pacificwaters

I stay in India, and I have been using a local company's bicycling shorts with jelly padding as it advertises.

Its been just 500 kms of cycling and I realise that the padding of the shorts has lost its effectiveness. My bum now pains whenever I do long distances, with the skin there going dry.

Can you suggest me good bicycling shorts (I mean a good brand) with a longer life? One of my relatives would be coming home to India from US this May and I could order it from her.

Machka 

Select shorts without gel padding. Cloth padding is better.

pacificwaters

Could you kindly provide me a link to these type of shorts.

Machka 

Any you like ... that are not gel. I think most shorts do not have gel padding anymore.

Bike Shorts | Cycling Shorts by great brands! | Bike Nashbar


Like these, for example ... it doesn't sound like they've got gel padding. Unfortunately it is a little bit hard to tell exactly what they do have for padding because they don't show it.

Pearl Izumi Quest Shorts

Louis Garneau Pro Max 2 Shorts

Bellwether Forma Shorts


I am not suggesting those brands specifically. I don't know what they are like. What I am saying is that there are lots and lots of choices available.

It would really help if there were a way you could try them on first. Shorts are very personal, and you have to make sure the padding covers your sitbones.

pacificwaters

Thank you so much for the links. Studying them and shall see if I get anything of that sorts here!

As regards trying them, well unfortunately for me, cycling is still to catch up as a major activity in my city and hence online option would be the only one I would therefore have.

achoo

What do you consider "good shorts"?

Good shorts can be quite expensive:

Assos T Equipe S7 Bib Shorts, Bib Shorts

pacificwaters

Nah..these are way above my finances!!

Currently I am searching some along the lines mentioned by @Machka !

Deontologist

eBay has pretty cheap cycling bib shorts with not gel but what seems to be fabric padding. They're fairly comfortable. I've wore them a few times on 50+ mile rides; only problem I had was a bit of chafing. Probably could have been solved with some butt'r or vaseline. Nothing too severe and definitely great for the price!

Little Darwin

Along with good shorts with a cloth chamois, there are a couple of things to consider.

1) I have read that the chamois in bicycle shorts is usually designed to stop abrasion, not for padding. My first cycling shorts had gel, and it felt cushy, but was less effective at preventing pain on longer rides than my later cloth chamois models.

2) A good pair of shorts may only help a little if you are riding on a saddle that doesn't fit you well.

3) On longer rides, some people like to use Chamois Cream to reduce abrasion even more. I know I do.

pacificwaters

Thanks for the pointer, but my saddle is good fit. In my case it is the shorts. I can actually feel the difference in padding at the two ends.

However until I get a new short am also currently in the "Vaseline" mode! If not comfortable, my butt is a bit better than what it was previously.

Little Darwin

I guess that Vasoline works, but if you can get some form of chamois cream, they are water based instead of petroleum based, and can be cleaned more easily. Other products are used by some riders as well, such as bag balm and udder butter, but I am not sure of availability in India.

Something I have never tried, and it could be somewhat embarrassing (and expensive) but I would possibly even seek out water based lubricants used for intimate purposes since they would be easier to clean from the shorts. Whether or not they have the viscosity to be effective in the chamois area, I do not know.