azza_333

My question is do you need the fancy padded cycling tights/shorts, would I be able to get away with a pair of skins and some kmart shorts doing 80-120km a day? How much of a difference do the padded shorts make?

Machka 

Find out!!

Shorts are personal. Some people can get away with no padding. Some people like minimal padding. Some people prefer lots of padding. Some like one type of padding. Some like another type of padding.

Can YOU ride 80-200 km/day with skins and K-Mart shorts? If you don't know ... tomorrow is Saturday. Put on your skins and K-Mart shorts and go for an 80 km ride. Repeat on Sunday. Let us know how you feel.


If you want to try padded shorts, go to your closest Anaconda and try some shorts on. Make sure the padding covers your sitbones.

azza_333

I'm going for a 40km ride on SUNDAY!!! if I experience no issue with a 40km ride should I be alright on a 120km? and I'm not concered about comfort with out padding as my saddle(B17) is already very comfortable, I am more concered about chaffing, and saddle sore infections from my rear end being covered in sweat all day every day.

Machka 

Well no. A 40 km ride won't tell you too much about a 120 km ride. But a 80 km ride might tell you.


Chafing, saddle sores, and infections are prevented by having a good bicycle setup, good saddle, good fitness level, lots of saddle time, a strong core, good posture on the bicycle ... and washing the sweat off yourself down there every few hours. And good shorts can sometimes help as well.

azza_333

Thanks Machka that's what I was after.

irwin7638

I quit using diapers when I went back to leather saddles. I have no problems, but don't wear cotton.

Marc

onbike 1939

The answer lies in stopping the sweat as it is this which causes friction and so chafing and saddle-sores.

Buy a barrier cream, one used by nurses and others which has an added antiseptic and stops any sweating in those areas. Cleanliness is of importance too and so carry two pairs of shorts for tours....one off and one on.

Machka 

Regarding stopping the sweating, an antiperspirant works well. Just run a small roll-on over sitbones and other friction areas. And for the squeamish ... that's your shorts roll-on, to be kept separate from your usual antiperspirant ... not that you put your shorts roll-on in any unclean places. Shower, scrub well, towel dry, apply roll-on.

Or you could use one spray-on antiperspirant for all.

aidy

I've done my tours with unpadded running shorts (they have flat seams) on my Brooks. Super comfortable, but cold winds go straight through them, which can be a problem when it's freezing.

nun

99% of cyclists will ride with some kind of pad, I always wear one. Many people will wear riding shorts or bibs with an integral pad, that's certainly what road cyclists do, but those shorts don't have pockets
so they can be inconvenient for touring. My solution is to tour wearing a pair of padded underwear and some lightweight MTB shorts. The underwear can be washed every night and can even be worn without the shorts if needed because they look like bike shorts. The best I've found are from Rapha...they are very expensive, but feel lovely.

Merino Boxers With Pad | Rapha

fietsbob

the synthetic chamois does not have to be padded, but sweat absorbant and feeling seamless , an clean and dry daily..

so I tour with 3 pair.. and wash my skin thoroughly to knock-back surface bacteria.


Unpadded or leather covered saddles also absorbs sweat a bit.

nun

This is why I carry 2 pairs of padded underwear and one pair of shorts. At the end of the day I wash my underwear so that I always have at least one clean pair to wear.
Keeping clean is also very important.

fietsbob

to each their Own... I just wear Y fronts while sightseeing , street clothes, off the bike for the day.. on the bike the bike shorts are the base layer..

Doug64

You will find out after about the first week.

79pmooney

There is one very good reason to wear cycling shorts, especially if you ride distance day after day as you are planning. To avoid saddle sores. Minor saddle sores can make life in the saddle miserable. Major ones are show stoppers. Cycling shorts are not the only way to avoid them and even with good shorts, they can still happen. The padding is nice, but the fabrics, styles and seams designed to minimized chafing will be what makes the real difference.

