underware or no underware?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm still trying to figure out how a chamois can bunch up and fold in half like a diaper while your'e wearing it... Something doesn't sound right if it does that. My chamois would never be able to do that- they are anchored down well and are foam that can't bunch or fold. I wear SheBeest, Terry, and Louis Garneau padded shorts/knickers.

[Crankin]

Shooting Star, I didn't buy the wicking thong for cycling. Like I said, I never wear underwear with cycling shorts. But I wanted to wear them under my hiking shorts or pants in warmer weather. In cold weather I wear long underwear.
I am short and small (5' 1", 105), too, but I guess my bum must be bigger than yours! I do care about vpl and I think it looks gross. Wearing thongs with regular clothes doesn't bother me at all. It took me a long time to find 2 brands that fit me and didn't show anywhere. To me, the point of wearing a thong is so nothing shows and you have no lines anywhere. I finally went to a real lingerie store to find what I wanted.
And Lisa, you are right. Any chamois that folds like a diaper has something wrong with it. I wear Terry and Sheebest and have no issues. The Sheebest feels a little thicker, but it's in different places.

[cyclinnewbie]

Ok after a few day's absence due to having an injured child at home, I am back to respond to the responses to my question (that was a tad redundant, eh?). So my chamois folds in half not because it's separating from the shorts, but I think maybe because it's too thick. My thighs (which are NOT thin) kind of squish the chamois together and it folds in half length-wise. And my shorts may be too big, like someone said, because they do not fit like a second skin. I dunno, they are just uncomfortable. I tried wearing them yesterday on a short 10 mile ride, and my bum hurt worse with those shorts that without. The thing I did like, however, was that my skin was not irritated by sweaty underwear (sorry for the bluntness), so didn't have to deal with a rash. So, I guess I'll need to keep shopping for shorts. I hate shopping....I do like some of the Terry shorts that I've seen online, so maybe I'll try those. But did I mention that I hate shopping????

Anyhoo, thanks for the advice, and sorry for the hijack!

[Kano]

Kristen --

When I bought my shorts, they fit like skin. For a while, I'd put something on over them to keep from being seen, then I realized that male people would go out riding in flapping open shirts with hairy bellies hanging out, so my butt, held together with lycra wasn't the nastiest looking thing out there. Anyway, eventually, they got too big, and the chamois getting in the way was how I knew that I really needed to abandon them for some new shorts. Personally, I've found I need to buy a size smaller than my measurements tell me -- at least on my favorites -- in order to have them stay put!

Karen in Boise

[cyclinnewbie]

Kristen --

When I bought my shorts, they fit like skin. For a while, I'd put something on over them to keep from being seen, then I realized that male people would go out riding in flapping open shirts with hairy bellies hanging out, so my butt, held together with lycra wasn't the nastiest looking thing out there.

Ok, point taken. That actually made me laugh and spit my coffee out! Thanks Karen. I do need to get over some body issues, which is where the biking comes in, but you know, lycra is really hard to swallow sometimes!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I do need to get over some body issues, which is where the biking comes in, but you know, lycra is really hard to swallow sometimes!

You're not supposed to eat it!



Yep, sounds like your shorts are too big and can shift/bunch around too much.
It took me a while too to get over the idea of people seeing my butt, thighs, etc. Now if it's hot out, I just don't care what they think anymore. It's a great feeling of liberation.

[ima_bleeder]

I hate shopping....I do like some of the Terry shorts that I've seen online, so maybe I'll try those. But did I mention that I hate shopping????

I share the loathing of shopping. Completely. What a waste of time, when you could be out riding, right?! The good news is that once you've found the short that works for you, you can get a bunch of them and you're done for a while.

I was a fiend about looking for jus the right chamois. I wandered around feeling the chamois of every pair of bike shorts I could get my hands on. I ended up with a Shebeest and a PI. The Shebeest had a chamois that was really thick, but I only planned to use it for 3+ hour rides. As it turns out, the PI chamois just didn't fit me well, and now I have 3 pairs of those Shebeest shorts.

