Padded Bottoms - Necessary?

[mariacycle]

Haha Tand-rand!! I unfortunately bought about five pairs of padded shorts when I started out so I've already come to the conclusion that they are not for me. I'm going to buy a pair of tri shorts (thinking about these, which were linked earlier) and look into buying a cutout saddle.

I'm really glad to hear I'm not the only one that isn't a big fan of the thick chamois.

[malkin]

...The take-away message here is don't be afraid of trying riding without a chamois if you just can't seem to love chamois.

At least it will give you another data point!

Or two data points!

[Susan]

Interesting discussion - I just asked this myself too. DH has gotten me an Assos Cycling Bib for a present but I just don't seem to like it enough for the price. They feel bulky at the front. He loves his Assos Cycling shorts and thinks they are well worth the money...

From my understanding, if you have a fitting saddle - so you are sitting on your sitbones - the padding in the front doesn't make much sense, does it? The chamois in the front does makes me feel hot and uncomfortable.

Maybe the chamois-design comes from a wrong understanding where women ought to sit on a saddle?

[Crankin]

I wouldn't ride without a chamois, but I cannot wear any chamois that is thick, wide, or feels like a diaper. I bought a pair of cycling tights with a chamois from someone on TE last year. They were either Assos or Exte Ondo, so originally very expensive. The chamois was *horrible.* Wide, thick, with seams and so big in the front that it caught on the nose of my saddle. I truly could not believe any woman wore these, because I was in pain, chafed, and got abraded from them. Into the garbage they went, Thankfully, I only paid 30.00.
It's a personal decision, like anything else, but there is a huge range of chamois in different shorts, just like a huge range of saddles. I have found 2 I like, and I don't plan on changing.

[roadie gal]

I also prefer tri shorts to heavily padded shorts. The Zoot Endurance shorts are stretchier and fit my curves better than the Ultras (which fit like a sausage casing for me). My favorites are the DeSoto shorts, but they are an acquired taste. They're cut pretty low on top.

If you want more padding than just a tri chamois then look at DeSoto's 400 mile shorts. The padding actually has a channel in the middle, like a saddle cut out.

[Catrin]

I think that chamois preference is just as relative as saddle preference. It depends on how we are made, our riding position and length of rides... It is good that we have a choice

Thankfully I have finally found a chamois other than PI 3-D chamois that also works for me - and that is Terry (Liberty shorts). The PI elite chamois certainly isn't very comfortable off the bike, but it works well for my on the bike - and it feels better on rides >4 hours than on small hour long rides. I have tried a couple of other brands but they just don't work for me - either they chafe or they don't seem to provide what I need in the right location.

I suspect that my PI Elite bibs will always be my short/chamois of preference for long rides - as much as I like the Terry Liberty shorts - I don't think they would work for my longer rides.

[audreytatou]

I am new to riding and do probally 40k's every other day(more soon) I have just been wearing my ordinary leggins/tights and ..really they have been fine...no padding at all. I was thinking propper padded tights might help me go further?? now i'm confused lol

[OakLeaf]

If it's not the shorts you have that keep you from going farther now, why do you think that different shorts would let you go farther? Wear what's comfortable...

[audreytatou]

If it's not the shorts you have that keep you from going farther now, why do you think that different shorts would let you go farther? Wear what's comfortable...

yes of course i start to get a little sore after about 40k's so thought that padding might stop that and allow me to go further...although I havnt been further yet...if that makes sense

[OakLeaf]

The best thing for me is just plain ol' UnderArmour 7 inch inseam compression shorts. $27.

Y'know, I'd forgotten that I have a pair of their 5" shorts at the bottom of my gear drawer. When I pulled them out this morning to run in, I remembered why they were at the bottom.

Just another illustration about how everyone is shaped differently. Yep, these shorts have a nice big gusset ... which not to put too fine a point on it, is centered on my anus, so you can imagine what equally sensitive parts are directly underneath the front of the gusset where the three seams join, and then directly under the front center seam. The gusset creeps into my crack - putting the rest of the seams in uncomfortable places, too. And if that weren't enough, the legs ride up and I have to keep pulling them down. I don't even like these shorts for the gym.

I'm glad they work for Knott!! For my big butt (9" bigger around than my waist), these are not the shorts...

[KnottedYet]

Yep, these shorts have a nice big gusset ... [snip] The gusset creeps into my crack - putting the rest of the seams in uncomfortable places, too. And if that weren't enough, the legs ride up and I have to keep pulling them down. I don't even like these shorts for the gym.

I'm glad they work for Knott!! For my big butt (9" bigger around than my waist), these are not the shorts...

They may not be the same shorts.

Mine have a quite small gusset, which really only serves to avoid the 4-seams-meeting.

I do have the creeping up the crack and crawling up the legs problem when I wear a size too small. (I have 3 sizes of UnderArmour shorts for the 3 stages of healthy-chubby-fat I cycle through.)

For what it's worth, my butt is quite a bit larger than just 9 inches difference from my waist. Always has been, always will be... "the eternal hourglass" no matter if I weigh 145 or 205.

Currently I'm 205 lbs, and wearing my XL UnderArmour. When I get down to 165 I switch to the L, and so on.

[Tand-Rand]

[QUOTE=OakLeaf;564330]Y'know, I'd forgotten that I have a pair of their 5" shorts at the bottom of my gear drawer. When I pulled them out this morning to run in, I remembered why they were at the bottom.

Oakleaf, I haven't laughed this hard in days. Thanks for sharing! I don't know why you keep them around. Do you just bring them out as a reminder of what to avoid?

[OakLeaf]

I also can't bear to throw anything away, and don't live in an area where athletic clothing would do anything but languish at a thrift store. Spandex and other technical fabrics aren't even any good as shop rags. So the things I hardly ever wear, never wear out, and sit at the bottom of my drawer forever...

I should inventory all of it and put it up for a TE giveaway. Anyone want those UA shorts now that I've described them so fetchingly?

[audreytatou]

does the fabric that wicks water away from your skin really make a difference??

[audreytatou]

Y'know, I'd forgotten that I have a pair of their 5" shorts at the bottom of my gear drawer. When I pulled them out this morning to run in, I remembered why they were at the bottom.

Just another illustration about how everyone is shaped differently. Yep, these shorts have a nice big gusset ... which not to put too fine a point on it, is centered on my anus, so you can imagine what equally sensitive parts are directly underneath the front of the gusset where the three seams join, and then directly under the front center seam. The gusset creeps into my crack - putting the rest of the seams in uncomfortable places, too. And if that weren't enough, the legs ride up and I have to keep pulling them down. I don't even like these shorts for the gym.

I'm glad they work for Knott!! For my big butt (9" bigger around than my waist), these are not the shorts...

gawd! i'll stick to my no pads cotton lycra tights...are you sure they are shorts??!!