Best shorts for the "lady business"

[Tri'inMomma]

OK, I dropped some cash on some Sugoi Formula FX shorts and really do like them a lot. BUT the seem to pinch my "business" occasionally... which I do NOT like a lot.

[East Hill]

I've started to come to the philosphy that 'less is better' when it comes to chamois. Most of my bikes have now been fitted with very comfortable saddles, and I can ride with the merest whisper of a chamois. I have some Nike knickers which had a very thick, bulky chamois, and I found that I got 'pinched' wearing the knickers. I took out the chamois and they are much better.

East Hill

[Grog]

I find that too-big shorts do that to me.

When I go a size under, it's hard to get into the shorts, but once I'm in them, it's great!!

[meridian]

I find that too-big shorts do that to me.

When I go a size under, it's hard to get into the shorts, but once I'm in them, it's great!!

Same here. I've just had to retire a pair that used to be my favorite because I've lost a bit around that area and they're just too bulky now and like to migrate in very uncomfortable positions. A size smaller in the same type of short and I'm all peachy in them...once they're on of course.

[koala]

I think some shorts have too much chamois material up front, which bunches & rubs against the sensitive areas. I have recently been having good success with a different chamois design that has something akin to a cutout, or channel, in the chamois area up front. Check out the pictures on TE of the chamois on both the new Etxe Ondo & the Louis Garneau AirGel or Carbon Ionn, both brands have this feature. Just that little bit of relief keeps the front of the chamois from getting up in there & causing soreness.

[quint41]

I have also been on a quest for the perfect shorts because my lady business starts to burn after about 20-25 miles. I keep missing out on those Castelli's on SAC!!! However, I just got a pair of Canari Women’s Velo Pro Gel from Performance and they were fantastic on my first ride. Most comfortable shorts I own so far. I'll wear them again tonight and on my 52 mile ride Saturday and see how they really stack up. (NOTE: They run big! Order one size down.)

I agree that if the shorts are too big, they will cause more pain.

I have seen the new chamois design and want to give that a try, too.

And I'm still coveting those Castelli's, but don't want to pay the price when I know they can be had for much less on SAC!

[Tri'inMomma]

Had no idea on the "too big = pinched bidness"! That explains a lot. I am a standard Medium in everything, but I buy L shorts because I want no part of the sausage leg. I hate that indention on my lower leg like I stuffed 10 lb of sausage in a 5lb casing!

I will take sausage leg over pinched lady business any day!

I may have to invest in a new smaller pair with less chamois and give it a go. Thanks for the tip!

[arachne]

I finally gave in and bought some expensive shorts last year (Pearl Izumi MicroSensor) and loved them. So I bought a second pair this year, only to find that they pinched and rubbed in all the wrong places. I took a better look at the differences tonight, and compared them with my husbands, and lo and behold, the ones I liked were men's small, not women's small. The differences are that the chamois is wider in general and thinner around my bits and pieces. Much smoother and less 'stuff' to interfere. So, try that too - looking at a men's short.

[KnottedYet]

If you truly have "sausage leg" issues, maybe look into a biking skort (a la Terry) or a skort cover-up.

I love skorts for biking. Cars seem to be nicer to me when I wear skorts, too.

[VeloVT]

OK, I dropped some cash on some Sugoi Formula FX shorts and really do like them a lot. BUT the seem to pinch my "business" occasionally... which I do NOT like a lot.

You know, I recently bought a pair of these shorts (I'm assuming you're talking about the RS Flex short), and I'm really not loving the chamois yet (still holding out hope I might come to like it better). I definitely have the right size. I LOOOOOVE the fabric, and the cut & panel design is terrific. But the chamois -- is just OK for me. This may be in part because my bike setup is pretty aggressive, thus I end up with more pressure "in front", and the chamois is engineered such that the greatest density is actually on the sit bones, and it's substantially thinner in the front. I don't really need the extra padding for my sitbones, both because of my position on the bike and because my sitbones just haven't gotten sore, regardless of how much I ride, since the first two weeks I had the bike, over a year ago. I've only worn these shorts twice, but I find I tend to get a little chafed in front. And actually, more so than with some other thinnish-in-front chamois (like the Castelli Kiss chamois, which I always expect to be uncomfortable after 30 miles or so, but actually isn't).

It's just really hard to predict what's going to work, and it's going to be different for each person, depending on anatomy, bike fit, saddle preference, riding style, and personal likes/dislikes. I could go through a list of the shorts I have, and what I like/dislike about each, but you might try the same shorts and feel totally differently.

