Cycling UK Forum

I wear Lidl cycling shorts, but with my normal boxers underneath and ordinary shorts (usually the hiking sort with map pockets etc) on top. I can usually manage 40+miles before I start to get at all uncomfortable and have done over 60 with no ill effects. I don't find much difference between saddles as long as they are in decent nick - I've got a skinny racing saddle on my racer and a chubby gel saddle on my hybrid.

Me and a mate went to France last september and cycled from Cherbourg to St Malo (200Km or so) in 4 days. I have to admit to being a tad sore at the end of that.

tykeboy2003 wrote:I wear Lidl cycling shorts, but with my normal boxers underneath and ordinary shorts (usually the hiking sort with map pockets etc) on top. I can usually manage 40+miles before I start to get at all uncomfortable and have done over 60 with no ill effects. I don't find much difference between saddles as long as they are in decent nick - I've got a skinny racing saddle on my racer and a chubby gel saddle on my hybrid.

Me and a mate went to France last september and cycled from Cherbourg to St Malo (200Km or so) in 4 days. I have to admit to being a tad sore at the end of that.

Going commando & without seams; that is switching to cycling-specific shorts, or wearing nothing but the Lidl cycling shorts might elimiante your discomfort.

For me, the biggest reason to wear cycling-specific stuff is not for the padding, but the lack of seams. Pants and hiking shorts both have seams in places that are likely to cause chafing. Sometimes other sports wear (running, tennis, golf, etc.) has single seams on sufficiently thin material that they are okay either with or without cycling shorts. I do the school run and shopping in everyday clothes, but if go more than 10 miles, or so, I want to do so without any seams between me and my saddle.

tykeboy2003 wrote:I wear Lidl cycling shorts, but with my normal boxers underneath and ordinary shorts (usually the hiking sort with map pockets etc) on top. I can usually manage 40+miles before I start to get at all uncomfortable and have done over 60 with no ill effects. I don't find much difference between saddles as long as they are in decent nick - I've got a skinny racing saddle on my racer and a chubby gel saddle on my hybrid.

Me and a mate went to France last september and cycled from Cherbourg to St Malo (200Km or so) in 4 days. I have to admit to being a tad sore at the end of that.

I hate to tell you this, but wearing boxer shorts under cycling shorts is extremely unhygienic. it also negates the second most important reason for wearing cycling shorts, which is that lycra wicks moisture and heat away from the skin;. So a layer of cotton beneath your synthetic cycling shorts will completely negate this important wicking mechanism.

PS: Great job on the 200km ride!

Oops, I'm wrong again.........

A Charge Spoon saddle at a cost of £24-99p will not break the bank .I have one on my Spesh Secreur Elite.Lovely saddle.Bib shorts mine came from Prendas ciclisimo .Bought in a sale.Hope you find something comfortable soon.

+1 for the Charge Spoon. Very cumfy saddle. I have these on my hybrid and MTB as well as a Charge Knife on my road bike.

burnsie wrote:Hi Doc. I got back into serious cycling a few years back. Have read a number of debates re this issue and thanked the heavens I didn't suffer....until this year, when I've had various issues with chafing etc. This puzzled me as to why it should suddenly appear; the worst offender seemed to be my commuting bike, which had a well broken in Brooks B 17; anyway after various strategies including buying new shorts as I became convinced they were the problem (which they weren't!) I noticed one day that the nose of my saddle seemed rather high...certainly higher than I'd like..so after messing around (resulting in a post here re my saddle post) I seem to have eliminated the problem, with a sudden absence of chafing..others have remared in the past that a difference of even 1/2 degrees or mm forward/bacward can make a big difference....so might be worth considering this

Dave

Hey Dave...I;ve started playing around with my saddle a little bit just to see if I can make any difference in comfort and 'form'.

PaulB wrote:You should give serious consideration to a Selle San Marco Concor-X or a Selle San Marco Concor Light. Yes, both are just under £60. But these are the most popular and respected saddles amongst professional cyclist - you will see the majority of pros using them on the tour de france. They are reported to be supremely comfortable.

Pro cyclists generally ride in a very different position to us leisure cyclists so "racing" saddles do not automatically make comfortable general purpose seats. I use a Fizi:k on my sports bike and a Specialized anatomic one on my folder. Riding without padded shorts or underwear is fine. You need to check out your posture on the bike; ie are you a "sit up and beg" rider or a more sporty cyclist - one saddle may not fit both styles.

Thanks Paul, I'm a lot less sporty nowadays and am trying to become aware of good posture in the saddle...not so sure I can afford half of what my bike cost for a saddle, if I was spending that much I'd have a Brooks.

Steve Kish wrote:Decathlon bib shorts with red inserts at £22 each.

Sudocrem applied on the skin just before putting on the shorts.

'Nuff said!

D'yanno I've never considered bib shorts. I imagine they're not so good for a quick pee behind a hedge but I'll check them out.

Pipps wrote:Sounds like you haven't been introduced to bib-shorts yet then! There's a big difference for girls and guys when taking a pee whilst wearing bibs. It definitely justifies a female-specific design.

You can buy padded shorts on eBay, at very reasonable prices brand new from the likes of Tenn, but I started there too and I can safely say there would be more padding if you placed a folded napkin under each cheek!

