Undergarments???

[HappyTexasMom]

No laundry problems here. You just have to buy enough pairs of shorts to meet your laundry schedule .

Well, I think the point was that the shorts would need to be washed after they had been through one ride. So whether you have 1 pair of shorts or 10, each pair would be getting washed 1 time/ride, as opposed to 3-4 (or whatever), and therefore would not last as long.

Not that I know anything, I don't even have a pair of proper bike shorts yet.

[Eden]

Why spend $100 on a nice pair of well designed *seamless* cycling shorts if you are going to add underwear elastic..... They are designed to go without.

You can ride without cycling shorts and you can ride in underwear, and you might even get away with it comfortably for a time, but the longer and harder you ride the more you'll find that it can be a bad idea. When I was a kid I did week long tours in jeans and regular shorts and survived, but when the technology to be more comfortable is there why not use it and use it the way it was meant to be used. Trust me - if you ever get rubbed by a seam/elastic or get a saddle sore you'll toss the undies away and never go back.

And for those who wear underwear to not have to wash their shorts as often - do you honestly believe a pair of undies keeps the sweat and beasties off your chamois............

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Why spend $100 on a nice pair of well designed *seamless* cycling shorts if you are going to add underwear elastic.....

Um...maybe because they feel good to ride in and they are comfortable and do the job well for me? My cheaper "short ride" shorts just don't have dense enough chamois support for my longer rides. Surely you are not suggesting I shouldn't have high quality long distance shorts just because I wear panties under them?

You can ride without cycling shorts and you can ride in underwear, and you might even get away with it comfortably for a time, but the longer and harder you ride the more you'll find that it can be a bad idea....Trust me - if you ever get rubbed by a seam/elastic or get a saddle sore you'll toss the undies away and never go back.

It's not a matter of my trusting you. I am totally comfortable when riding. My hardest-riding year averaged about 90 miles per week with longest rides of 70 miles, and I had no problems at all with sores or seams or elastic. To be honest, I doubt I'll ever be riding 'longer and harder' than that.
Despite what some might direly predict, I am fairly confident I will not suddenly develop problems and zealously throw my undies away. Why is this hard to accept? People ride all over the world in regular clothes, and they put in MAJOR mileage.
Just because some people have problems with biking in underwear doesn't mean everyone will. I read on TE every day about all the problems women have with their shorts (without underwear, mind you) ...feminine 'issues', pain or numbness, sores, chafing, rawness, bacteria, yeast infections.... I have none of these problems, yet it's suggested I should change what I'm doing in order to avoid those problems??

And for those who wear underwear to not have to wash their shorts as often - do you honestly believe a pair of undies keeps the sweat and beasties off your chamois............

'Honestly believe' it or not, I don't have a problem with sweating or beasties. When I sweat, it's mostly all on my head and torso.
My shorts smell great (!), they get aired out every ride and get washed every few rides, I don't get yeast infections, sores, , chafing, bladder infections, rashes, etc.
I don't wash my jeans every time I wear them either.
But I do launder my undies every day.

I'm happy, I'm completely comfortable when i ride, and I'm healthy. Do I feel a need to 'fix' something or change what i do? nope.

[Veronica]

You know there is such a thing as too much information. I really don't want to know how someone else's shorts smell.

Veronica

[Eden]

No I'm not ever going to stick my nose in your shorts - not even if invited to. If you honestly think you don't sweat all over your body and that there isn't any bacteria on the skin of your crotch (or that a pair of underwear will stop them migrating on to your shorts), well okie dokie then.

I've never had a yeast infection, uti or other problem like that either, but I know I sweat and that my shorts are not a sterile zone.... No, I don't wash a pair of jeans each time I wear them, but then again I'm not out exercising in them and they don't have what's basically a sponge in the crotch.

No one's asking you to quit what you are doing if it works for you, but for most people it is not particularly good advice. It's kind of like saying that you can hike the appalachian trail in tennis shoes. Yeah people used to do it (we had a back packing book from the 70's and lots of people were wearing their keds...) and maybe some still do and are just fine, but for most people a good pair of hiking boots will make it a much more pleasant experience. Can you get chafing, even with cycling shorts? Sure you can, but with a good pair of shorts you are much less likely to.

Ah - and there's also the myth of the chamois.... its really not for "padding", though in later years it has morphed a bit. The reason to have a chamois is to provide a nice soft, seamless area for all of the bendy bits on your body so that they aren't rubbing against anything that would be irritating - not to pad your sit bones. That is why I say putting a pair of underwear on with a pair of shorts defeats the purpose - you are putting the seams back into something that was expressly designed to be.... seamless....

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

You know there is such a thing as too much information. I really don't want to know how someone else's shorts smell.

Veronica

I said they 'smelled great' (as in clean), I didn't describe the scent! I just meant the shorts smell fine, same idea as how jerseys can smell bad from bacteria or sweat. I was asked about sweat and 'beasties' building up in my shorts, so I merely answered that as best I could. Women talk about yeast infections, chamois bacteria, chamois butter products, and labial issues here all the time. Isn't it a valid sports/biking subject?
Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you.

