frogbiscuit

Tried the padded bike shorts and the padded underwear, and I just can't do it. Got a gel seat and just wear gym shorts.

Come to think of it, I don't wear the jersey, either. Looks weird, and I have to get a ridiculous size (like 4x) to fit, even though I'm not that huge (6'1", 250).

mrv 

mostly I ride sans-chamois. if I bike to work it doesn't dry out in time. touring i could be in bike shorts all day, so again i don't like the clamy-chamois.

I'll usually try to dress appropriate to the group - so if my friends are on road bikes in full super hero regalia, i'll do that also. And I just got a new-ish Brooks seat I'm breaking, so I'm opting for padding for the first few hundred miles.

You might want to consider recumbent shorts - compression shorts basically - bike shorts with no padding. Should cut down on chaffing you get with gym shorts. Or exposing yourself as your baggy gym short creep up and get lifted by the wind.....
https://www.aerotechdesigns.com/compression-shorts.html
-- These guys are great. I was after a set of chamois-less knickers, not the baggy pedal pushers, but tights - and these guys pulled two off the assembly line before putting the chamois in. Just really nice of them to do a special order at no extra handling fees.

frogbiscuit

That's a great idea, thanks. Sometimes I wear boxer briefs under the gym shorts, but have not considered the compression shorts.

rumrunn6

yeah I use a leather brooks saddle & thin lined tri-shorts (no "padding") under cycling pants or MTB shorts. the thin liner provides some moisture management & the leather saddle provides the comfort. I ave to use XXL tri-shorts even though I buy pants w 38" waist. go figure

downhillmaster

fietsbob

I just never adopted it.. stayed with lined but un padded bike shorts,
since the days of leather 'Chamois' in wool shorts ..






..

canklecat

Depends on the bike. Saddle, handlebar height, reach -- everything that affects rider position -- will influence whether padding improves rider comfort or makes it worse.

One of my favorite saddles is an old Bell saddle with dense, comfortable foam and Lycra cover so it breathes and wicks moisture. It effectively serves the same purpose as padded shorts. It's comfortable all day with regular clothing. It's on my upright errand bike hybrid now.

On my road bike with firm narrow saddle I'll wear padded tighty shorts. Besides comfort and lower wind resistance from typical roadie kit, the skin tight shorts also prevent snagging water bottles and cages. Water bottles and cages usually sit a bit higher on the frame with road bikes compared with hybrids and more casual bikes. I can wear baggy shorts on my hybrid but those same shorts will snag the water bottle and cage on my seat tube. Same thing happened to a buddy on a ride the other day. We planned to stop for food and he's self conscious about the tighty shorts in restaurants and bars, so he wore his baggy shorts. We had to stop several times so he could untangle the shorts hem from the rearmost water bottle. He finally emptied the bottle and tucked it into his jersey rear pocket to get it out of the way.

One of my saddles has more padding and a pressure relief cutout. Padded shorts are too much with that saddle -- it increases pressure and eventual pain. So I'll use my lined but unpadded Aero Tech Pro shorts with that saddle.

My hybrid has a nearly unpadded saddle but with a split rear and flexible shell. So the saddle conforms and gives quite a bit despite the lack of padding. I can ride up to 10 miles on that saddle wearing regular clothes -- jeans or baggies. But for longer rides I'll wear the Aero Tech Pro shorts as liner shorts under my jeans or baggies. The minimal low-loft, low-density pad doesn't show through clothing.

wphamilton

Sometimes. Short rides and commutes, which are 25-40 minutes, it doesn't really matter to comfort what I wear. I have an unpadded saddle on my road bike and I'll admit that on 2 or 3 hour rides I do prefer padded shorts.

BobbyG

Never tried padded shorts, I also just wear golf shorts and a seat pad.

andrewclaus

Depends on the length of the ride for me too. I have an old pair of chamois shorts that only come out if I'll be spending more than six hours in the saddle, especially day after day (I tour a bit). I was recently gifted a nice Selle Anatomica leather saddle, my first time on leather, and it feels good with no padding.

MarcusT

Depends on how far. less than 2 hours; no padding. 2-4 hours; light padding more than 4 hours; the most padding I can get

IronM

Depends on how you ride. I spend the $$ for the best kit and chamois I can buy, pro level if possible (just not pro 'race fit'!). The tight-fitting jersey doesn't flap around, and it's contact with skin helps wick sweat away and provide excellent cooling in my hot & humid climate. The Chamois, combined with the right saddle (it takes a while to find it) really helps for longer rides - or even shorter but frequent rides. I have a really hard saddle I think that would be miserable without a chamois. But that's just what works for me - I still kit up like I did when I was younger and riding a lot more

Rollfast

Still using mostly old Troxels from the 60s and 70s, not really cushy but I just love the look.

