Timtruro

I was getting a lot of soreness at about the 15-20 mile mark on my new Roubaix. Someone suggested I try different shorts and it worked. My old biking shorts worked fine (chamois) but the new ones (gel) did not, they also felt big and felt like I was carrying some extra "stuff" between my legs. I had bought them due to the price...........recently bought a new chamois pair that I paid about twice as much for and they worked fine (also a smaller size). Didn't think they would make that much difference but they do. Not sure if it was the size thing, the gel thing, or just better quality but I shall spend the extra money for the Specialized chamois shorts in the future!

RonH

Congrats on the shorts.
Now you gotta move up to these.

Mojo Slim

I've posted my rule-of-thumb before. Spend $1 for every mile you want to ride. A century means $100 shorts. Since I moved up to better shorts I have had no chafing and much less pain, even on a recent 7 day ride.

cyclinfool

I have a variety of shorts and thier comfort seems to have little correlation with price. By far the most uncomfortable ones on long rides is the pair with the gel pad. What I have found is the short and the seat area a system, they work together. I have a Terry liberator on my distance bike and that saddle likes a thin pad. I have an E3 on the Tarmac and that one likes a little more pad. My most comfortable combo overall are my mid priced EMS shorts with my Terry saddle.

BlazingPedals

I wear the cheapest lycra running shorts I can find, along with Coolmax underwear. But then, I don't have those obnoxious pressure points you guys are always worrying about.

tntyz

I have a pair of Novara Strada (REI brand) shorts that have some gel in the chamois. I find the be quite comfortable. Longest ride on them has been 50 miles.

What seems to work best for me are more slippery fabrics - both inside and out. I have a pair with a slight texture to the chamois with is not comfortable.

Timtruro

The new shorts are Specialized chamois. The lbs owner said that all chamois in bike shorts is now synthetic. I paid $60 for them, to me that is expensive for a pair of biking shorts, to others it may not seem so. But they weem to work fine so another pair will be purchased very soon.

What if anything is the advantage of the bib shorts??

cyclinfool

The make you wait longer before you go to the can

Retro Grouch 

Yeah. I'd have to find some that had really short legs.

az_cyclist

I have had good luck with Pearl Izumi Ultra Sensor shorts.

Longfemur

I think any cycling short is bound to be better than not. But I'm among those who shun padding, both in shorts and on the saddle. No matter where the padding is, it ends up doing the same thing. Something is going to compress down into it, and as a result, something is going to more pressure from the rest of it than it should.

rumrunn6

nothing obnoxious about my "pressure points", in fact they are quite kind and generous ...

BluesDawg

You'll notice that gel shorts are always on sale. Otherwise they could never trick anyone into buying them.

I'm glad that Mojo's $1 per mile rule does not prove true in my case. If it did, I would never have ridden comfortably for more than 60 miles and rarely over 50. I agree that you need better shorts for longer rides, but I have had several pairs of shorts I bought for $40 to $50 that worked very well for me on rides up to 100 miles.

Timtruro

I rode 40+ miles Saturday with them and they were great. Did start to experience a little pressure on the inner thighs at the end though.

rumrunn6

OK, now check your saddle. I started this season with what I thought would be an awesome saddle and I actually bought 2 of them - kind of a WTB gel saddle - Schwinn Comfort I think it was, here's a not so great picture. Anyway I was doing fine except after long rides I was feeling the rubbing inside my thigh and even a little hip discomfort. Then I bought a "racing" saddle? or maybe just a "road" saddle a Specialized Avatar Gel size 143 I think. A good LBS measured my sit bones. There is no more thigh rubbing or hip discomfort, even on a 100 mile ride!

Timtruro

Pretty sure that is the saddle I have on the Roubaix, but I was riding the Peugeot on Saturday........will have to do 40 on the Roubaix and see how that feels. The saddle on the Peugeot is not that great anyway.

Longfemur

You can't talk about any specific saddle unless you take your riding position into consideration. A racing saddle is designed for and requires a racing position. If you are riding more in a touring type of posture, then you need something a bit wider. Measuring sit bones may sound scientific and modern, but it's relatively meaningless, since that width ultimately depends on how you are sitting on the bike.

flatlander_48

From my experience, I would say that your rule is a bare minimum. I believe it is possible that a relatively inexpensive pair of shorts can work fairly well for SOME people. The problem is that we can't try out ALL of the inexpensive shorts on the market; not enough time, not enough money. What I think happens is that you can improve your odds of a good fit (for you) by spending more. Paying more usually translates into better materials, better workmanship AND more product testing. If you sell shorts for say, $60, something has to get reduced or left out altogether. The question is what was it?

roadrider63

My first pair Pearl Izumi Quest were only 50$...then I thought I'd try a thinner chamois on some Canondale shorts. I think it tends to "ball up" but they are ok for 25 / 30 milers. I wear the PI's for my longer rides but sure do plan to purchase a nicer pair when I get to the century mark.

I did discover this though. I thought I was getting sit bone pain at around the 40 to 50 mile mark but when I got home and took a look, it was chafing. Could have been the shorts, but since then I've started using Chamois butt'r on longer rides and it definately helps. Just something to think about.

Longfemur

Oh come on. Sure, get better quality shorts if you can. But let's be realistic. People were riding centuries and extended, multi-country tours long before there were any such shorts... so obviously, it's not an absolute requirement. As I said before, I still say that you shouldn't rely on shorts to resolve what is really a positioning problem (and perhaps not the ideal saddle for you).

flatlander_48

Chamois pads have been around for a LONG time; back when they were real leather...

BluesDawg

I'm not sure how it works exactly but there sure seems to be some kind of correlation between income level and sensitivity to derriere pain.