Knickers, Anyone?

[KnottedYet]

I ride my road bikes in capris/knickers/long shorts and skorts.

Not overly fond of heavy padding, and right now my favorite is to wear UnderArmor (no pad) or Ibex Roaster Boxer (no pad) shorts under PI capris with the liner removed or Harlot shorts. Harlot: www.harlotwear.com Pearl Izumi: http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=29722

Love the *old* style Terry Commuter skorts with minimal chamois. Can't get 'em any more.

Edit to add: if the ZOIC long shorts appeal to you, get them! Feel the bike-clothes love! They look very cool. (unfortunately, I know that ZOIC just doesn't fit my tall long-torso/high-waisted bod, or I'd be drooling too)

[sundial]

Love the *old* style Terry Commuter skorts with minimal chamois. Can't get 'em any more.

Yeah, me too! I pulled on an old blue Hawaiin flowerdy skort the other day and rode my mtb in it. Ahhhhhh. I recently splurged on the Terry scooter capri (when they offered free shipping ) and I like the give of the fabric and all the features as well. I wish they made it with a thin chamois though.

[VeloVT]

I like my knickers between about 40 and 60 degrees. Personally I would find them too hot in the heat of the summer, but we are all different.

I have both of those Shebeest knicks, and like both a lot. The differences are:
--Pedal pusher has more substantial chamois (but still very flexible -- I really like all of the Shebeest chamoii?!). The hourglass chamois in the Shindigger is good for rides up to maybe 20-25 miles for me, longer than that I want a little more. I can ride the Shelastic chamois for any distance.
--Pedal pusher has more contoured construction and I believe the fabric has a bit more spandex in it. The Shindigger is a more relaxed, four panel cut with no calf gripper. Both are comfortable. Pedal Pushers are a bit more supportive.

I also have the Sugar knicker. It's fine, I like it but don't love it. The waist is super, super low rise in front and the chamois is comfortable, but big/thick.

I don't have the Castelli knickers mentioned, but I have multiple pairs of Castelli shorts with that chamois and it's quite comfortable, almost as thin as the Shebeest hourglass chamois but I can ride it for longer distances.

I also have a pair of older Sugoi knickers, not sure what the model is called, they're 2005 or 2006 model that I found at 50% off at LBS. They are the best cut, best panel design I've tried (Sugoi is good at that!), and the chamois is remarkably comfortable, even though I wouldn't have thought it -- it's a thin, old school looking bit of pieced ultrasuede. The fabric is also superb for the cooler end of the knicker spectrum, quite windproof and fleecy inside.

Although cuts are different, sizes are about the same for all of these (I wear the same size in all of them).

Those of you who wish for the old Terry skort -- you should look at the Shebeest cycloskort (which has the thin hourglass chamois, and is SUPER CUTE on) and PI's select cycling skort, which has a fleece pad kind of like a tri-chamois, and is pretty cute too (not quite as cute as the Shebeest one though. Oh well).

[SandyLS]

I finally tried a pair of knickers this year. I have the Terry Bella knickers and like them a lot. They worked very well in 50-60 degree weather. Today it was well into the mid-seventies and I did think they were a little too warm.

[Bike Goddess]

I have a pair of Sheebest knickers as well. I had to get a larger size because I am so long in the legs, but I've enjoyed wearing them.

I've looked at other brands of knickers but haven't liked the design of the chamois as well.

[KnottedYet]

Yeah, me too! I pulled on an old blue Hawaiin flowerdy skort the other day and rode my mtb in it. Ahhhhhh.

sounds like we have the same skort. (blue and flowerdy and has little surfboards on it?)

the old skorts had a full double-flap kilt style front. I like that, too.

[sundial]

sounds like we have the same skort. (blue and flowerdy and has little surfboards on it?)

Yep! And when I got the LL Bean blue/white long sleeve jersey, the light blue matched perfectly with the light blue in the skort. I still have the skort from the first year Terry offered it. It's bright yellow--my favorite.

[corey]

This was my first experience with posting something on any kind of forum and, I have to say, BIKER CHICKS ROCK! You ladies answered all of my questions & then some.

I have soooo much new information that I am going to have to consider each and every person's response & make a decision about my knickers tonight. I'm leaning toward Shebeest - that seems to be the most popular brand, as far as comfort & chamois is concerned (except in a few cases). If I had $140to drop, I'd get something really snazzy but, as I am a beginner, I really don't need anything like that quite yet.

I will keep you updated on my final decision.
Thanks, again, for all of the great, detailed responses!!!

Corey

[Kano]

Okay, so I tried knickers first time this spring now too. Shebeest Shindiggers -- length, love it, even though it kinda bunches behind my knees as I'm riding. It's not like there's much fabric there (they hit just below the knee) and it's not a tight bunching, since they have that cute little vented hem. Longer knickers will likely hit at or just below the widest part of my calf, I'm not sure how that will stay put. I liked this length for that reason.

The padding was good for our 18+ mile ride yesterday. I look forward to seeing how they do on longer rides.

Temperature was good for the extra length.

Total vanity thing: Smoothed out my "baggy" inner thighs! Been losing weight, and there's still too much excess on the thighs, but there's this interesting hollow-thing going on just above my knees on the inside, with extra something AT the knees. The coverage of the shindiggers was PERFECT to make this interesting conformation look much more presentable! (I'm wondering how this area will continue to evolve as my fitness level increases!)

If I find that the padding's not sufficient for longer rides, I'll try some longer knickers, but maybe as the summer progresses, I'll be happier in shorter shorts, and the vanity issue will disappear again?

Karen in Boise