Put a few hundred miles on your steel tourer and then reconsider your budget!

Welcome to cycling! You will now be skint forever!

Do girls bib shorts have a flap? I so know that my bike will take up pretty much all my disposable income from here on in

tykeboy2003 wrote:I wear Lidl cycling shorts, but with my normal boxers underneath and ordinary shorts (usually the hiking sort with map pockets etc) on top. I can usually manage 40+miles before I start to get at all uncomfortable and have done over 60 with no ill effects. I don't find much difference between saddles as long as they are in decent nick - I've got a skinny racing saddle on my racer and a chubby gel saddle on my hybrid.

Me and a mate went to France last september and cycled from Cherbourg to St Malo (200Km or so) in 4 days. I have to admit to being a tad sore at the end of that.

Wow! 200km in 4 days, I hope one day to be able to complete such adventures myself. Go you!!
It's the Lidl shorts with my boxers underneath that I've been doing up until now. I tried sans boxers and it was more comfortable. I've never had a problem with saddles before but I've gotten old and won't put up with being in any way uncomfortable nowadays.

mrs doubtfire wrote:A Charge Spoon saddle at a cost of £24-99p will not break the bank .I have one on my Spesh Secreur Elite.Lovely saddle.Bib shorts mine came from Prendas ciclisimo .Bought in a sale.Hope you find something comfortable soon.

Steve Kish wrote:+1 for the Charge Spoon. Very cumfy saddle. I have these on my hybrid and MTB as well as a Charge Knife on my road bike.

Cheers! I'll definitely keep that one in mind if the new Bontrager Evoke R doesn't suit me.

Dr.Doo wrote:Do girls bib shorts have a flap? I so know that my bike will take up pretty much all my disposable income from here on in

Girls bib shorts do *not* have flaps. Or any other conveniences to aid a quick pee 'round the hedge.

I only wear bibs in the winter to keep my lower back warm. And I usually wear them over my base layer, so I don't freeze any more parts then necessary when doing the necessary.

Vorpal wrote:
Girls bib shorts do *not* have flaps. Or any other conveniences to aid a quick pee 'round the hedge.

I only wear bibs in the winter to keep my lower back warm. And I usually wear them over my base layer, so I don't freeze any more parts then necessary when doing the necessary.

You can get some womens bib shorts that were you can zip the bib bit off so you can take the shorts down for toilet stops...
http://www.minx-girl.com/products/gore- ... black/688/ expensive though

Bibs are soo much more comfy than normal shorts.. also Sudocreme is rubbish for in-use (not slippery/greasy enough) though it is good for after a ride.

rootes wrote:http://www.minx-girl.com/products/gore-xenon-sonic-bib-short-black/688/ expensive though.

rootes wrote:Bibs are soo much more comfy than normal shorts.. also Sudocreme is rubbish for in-use (not slippery/greasy enough) though it is good for after a ride.

I don't find much difference in comfort, except for keeping my lower back covered in winter.

Vorpal wrote:Girls bib shorts do *not* have flaps. Or any other conveniences to aid a quick pee 'round the hedge.

I only wear bibs in the winter to keep my lower back warm. And I usually wear them over my base layer, so I don't freeze any more parts then necessary when doing the necessary.

Keeping yer back warm in winter is a big one and something I've never really had a problem with. Although I've not really done much 'serious' winter riding. Winter riding is transport for me not leisure generally

rootes wrote:You can get some womens bib shorts that where you can zip the bib bit off so you can take the shorts down for toilet stops...
http://www.minx-girl.com/products/gore- ... black/688/ expensive though

Bibs are soo much more comfy than normal shorts.. also Sudocreme is rubbish for in-use (not slippery/greasy enough) though it is good for after a ride.

Cheers for the link rootes. Sadly those bib shorts cost more than my bike so I'll be unlikely to invest in such kit. What makes bibs so much more comfortable?

I did 115 miles on Fri night/sat morning with just a pair of DHB padded undershorts (about £15 Wiggle) under my Ronhill cycling legging thingies.

They may not be as padded as some of the mega expensive stuff but I don't seem to have any need for anything better, in fact now I've had them a while (they were only a trial) I might order a couple more pairs

And it's definitely horses for course RE saddles, the charge spoon is very highly rated and yet I bloody hated it, it felt like it was trying to split me in half!

yep is not just about padding - some of my most comfortable shorts are the thinnest - much more about the shape interface of saddle and bum.

for me it is best to find out how you fit on the saddle with little or no padding and go from there - but only if you are saddle fit to start with

It's certainly true that practice hardens the posterior.
I have a women's saddle with a long open central channel for ventilation, but I know they don't suit everyone. For me, it was a huge improvement on my thinly padded old saddle, which was as hot as hell itself after about 10 miles. I guess not everyone runs as hot- I have the same problem with hands, gloves rot on me. If you get a hot rear such a saddle might help, and I think it was about £40.
My cheapest shorts (just simple padded ones- + antibacterial) are fine for all but my longest rides, and the more I'm doing, the more I can do in them without resorting to the gel ones. But I do wash them (and me) immediately I'm back home after a ride.
E45 cream also helps at times.

An instructive article on "Female Anatomy and Saddle Discomfort": http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2011/04/ ... ddles.html