ChiroVette

Okay, not sure where to put this one. I looked for a forum here dedicated to attire and clothing, and didn't find one. So I figured here would be as good a place as any for this. I bought a new road bike a few weeks back, and I love it. I have been bike riding my whole life, but have never owned anything high or medium end like this one, which is a Scott Foil 30. Definitely high end for me, as the bike I have been riding for the last 20 years has been a Trek 750 Hybrid. Before that, I rode a lot, but couldn't even tell you what I was riding. So I know very little about riding other than that I enjoy it.

Love the new bike, but have noticed that I was very uncomfortable on it, seat hard, positioning...all things I figured I just need to get used to, coming from a more comfy hybrid. But the bike shop I purchased the Foil 30 from recommended biking shorts. Now you have to understand how ignorant I am in that until very very recently, I had no idea that these shorts were even padded! So when Glen from Piermont Cycle Connections told me that I should literally ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ride with shorts, I was skeptical, but bought a pair he was selling for $50.00 or so.It is a pair of black entry level (so he told me) Silvercool 3 shorts made by a company I think called LJI?

He told me these were bare minimum, but due to my ignorance, I have no clue. I mean, are the shorts I can buy off Amazon or Walmart that are very much less expensive all right for riding on the city streets for between one and four hours? Or was he right that "you get what you pay for?"

Understand that I am not trying to buy on the cheap. I am asking this question because I simply have no idea. Thanks!

rumrunn6

yes to both. plenty of people ride without shorts so riding with cheap shorts is likely to be ok.

and yes you get what you pay for cheap shorts won't be as good as expensive shorts. but don't shop based on price. shop based on brand, reviews and fit. don't buy off the internet if you can avoid it.

my 1st shorts were cheap, my 2nd shorts were not. I love my current shorts so much I gladly paid $75 when I wanted a new 2nd pair

now if I can only get wifey to NOT put them in the dryer ...

bikeguyinvenice

Shorts with chamois/padding are essential for most people that ride more than an hour or so, or they are for me at least. But you do get what you pay for, for the most part, sometimes house brand clothing is ok, sometimes it falls apart quickly. The most recent short I are Louis Garneau that I paid about $50 for, they have been ok for up to about 2 hours on the bike. And they haven't started to fall apart yet. I bought them last winter.

hueyhoolihan

in general, where clothing is concerned, you get what you pay for. and as with many things, at the low end of the bell curve the stuff is junk, and at the high end it just costs more. experience will show you where the end points are for value. there is no substitute for it. you must get burnt, a little, to find those points for yourself.

cafzali

You must be from the Hudson Valley Glen is a good guy and isn't bad about wanting to sell you a lot of stuff you don't need. If you want to get lots of information about shorts, use the search function here and look up some of the previous threads. There are good recommendations in them about specific brands, types, etc.

It's fine to buy a pair or two of shorts from an LBS, but generally you're going to get much more value when it comes to clothing and accessories buy buying online.

saeyedoc

I found some reasonably priced shorts on Amazon, one fit, one didn't, was very easy to return, even if used a few times. I try to pick some up at the LBS when they are on sale. I like the baggy types, tight inside, but I don't look like a 50 yr old idiot.

Dirt Road

Depending on how friendly your rear gets with the saddle, and it WILL over time, so be patient a while, even the cheap shorts with simple synthetic chamois help with friction and chaffing, provide some compression where you need it in the upper leg, and conform to the shape of your saddle. They are fine, in my opinion, for most general riding and certainly for the local stuff. Just don't go too cheap. I bought a couple at Sports Authority (or similar) that the stitching fell apart and the chamois was a bit too small in the front. The more padded, more absorbent shorts move the padding from the saddle to your rump. This is great if you have a hard saddle and good if you just need some padding as your tail hardens up. Some of the pads are colorful and elaborate. This is okay, too.

Rumps are like opinions in that everybody's is different. My suggestion is that you ride, ride, ride until your rear accommodates and then experiment with different brands and price range shorts until you find what you like.

Vexxer

I think lower price items are hit or miss, and could vary per person. Currently, my two favorite pair of shorts are 2 pair of Sugoi Contender shorts that I bought from Nashbar for 19.99 each.. I have not had a single issue with comfort since I bought them, unlike other "cheap" shorts I have had that were only good for short rides, or no good to begin with. I recently did a 3 hour ride wearing a pair of them, and they were great.

JamesRL

I wear liner shorts - basically chamois and lyric under garments mean to be worn under regular shorts. I get mine from MEC, they cost $32 CDN, and fit me fine and feel fine. I used to wear black spandex back in the day, but the liners give you more options - you can wear them under shorts, long pants, whatever.

I think fit is the most important thing.

ChiroVette

Thanks for the answers, folks!

I will check these out, maybe buy a few pairs. They sound good.

I am still unsure if the shorts I bought are considered all right and acceptable, at least. Oh, I was somewhat wrong about the brand and model as I was reading the tag not the shorts. lol The shorts I have are Garneau Signature Optimum Shorts. Are these any good?

Vexxer

I do not know if they are any good since I have never tried them, but they are traditional compression shorts, they are the style most road riders wear. Garneau is a well known and reputable brand, I have a pair of riding gloves and a Jersey by them.

