Hands

[CorsairMac]

I know you need to have some bend in your elbow and yes - your core should take most of the weight. I also had a pair of Specialized gloves with the lil gel thingy in the palm by the thumb and I lost all the feelings in both hands in that area and had tenderness there for days. I bought a different brand of gloves (Trek) and that seems to have helped greatly! I always think:

scrape gum off shoe (read thread about cadence) and
light hands, strong core

when I'm riding the road bike.

Now if I can just figure out why the PI attack shorts have messed me up fairly bad!

[nuthatch]

Now if I can just figure out why the PI attack shorts have messed me up fairly bad!

Me too. There's something about that stepdown from the really thick center chamois to the thinner side panels that just wads and rubs and, dang it, I want to pull, tug and twist to get them to stop that!!! What happens to you?

[betagirl]

Cool thanks. I'll try some different gloves in the interim until my core gets stronger. I wish I could help with the chamois issue. Have you tried BUTT'r? That stuff is a gift from the gods, I swear

[CorsairMac]

oh Nut - tytytytytyty!.....everyone here loves PIs sooo much I thought I would try a pair. I found the attacks on sale but they were just awful. I thought it was me!....first the padding is so thick they're actually really hard to walk in! I kept thinking on the bike they should be fine but it just got worse. I rode Allez my first day in them (Wed) and I've been swollen, and very tender and itchy ever since. I almost couldn't ride Thurs, putting on my other shorts was very painful and riding was almost too much. Even wearing underwear hurts. My other shorts have real chamois in them and these PIs seem to have some type of synthetic material??....I don't know is that's what did it but I have no desire to wear them again. Funny thing is: it wasn't Allez' fault - I've ridden him before and I was wearing my new Bellweathers that time and had no problems whatsoever! I'm still very swollen and tender and itchy today and it's what? 4 days after I wore them?......I truly can not remember ever experiencing anything like this before.

Sorry Beta - did Not mean to steal your thread.

[slinkedog]

I have some PI's with a thick, grey chamois, and I can't stand them. They bunch up horribly in the girly bits. I love my Shebeest Triple S shorts with the SheLastic Chamois. It's got a microfiber layer over the padding and I slide around on it much more. Much better. I'm hoping for a pair of the new Elite Distance 2 shorts for my b-day... that chamois is nice, too.

And Chamois Butt'r or Assos chamois cream (my fave) helps with the friction.

[AutumnBreez]

Me Want Cookie! I am a CookieMonster Fan myself. And of course COOKIES!
Oatmeal raisen w/chocolate chips....YUM!

[nuthatch]

Whoa, Corsair! That sounds like you're alergic to the chamois! I'm assuming you washed them before wearing them, so they must have something (like maybe the chemical they use for the 'antibacterial' property) that your booty just doesn't like! What a disappointment ($$$)!

Mine are just "bunching up horribly" like Slinke but on the sides. Boohoo! They were my big shorts purchase for the summer long rides! You know, I was blaming it on the thickness of the chamois paired with the wide cushion quality of my saddle. Well, for whatever reason, they ain't workin'!!!

[SadieKate]

I can't quite figure out how this conversation veered from hands to bottoms so I won't try for a smooth segue back.

On the hands topic, I just added Specialized 2.5mm Bar Phat to my Litespeed's bars and yummy! Not too thick, not too thin, just perfect! I have a tendon injury in my left wrist which is very happy with the stuff. It'll be going on the Mercian so I can fly down Diablo a bit more comfortably (plus some 25 tires). Fizik makes something similar to the Bar Phat. (FYI - Bar Phat is available in a 4mm thickness also but it would increase the size of the bar too much for my dainty paws)

Yes, to your core strength. A strong back is important to hand happiness as well as bent elbows.

I also discovered yesterday that I hate my PI GelLite gloves. The pad on the base of my thumb has a thick ridge that hits me in the wrong spot unless I ride on the hoods or drops all the time - no other variations.

[Melody]

I have some PI's with a thick, grey chamois, and I can't stand them. They bunch up horribly in the girly bits.

I have a pair of PI shorts with that same grey chamois. I wore 'em this last weekend at Primavera and they ended up chaffing like I had never experienced before. I have another pair of PI shorts that have this multicolored chamois and I've never had problems with those.

But yeah, the grey one does bunch up horribly. Things were rubbed raw yesterday and still hurt today.

Mel