Originally Posted by jeffremer

You get what you pay for. Performance makes pretty decent budgetwear, but at that price don't expect much. The only harm if you aren't even wearing bike shorts now and getting cheap shorts is as you mentioned just paying a little more in the long run. Any bike short will be an upgrade from what you are doing now. If you wanted to save some money on clothes then get Performance jerseys and get some nicer shorts. I've got some Specialized BG Comp shorts and PI UltraSensor Shorts, both of which rock.

Also note: many people recommend steering clear of gel shorts because of durability and pressure point issues.

IMO you shouldn't skimp on the contact points. Having good shorts, gloves, saddle, shoes, etc are all very important to your comfort on the bike.

Yes, you'd need a medium.