Originally Posted by NYMXer

Last year, when I started cycling and knew nothing about nothing regarding the sport, I bought those silly gel seat covers. Turns out, they made riding less comfortable so I tried the padded cycling shorts as suggested by some new found cycling friends.
Unbeknownst to me, I wore underwear with them and gym shorts over the cycling shorts. I must have looked like a total ass and once home, the underwear were sweat soaked and grungy.
Eventually, I learned that a quality pair of cycling shorts is all that you want or need and the difference in comfort was amazing.
I don't know why padded shorts work FAR better than padded saddle's but that's just the way it is. I learned that through trial and error, but think the general consensus agrees with that statement.
What hurts even more is the money that I've spent to learn how to comfortably ride a road bike!