Unmentionables

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

The whole reason for underwear is (1) under a skirt or loose shorts, so you have something between your parts and the fresh air and prying eyes , and (2) under pants, so you can wear them more than once before washing. Neither of those is true for cycling shorts!

Well, i must respectfully express a different view-
1) I've read plenty of threads on TE over the years which complain about being able to see right through black biking shorts to one's 'crack'. Or even worse, the front parts! The fact is that some shorts use fairly thin material even before they get well worn.
2) I don't sweat that much (mostly just on my head and neck), and by wearing panties I only need to wash my chamois bike knickers/tights/shorts about 1/4 as often as i would without panties. For shorts that cost $100, that can add up to 2 or 3 times longer shorts life.

I definitely can see not wanting to wear panties on 100 mile century rides, but everyone is indeed different. I have no chafing or problems whatsoever wearing cotton panties on rides from 5-70 miles long. I do apply a water-based hypoallergenic hand lotion as a lube before every ride however- if I skip that it gets uncomfortable.

To each their own- do whatever works for you and don't feel weird about it!

[Kerry1976]

For me it was easy to go commando under bike shorts because I learned quickly in my running life that wearing underwear under good running shorts leads to horrible chafing, especially at longer distances. However, making the transition to no underwear in running took a little getting used to!