle rails will do the same thing. My saddle is very narrow and the rails are actually just a bit wider than the nose. In this case, I can't feel the rails rubbing on my shorts, but they do.

I've also known folks who've gotten the hole from the nose of their saddle.

So many holes, so little time.....