Another cycling short question...

[VeloVT]

I haven't seen THICKLY padded Castelli shorts . I haven't seen the Free in person, but I've seen all of the other shorts and the chamois styles I've seen are all pretty thin (and comfortable, imo). The lowest end chamois, the Kiss, is the most flexible.

[roadie gal]

2+ on tri shorts. Zoot brand tri shorts have only a piece of fleece for the padding. DeSoto have a different kind of fleece, but still are nice and thin. Pearl Izumi makes a tri short as well. I don't know much about the PI shorts. But any tri shorts will have a much less bulky pad than regular bike shorts.

I've found that I use my tri shorts more and more and the "padded" stuff less and less. It's just more comfortable for me.

[tzvia]

Oakleaf, Lisa,
Sorry, I don't have the model of the one I have, but it looks like the Cocoon Due Short I see here on TE. I bought them when Agoura Cycles was going out of business () and they only had the one pair. They are awesome shorts.

The other Castelli ones I have seen at the LBS here were thicker, but not crazy thick like the Pearl Isumis. However none are as nice as the real chamois ones I used to have 20 years ago but they were a pain to maintain compared to the synthetics.

[crazycanuck]

Have you tried Ground Effect nicks?? Great stuff.

[tctrek]

I haven't seen THICKLY padded Castelli shorts . I haven't seen the Free in person, but I've seen all of the other shorts and the chamois styles I've seen are all pretty thin (and comfortable, imo). The lowest end chamois, the Kiss, is the most flexible.

I think the Kiss chamois is in all Castelli shorts. I have a pair of Free and a pair of Cocoon and the both have the Kiss chamois even though their costs were quite different.

I also have LG, Sheebeast, Zoots and Sugoi's and I find the Castelli to be the most comfortable on longer rides. I like my Zoot and Sugoi tri shorts for shorter rides.

[eofelis]

I like shorts with thin padding also! I have some older pairs of Hind and InSport shorts that I really like, but they are getting past their prime. They have nice thin padding.

I tried Pearl Izumi, but I didn't like them at all.

I have finally settled on Blackbottoms shorts and have 4 pairs of them. Some of their older styles have a wide real-chamois-looking pad and I really like those kinds. I have found two pairs like this on sale for $20.

[momtohanna]

I just bought my first pair of padded shorts today. Wish I had seen this thread before I headed out. Haven't had a chance to try them on, but I'm glad I passed up the gel shorts Looking forward to testing them out tomorrow.

[skyler]

I only have pearl Izumi and they do have a pretty thick chamois, but I thought it was normal?? I am new and need some advice. I was going to try some castelli cocoon, but they got horrible reviews. I was also going to try shebeest core comp. Any recommendations would be appreciated!!

[Medianox]

If you like thin chamois, you might try REI. My first pair of shorts was their brand and it has pretty thin padding. It is all one piece, thin and fairly wide.
I am still trying to find my comfort zone for the *girly bits* too! I'm trying a terry butterfly saddle (good so far) and I have a pair of Bontrager women's sport shorts that I kind of like...they are nice and long on me (which I like) but the jury is still out on the chamois part-it is sectioned but seamless, with the thicker sections on the sit bone parts. I did a 45 mile ride in them and still had some pinching of the bits, even though I used some chamois cream.
Just not sure yet which combo is right for me.

[blackhillsbiker]

I have a pair of Sugoi liner shorts that have thin padding. Sierra Trading Post often has shorts for really good prices. My favorites are the Shebeest SSS shorts. The padding seems to be just where I want it, and no more. I tried PI shorts. Ugh. But, my best cycling buddy swears by them (she also never changed out the guy's saddle on her road bike and I ride a comfy Brooks saddle). Try on as many as you can find. Make note of the ones you like, then keep an eye out for sales.

Deb