Cycling shorts discussion

I'm in the same boat here... needing new shorts. In addition to
steveyo's query, I'm wondering how the thickness of padding affects
one's comfort. I have one pair that's quite thin and another that
makes me feel like I've got a phone book between my legs. Oddly enough
I'm finding the thin padding more comfortable.

If you can, please compare / contrast the benefits of padding
thickness. Thanks!

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maestro8 said:

I'm in the same boat here... needing new shorts. In addition to
steveyo's query, I'm wondering how the thickness of padding affects
one's comfort. I have one pair that's quite thin and another that
makes me feel like I've got a phone book between my legs. Oddly enough
I'm finding the thin padding more comfortable.

If you can, please compare / contrast the benefits of padding
thickness. Thanks!

I agree with the thinner padding, too. The seat, after all, is nothing
but padding, so the thickness in the shorts is redundant.

--
steveyo

steveyo
...like having your own personal rollercoaster...

- a few 'uni race write-ups'
(http://home.nycap.rr.com/rduhan/uni_race_writeups/)
- muni and kokopelli uni 't-shirts, mugs and stickers'
(http://www.cafepress.com/steveyo)
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I’ve ridden numerous types of shorts and have found that the 8-panel
design with a one-piece pad melded inside feels the best to me overall.
My favorites happen to be Performance and Pearl Izumi. I also have a
pair of shorts with gel padding inside and they feel pretty good. A
good deal I think is the Performance Century, good price for good
performance.

Remember that there are many factors that will determine your comfort
level on the seat, the shorts are just the starting point. You will
also want to focus on your seat height and pitch. And one more thing,
you are not supposed to wear underwear under your shorts!:p

Adios!!!!

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But I would be interested in what you all prefer. Please post a link to
what you like, so I can get some ideas.

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Thanks Steveyo for this thread, I'd like to find some good new shorts.

My favorite cycle shorts are the Perl izumi shorts with the very thin
chamois cloth crotch padding * that were discontinued about two years
ago.* The new version now has thicker less comfortable padding.

I don't understand the rules for choosing the 6, 8 or whatever number
of panels.

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Ken ... I say it's a great exercise. They say it's a mid-life thing.
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I like the thinner padding that covers the ridges of the unicycle
saddle. Other than that good fit is important. If shorts are just a
bit too loose, rough downhill MUni becomes challenging on a whole other
level.

--
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pearl izummi

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GhettoSmurf

willowglenbicycles.comindex.cfmOpen ↗[/URL]
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I'm also in the boat of looking for some new shorts. My old shorts are
wearing out.

The difficulty is that cycling shorts now are all using some flavor of
technical fabric pad instead of the traditional chamois-like pad. I
have a few shorts with the new style pads. They work just fine for
bicycling, but don't work as well for unicycling. If you try to lather
up with Chamois Butt'r or something similar the pad just sucks it up
like a sponge. After 20 Coker miles you start to really feel that
you're sitting on fabric instead of something similar to a chamois.

I've been looking around and the only place I've found that still sells
a chamois pad is 'Kucharik' (http://tinyurl.com/2wp22f). Looks like
either their Ultra Suede Pad or their Real Chamois Pad might be the
ticket. I haven't tried them yet. I need to make a decision and give
them a try.

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Wow, we are not talking the blue light special here. Anyway, it would be
cool to read reasons for these selections, and links if possible. There
was several versions of these shorts listed on the first site I found.

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feel the light
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Yes, the good Pearl Izumi shorts are in the $70 to $120 range. Worth it
for serious cyclists.

But their new pad designs are hit or miss for unicyclists. Some
unicyclists like the new pads while others don't. You end up gambling
$70 to $120 on shorts that may not work for you on the unicycle.
Course if you also bicycle you can use the shorts for the bicycle
(which is what I am using my new style Pearl Izumi shorts for).

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Only 36 $, or 6 times what I wear now, a lot better then 90$.
I am interested in why people like these different shorts. Links are
important!
Is chamois machine wash? I am familiar with leather motorcycle gear.
It sounds grungy, but we just never wash our leathers. For tight
fitting sweaty uni shorts, I doubt that is a plan.

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Ah the search for the perfect unicycling short!

The most important thing for me is getting shorts where the padding
extends up far enough in front. A wrongly positioned seam makes a ride
extremely painful. I have to say that in most cycle shorts there is not
enough padding.

My favourite so far are Pearl Izumi - with the chamois. I have a couple
of other Pearl Izumi shorts that I bought over the Internet thinking
that they would be like my chamois ones and they had kind of ridged
padding (I think they called it 3D). I don't know how that's supposed
to be comfortable.

Also I've just brought a pair made by DeMarche (or something like that)
and they have something they call elasticated padding, which is a bit
gel like but comfortable.

