re: seats and shorts

[kimba]

Hi- just wanted to get my 2 cents in!

I too used to wear undies with my shorts.
Finally - after much chafing and discomfort, I decided to go commando- and now I wouldn't go back! It is MUCH more comfortable!
and- I know I had great concerns about- what if I crash? Won't that skimpy little piece of lycra/spandex just disintegrate leaving me all nekkid and em- bare- assed???

well- I found out when I endo-ed.
Skidded on the tops of my thighs on gravelly ground-
not a tear! only a teeny tiny"melted" looking mark on one knee.
I am a believer!

huzzah!
and yes - it is very liberating!

Kimba

nekkid in the nineties.

[Karen London]

regarding do chamois wear out, on www.mec.ca they were selling replacement chamois earlier this year. They were made in Italy etc. I read somewhere that there are two main chamois makers/types in Italy so maybe these could be the ones the Italian manufacturers use....

I don't ever use cream but I never did more than about 40 miles in one day. I do use : Brooks saddles. Love them, just pay the money and forget. Also: Castelli shorts. And if your shorts get too big (or if you get too small), big shorts are a no-no. They will chafe. London is so lovely to cycle in now especially in the parks, it's all so green....

[gretchen]

If there's anyone out there from Traverse City, Michigan...watch for me on the roads this weekend...I'm headed north with my daughter and two of our friends to ride...and after all of your help on this thread...I'll be the one riding with a smirk on my face
(I'll be comando!)
Safe riding to everyone...
and thanks for all of the awesome advice.
gretchen

[meudon]

At last a girls forum with female issues, hurrah!

This sore 'bit n pieces' is a challenge that i face constantly - I must have tried about 10 different saddles so far and use chammy cream too. You are all raving about Brooks saddles - I haven't come accross these in the uk - does anyone have a web link?

[Veronica]

Saddles

This is a link to Wallingford Bike. They carry Brooks and have a good return policy. I have the British Racing Green Finesse on my single and tandem.

V.

[Irulan]

Originally posted by kimba
Hi- just wanted to get my 2 cents in!

well- I found out when I endo-ed.
Skidded on the tops of my thighs on gravelly ground-
not a tear! only a teeny tiny"melted" looking mark on one knee.
I am a believer!

huzzah!
and yes - it is very liberating!

yes, it's really liberating when the shorts do not hold up to the gravel. I"ve seen it happen to others, the big hole on the butt to finish the ride, LOL. I have one pair of super light wicking lycra shorts that I LOVE for hot weather riding, but I can't seem to not keep them from snagging, they are so thin.



penny

[jobob]

I'm another fan of Brooks leather saddles.

I had initially ordered a Champion Flyer "S" from Wallingford (see the link V provided above), which is a shorter and wider version, which is generally preferred by many women. It didn't feel right to me so I tried one of my husband's, a regular Champion Flyer, and it felt just right.

I ended up returning the Champion Flyer"S" to Wallingford and purchasing a B.17, which is considered the "classic" Brooks saddle - the only difference between the Champion Flyer I had borrowed from my husband and the B.17 is that the latter does not have springs. Springs are nice when you ride on rough trails but I don't do that very much.

The B.17 arrived, I slapped some proofhide on it (a leather preservative), put it on Pokey, and proceeded to forget I had a new leather saddle - no break in time needed ( one could of course argue that my butt was already broken in ). The leather was a bit slipery at first but that went away after a while.

I've had no saddle sores or any other discomfort from my Brooks saddles from day one. FWIW, I wear mid-range Pearl Izumi shorts, and I use chamois butt'r when I know I'm going to be riding more than 40 miles or so, or less if it's warm out.

Brooks saddles come in a bewildering array of styles so it's good to buy them from Wallingford with their generous return policy, you might want to try a couple of different styles. I found I'm much more comfortable on a men's style than a women's.

If you're looking for a very lightweight saddle, well, then a Brooks isn't for you, although they do make lightweight racing saddles but they cost a bundle.

HTH, - Jo.

