Road Cycling - Bike short/pants...only NYLON?!

I don't know about you guys, but I'm a hot guy (no, not in that way) I mean get hot easy...so because of this, are we really stuck with NYLON as material for all bike shorts and pants ???

This summer was real bad for me 'cause the overheating inside the shorts gave me a lot of blisters and penpals on my butt, don't we have more material choices?

Don't they make it of some sort of "breathing" material like coolmax or Gore-Tex, something like that?

Is there any other choices out there I wonder?

Corsaire :(

my roommate has some cotton cycling shorts, so I'm sure you can find some. I'll ask her where she got 'em. Probably REI.

I've got some nike shorts made of dri-fit. its a really nice material, crummy chamois.

I think you have the term 'breathing material' confused. As all materials are knitted, they all have 'breathability' which is facilitated largely by the coarseness/type of weave. Cycling shorts can be purchased in many different weights, so you can get very light summer shorts or 3 season shorts like my Boure shorts in Supplex.

Now, if you want shorts that have a better ability to wick moisture, then there's always wool shorts such as those made by Ibex Wear ( www.ibexwear.com ).

Also, black as a colour absorbs more heat than lighter colours, so you might like to consider another colour, although white bike shorts ain't exactly attractive or readily available.

I do agree with you though in some respects - All the shorts do in essence is provide UV protection and hold the chamois in place, so companies could be more adventurous when it comes to mixing materials ( like putting a mesh on the underside of the legs for example ) for Summer shorts.

Bike Nashbar has shorts that are a cotton and lycra blend. They're comfortable, but don't dry as easily and won't last as long as 100% lycra, but they're still a great choice. (bikenashbar.com)

Sorry...it's just "www.nashbar.com"

Thank you for the ibex link! I've been looking everywhere for women's wool knickers. Have you ordered from them before?

Yep, I've ordered stuff from Ibexwear. Got a cycling jersey and some skiing pants/tops.
Didn't have a problem & the gear is good quality, well made.

If you get used to it, thin tight wool is an excellent hot weather material. With layering, it is superb in cold weather too.

woolistic...
http://www.vintagevelos.com/shorts-molteni1.html

Ibex...
http://www.ibexwear.com/Products.php?CategoryLine=1007&Sex=Mens&GarmentID=98#

Why did the peloton stop wearing wool and go to nylon in the 70's, if wool wicks better?

Wool does not hold up to washing as well as polyester-based stuff. Also, there are fewer color and logo possibilities with wool (stuff has to be stitched on). With the polyester stuff, all kinds of logos, text, images, advertising can be crammed in there to the point where it looks like a variety magazine page.

In general, I think that the high-tech polyester stuff wicks better than wool. Wool is mostly an aesethetic and tactile choice.