Zanobi

Got my bike and went with Voler shorts for me because I've read good reviews on them (anyone want to correct this, go ahead).

We're picking up my wife's bike on Monday, and I need to get her some shorts.She doesn't like long shorts so we were talking about tri shorts since they seem to have a shorter inseam.

My questions are:

1. Does the less padding make a big difference on the tri shorts when riding?

2. Do any of the women here have an opinion on Voler or suggestions on any moderately priced shorts?

Thanks

deep_sky

I only wear voler kit now. I've found most of the other major brands of shorts, especially PI, to have huge diaper pads, which just makes riding uncomfortable, and walking irritating. Voler shorts have good padding, not extremely thin, but not thick enough to notice while walking (or riding). Tri shorts have a shorter inseam, and the padding is distributed more towards the front since you typically are riding more on the nose of the saddle on the bikes typically used in a triathalon. Personally, I dislike tri shorts. I like the extra muscle support of longer shorts (Voler shorts go mid-thigh for me), and I like the padding being more on the sitbone area, where it needs to be, rather than a bunch of useless padding up front. I also like the fact that the normal length shorts are more flattering (unless you have great legs, tri shorts will show up more flaws, like cottage cheese, extra chub, etc), but that is just my personal opinion.

canam73

My wife has a pair of Craft cycling shorts with a short inseam that she likes. They might be these:

https://www.mycyclinggear.com/craft-w...h-2008-ss.html

Homebrew01

You could also post this in "Foo". There are quite a few women active in that forum.

hurley.girl

...because the men try their hardest to chase us out of here.

j/k

To answer the OP, shorts and padding is a personal preference. Some women want huge saddles and/or huge pads in their shorts. Others don't. Your wife will need to try the shorts for herself to see what she likes. You can find the shorter inseams in regular cycling shorts, not just tri shorts.

Homebrew01

Fixed

Machka 

I really like Fox road cycling shorts. They've got just the right amount of padding in the right places.

I'm also fond of the Ascent road cycling shorts ... they are quite comfortable, but are difficult for me to get now. They come in both a longer leg and a shorter leg ... I have one of each. They also have about the right amount of padding for the long distance cycling I do.

Zanobi

I understand we won't know what she's comfortable with until she tries them, but here's what I'm working from:

After about a 10 minute ride at the LBS in running shorts she said she could feel her butt starting to get sore. (I'm guessing at the very least she needs more padding than tri shorts will provide.)

She won't be climbing out of the saddle as much, and she won't be holding herself up very much at all. She's incredibly new to this, so I just know she's going to firmly plant her butt on the seat the whole time. (Given time she will adjust and develop technique just like she did when she started running with me.)

Her preference in shorts is for a shorter inseam. I showed her the 7" inseam style and she asked me to look for something better.


Because we're both getting into this, it's going to be hard for us to buy 3or 4 of every item we need. I'm just trying to get the best info/suggestions I can so we set off in the right direction.
Thanks for the input so far. Any additional recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Machka 

Another choice I really like is the least expensive MEC brand of women's shorts.

But ... why does she want the really short shorts? I have a couple pair of them, but only like them for really hot days. The rest of the time, I prefer a longer pair of shorts.

Anyway ... here are the short Ascent shorts which I have ... I like them, although I've only worn them a few times.
https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...5_10000_200484

hurley.girl

Alright. Got me. I probably should also have referred to them as "boys" since men should be more mature.

Back to the OP: There are a lot of options with 6 inch inseams, and a few with 5 inch inseams. I find that anything less than that is actually too short.

Try Terry or Team Estrogen. I know Terry sells some shorter-length cycling shorts, and Team Estrogen has a large selection of women's shorts.

As for your wife - her butt is going to hurt no matter what shorts she's wearing, at least until she 1) gets some miles in, and 2) learns to use her sit bones and not her soft tissue. Keep her to shorter rides while she adjusts.

valygrl

I like the PI Short Attack Shorts. They don't look ridiculously short, like some tri shorts do.
https://www.rei.com/product/765087

I'm short, so shorter shorts work better for me, the regular race length tend to be too long.

deep_sky

Why does she want such a short inseam? There is a reason that women generally do not ride with a padded bikini (unless they are serious triathletes). The legs of the short provide support for the muscles. Also, really short inseam'd shorts are going to be rather cold in fall/winter/early spring (unless you live in a place that is warm year round), so getting boyshorts is going to likely artificially reduce the amount of riding your wife will be able to do. Sounds like she cares more about fashion than functionality, but I guess that is her choice.