Suggestions for underwear/material for shorter rides for a larger person
 

Hanes/Fruit of the Loom type boxer briefs were a moderate improvement over briefs due to seam issues but I'm still having comfort issues. I've tried a couple of different gel seats which have a fair amount of padding so I don't think the seat is the problem. I think the underwear material/weave itself is an issue - i.e. I think it's a bit coarse and irritating the main contact points particularly given my mass - 6'4" and over 250 lbs. My riding is generally less than 5 miles at a time so it seems padded shorts might be inconvenient overkill - don't want to have to change out of them after a relatively short ride to the gym etc. if I can avoid it.

Any suggestions for a type/brand of underwear that you think would do the trick?

Thanks.

Bike Shorts with No Underwear works for me. 60,000 miles

Maybe the padded gel saddle is the problem. Try something with less padding. And, ditch the cotton underwear.

Or get a recumbent bike or trike, and wear pretty much anything you want to. Your weight is pretty much on your back not your crotch.

I tried different kinds of underwear with little success, and I'm trimmer than you.
I suggest you surrender to the fact that underwear meant for normal activities are not suited for cycling.
compression shorts don't have padding but give the support and stretch needed for cycling.
The key to look for IMHO is "flat seam" I never tried these but they seem to fit the bill. http://www.amazon.com/Compression-Shorts-Running-Cycling-Basketball/dp/B00FJ1IV7E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451914100&sr=8-1&keywords=mens+compression+shorts+flat+seam


when like you I was only riding 5 miles or so, I really didn't want to go with padded cycling shorts, but I was so uncomfortable I just bit the bullet and bought a pair of these Amazon.com: Baleaf Men's 3D Padded Bicycle Cycling Colored Underwear Shorts: Sports & Outdoors They are not heavily padded and are short like boxers so I wear them under regular loose fitting shorts/pants when I'm riding my bike to an event. They are inexpensive but surprisingly well made. I still use them.
Good luck to you. Oh and to share my experience, when I went with cycling shorts, my comfort level increased to the point that I was riding longer and farther.
Happy Trails to you.

this certainly could be a problem, but I suggest you try different shorts first. The quest for the "perfect saddle" resembles that of the Holy Grail. LOL...........seriously, I bought six different saddles before finding the right one for me. And I'm a lucky one. Others are still searching.

Cotton underwear is going to have thick seams in the wrong places, and it will soak up sweat & chafe. I'd recommend wearing compression shorts AS underwear.

Bike shorts work well for biking. Try some mt bike shorts. A little more breezy and comfortable for me.

Padding is not your friend. Gel seats aren't good, either.

It sounds as though you're trying to avoid the initial pressure/discomfort of teaching your posterior that bike riding is okay. There will be initial tenderness that will toughen out.

A flat, firm saddle is a better starting point. For only 5 miles, wear whatever you want. Compression shorts, no underwear, and ordinary slacks should be fine. Don't overthink it, but don't rely on padding.

The purpose of specific riding shorts is to prevent chafing due to moisture trapped down there, so the "pad" is really a wicking material. In the northern hemisphere, sweat isn't really your problem now, at least not at 5 miles...

Agreed.

Visit us in the Clydes forum where we big guys discuss issues like this.

If you feel a little embarrassed with bike shorts/bibs, get the MTB shorts to begin with. After a while, you'll realize that there is nothing to be embarrassed about wearing bike shorts/bibs while riding a bike.

And for us bigger guys, the bibs normally fit better than the shorts.

GH

Well, my answer is running shorts with loose built in whatever morphing to sweat pants with nothing when colder. Anything more restrictive tends to cause problems, for me at least. Daily rider, rec, with a normal upper bound of 20 miles. Good, well fitting saddles.

There are also touring shorts that look like regular shorts, have a zippered rear pocket and have a chamois.

People here have already said it might be the gel saddle. Here's why they said that qand it holds true for any overly padded saddle. As you ride the gel or padding gets compressed under your butt and sometimes moved forward. Either way the lesser weight towards the front of the saddle 9compared to the rear) means that the area does NOT get compressed as much and thus it can feel like that area is like the edge of a 2 x 4 board.

Other possible saddle issues can be !. it's too narrow and thus your sit bones aren't on the saddle with the result that after a short time you feel like you're being split in two. 2. The saddle might be too rounded transversly for you with the result that you're sit bones are constantling trying to slide apart.

When building miles you start slow with a few miles and as your muscles adapt you can ride a bit further.

You can sit on a piece of cardboard or heavy paper for a number of minutes then get up and trace an outline around the indents left by your sitbones. tHen you can trim the carboard or paper close to those two marks and lay it on your saddle to see where the sit bones are actually contacting the saddle. A lot of shops now have a piece of 'Memory Foam' that they use for measuring your needed saddle width.

Another thing. What kind of bicycle are you riding? A bicycle where you sit mostly upright puts a LOT more pressure on your butt than does one where you lean forward.

An image of your bike especially with you on it would be a great help in allowing us to trouble shoot possible causes of your discomfort.

