Chamois with similar shape/placement to PI?

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Hey, ladies...I have found that PI chamois all seem to fit my anatomy best (ie my sit bones are covered by padding, instead of falling on the seams in front of the wide part of the chamois and the chamois overall sitting too far back--I have had this issue with Shebeest, Sugoi, Terry, and Castelli. The shorts I tried from these brands always seemed to come up nearly to my tailbone in back), but I'd love to try something a bit less poofy as my rides increase in distance. My guess is my weird sway-backed shape has a lot to do with my difficulty finding shorts to fit well.

I also love shorts with that flat panel up-front, instead of binding elastic all around. I love the overall fit of the PI Symphony Cut short for this reason.

Any recommendations...? Thanks!

[Kiwi Stoker]

Bontrager's Inform RXLshort. http://bontrager.com/model/08019

Yoga V waist. Flat chamois (it does have various levels but that's underneath not sewen into the top) and not big and poofy. DH loves his men's pair.

[zoom-zoom]

Oh, those look perfect...except for those large semi see-through areas. Seems that would lead to weird sunburn. I already have to apply gobs of sunblock to keep from frying (and my hubby just had a melanoma and lymph node removed, so we don't screw with sun exposure when we can avoid it). Why do companies mess up a good thing like that? My PI shorts have small areas that are meshy, but not so large that they require extra sunscreen.

[colby]

Hey, ladies...I have found that PI chamois all seem to fit my anatomy best (ie my sit bones are covered by padding, instead of falling on the seams in front of the wide part of the chamois and the chamois overall sitting too far back--I have had this issue with Shebeest, Sugoi, Terry, and Castelli. The shorts I tried from these brands always seemed to come up nearly to my tailbone in back), but I'd love to try something a bit less poofy as my rides increase in distance. My guess is my weird sway-backed shape has a lot to do with my difficulty finding shorts to fit well.

I also love shorts with that flat panel up-front, instead of binding elastic all around. I love the overall fit of the PI Symphony Cut short for this reason.

Any recommendations...? Thanks!

I just keep buying PI, but I have the same problem! The Castelli knickers I have are fleecy and comfortable but I feel like the chamois just barely covers the nose of my saddle/girly bits and is practically the entire way up my crack. It seems like a waste of padding.

I bought a pair of Zoot knickers off of steep and cheap (or one of their varieties) and the chamois is better. Their tri shorts tend to have a pretty well-shaped chamois too, in my experience. But, still, for the most correct coverage, for me it's also been PI.

I look forward to the results of this thread!

[zoom-zoom]

I was looking at a pair of Craft PD shorts with their "performance" chamois, which looks like it would fit the bill, assuming it's positioned right in the shorts. Last night I nearly pulled the trigger, but decided to wait. Of course, now they are gone in my size. I found them at a few places, but for more $$. It appears to be a discontinued style, but I can't find a replacement.

The Gore Ozon short looks nice, too, but I wonder about the bottoms of those. They don't have actual leg grippers? I think I also saw a few reviews that suggested that they give bad sausage leg, as well.

*sigh* The guys have it so much easier. My hubby seems perfectly comfortable in every short he's ever tried and just doesn't *get* that my anatomy is different and, apparently, more sensitive. 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.

[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

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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

I really don't know how much the women's differs, but the men's version (which is in my DH's favorite shorts) feels very nice. I would assume it's similar. It feels less poofy. This is the 3D in the shorts I have:


And the 4D:


The only ones with that chamois that are flatter in front are like $225...I don't think so!

[nscrbug]

Hmmm...after looking at the chamois pics Catrin posted...it appears as though I already have a bibshort with the PRO 4D chamois. I have one pair from this year, and another pair from 2008 with the PRO 3D chamois.

However, I went to the PI site to compare the men's & women's PRO 4D chamois...and I found a pretty significant difference, especially in the "up front" area. On the women's pad, it looks like one large, solid piece of padding right in the middle of the crotch (where the soft tissue would be). But on the men's version, the padding in the crotch area is much thinner and is also split with a channel running down the middle of the pad. I'm wondering if the men's version might be a better solution for those of us that have issues with the women's padding bunching up in the front?

Here are pics of both PRO 4D chamois pads -