[Dogmama]

The voice of dissent --

I vote for the Serfas saddles. Mine was instantly comfortable.

I'm a smallish woman with narrow hips - never had kids. So I need a narrower saddle or I'm miserable.

That's my $.03

[Veronica]

I've spent a little bit of time on a B17. It's on Thom's bike which is what goes into the trainer come the rainy season (we ride the same size bike - quite handy!) and it's also his saddle on the tandem. So when I was training for Cinderella I rode it a bit. For me it wasn't quite as comfy as the Finesse. The nose is a bit a longer and that seemed a little weird.

I didn't even bother with the proofhide on either Finesse and neither saddle needed any breaking in time. Thom said the same thing about his B17s - perfect right out of the box. They're not light - but neither am I!

V.

[MightyMitre]

Hi Meudon - Nice to see another Brit and fairly local tool. I'm in Brighton.

You should have been at Brighton Mitre's cycle jumble we held the other few week. There were some old skool Brookes saddles there, amongst lost of other bits and pieces. One of the stall holders said they used to use olive oil to soften up their leather saddles before breaking them in.

Having looked at a few of them , personally I think the shape would probably kill me ( I use a Selle Italia with a cut out ) But the craftsmanship and quality was absolutley superb! One saddle would last you your whole cycling career!

[jobob]

I don't mean to imply Brooks are for everyone, far from it ... they're just one of many to consider. Definitely a niche market, that one! I just like to toot Brooks' horn (and Wallingford Bicycle Parts) when the opportunity arises

MM, you're right, they do last a long time. That kind of permanence appeals to me. It runs counter to the Disposable Era in which we live (not necessarily bikes, but certainly electronics, most clothing, etc. - use it for a couple of years and dump it, costs more to repair than to replace, that sort of thing).

V, the main reason why I proofhided my new B.17 was because it made the shiny new leather just a bit less slippery ... whee!

[ChainsOflove]

After a TON of suffering and horrifying chafing welts on my skin, I came up with this combo:

Terry knickers that have kind of tight elastic to keep the pants leg down, and also have a not very thick chamois. This solved the bunching/rubbing/wedgie of fabric.

Use body glide applied to inner thighs, stopped the rubbing.
Using a Terry Butterfly Gel seat on my road bike.

It's taken me six months but I finally hit it, thank god. !

[gretchen]

hey!
122 miles this weekend...
tried camando...no change!
We rode 20 gorgous miles on Friday through Northern Michigan
(for anyone not formiliar with this area, i'm pretty positive that God made it for biking...along with the perfect wide sholders adn smooth pavement)...then 80 miles on Sat and 22 to "cool down" on sunday. HEAVEN
"Butt" back to the "seats" issues... A Serfas saddle is on my bike, i love it, i think it's the extra heaven padding of the PI 3D's that might be my problem. I don't have any rubbing at all on my legs or thighs...it all just "smooshed girlie parts".
I"m off to the LBS today to check out the shorts again for thinner padding.
If you want an awesome place to ride...MIGHIGAN! (but don't tell anyone!).
gretchen

[Veronica]

Lucky you if you can find decent shorts at the LBS. Nobody around here seems to carry the stuff I like. Thank God for TE!

V.

[ragbrai40]

Hey Gretchen! Great weekend mileage! I got in 95 myself - great weather here in the midwest over the weekend!

"Butt" back to the "seats" issues... A Serfas saddle is on my bike, i love it, i think it's the extra heaven padding of the PI 3D's that might be my problem. I don't have any rubbing at all on my legs or thighs...it all just "smooshed girlie parts".

I was having the same issues with a pair of my thicker padded PI's and I've since switched back to another PI pair with thinner padding - and guess what! No "smooshed girlie parts"!

Now I'm going to have to get another pair to replace the thicker padded ones - I've found I can only stand to wear them on rides < 25mi and I've got a 500 mile ride in July. Soooo I'm shopping for shorts and am considering some Sugos that veronica recommended in an earlier post.

Happy Monday everyone. Can we bunk off today? It's too nice to be working - we should be riding!