Question for the guys, underwear and reg. shorts vs bike shorts
 

How many guys tour in regular off bike shorts / pants? Maybe using seamless boxer briefs or other non-chafing underwear. If so do you have any specific recommendations?

Andiamo briefs work well. I use them with either light weight nylon baggy swimming shorts or cycling knickers.

Löffler cycling underwear are also great, but I have only seen them in Germany and they don't seem to have a web presence either. I don't see why anyone would tour in spandex racing shorts. The underwear work great for touring and you can wear whatever shorts you want over the top. The underwear are extremely light and dry quickly too, so you can wash them every night if you want.

James
http://www.erck.org

This is an important consideration. Going "commando" under bike shorts gets gross quick when on tour unless you have several spares that you wear between washings. I have solved the problem by wearing seamless coolmax briefs under bike shorts. Unless it's raining, these briefs dry in under an hour so there is never an excuse to not start a day with a fresh pair. At $20 a pair, they are expensive, but are essential for the active male who doesn't like his junk parked in the day prior's bacteria-laden sweat pool. Gross huh!

http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/TGM138/

i very rarely wear "official" bike duds even on long (60+) mile rides. i don't like lookin' like a dork.:eek: (not really). it's just i find i don't need 'em. i know it's said all the time, but a broken in brooks obviated the need for padded shorts. i do like wool jerseys though.

I hate to break this to you, but you're kind of missing the whole point behind wearing bike shorts.

The reason to wear real bike shorts with a chamois is not for the padding, it's to wick sweat away from -- err, the areas where the chamois has contact. ;) They also do not have seams in uncomfortable locations. As a result, you are less likely to chafe and get saddle sores. Underwear does not do this job particularly efficiently, in fact I'd imagine that underwear + bike shorts = bad.

As to "getting gross," obviously you're going to have more than 1 pair of cycling shorts on tour; you just wash them by hand at night. If you're on extended tour, you can also machine wash (and hang dry!) about once a week.

I can see why spandex tights are not the perfect choice for all tours -- e.g. I wouldn't use them in places where the locals dress conservatively, like Thailand or Laos. But I'd rather go for baggy bike shorts than jeans in that type of situation.

I find that my Pearl Izumi Ultrasensor shorts dry very quickly and are comfy when damp/wet any way. I can get by with hand washing in the evening and wearing the next day. I carry two pairs, but could get by with one even on an extended tour.

Also someone else said:
"If you're on extended tour, you can also machine wash (and hang dry!) about once a week."

Why the emphasis on hang dry? I have always tumble dried all of my bike clothes when at home or when at a laundromat and they have held up very well. OTOH: My ultrasensor shorts come out of the spin cycle just about dry anyway.

I apologize if this is off topic since it is about "real bike shorts" which I prefer to wear when on tour. Looking for something else to wear seems like solving a problem that doesn't exist unless you are traveling somewhere where the locals would be offended. In that case I would slip something baggy over them, but I have never felt this to be necessary anywhere that I have toured.

Padded bike shorts are unnecessary for many people if their saddle is comfortable. Synthetic underwear will wick away the moisture from your "bits". If you've try to wear padded bike shorts under other shorts in warm to tropical climates you'll find yourself getting very hot "down there" which will cause all manner of problems. Synthetic underwear can be washed and dried overnight plus they can be worn with "street clothes" alleviating the need for carrying bikes shorts and regular underwear.

As with all changes to your touring setup try out this sort of stuff at home before you head out on a big tour.

I'll try not to take offense to the condescending tone of the response to my post. Yes, synthetics do a better job at wicking and if you can more easily wash and dry what comes in contact with your junk, then that's a good thing. Briefs dry in far less time than most bike shorts, and as all of us with lots of actual extending touring experience know, dry times are dependent upon temperature and humidity, neither of which are always in our favor. The Asiac briefs I mentioned do not have seams and I never mentioned "padding" as I also think that padding is not important if you have a well broken-in seat and "seat".

I am not sure whose post you found condescending. I hope it wasn't mine.

