Fly2High

Everyone,

I am fairly happy with a Fizik Antares but I find I have a muscle that runs along the bottom(posterior) of my leg from the sit bone along the inner section of the femur. It tightens and becomes irritated. Not sure if it is a large abductor or what. I have found that saddles that are shaped like the Fizik Aliantes, more delta shaped like a top view of the concord, seem to irritate it more. It is as if the taper hits there and irritates it. This made me switch to the Antares which has the 'wing' taper quickly at a more rearward position opening up space for this muscle to move I would guess. Now I am trying a Selle Italia SL Flow Carbonio which feels softer than the Antares. Not sure it is better since I feel myself fall into a curved saddle feeling that I am trying to get away from with my original Specialized saddle and the Aliante. I like a flat saddle, not curved.

Now, I have been riding in the winter in tights and they saddles seem fine. I have 3 pair of Pearl Izumi PRO In-R-Cool shorts that I got at a great price. I also have some cheap Sugoi Neo shorts.

If I change shorts, I find the irritation become greater/lesser. A saddle that I wasn't so sure of, now feels better with a different pair of shorts and the saddle that I thought was the best feels lousy with my best shorts.


Do you find that the selection of shorts has as much to do with how well a saddle feels?

Have you had instances where a perfectly great fitting pair of shorts where the chamois is properly located make a good saddle feel poor or what you thought was a poor fitting saddle feel better?

What combos have worked for you?

I am wondering if there is a trend where certain people who need a certain shaped saddle might find similar shorts to also work well with that saddle. There might be a common trend to a particular combination. Please, if you can, list the specific model of saddle and specific model of short if you can since each brand makes various grades of short/padding.

Do you find that the more expensive shorts/bibs ALWAYS feel better on a given saddle? If find it odd that nearly everyone loves the Rapha or Assos shorts/bibs but there are those who say they need thick and other thin chamois. I am not sure I have seen the expensive stuff have thinner pads.

I have also a better pair of Sugoi knickers that I might be wearing this weekend to compare to the cheap shorts to see if padding is the issue. I also have a $200 Mavic bib for comparison and I have also ordered a pair of LG ProFeel 2 short, a Di Marchi Fondo bib short and a Santini 1072 GIT CX Gel Bib Short for further comparison. Not sure I can afford the Assos/Rapha, etc.


Frank

Drew Eckhardt 

Absolutely.

In the 1990s we wore shorts with flat synthetic leather chamois.

I lost my middle age spread, got those out of storage, and OMG they were so much more comfortable than modern diaper shorts with no pressure on my perineum or tight spots.

Boure still makes shorts and bibs lot like that (there's a fluffier filling between seating surface and short making total thickness 5mm).



High-density foam seems better than low density in "modern" shorts. I have a pair of Voler Black Label shorts with the Elastic Interface Technology Comp HP pad with 120kgm/^3 density beneath the sit bones



Some of the $100+ "Air Zone" chamois Louis Garneau shorts are about the same as < $50 Performance store brand

FWIW, Assos (8mm which is less than many contemporary shorts) and Rapha both use EIT pads of varying design.