Which all ends up being frustrating and very expensive.

Good luck!

Edit: All of that said , I have had very good luck with the Shebeest Shelastic chamois and the Terry Flex Air chamois. I'm also usually fine with PI chamois, don't love them but they don't cause problems for me. I'd like to try the Giordana Forma short (partly because it looks so flattering on the model -- probably wouldn't look like that on me, alas) and the Castelli Visio short (still can't quite stomach $200 for the Free short).

[quint41]

my bike setup is pretty aggressive, thus I end up with more pressure "in front"

Hey, Liza! I'm very interested in this one line that you wrote. I've been trying to figure out what my problem is. This is only my second season seriously riding, and I just got my LeMond last September. Front pressure and chafing is definitely my biggest problem. I have no sit-bone or other "back-end" issues, shall we say.

What do you mean when you say that your bike setup is pretty aggressive?

I think I own 5 pairs of shorts, and I'm still searching for the ultimate bike short (for me). So far, my Canari Pro Gel shorts are the most comfortable.

Thanks!

[VeloVT]

Hey, Liza! I'm very interested in this one line that you wrote. I've been trying to figure out what my problem is. This is only my second season seriously riding, and I just got my LeMond last September. Front pressure and chafing is definitely my biggest problem. I have no sit-bone or other "back-end" issues, shall we say.

What do you mean when you say that your bike setup is pretty aggressive?

I don't have any good pictures of me on my bike yet, but you can get an idea from this one:


(Unfortunately this picture is also pre-pink tires. I put on the pink Schwalbe Stelvio tires TE carries and my bike is much prettier now! They're also much nicer tires than my old ones,
& I'd absolutely recommend them for that reason alone, but that's another thread I suppose).

As you can see my handlebars are a bit below my saddle (you can just see the saddle nose for reference). To get low in the drops, I have to rotate my hips forward, shifting some pressure from the sit bones to the front. I find this affects my chamois preferences. With the right shorts, even though my saddle does not have a cutout, I actually don't get chafing/soreness.

[indysteel]

I'm curious. For those of you who experience chafing in the front, do you use a saddle with a cut out or not?

Just to share my own recent experience for what it's worth. When I bought my road bike, I immediately switched the Bianchi saddle out for a Terry Butterly Tri-Gel, which has a cut out and a bit of extra padding in the rear of the saddle. I exclusively wore 3 pairs of PI Ultrasensors, all of which were from 2006 and purchased at roughly the same time. All was well and I rarely had any serious discomfort, minus a hilly century that I did in May.

Beginning in late June, after getting caught in the rain during a ride, I started to experience some discomfort up front and decided after a number of weeks of that to begin the quest for some new shorts with the idea that my PIs had probably seen better days.

I tried the Sheebeest Ultra Ds and thought that the chamois was too thick for my taste, especially in the back. I also didn't like the way the fit my leg. I also tried the Hincapie Powershort. I liked them better and riskily rode them on a really long ride. The chamois worked well enough--not too think or too thin, but the leg grippers didn't hold the legs on my thigh very well (after a few washings, they are working better now). I also ordered the Craft Master short, a new pair of PI Ultras as well as the PI Micros. I sent the Craft short back because the rise wasn't high enough for me. The Ultras went back because the wider chamois for 2007 was not to my liking. I kept the Micros. The chamois is very similar to the Hincapies, but the leg grippers hold better and I like the ventilation in the back.

However, even with all these new shorts, I was still experiencing some discomfort up front. I then took a look at my saddle and realized that the foam around the cut out was not as firm as it once was. I finally called TE and talked to Susan. We both agreed that it was likely time to replace the saddle. In comparing the new one to the old, I could really tell a difference. The padding had just become too soft over time.

In the meantime, I ordered a pair of Sugoi FS Flex shorts at Susan's suggestion and wore them last weekend with great success. My new saddle is on my bike but I haven't ridden on it yet. I'm hopeful that the combination of the Sugoi shorts and a new saddle will be just the ticket. What impressed me most about the shorts is that I really felt like my leg muscles were supported. I've seen lots of shorts claim to do that, but this was the first pair that actually delivered.

In the end, it seems that you have to--if you're lucky--find the right combination of shorts and saddle--and hope that the respective manufactures don't change the design any time soon.

K-

[Grog]

Interesting story Indy, thanks!

[indysteel]

Rode for the first time last night with both the new saddle and new Sugoi shorts. It felt "back to normal," meaning I didn't feel any discomfort fore or aft.