Cheers

Ditch the gel seat. It is a big mistake to associate the amount of padding with the comfort of the saddle. In fact, an overly padded saddle can lead to chaffing, numbness in places you don't want to be numb, and saddle sores. Far more important to comfort are proper bike fit and the proper size and design of saddle FOR YOU. Saddles come in different widths to accommodate different width pelvic bones. The ischial tuberosities aka sit bones should be properly supported with just a bit of padding. Excessive padding, or poor design leads to the pressure that should be on your sit bones being redistributed to the soft tissues compressing nerves and/or blood vessels as well as risking tissue breakdown. If you are sore anywhere other than in a pair of circles under your sit bones, you have a saddle fit problem. Where the saddle is in relation to the rest of the bike is also a big part of the equation. You need proper saddle height and fore/aft positioning in relationship to the crankset. If the handlebars are too far, too close,too high or too low make changes to the stem length, angle or stack height, not the seat position.

Different saddles work for different people. Sometimes it takes a few tries to find the right one for you. Some LBSs have a program where you can try a saddle for a short time before committing to purchase. You can take suggestions from friends, your LBS, and other knowledgeable sources but realize that just because a saddle works for someone else, is the most popular or the most expensive doesn't mean it will work for you. I'm 5' 11" and 230# and found that the Specialized Avatar works best for me. Actually the previous version of the Avatar was the best but the current one is still quite good. It isn't the most popular model and is mid-priced but this is one that works well for me.

As far as underwear for casual riding, I like the athletic trunk style shorts. They come in wicking tech fabrics with flatlock seams. Some have better seam placement than others but the flatlock seams haven't ever caused me discomfort. You can get them in different leg lengths to suit personal preference, thigh length, and your choice of outer clothing. You are absolutely correct that you do not have to wear cycling specific shorts for commuting or casual riding as long as you make good choices in underwear and outer garments. I'm not knocking cycling specific clothing and have several pairs of shorts and bibs that I wear often. I'm just pointing out that it is perfectly possible for the OP to wear non-cycling clothing for the type of riding he describes.

I seriously second this. I dislike gel in anything other than, mebbe, bar tape. My far and away preferred road bike saddle is a Selle Anatomica NSX. "Fits like a glove" is an apt descriptor. Second choice/backup is a Brooks B17 that's not as good for me but entirely workable. Others out there I'm sure but I'm not looking anymore. Point is, neither is at all padded and I could ride either naked in reasonable comfort.

How much do you weigh?

205 at 6'1"+.

That's what I figured. Those seats you referenced wouldn't cut it for me at the moment. Need the padding.

So many involved opinions and condemnations for rides of "usually less than five miles."

I started riding at 300+ pounds and am still in the 230 range at 5' 11". Two of the best pieces of advice I ever got were "If your thighs already rub together, the last thing you need is to wedge a bunch of padding (saddle or thick chamois) between them" and "It's a bike, not a bar stool". I have two Specialized Avatar saddles and one Specialized Toupe, all of which are lightly padded. I frequently ride 20 to 50+ miles in casual clothing, including athletic trunk underwear like I described in my earlier reply. I assure you that, as counterintuitive as it seems, an overly padded saddle is far more likely to cause discomfort than alleviate it, even (possibly especially) for big riders.

This speaks to how individually we are all constituted. FWIW I am 5'11" 175. Some years ago I bought my first serious bike. A Specialized Tarmac with a Toupe seat. I had bicycled a good bit prior to the purchase and knew I preferred some padding in a seat. I wanted to switch the Toupe out for a Sonoma. The shop employee implored me to give the Toupe a try for a week. I think in part because he didn't want to see a Sonoma on a Tarmac. I acquiesced. A week later I was returning the Toupe. I had bruises in my sit bone region and I don't bruise easily. The Sonoma became my favorite seat and I put them on all my bikes. I have recently bought an ISM Century and just the other day a Typhoon and think they will become my favorites.

We are all very different. OP you can try some bicycle padded underwear and wear your gym shorts over them. I have done that before and found it good for rides up to 20 miles or so. I have also worn shorts over my padded riding shorts without issue. There are a number of compression type underwear options that have worked for me in the past. Finding what works for you is a sometimes frustrating process. Two things generally hold constant.

Gel isn't generally good.
It takes time to acclimate.

Hang in there. It gets much better.

I weigh over 250 lbs and ride a Brooks B17. If gel seats were working for you, you wouldn't be having comfort issues on 5 mile rides.

Unless the seat isn't the problem.

You have asked for, and received some good advice. Cotton underwear and a gel saddle are not your friends. Cycling shorts are best, and not because of the padding, but because of the wicking properties of the chamois, and the lack of seams where they can chafe. Cotton is bad because in hot weather, the cotton will quickly become soaked with sweat, which will chafe. And the seams will make the problems worse.

And in general, a firm saddle should be more comfortable than a squishy one, provided your butt is acclimated to riding and the saddle fits your sit bones. This applies more to a heavier rider than it would to a lighter rider. Take it FWIW. Get back to us with an update when you find a solution that works.

I personally buy Equipo underwear from Kohl's, the polyester briefs. They fit snug and are slippery so do not bind on my biking shorts. I have padded biking shorts and bibs, but never use them anymore.