Padded Bike Shorts
 

I'm seeking bike shorts that have the chamois padding for ummm, male parts, but don't provide any thigh compression (i.e., they're not tights). Do you of any such shorts?

The chamois does nothing for padding your boys. The chamois absorbs sweat but unfortunately it doesn’t work that well. Your boys will be much better protected if you wear a compression liner and shorts over it if you want to cover up. Compression liners keep your boys tucked up and wick sweat keeping you comfortable and drier. Chamois are just a nasty medium for bacteria and fungus.

If you are looking at plain looking shorts mountain biking shorts would work.

Tights are not necessarily “compression” shorts. Is it compression shorts specifically you don’t want, or just any sort or tights? Is this a comfort thing or a modesty (not-scare-the-neighbors) thing?

There are many shorts just like this on Amazon. Just search for mountain bike shorts and you will see the most popular options. Do not wear underwear with them.

Hi,
Sorry please let me explain better. My understanding is that the nerves and/or blood vessels running into the boys are protected by the padding. If the nerves are injured the boys won't work. Make sense?

Thanks

from my experience, the saddle shape and fit contribute to issues with numbness or pain, not the chamois.

I’ve been to a urologist as well and he said there is zero chance your “boys won’t work” despite the 5000 mile average I ride annually, unless I was mashing them on purpose. My children serve as evidence :)

the point of the chamois is to increase comfort especially for long distances, not to prevent injury.

Try wearing a good quality compression short like 2XU or NoBull under any old gym short or mountain biking short and you will see how much more comfortable you and the jewels are. And skip the underwear!

Try wearing a good quality compression short like 2XU or NoBull under any old gym short or mountain biking short and you will see how much more comfortable you and the jewels are. And skip the underwear!

I wear a compression liner mostly UA Heatgear under compression shorts. Cool, dry and comfy.

I want *padding* but not compression or anything tight. What can you recommend?

Padding or a chamois in your shorts have nothing to do with that (other than thick soft padding might make it worse).

It is the shape and tilt of the saddle that makes a difference with this.

If you are not getting pain or numbness, I wouldn’t worry about it, anyway.

Lined for sweat absorbance, and snug fitting so fabric on the outside is like a 2nd skin rubbing it against thy saddle rather than your hide,
is the established plan..

maybe you need a doubled short the liner tight for abrasion resistance of your hide,
, & cargo shorts for the regular guy look...

MTB shorts can be found offering that..





...

My suggestion would be actual bike shorts under other shorts to camouflage if you're unwilling to be seen in spandex.

The pad is primarily for your sit bones, to make a nice, uniform interface with the saddle. You don't actually want much padding in the perineum, because that will actually push on those nerves. This is why most saddles these days have troughs or cutouts, to reduce pressure on those areas. Where the snugness of bike shorts comes in is preventing rubbing, like between your saddle and your pants and your underwear and your skin. Plus, they hold your plumbing out of the way so you don't sit on something when you return to the saddle after standing on the pedals a while. If it's never happened to you, consider yourself fortunate. The other thing a good, snug set of shorts will do is not snag the nose of the saddle as you sit back down.

https://www.wolaco.com/collections/m...d-short-2-in-1

Try these. Excellent quality shorts with a built-in compression liner. You do not have to wear underwear with these. I have several items from this company.

When it comes to pressure on soft tissues, your own shape, your saddle's shape/fit/firmness, and the fit, design, and thickness of the shorts all play a part - and there are probably things that aren't in the list that impact soft-tissue pressure. Oh, yes, like your position on the bike....

Chamois use to refer to thin leather from chamois, a type of sheep, IIRC. Thin. They got wet and soft and thereby reduced friction when pedaling.

Now 'chamois' generally refers to synthetic pads that provide various levels of cushioning and wicking sweat out of your crotch. The pads come in shorts - clothes. Clothes fit people differently. If you don't know a person, you can't predict what clothes will work for that person.

Physics, however, tells us that the more stuff one puts between soft tissues and a seat that will be hard - either because it's built to be hard or because the rider's weight will compress the padding as much as possible - the more likely it is that more pressure will be put on the soft tissues, and more pressure means, all other things being equal, more numbness. If you're worried about numbness, your best bet with a conventional saddle, in theory, is likely to be hard saddle and thin or no pad.

But theory doesn't always work for people, maybe because there's more to comfort than avoiding perineal numbness. There's no magic, one-size-fits-all answer - you have to try shorts on to see if they seem to fit, and you have to ride in them to know if they're comfortable. It's trial and error. There's no way around it.

If what you're using now is uncomfortable, try something else. Anything else. If that's comfortable, great. If not, try something else again.

From what you've written, mountain bike shorts with a liner seems like a good place to start.