RoyIII

I have some reasonably priced shorts from Boure. I'd buy from them again when I need more. https://www.boure.com

BlazingPedals

Cheap shorts are a grab-bag. Sometimes you luck out, sometimes you strike out. Generally, when you pay more, you get heavier lycra and a better quality pad. OTOH, that may not matter to you. For instance, being a 'bent rider, I don't care about the pad.

wphamilton

I've had good luck with less expensive shorts, so I disagree with "you get what you pay for." Might happen, but not always.

ChiroVette

I think that because I am so inexperienced and wouldn't know a good pair of bike shorts from a crappy pair, that I should err on the side of buying decent of goo quality. If I had more experience and even knew what I should be looking for in shorts, then maybe I would be fine going with cheaper ones because I would be able to at least know what I am putting on and riding with. Does this make sense?
I have a pair of their gloves as well, also bought from Piermont.

I'll check them out, thanks!

WrightVanCleve

I think it depends upon the shorts if they are worth the price or not.

I've had a few pair of cheap shorts that worked well and were comfortable enough to wear, but I've had more pairs of cheap shorts not fit so well with the chamois coming loose after just a few washings. I tend to go for the pricier ones now as they tend to fit much better and last longer, not always but more often than the cheap ones.

If you like that short, buy the same thing if you can get a much better price. Doesn't hurt to try different brands and see how they fit you and if you find them more comfortable or not.

rydabent

All of this discussion of high priced padded shorts and saddles make me glad I ride recumbents.

jon c. 

You don't need shorts. I rode centuries in jeans when I was a kid. But when I returned to riding in middle age I started wearing them and once I got used to them regular shorts didn't feel comfortable anymore. I bought a few cheaper pair and they worked well enough, but over time I was getting a bit of chafing on the head of my ...... I haven't had that problem with somewhat better shorts. But if you shop sales at the end of the year, you can get pretty good ones for not much more than $50 (I have Castelli Presto and Voler and have been happy with them). I confess I did dry the cheap ones in the dryer, whereas I've air dried the better ones so that could be factor.

(This probably goes without saying, but I didn't know. Don't wear underwear with bike shorts. It's totally counterproductive.)

ChiroVette

Actually, it doesn't go without saying. I have worn underwear every time I went out with my new shorts, so THANKS for the advice. I always wear underwear and it never occurred to me not to with bike shorts. lol Also, since I only have one pair of shorts right now and ride every day, I will continue to hand wash and hang dry them. When I have more pairs, I will wait for a trip to the laundromat to wash them, but based on everything I read in this thread, I will always hang dry them.

linnefaulk

Another option is cycling liners. They are cheaper than bike shorts and you can wear your own shorts over them.

Cheaper bike shorts have thinner chamois and fewer panels. If you haven't worn any before, you probably won't notice the difference. An inexpensive pair of bike shorts will be better than none.

ChiroVette

Yeah, that seems to be the general consensus here, so I think its definitely true. Not sure if my pair I bought are inexpensive and "better than nothing" or actually a decent pair. lol Never occurred to me that a fifty dollar pair of shorts could actually be "low end" but then given what we are all paying for our nice bicycles, I suppose I'm not at all surprised.

I think what I am going to do is baby this less expensive pair, washing them by hand and hanging them after rides so that they don't fall apart. I don't want to invest in anything high end just yet, because I just lost about 35 pounds, but my waist size is still 34-35 where I prefer it at 32", which gets me into single digit bodyfat percentage. Another problem I face is that I am a bodybuilder (not pro or anything, just amateur and fitness oriented) so clothes don't fit me right off the rack the way they do normal people who are as lean as I usually am. So the pants I have now are tight. I purchased Large, knowing I have another couple of inches to go. So I think I will wait until I am under 10% bodyfat then maybe buy a few nicer quality pairs when I can figure out for certain whether I need Large (at 32" in the waist) or still need an XL because of the tree trunks I call my thighs lol.

Oh, and I meant to say this in my response to jon C, but this is all incredibly new to me. I mean I have been riding since I was a little kid, and have had many bikes in my life. Decades later, I have never so much as tried on a pair of bike shorts until now. I always rode in jeans or sweats, and thought that those crazy, neon bike shorts with all the colors and logos were just for show. It never dawned on me that this apparel was also quite functional. so I was completely ignorant of all this. I can say, after about five rides all of various lengths with these shorts, that the difference is night and day. I thought the seat of my nice, new Foil 30 was just uncomfortable and too hard, but I was willing to live with it because it matches the bike so beautifully. However, riding with the shorts, the formerly terribly uncomfortable seat is now fine, no problems at all. I am also not getting any numbness in the crotch area like I started getting a few years back.

Rollfast

Still wear plain old pant shorts after 40 years on a bike.

ChiroVette

Same for me, up until a week ago. What a friggin' difference padded bicycle shorts make. A week ago, I laughed at bike-shorts and any salesman "dumb enough" to try to sell me a pair. Now? I would never go back to riding with regular pants, sweats, or non-bicycle shorts.

wphamilton

Whoa there, don't lump all of us in that same pile. $20 is low end for shorts, and I ride a $500 bike. Not dawdling in the park riding either.

IMO, the salesman labeling the $50 shorts as "entry level" is managing expectations and trying to condition you to a higher price point for cycling attire.

Vexxer

I have a general rule against buying clothing at bike shops, half the stuff they carry, especially the stuff with their name on it is just as "cheap" as they sell on Amazon or Nashbar, yet they charge 5 times as much for it... Performance Bike is the only shop I have ever seen that has decent prices on clothing, but that is only when stuff is on major sale.