Tri shorts are the only shorts I ride in. I just like the thinner chamois for most of my rides. Although, anything longer than about 60 miles I wear shorts with a thicker chamois. For my IM I wore more heavily padded shorts- I just couldn't stand 114 miles (yes, the course was 2 miles long) in tri shorts. Makes me marvel at the pros who wear bathing/tri suits for the whole event. I'd be the mayor of Chafe City if I tried that for even a sprint.... Ouch!