Padded Bottoms - Necessary?

[emily_in_nc]

It depends on your riding style, too. When I used to do a lot of 50+ mile rides (before my accident), the absolute best shorts I could afford were much more important. Now that I typically do shorter rides in the 15-30 mile range, any of my shorts will do, even the ones under cycling skorts that don't have nearly as much padding.

It also helps that my saddle works well for me. A bad saddle will make even the best shorts feel worse. It's difficult to get both of them right at the same time, but when you do -- nirvana!

[Catrin]

It depends on your riding style, too. .....

It also helps that my saddle works well for me. A bad saddle will make even the best shorts feel worse. It's difficult to get both of them right at the same time, but when you do -- nirvana!

I should have mentioned this - certainly shorter rides are more forgiving - and if we can find the perfect saddle it certainly does help