This weekend I did a fixed gear metric century with a pair of Cannondale tri shorts with a thin pad. The ride was really fun, but I want some shorts with thicker pads to keep me more comfortable while riding. Need to stay cool too as we are down in Georgia and it gets pretty hot. Can anyone suggest some shorts that might work without breaking the bank? Never rode with bibs before and am toying with that idea too. Thanks!

Dave

What sort of discomfort? Chafing? Saddle sores? Sit bone pressure? Pressure elsewhere? How does a metric compare to a usual ride for you?

Congrats on the long ride. I gotta figure one km in a Georgia summer is worth 2.5 km here in New England.

I ride in Tucson, and I do just fine on metrics with "decent" bike shorts. My favorites are Pearl Izumi Attack shorts.

It was a combination of things-some saddle sores and numbness. I usually ride 30-40 mi, so this was my furthest ride for the year. Training for a full century.

Dave

Then the logical thing to do is get a comfortable bike or Trike. That would be any bike from some of the crank forwards, recumbents, or trikes.

When comfort is readily at hand with recumbents and trikes I simply dont understand why people cling to a design that was developed in the 1890s. And yes there is a place for DF bikes in races and of course mountain biking. It is akin to everyone but a few driving a Model T yet.

I assume your position has been set up with a good fitter and you have a saddle that you have ridden on for a while longer distances that you like? If not go for that for sure, it will help greatly. New shorts are nice and my butt seems to think the combination of Brooks Cambium and generally Pactimo or Primal bibs seems to work well but I did go to a fitter to get my position right and that help immensely in cutting down pain. With saddle sores I recommend a good chamois cream, my parts seem to like the Bike Glide from Body Glide but have heard great things about DZ Nuts. I like Bike Glide/Chamois Glide because it is in stick form so you can put it on like deodorant.

I like bibs because I was born with those annoying danglers and they tend to like to stay in position and bibs keep them there better than the shorts I have worn. However I did like my Gore Power? Shorts.


The 'bent riders always crack me up! I wonder if anyone makes a fixed gear recumbent that is rideable? Gearing and position mostly is what would concern me but I am not anywhere near knowledgeable about those things.

I suppose you could say both my metrics were done on a fixie ;-) . Yet to make it much further though.

Numbness could be the wrong saddle or angle or fit - or also just neglecting to stand up now and then, which obviously is less convenient when you can't coast but it is still a possibility. Ironically climbs actually help - my first comfortable ride this spring after a winter off was when my cardio was back to the point that I could charge up a long hill, and really working the legs for an extended period lightened up the saddle pressure.

One suggestion I've heard for saddle sores (not soreness, literal sores) is bringing a second pair of shorts to change into halfway through long hot weather rides. Yet to try that - I seem to survive getting really saturated on long rides (though it's not as hot up here in NY) okay, the time I ended up with saddle sores was when I rode short distances two days back to back without showering in between. Generally I'll shower before riding even if headed out right after waking up, and even though obviously going to need one after.

Sure right here.

HAHAHA though the picture I got was missing a pedal. I was talking more about a bicycle rather than a big wheel trike but I have ridden adult big wheels and they are fun as hell but not rideable on a hill.

I haven't been to a fitter, but used the wrenchscience.com to tweak my position on the bike. It has been pretty comfortable on most rides, but the long ones are getting me. My saddle is a Selle Italia Q-bik. Going to check out the angle on the seat and see if that helps.

Dave

Ditch the Tri shorts, and get a pair of cycling-only shorts or bibs. Tri shorts are great if you're planning on swimming and running on the same day, but are a little comprimised for just cycling events.