As far as the undies or no, chamois or no, sort of debates ... I really thought I was fine with just about anything. And then this winter, when I was riding about 50 miles a week on the mountain bike, 30 miles a week on the road, in wet and sometimes muddy bike shorts (where'd that damned fender go?) ... without getting into TI territory, I'm thankful for having found a chamois that works for me, a saddle that works for me, and finally finding the "butt'r" of choice that works for me. That was a painful 6 weeks of training and trial and error, and adding underwear to that situation would have made it infinitely worse.

[DDH]

I don't wear underwear with my shorts either, unless it's that time of the month and then I have to.

I did wear underwear with my shorts when I first started becasue I didn't know any better. I was like many others and thought I would feel very akward without them, but once I tried it, I decided it was best for my purposes because I wear cotton underwear and did not think that wearing wet sweaty underwear under my shorts that are trying to wick away the sweat was very sanitary. You have to understand though I sweat a LOT, so for me it was best.

[cyclinnewbie]

I'm one of those people who have freakishly sensitive skin, so just about everything gives me a rash. Throw in sweaty undies, and I'm in prickly heat hell. Anyhoo, yesterday I went to the LBS and got a pair of PI shorts, super tight (ugh) second-skin-like, went home and washed them then rode for a bit, and I think they're better. No bunching, no rubbing spots, no pain on the bum. I think they're ok. Next payday I think I'm goign to get another couple of pairs.

[alpinerabbit]

I don't wear underwear with my shorts either, unless it's that time of the month and then I have to.

Erm... you don't have to... you just stuff the thread up there and any overflow goes in to the chamois.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Erm... you don't have to... you just stuff the thread up there and any overflow goes in to the chamois.

Well, to each their own. But i can't see scrubbing blood stains out of my $100 shorts if I can find some other way.

Personally, I'm not sure why everyone is so vehemently anti-underwear... as though cotton undies are some evil infection-inducing thing to have next to your skin. Modern chamois pads are made from unidentified non-natural man-made stuff chock full of nasty chemicals and/or petroleum-based ingredients, I betcha. Is that so much 'healthier' to have pressing against your delicate parts for hours on end? Speaking for myself, I don't get yeast infections or bladder infections at all from riding my bike for hours with undies under my shorts.
As to wicking- hmmm, I find that polyester/lycra/foam stuff gets just as wet as cotton and doesn't seem to 'wick' anything in any spectacular way. Then again I don't sweat a great deal. But it sure gets stinky fast, I'll say that much!
Real wool, on the other hand, wicks VERY well and does not get stinky.

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I'm in the middle of a huge chamois shift.

I don't wear underwear because it just causes more sanding o the bits. Doesn't matter what kind they are. And once someone turned me onto going 'commando' I haven't turned back. Haha...

I had to stop riding during TTOM because I get sanded from the pad. I can't wear a tampon due to all the surgeries I have had on my cervix.

I found that actually riding without a chamois and using the same saddle on all of your bikes is the best. It's kinda costly or a pain to swap it out all the time, but it seems to work.

Chamois butter anyone?

[echidna]

>>But i can't see scrubbing blood stains out of my $100 shorts if I can find some other way.<<
Did you ever notice that a lot of womens' chamois are RED? Wanna guess why?
I live in Oregon. If I took THAT week off, in addition to every weekend day it rains, I'd be in danger of never riding at all! (Yes, I do ride when raindrops fall, too.)
Bottom (hehe) line: treat your shorts as well as you can, without yielding too much to Mom Nature, and they'll treat you well too. But do, do, do get that string out of the way.

[KnottedYet]

I found that actually riding without a chamois and using the same saddle on all of your bikes is the best. It's kinda costly or a pain to swap it out all the time, but it seems to work.

Ditto. (but now I have 3 of my favorite saddle, so no more switching between bikes)

And I've got a mongo uterine prolapse, so tampons don't work for me, either. I sincerely doubt a Diva cup would, as all my innards are awry. I've found that plain ol' super-absorbent thin pads in a pair of UnderArmour compression shorts work really well.

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I will definitely try that out. I just rode today and the chamois is starting to get looseygoosey on my new shorts bc I'm dropping weight. I feel like I just have been sanded. Compression shorts are on my list.