Edit: this thread is the first time I ever hard of using barrier creams or antiperspirant there and I have been riding a long time. Using creams to minimize chafing has been done for at least the past century, with riders each adhering to their preferred cream or concoction. I used the stuff from Palo Alto Bike Shop when I raced in the '70s as did many others. Now there are a number of creams available at many bike shops and online.

Most rides I do not use a cream. When I am going for a long ride or tour, I use the ancient blend Bag Balm. Cheap, available at any old school pharmacy, kinda messy and works really well (and is a God send if you already have a sore and have to keep riding).

Ben

fietsbob

Yea Keep A bus fare fund in your Budget, to pack up your bike in the middle of the trip, and Go Home, when your skin infections prevent any More riding.

Papa Tom

I didn't think I needed padded shorts until I actually tried a pair. Now, instead of those expensive shorts, I own a few pairs of padded UNDERshorts. I can't imagine riding without them ever again. No, you don't need to bleed every time you ride!

trainsktg

I've tested several saddles that felt great until about 40 miles, but by the time I hit 55ish miles, I could barely sit down. One of these was a lauded Brooks saddle...I toughed that miserable thing out for about 450 cumulative miles before I finally had enough. Definitely try out any prospective saddle over the distances you intend to travel.

Keith

azza_333

how did they feel different?

Papa Tom

Do you mean the shorts, or the UNDERshorts?

The first time you wear padded shorts, you kind of feel like you have a load in your pants, but you feel really cushy on the saddle. To me, it felt like riding on an air mattress, and I knew right away that this was the only way I would ever want to ride again.

My first (and second) pairs of bike shorts were the baggy mountain bike type, as I don't like the look or feel of those tight "show us your junk" shorts. I wasn't crazy about spending $80-100 on a pair of baggy shorts that looked dopey once I got off the bike, though, so I started looking for a way to wear my regular cargo shorts and still have all that padding.

I can't remember the name of the padded undershorts I wear right now, but I think it's something like "Andamo." They're about $25-30 a pair (still expensive, in my book) but I can keep four pairs around for the price of one full set of biking shorts and be able to alternate and wash them every day. Once you've soaked your shorts with sweat, it becomes really disgusting and unsanitary to wear them a second time without washing.

azza_333

So its just a comfort thing, not an avoid saddle sore thing?

intransit1217

Just learned something about bike shorts today. I just got my third pair, a pair of Louis Garneau low-end shorts. At 45.00$ they're the least expensive of the three. My Pearl Izumis being the highest at 65.

More padding is not necessarily a good thing. I'm not talking about the padding in the main area. My new LGs have an extra perimeter of padding around the butt/ perineum area. As I was breaking them in today, the first thing I noticed was more heat in the crotch. Foam does this. i also noticed the extra foam made for extra seams.

My Bontragers and Izumis don't have either problem. I can't return them so i have to give them more time and hope they soften up a bit. I hope the canaris that are our club kit will be better. But I won't know for a long time.

MassiveD

I wear cotton sweat pants lightweight, even when it is really hot. I love shorts but my whacked up right leg is a little too noticeable. I line the inside with one or two layers of fleece, I wouldn't use foam. That is about 50 cents added. My wife did the first two pairs, but I got back into sewing and do that kind of thing myself. I do them one of two ways: A single layer, or a smaller single layer, and a wider top layer, all single layer fleece. Super comfortable, easy to keep clean, all around ideal. I use peneten cream and a Brooks. I am perfectly happy riding short, under 5 mile distances with normal clothes, but on long tours I gear up.

I carry shorts to wear under my rain pants.

When on long tours I don't mix pant types, they actually affect bike fit, I have it that dialed in with my injuries that I can tell the difference a single layer of padding makes to fit.

Papa Tom

Yes! It's also an "avoid saddle sore" thing. But you have to keep them clean or you'll be dealing with issues just as painful as saddle sores.

indyfabz

I give up. What's the answer, please?