Padded Cycling Shorts - What Do You Wear Under - How Often Do You Wash

[Witterings]

OK ... so I've definitely been doing it wrong and have always worn pants underneath and only have 1 pair of cycling shorts ..... wear them 3 / 4 times and then washed but obviously clean pants every time.

Looks like I need to buy a few more pairs ... I think the other thing I was always reserved about is they're not cheap and I would have thought washing them after every ride they wouldn't last long but guess that must be wrong as well???

[tykeboy2003]

a) nothing
b) each time they are worn, ASAP after a ride.

Agreed.

On point b, I usually have a bath after a ride and the pants have a bath with me.

[landsurfer]

Looks like I need to buy a few more pairs ... I think the other thing I was always reserved about is they're not cheap and I would have thought washing them after every ride they wouldn't last long but guess that must be wrong as well???

Mine are £29.99 Clubmans bib shorts from Planet X ... excellent quality and comfort. Why pay more ..

[philg]

a) nothing
b) each time they are worn, ASAP after a ride.....

+1 again
Or as alternative, I've just received 2 pairs of these to wear under trad unpadded shorts
Altura Tempo Undershorts 2017
£14.99 from CRC, haven't ridden them yet but they seem good quality and I've had no problem with Altura stuff in the past.

[Road Cycling Serbia]

Nothing under bib.
I wear them for 2 rides without washing. Of course i wash my butt before every ride [emoji3].

Poslato sa VTR-L29 pomoću Tapatoka

[RickH]

OK ... so I've definitely been doing it wrong and have always worn pants underneath and only have 1 pair of cycling shorts ..... wear them 3 / 4 times and then washed but obviously clean pants every time.

Looks like I need to buy a few more pairs ... I think the other thing I was always reserved about is they're not cheap and I would have thought washing them after every ride they wouldn't last long but guess that must be wrong as well???

If what you've been doing works for you then why change (excuse the pun)?

[Vorpal]

Looks like I need to buy a few more pairs ... I think the other thing I was always reserved about is they're not cheap and I would have thought washing them after every ride they wouldn't last long but guess that must be wrong as well???

It depends. I've got a pair of Pearl Izumi shorts that I've had for at least 20 years. They are no longer decent for public wear, but I still wear them with MTB baggies. They don't have a thick pad, though. Just a synthetic chamois type.

I've got other brands that are in more or less the same condition after ~10 years. A pair of cheap shorts that I bought a few years ago, though, the leg hems came apart, and they started rolling up my legs. I fixed it, and they've been okay since.

[Vorpal]

OK ... so I've definitely been doing it wrong and have always worn pants underneath and only have 1 pair of cycling shorts ..... wear them 3 / 4 times and then washed but obviously clean pants every time.

Looks like I need to buy a few more pairs ... I think the other thing I was always reserved about is they're not cheap and I would have thought washing them after every ride they wouldn't last long but guess that must be wrong as well???

If what you've been doing works for you then why change (excuse the pun)?

+1 The right way is whatever is comfortable for you.

[mjr]

Looks like I need to buy a few more pairs ... I think the other thing I was always reserved about is they're not cheap and I would have thought washing them after every ride they wouldn't last long but guess that must be wrong as well???

No, they do indeed wear out quickly. The hard saddle and padded pants approach is a triumph of marketing over good sense, as far as touring is concerned, IMO.

I prefer to pad the saddle correctly once, not every pair of special-purpose underwear. Then I wear more-or-less regular underwear, although there are a few specific requirements, like not having seams under the sit bones or in the leg folds and the legs not riding up or bunching. I still change underwear as soon as reasonably possible after a long ride or hot day, to avoid holding sweat next to the skin where it could help cause sores and so on. I don't really want to keep a pad that's basically a sponge next to my skin all ride, no matter how much antibacterial silver it has in it - you can't escape it by standing up and coasting for a bit like a saddle. Finally, the seams on every pair I tried (including some reasonably expensive ones) caused irritation, including some very painful bits.

[toontra]

On long rides (i.e. over 8 hours in the saddle on multiple days) you have to get this right or you will end up in a world of pain. Over many years I've established that what works for me is:

Smooth saddle without much padding - ideally Brooks leather
No underwear
Padded cycle shorts
Regular application of some sort of antiseptic barrier cream (e.g. Sudocrem)

The shorts needn't be expensive. I recently bought these - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FDX-Cycling-Shorts-with-Pockets-3D-Anti-Bac-Padding-All-Day-Men-MTB-Bike-Shorts/181712001465?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=480666466957&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Done a few 100+ mile rides with them and they seem as good as pairs I have costing multiple amounts. They also have small side pockets that come in very handy when touring. Not sure how long they will last but at that price it's not really an issue.

[RickH]

On long rides (i.e. over 8 hours in the saddle on multiple days) you have to get this right or you will end up in a world of pain. Over many years I've established that what works for me is:

Yup

Smooth saddle without much padding

Yup.

ideally Brooks leather

Nope - Selle Italia SLR for me.

No underwear

Nope - always wear unpadded thin lycra undershorts (a clean pair every day).

Padded cycle shorts

Yup - same shorts for up to 6 days (I think that's the longest I've done without washing them)

Regular application of some sort of antiseptic barrier cream (e.g. Sudocrem)

Nope - never put anything on my derriere, never had any chaffing or saddle sore since I've been doing this (over 10 years).

When I started, in the 70s, I was a "shorts with genuine chamois*, Brooks saddle**, no underwear***" type of guy but I've changed (& not just my underwear! )
(*with application of chamois cream after washing to soften it from the board like state it would tend to adopt
** Quite happy on a Brooks, quite happy to not have one - my longest trips with 100+ miles days were on a Selle Italia Turbo
*** The underwear of the day - cotton & nylon generally - didn't really lend itself to sweaty activities)

I'm not sure there is a right answer - its a bit like hikers who argue for & against wearing 2 pairs of socks (I'm a thin inner pair under thicker outers personally).

[Mick F]

Only two hours and twenty miles today, but I don't know what the weather is like for other areas, it was sweaty and humid here. Only 20degC but very very humid and sweaty.

My top, my shorts and my cap went straight into the wash-bin, and I went straight into the shower.

[Vorpal]

All that stuff is personal.

I don't get along with Brooks, personally. I've tried. I do get along with Serfas saddles (which are padded) and cycling shorts with the thinnest pad I can find. The gel pads in lots of shorts aren't at all comfortable for me, whatever saddle I use.

No creams or anything, though.

[TrevA]

I don’t wear anything under my shorts and I wash all my kit after every ride. I find even sitting around for a short while in sweaty cycling kit can give you saddle sores, so it’s straight into the washer with the kit and straight into the shower for me, after returning from a ride. That is why I have 8 pairs of shorts.

The only exception was when I used to commute. I would wear a pair of cotton underpants under the shorts on the commute in, then ride in the same shorts on the commute home. The shorts would have a good airing during the day, to dry the pad out. I would also have a shower on arrival at work and upon coming home.

I don't suffer with saddle sores and I believe that this is due to my regular washing regime - both me and my clothes.

[Audax67]

Nothing underneath for me: cycling shorts are designed that way and general-purpose underpants aren't.
Normally mine go in the wash immediately after a ride, but if it's cold weather and the ride was short & sweat-free I'll eke out another go. However, on rides of >= 1000k I use 2 pairs and change them once. On PBP 2007, though, I used just one pair. When I got back to my hotel I had the lift all to myself.