Padded shorts

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  • April 10, 2013 at 2:06 pm #967053
    TwoWheelsDC
    Participant

    @jrenaut 48851 wrote:

    I need some padded shorts. I have a pair of Voic mountain bike shorts with a removable liner. I love the shorts. The padding feels fine when I’m riding, but I can’t walk in it. At all. The liner isn’t snug, so walking is like getting the most horrible massage you can imagine. I tried on a couple different brands, and even tried a size down, but the sizes basically went from “not form-fitting” to “that’s not going to snap”.

    I have not tried road shorts or bib shorts, as I really do like having pockets, but I suppose I could do road shorts with other shorts on top.

    Has anyone had similar problems? Advice?

    I switched to bibs last summer…won’t ever go back. When I ride my commuter bike, I generally wear baggy/mtb shorts, but with bibs underneath. With bibs (or bike shorts), I’d say err on the side of tight. Loose shorts are no fun…but I for one could wear my bibs all day and it wouldn’t bother me a bit (that would be an odd thing to do, but comfortable nonetheless). That’s not to say that bike shorts aren’t comfortable too, but I like not having a waistband and bibs cover your backside better, so you aren’t flashing people behind you.

    Performance Ultras are a good brand to buy to experiment…they’re built well and are reasonably priced, but aren’t “cheap”. In my experience, you have to be very careful when buying cheaper bike clothes. Sure, some stuff is exhorbitantly overpriced, but you do get what you pay for to a large degree.

    April 10, 2013 at 2:06 pm #967054
    Dirt
    Participant

    As someone who spends 25+ hours per week wearing cycling shorts, I like nice bib shorts.

    My current reasonably-priced faves are from Sommerville Sports. http://sommervillesports.com/ I’m going to talk to them about setting up an “I <3 My Commute” store so y’all can order what you want… if you want.

    That said, I know the fashion of bib shorts is rarely awesome for any of us. I wear baggies over them… I have mountain bike specific shorts and knickers that I wear. Sometimes I wear jeans or casual pants. Look at the Cycling knickers thread for more on that. Endura, Zoic, Club Ride, etc. make great ones.

    I know this isn’t a cheap solution, but I’ve found that cheap shorts of EVERY variety don’t last and cost more in the long run. I usually have 4 pairs of bib shorts in rotation at any given time. I wear out all 4 in a year…. In 2012 that meant over 900 hours and over 12,000 miles.

    My Endura singletrack 3/4 that go over the bibs are many, many years old.

    Hope that helps a little.

    Pete

    April 10, 2013 at 2:09 pm #967057
    jrenaut
    Participant

    @TwoWheelsDC 48856 wrote:

    …With bibs (or bike shorts), I’d say err on the side of tight. Loose shorts are no fun…

    Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, and that’s why I tried a size down in the MTB shorts, but that got too tight.

    April 10, 2013 at 2:17 pm #967060
    dasgeh
    Participant

    @jrenaut 48851 wrote:

    The padding feels fine when I’m riding, but I can’t walk in it. At all. The liner isn’t snug

    I’m imagining my toddler daughter walking around with an overfull diaper. Awesome…

    April 10, 2013 at 3:22 pm #967076
    vvill
    Participant

    You could try dedicated liner shorts (designed to be worn under something else). For shorter rides they provide enough padding but they’re usually thinner overall since they don’t need to be opaque. And if they become more see through over time it doesn’t even matter… that much. I use these quite regularly for run of the mill commutes under jeans or shorts, though most days I’ll go with either just bike shorts, or bike shorts with MTB shorts over the top. You know that 1 second of poor aero due to baggy shorts will cost you a Strava PR, right? :D

    Totally agree about preferring tight vs loose when it comes to bike shorts. If the padding doesn’t stay where it’s supposed to, they’re useless, which is one reason why people swear by bibs. Bibs (that fit you) won’t give you a creepy massage regardless of how you move around.

    For sizing, it does vary between manufacturers. I have Performance bibs in M and they fit only a tiny bit too big, but I found a Bellwether M the opposite – too big for sure. Castelli’s S is only just big enough for me to be comfortable in public.

    April 10, 2013 at 3:22 pm #967077
    consularrider
    Participant

    @jrenaut 48860 wrote:

    Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, and that’s why I tried a size down in the MTB shorts, but that got too tight.

    What size are you looking at? I have a size large new-in-bag pair of bib Performance Ultras that I’m not going to use. I bought two pair last fall to supplement the one’s I had, but in the end decided they are just a little too loose.

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