[Veronica]

Offend is too strong of a word.

I just think it's strange how people will offer up what I think of as very personal information on the Internet. It's conversations I'd have with my female friends in person or on the phone. I've even PMed and emailed some people with some personal stuff.

But just laying it out there where anyone can read it... and I know PMs and emails can be read, but it's a little more private.

I guess we all have our comfort level. I'm perfectly willing to tell what I weigh or how much my body fat is... but discussion of my undergarments and anything near them, doesn't belong on the web.

Veronica

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

No I'm not ever going to stick my nose in your shorts - not even if invited to.

Uncalled for. Unless you were joking.

If you honestly think you don't sweat all over your body and that there isn't any bacteria on the skin of your crotch (or that a pair of underwear will stop them migrating on to your shorts), well okie dokie then.

I never said anything like any of that! I said I don't have a problem with sweat, bacteria, or 'beasties' as you put it. bacteria is everywhere, of course. And we all sweat everywhere, too, to varying degrees.

No one's asking you to quit what you are doing if it works for you, but for most people it is not particularly good advice.

Ironically, *I* am not advising anyone to wear undies under their shorts! I never have advised it, never will.
I just keep saying the each person is different and what works for one might be different than what works for another.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Offend is too strong of a word.

I just think it's strange how people will offer up what I think of as very personal information on the Internet. It's conversations I'd have with my female friends in person or on the phone. I've even PMed and emailed some people with some personal stuff.

But just laying it out there where anyone can read it... and I know PMs and emails can be read, but it's a little more private.

I guess we all have our comfort level. I'm perfectly willing to tell what I weigh or how much my body fat is... but discussion of my undergarments and anything near them, doesn't belong on the web.

Veronica

Well I guess we are all different.
I wasn't describing how my underwear smells- nor would i ever!
The whole thread is about wearing or not wearing of underwear under shorts, the pros and cons of it. There have been plenty of threads about this all before, including bacteria and yeast and raw tissues, sores and infections and what not.
To me it's just health/skin/comfort stuff concerning biking.
I'm glad you're not offended.

[Crankin]

Ah, I just meant that throwing my cycling shorts in the wash after each use meant that it was an excuse to buy more.... I started with 2 pair and now I have 5, of shorts for "regular" rides, i.e. my more expensive ones. This was built up over years, with some throwing out of ones that just didn't cut it.
I have a liner short I bought, and one that came with a pair of Shebeest board shorts that I bought really for the shorts, not to ride in. I have one pair of mtb shorts and 2 skorts for casual, errand, coffee shop rides. Once in awhile I wear a skort on a road ride, but it's usually not more than 20 miles.
I sweat a lot. Today I went on a 7.5 mile ride to a farm stand on my Jamis, which means slower speeds. It was 75 and humid, but cloudy and sprinkling. I came back as sweaty as I would be after a 50 mile ride on my road bike.
Like Lisa says, to each her own.

[Biciclista]

what if your underwear doesn't have seams and lumps? I have some like that. That's what i wear.

[lph]

weeeeellll - just to throw my two kroner into the fray: I commuted for years as a poor student in "regular" sportswear (anything stretchy I had around), then in my one pair of bike shorts with underwear underneath. I never had problems, but every now and then I'd be riding more than usual and feel a bit chafed or sore but just blame it on my saddle.

Fast forward to today, I'm on my bike for longer and more frequently, I ride to train as well as commute, I have a longer commute and take detours, and ride hard enough to need a shower after most rides. Not least - I can afford and have bought multiple bike shorts, and after wearing a good pair without underwear have never gone back. Having had a really horrible saddle sore once made me fully appreciate all the comfort I could get.

I'd say it depends on your riding style and/or the quality of your saddle and/or the sensitivity of your skin and/or how much you sweat... You certainly can wear underwear underneath, I did so for a long time and it does save your shorts from quite as much washing. But I agree with the basic premise which is that bike shorts are made to be worn without underwear and work best that way, so if a beginner asked, that is what I would answer too and I'd recommend they try without. But hey, whatever works.

Oh well. This thread is 4 yrs old as pointed out, and I'm guessing anyone reading this has made up their own mind long since

[robinmarylong]

Quote:
Originally Posted by sundial
...so that the girlie parts aren't running free all over...

_

Is that like free range chicken or something? Sounds somehow more humane...

You both gave me a belly laugh.

Robin

[sundial]

what if your underwear doesn't have seams and lumps? I have some like that. That's what i wear.

I'm thinking wool might be a good undie layer. I'm up for the Pepsi challenge.

[shootingstar]

Ironically, *I* am not advising anyone to wear undies under their shorts! I never have advised it, never will.
I just keep saying the each person is different and what works for one might be different than what works for another.

+1
If a woman is not hurt, nor infected by wearing underwear...it's working for me and some. That's all. One must think of their own health, how we individually function.

Discussion is pretty harmless and not particularily intimate. We aren't talking, not even naming bodily parts in detail/specificity..like some other different topic threads in the past.