I had a gel cushion cover once and it ate the seat cover?

There is one on my avatar.

FiftySix

I've never tried padded shorts, so I've never given them up. Bicycles are more utilitarian for me. I just want to hop on and go no matter what I'm wearing.

I gotta have some padding in the saddle, though. Some of those seats I've tried feel like pelvis cleavers to me. Since I don't want to be impaled by my bicycle, well . . .

zjrog

I like wearing padded shorts sometimes. I do have 3x shorts and under shorts. I rarely wore jerseys, and presently only have 1 I can wear in public. Funny, it is a 2x Canari, and is more loose than my 3x Hincapie and 3x Blackbottom jerseys...

I don't ride in groups anyway, so no pressure.

At least I am losing weight, this is the 2x Canari... I'm down 10 pounds from this pic.

rayooo

'tried padded shorts from time to time, no real benefit, even on long rides. pad-less for me.

ButchA

No padded shorts either for me. I just can't get into the whole "bicycle kit" type of outfit. I wear what I wear and have a nice Forte Softail seat (sort of dual purpose - road/touring) that is really really comfortable.

My classic 1985 Fuji Del Rey road bike, toe cages, 12 speed friction shifters, etc...
Nylon surfer shorts, lightweight sports shirt (from when I ran the 8K (5 mile) version of the Richmond Marathon), yellow mesh safety vest, and an old pair of Adidas sneakers (they seem to just fit with the MKS Sylvan pedals and toe cages).

skidder

I wear shorts with just a thin artificial chamois liner in the crotch area. If I need padding in that area, I'll get a new saddle. My current saddle has a small layer of padding, and I always thought the shape of the saddle was more important than how much padding you had on the saddle/in your shorts.

davester

I figure that the thickly padded shorts are a response to all the lousy plastic and foam saddles that come with bikes these days. I use Brooks suspended leather saddles on my bikes and for short rides (<20 miles) I wear anything I want (I commute in my chinos) and for long rides where chafing comes into play I wear bike shorts with a very thin synthetic chamois. The problem is that most of the bike shorts manufacturers have shifted over to ridiculously thick pads that feel like diapers. Ridiculous! Last I checked, Aerotech was the one shorts maker that had the option of a thin chamois.

frogbiscuit

Yeah I agree, the whole "bike kit" thing for me is kind of weird. I tend to wear fake under armour style t shirts in neon colors that I get at Wal Mart. I do have a pair of Pearl Izumi shoes, though. I have had surgery on both feet (born with flat feet, ended up with some serious bunions) and the stiff sole seem to help keep my feet from hurting.

I am just up the road in Spotsy, we should ride some weekend.

ButchA

Sounds great! My sister & bro-in-law and I all ride (my wife will ride - occasionally - but just a teeny little spin around the side streets +/- 5 miles at max. )

I laid out a map (from MapMyRide) that is up near Spotsylvania Co up around Lake Anna area. We want to ride it this summer sometime. I used to have my dad's old 1975 Mercruiser speedboat about 20 years ago that he gave me as he and my mom got too elderly to be able to use it regularly, so I hauled it to my house, fixed it up a little, and took my wife and daughters up to Lake Anna all the time and we'd go tubing and (when calm) get up on waterskis.

mojojojo

I have toughened up the taint enough that I only need padding on very long rides.

TimothyH

I hear one needs a pretty tough taint to live in Hapeville.

I ditched uncomfortable, padless shorts long ago. Now I wear shorts with the thickest, most luxurious pads I can find.

7Mesh MK2 bibs with Elastic Interface Space2 pad is like riding your rich uncle's 1968 Cadillac Sedan de Ville de Elegance. I'll be wearing them bikepacking on gravel next week.

Just felt like saying that.


-Tim-

thehammerdog

Trying to avoid any additional butt issues from life time of riding
not wanting the dreaded “pink sock” problem so famed in song & dance

50PlusCycling

I find a well broken-in Brooks B17 to be all I need. I can ride comfortably in jeans, shorts, or whatever, no padding required. I ride daily, so my backside is well-acclimated. On rides more than one hour or more, I tend to ride a bike with a Brooks Swift, which is narrower, and works better with padded shorts.