I think that everyone should do what works for them. That said I really don't see why people find regular bike shorts to be undesirable for touring. I haven't found drying to be a big issue since I will be dripping wet as soon as I get to a climb anyway. I pick a brand and model of shorts that are OK when wet and dry quickly.

I think that I could be OK with regular street shorts if I had to, but find bike shorts very comfortable and very little fuss when on tour. I like the way they look and the way they feel. I like it that it obvious that I am a cyclist even when I am away from my bike.

So out of curiosity I will ask...
Those of you who don't use bike shorts, what is your primary reason? Comfort? Desire to not look like a roadie? Self consciousness about wearing spandex? Something else?

Mainly, I like to have pockets. I also don't want to put someone off their meal by walking into a resturant
with my wedding tackle outlined by tight spandex. Finally I've never felt comfortable in spandex, I feel it restricts my thigh muscles. I like to have apair of absorbant Andiamo cycling briefs and a loose pair of shorts so the air can get to my legs. I wash the briefs each night

These days nobody seems to care if their junk (of either variety) is on full display, in fact, many like to splay it out because they enjoy the attention. OTOH, no matter how buff / shapely the exhibition, I think nun is right in that there are probably more people who would rather forego the unsolicitied attempted titillation. However, for cyclists, Spandex is functional, and those that object don't have to look.

I agree with the whole "you don't have to look" agrument if its applied to stuff on the TV etc, but in real life you can't change the channel;)

For performance spandex is best, and if its comfortable for you then wear it. However, part of my gear rule is that it should have multiple uses and spandex shorts are single use items. They are ok on the bike, but wearing them at night in a bar is big NO NO. I can change my underwear, put my nylon shorts on and look perfectly presentable to go out at night. I also have pockets for my wallet etc.

FWIW: I never got the vibe that anyone was offended by our spandex at any point on our recent Trans America, with only one exception. There were two ladies in Yellowstone in long black dresses who looked disapprovingly at the two young women I was traveling with (my daughter and a friend). The topper was when Lauren got a splinter in her butt from one of the wooden railings and Erica was trying to pick it out for her. To be honest the ladies in black acted offended, but seemed to enjoy their clucking disapproval. It was actually pretty funny. I still chuckle when I think back on that moment.

Otherwise people generally treated us with a warmth and kindness that implied that we were not in anyway offensive to them.

I usually do put on my lightweight zip off leg pants once off the bike for the night. This has more to do with biting insects than worry about how the spandex looks. On rare occasion we even went into a fairly nice restaurant wearing spandex. People seemed more interested in asking about our trip than looking down their noses at our attire. The fact that we were in spandex made it obvious that we were cyclists and I think in some cases that made them actually cut us more slack than if we came in wearing dirty baggy shorts. With the dirty baggy shorts we wouldn't be cyclists but merely slobs without an excuse.

The fact that we were on a route where cycle tourists are not that much of an oddity is could be a factor in how we were received though. It would certainly be a different story in some parts of the world.

My first tours were done in cutoff jeans. My butt got sore and various parts chafed, but what did I know? I loved those tours, despite some suffering (mostly caused by a less-than-ideal bike.) Now I always wear Spandex and I don't worry about what I look like. Sure, people who see me can't change the channel, but they can turn their heads easily enough. I just like the way Spandex shorts feel on the bicycle.

I bought some baggy, mountain-style shorts this year. I had a gift certificate. My wife loves her baggies so I thought I'd try a pair. They have padding (and pockets, though I don't really want to put anything in the pockets while I'm riding) and they feel pretty comfortable in the saddle. The only potential downside is that the "legs" slide up and down about 2 inches on my thigh with every pedal stroke. I'm wondering if that would chafe on an all day ride. I haven't worn them longer than an hour so far. The other downside is that they're much heavier than my Spandex.

I don't worry too much about bringing three pairs of shorts on tour rather than two, because they don't weigh that much. I don't think I'll be bringing the baggies on a tour, just because of the weight.