On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 00:44:46 -0400, "Rich Clark"
<
[email protected]> wrote:
>
>"Chris C" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>>I bought some tights w/out padding . Is underwear usually worn underneath
>>(I
>> know not to wear cotton) these? What about if they have padding? Where can
>> I
>> get a good deal on underwear? Thanks
>
>If you wear padded anything, the pad goes next to the skin.
>
>Usually under plain tights you'd wear bike shorts.
>
>Wear underwear only under street clothes.
>
>RichC
Just to clarify. When you wear bike shorts with real chamois, you usually
apply a substance called 'chamois cream' to this material, and then you put
on the bike shorts. It's completely obvious that you don't wear underwear
in this case, b/c you want contact with the cream and the chamois - just
like a join in a machine where you're matching dissimilar materials and
forming a compatible joint.
Here the 'join' is between your sit bones and the receiving platform, or
the saddle, and is mediated by a fleshy posterior on the chamois, all over
a lycra and leather sandwich. (Yummy!) ;-D
The friction of moving around on the saddle is then greatly reduced by the
cream, and saddle sores are less likely to prosper. You've lubed the join
just like you would the bearings in your BB.
If you're not riding long distances, a 'fake chamois' bike short may be of
use to you in a similar way, but minus the advanced saddle-sore protection.
Many recreational riders wear 'fake chamois' and don't even realize that
Lance slathers his tushie with gobs of this "stuff" like cold cream, and
then puts on the bike shorts - every morning. You can imagine the uh,
getting-used-to this 'cold ointment on a furry pad' takes. In the
Chronicles, you see him putting it on, and gasping humorously. Imagine
doing that every morning at 6 am.
In that case of only wearing shorts with 'fake chamois', it probably
doesn't matter if you're wearing underwear or not. That pad is just for
padding and performs little if any of the original friction reducing
function. Riding most distances under 25 miles will not give you saddle
sores unless you forget basic hygiene.
Some riders may put vaseline on their posterior, sparingly and still wear
the fake chamois from what I understand. ymmv
HTH,
-B
Note: I'm just a newbie, so some of the above may be totally wrong. For the
"real stuff", ask one of the regulars who does this...