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cathwood

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Cycling shorts are a gentle cycle wash item. Hand washing is better.
You should use soap that doesn't have fancy perfumes or softeners or
other additives. Simple basic washing soap. Then rinse clean so there
is no soap residue.

With the real chamois you have to treat it with chamois cream to keep
it soft and keep it comfortable. The artificial chamois-like pads also
need chamois cream to keep them soft, but the real chamois pads need it
even more. Kucharik also sells a chamois cream.

So the chamois becomes a maintenance item. With proper care it will
last a long time.

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The more I think about it, the better my baggy cotton shorts seem.
Simple, and I can wash a dozen pairs at once and be done with it,
without filling the machine with 1000$ of shorts. I am still open to
comments, yet, as a fat guy in sweat city, expensive, high maintenance
shorts , don't seem like what I need. I sweat lots, and don't want to
do laundry every day. Yet I bet I am ignorant, why are these shorts
better ?

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I like dhb Earnley shorts. 8-panel, very comfortable and not too
expensive. They've got a nylon-type pad like John mentioned, but I
don't find that a problem - I use a chafe stick that you apply to the
skin like a deodorant stick rather than the liquid butt butter type
stuff that soaks into the pad.

I wouldn't use expensive shorts on a unicycle because it ruins them,
but I like the Earnleys so much I use nothing else now, even on the
bike. I just keep the newest pair for bike only, then put them into
unicycle use when I get a new pair for biking. They don't last a huge
amount of time, but for the price I reckon they're really good - I've
got four pairs and I reckon I replace the oldest pair about once every
six to nine months (probably averaging 120-150 miles a week of combined
bike and unicycle).

Rob

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I've long been a proponent of the 'bib' style shorts.
I ride almost exclusively when playing UniHoki and find that the
shoulder straps stops the shorts from sagging down and occasionally
bunching in the crotch. A problem I've have with regular cycling shorts
in the past.

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feel the light said:

The more I think about it, the better my baggy cotton shorts seem.
Simple, and I can wash a dozen pairs at once and be done with it,
without filling the machine with 1000$ of shorts. I am still open to
comments, yet, as a fat guy in sweat city, expensive, high maintenance
shorts , don't seem like what I need. I sweat lots, and don't want to
do laundry every day. Yet I bet I am ignorant, why are these shorts
better ?

For one, they don't soak up your sweat like a sponge. But really, if
you're comfortable with plain cotton shorts, there's no reason to
change. I go for shorter more casual rides with non-cycling
shorts/pants all the time. It's really only the MUni and longer
distance rides that I find that padded shorts are really helpful.

--
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feel the light said:

The more I think about it, the better my baggy cotton shorts seem.
Simple, and I can wash a dozen pairs at once and be done with it,
without filling the machine with 1000$ of shorts. I am still open to
comments, yet, as a fat guy in sweat city, expensive, high maintenance
shorts , don't seem like what I need. I sweat lots, and don't want to
do laundry every day. Yet I bet I am ignorant, why are these shorts
better ?

Cycling shorts have developed the way they have because it is more
comfortable to have a pad in the shorts than not. If the whole pad
idea didn't work then cyclists would just go with normal spandex
running shorts with no pad.

The pad helps eliminate pressure points and friction and seams in the
wrong places.

The tight spandex style fabric helps eliminate rubbing and also wicks
away moisture. Cotton just sucks up moisture and keeps that moisture
close to your skin. The spandex style shorts and polyester jerseys
wick away the moisture so you stay dryer and more comfortable. The
difference between riding hard (where you are sweating a lot) while
wearing spandex and polyester cycling clothing vs. cotton shorts and a
cotton T-shirt is amazing.

That said, there are some cycling shorts that have a pad that just
doesn't work well for unicycling even though it may work great (and get
great reviews) for bicycling. You just have to try different ones and
see what ends up working best for you.

Try a $30 - $40 pair of cycling shorts (like the Kucharik shorts) and
see how you like them. It'll give you and idea what cycling shorts are
about. Chamois cream like Chamois Butt'r will also help.

For washing I just hand wash them in the sink right after I'm done with
my shower after a ride. Hand wash, rinse, ring out, then hang up in
the shower stall to dry. They'll be dry and ready for riding again in
a day or two (depending on your local humidity).

Cycling shorts also need to fit snugly. Don't buy a size that is too
big. They're also worn with no underwears underneath. You can always
wear baggy shorts over the top if you don't like the tight spandex
look.

--
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Closest bike shop to me has [censored] all for cycling shorts...

Only stuff in the $60+ range... and they're all extremely short, short
enough for my junk to hang out anyways... what the hell?

--
Borgschulze

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