Chamois with similar shape/placement to PI?

[sno4rent]

He likes the PI chamois, but the more I ride, the more I feel like I would like LESS chamois, at least up-front. I feel like there's too much bulk getting all squashed-up.

I would LOVE to find a short with less padding up-front! My saddle has a hole in it and my girly parts don't have a problem riding along with non-padded shorts, however, my sit-bones tell me they don't really care for the non-padded shorts and would love a little padding. Does anyone make something like this? Padding in the sit-bone area only and no padding (or super thin padding) for the girly parts?

[zoom-zoom]

I would LOVE to find a short with less padding up-front! My saddle has a hole in it and my girly parts don't have a problem riding along with non-padded shorts, however, my sit-bones tell me they don't really care for the non-padded shorts and would love a little padding. Does anyone make something like this? Padding in the sit-bone area only and no padding (or super thin padding) for the girly parts?

Exactly!!!

[meemsie]

Yes! Yes! Yes! This is exactly what I'm looking for! I'm very uncomfortable in all of my shorts and have the same problem with the chamois going halfway up my back and getting bunched up in all the soft tissue parts underneath.

As an experiment, I rode 25 miles in my tri shorts this morning to see if it made a difference. WOW! My sit bones were maybe a little more uncomfortable, but the lack of serious pain in my soft parts more than made up for that. My saddle has a cutout, and it's always bugged me that it can't do its job when there's so much padding getting bunched up in the saddle (and in me). Wearing the tri shorts allowed that soft tissue to actually sit over the cutout of the saddle and I didn't have to start shuffling around 5 miles in.

So, now that we know we aren't the only ones with issues, what do we do about it? My favorite tri shorts are Zoot. My favorite cycling shorts (though I use the term loosely since I really hate them) are PI. ACK!! Any suggestions, anyone? My crotch and I would greatly appreciate it!

[zoom-zoom]

I may have to try a pair of Zoot tri shorts at some point. I do have a pair of PI tri shorts, but the overall fit is sorta...meh. Major sausage legs, even going up a size. I also don't like the leg elastic grippers, vs the silicone dot grippers on other shorts.

[nscrbug]

I concur about the PI tri shorts! They feel nice in the saddle, but I hate the shorter length on them which really emphasizes the sausage leg thing. I also can't stand the drawstring...infact, I hate drawstrings in ANY cycling short...which may be why I prefer wearing my bibs more - no drawstring, no binding at the waist, etc.

But yes, I too have the chamois bunching up front issue. My shorts fit great everywhere else, but when I'm seated on the saddle...I notice this huge "bulge" of folded up chamois right on the nose of the saddle. No wonder I am constantly shifting around, lifting a leg to readjust, etc. I'm sure all that extra chamois material up front is the culprit in many (if not all) of my ongoing saddle issues.

[zoom-zoom]

Well, I tried a pair of Craft shorts that covered my sit bones OK (heck, the chamois on these PD/"Performance Designed" shorts is HUGE), but there are seams that hit me funny and started rubbing me the wrong way, literally. Back to PI. I wish they would put their PRO 4D chamois in some shorts with a non-elastic front like the Symphony shorts have.

I think my relatively minor up-front issues will be helped more by messing with saddle angle than a more minimal chamois at this point.

[tulip]

I've been a PI shorts gal for a long, long time. But I recently bought a pair of Sugoi RS shorts, and I'm now a Sugoi RS convert.

[nscrbug]

Well, I tried a pair of Craft shorts that covered my sit bones OK (heck, the chamois on these PD/"Performance Designed" shorts is HUGE), but there are seams that hit me funny and started rubbing me the wrong way, literally. Back to PI. I wish they would put their PRO 4D chamois in some shorts with a non-elastic front like the Symphony shorts have.

I think my relatively minor up-front issues will be helped more by messing with saddle angle than a more minimal chamois at this point.

Kirsten - Which women's PI shorts have the 4D chamois in them? How does it differ from the 3D? I have 2 PI PRO bibshorts with the 3D pad, and it is one of the pads that I feel "bunches up" in the front on me. Is the 4D different in some way?

Linda