bruce19

I have several pairs of cycling shorts....everything from shorts to bibs to knickers. Most are Pearl Izumi, one is Castelli and one is DeMarchi. They are of varying price and quality from moderate to fairly expensive. All are road oriented. So, the other day I went out to buy a long sleeve jersey and ended up at a bike shop in Mystic, CT. It's a place I've been to only once before. I found a nice LS jersey and noticed that they were having a 75% off sale on some Pearl Izumi Tri skinsuits. I'm about 15 lbs. over my ideal cycling weight but I thought "what the hell, I'm gonna' try one on." So, I tried a PI Elite suit in large and damned if it didn't feel great. Kind of minimal padding but really comfortable and actually looked pretty good. So, I went back to the rack and found a PI Pro in large. Ended up buying them both. The Elite retailed for $120 and cost me $30 and the Pro was $200 and cost me $50. Went home and went out on a ride with a pair of PI knickers I bought last year. One of the higher cost chamois and I found myself constantly adjusting and generally not as comfortable as I thought it should be. The next two days I went out wearing each of the Tri suits and found them to be really comfortable even with the thinner chamois. All of these rides were in the 20-35 mi. range. It never occurred to me that thinner might work better for me but I guess it does. And, damn I really like those Tri suits.

cyclinfool

This has been a source of much conversation here over the years. The general consensus as I recall is that a thin quality pad is better than a thick pad. The most uincomfortable shorts I have is a gel pad - they stay in my locker at the gym and I use them for spin classes (that last typically 45 to 50 min).

The pad is really more to absorb sweat and minimize chaffing rather than pad the tush.

martianone

[QUOTE=cyclinfool;10555478]This has been a source of much conversation here over the years. The general consensus as I recall is that a thin quality pad is better than a thick pad. QUOTE]

+1.
I wear cycle shorts only when it is really hot + humid. Have tried several types- the two most comfortable for me have a thin pad. One is a J&G touring short, second is an Aerotech tri-short.

love2pedal.com

Bruce, I think you are spot on, but what you say is counterintuitive and so many people think thicker is better even though that isn't the case

t4mv

An exception to the thinner chamois as more comfortable is the Assos chamois. It's gotta be the fattest of the ones I currently ride (mostly Castelli) by far, but I never think about the saddle when I ride 'em.

I think the more important factor is how the channel cuts are designed into the chamois so it doesn't bunch up or chafe when you're actually compressing it against the saddle.

rumrunn6

cr*p I just paid full retail $120.00 at REI for a trisuit. about the thinner liner - yes - it was good to see that the thinner liner was not an issue.