My experience is that the pad in any decent mid-range short doesn't make as much of a difference as the saddle. Shape, width and profile can vary widely and one may work for you better than another. I can put up with just about anything for 30 miles, but more than 50, and i can feel it. I rode the same century back to back years, with the same kit, and similar amounts of training. The first year, on my 'old' bike with a classic (too-narrow) 'Turbo' saddle, i was constantly in and out of the saddle on the last half to get relief; the next year on the 'new' bike, I had a Specialized Romin and it was never an issue. Best thing i can say about that saddle, is that I didn't really feel it.

Different saddles work for different people. Some guys swear by Brooks, I happen to like the Specialized Body Geometry line with the 'split-tail'
It does take some trial-and-error to find out what works best though, and the only way you know if a saddle will make a century, is to sit on it for 100 miles.

The saddle is not level. Going to flatten it out and see how that does. Thanks for the suggestions!

Dave

1) Set your bicycle up correctly.

2) Get a good saddle for you. One where you sit on your sitbones.


Do you have a photo of you standing next to your bicycle?

John Cobb suggests that a slight offset from dead straight helps. I tried it and it did indeed add to comfort. Scroll down to near the bottom of link.

https://cobb.com.pl/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2015-Saddle-Setup-PDF.pdf

LoL.

Dave, you don't need a trike.

Performance Ultra bibs are on sale for $89 right now. I owned two pair of these. They are pretty good, not the most durable but they will get you through this year and well into next year without any problems and will allow you to ride that century without killing your butt. Performance Bike @ Town Center probably has them in stock.

https://www.performancebike.com/shop...tra-18-11-5363


-Tim-

I have LG Optimum bibs. They're a fair price, the padding is fairly thick and very comfortable. Hard to see in the pictures but the side panel is mesh. I've been stationed at Ft Benning, GA so I know how bad the humidity gets. It's just as bad here and these shorts breathe really well. In my experience the LG gear is really durable, it takes a long time to wear their bibs out. I don't buy any cycling clothing except for LG now. I think they may make a version of these in shorts if you don't want bibs.

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/l...NjQ2F0MTAwMjE2

https://www.theblackbibs.com

The standards are a little light weight, but still good.

The "pro" model has much better materials, with a "compression" fit.

Kind of on the thick side, but I did 45 yesterday with zero discomfort.

Also, highly recommend a chamois creme if you don't use one. I love the Assos stuff, but anything is better than nothing.

Guessing that there are a very small number of recumbent fixies somewhere in this great land of ours but I wouldn't want to try riding one......
Gearing and position - yep! Can't approximate getting out of the saddle at all so gotta have a low gear to get going from a stop. And then can't get any speed up with a suitably low gear.

This is a great point. Always do the easy and cheap thing first.

[MENTION=393713]bonsai171[/MENTION], I use Body Glide. They sell it at Dicks, REI, or any running store.

Chamois Buttr, Bag Balm, etc. The Assos creme is good too.

I like Body Glide though. Every triathlete on the planet uses it.


-Tim-

Tim,

Sounds good, i'll have to try the creme. Maybe i'll pick some up at REI after work one day.

Now I remember why the seat isn't level. I took it apart this afternoon and hand-tightened it (after checking with a level) and after numerous tries, haven't been able to get it in a level position. Is there a solution for this? I have an oddball seatpost diameter, so unfortunately swapping it out isn't an option. What else can I try?

Dave

That is a good start but a true fitter will actually be able to see you and help adjust your position in real time. The internet is a cool place but unless you have a robot that can adjust you, your cleats and your bike it won't do you a whole lot here.
I know people think you have to race or be a fancy biker (whatever that is) to get fit but anyone who rides a bike more than once or twice a year should go for a fit because it can be quite a great change and make you happier and more comfortable on the bike. Certainly you can make a lot of tweaks yourself and get you closer but a fitter can make a lot of small changes that can have a big impact. After my fit I felt really great and my cleat position was off by quite a bit and certain other things were off and it really helped me.

That was sort of what I was thinking with a fixed gear recumbent. The gearing, something low enough to get going but large enough to not spin out on everything. I don't know what that would be or would look like.