Bike Shorts

[sackcycle]

Any ideals on a good pair of shorts w/o spending a half of your tour bank roll? Thanks George

[staehpj1]

Any ideals on a good pair of shorts w/o spending a half of your tour bank roll? Thanks George

That is a very personal choice.  I like Pearl Izumi Ultrasensor shorts and buy them when they are on sale usually at Performance.  They are comfortable, seem to dry fast and be OK when damp.  I have had cheaper shorts that were OK, usually house brand ones from Nashbar or Performance.  I'd advise avoiding the gel models though.

[Tandem4Rider]

I outfit myself with Performance house brand clothing.  Great comfort, equally matched quality and durability, and an incredible price for all that.  Had an acquaintance who wore Assos once...  discovered the biggest difference between his $145 set of shorts and a set for $45, was $100.  The best advice I could offer, though, is make sure what you decide upon is comfortable and fits well within your expectations and desires.  Enjoy the ride.

[bogiesan]

Any ideals on a good pair of shorts w/o spending a half of your tour bank roll? Thanks George

The "ideal" cycling short is the pair that leaves you unimpaired at the end of 100 miles of hot, rainy, or hard pedaling. How much they cost you is irrelevant if they protect your nether parts and last more than a season or two.

The difference between an Italian bib set for $200 and a Nashbar or Performance pair for $25-60 is nota just price. But you cannot know that intimately without wearing them for 200 or more miles.

I don't need cycling shorts on my recumbent but when I had my road bike, I spent a lot of money trying to save money on shorts. All of the bargain shorts ended up hurting me. So I bought two top of the line shorts and was absolutely amazed at the difference in material, craftsmanship, feel, fit and comfort. I could ride further and enjoyed it more. These were benefits associated directly with the cost and value of the investment.

Your mileage, and the opinions of others, will vary, of course. Our saddles, styles, and butts are all different.
Shop for expensive shorts on deep discount. Your price point should be $60-100 on the clearance racks.

David Boise id

[mcparsons]

I have two pair (one mountain style, one six panel) made in China, no name shorts that cost me $35each. Both have 2000 miles on them with no problems.  Personally I would not spend more.

[Pat Lamb]

I'm a fan of Voler (bib) shorts, and their close cousins the higher-end Performance house brand (somebody said they're made by Voler), often on sale for around $50.  Unless you're tightly constrained on cost I  wouldn't worry too much about price -- 2-3 pairs will last for three months.

Do try to get the thinnest pad you can.  When it's raining and warm, or when you run into a 90-90 day (90 degrees, 90% relative humidity) and sweat like crazy, you do NOT want to get off the bike, sit down, hear a squishing sound from your bottom, and feel rain or sweat running down your leg.  Designers who make lovely thick foam (or gel) chamois never ride as far, or as long, as a bicycle tourist.

[DaveB]

Shorts are almost as subjective as saddles so what works for me may not for you.  Take the following with that in mind.

I've had excellent results with Performance's house brand mid-line (Century and Elite) shorts.  They have been very durable and comfortable for dozens of century rides and week-long tours.  Avoid their lowest line (Classic) as they are too thin and flimsy and the padding is rather spartan. 

As pdlamb noted you don't want the padding too thick or too large as that defeats it's purpose. 

One way to keep shorts (and you) comfortable is to wash them thoroughly after each day's use.

[John Nelson]

I have several pairs of the Performance Classic shorts, which I use on my shorter rides. This saves wear and tear on my good shorts, which I use on my longer rides.

[staehpj1]

Since a few mentioned their experience with Performance brand shorts I will pipe up a bit more on my experience with them.  I used a pair of what I think was their "Century"  model on the Trans America and alternated them with a pair of PI Ultrasensors.  Both were OK wrt the padding and saddle comfort.  The one area where the PIs were nicer was when we all had heat rash after many days of 100+ F weather.  The PIs were better for relief from that.  Otherwise both were nice.

I don't think that year's extreme heat was a very typical condition though and it was the only time I have had that type of rash problem.  Our group of three and some other riders we met all had a pretty bad case of heat rash on that trip.

It does sort of make a case for having two different models to switch between.  Also if you manage to get chafed in a particular spot a different brand will likely hit you in a different spot and therefore give some relief.  That said I usually just wear my PIs.

I will also mention that my future son in law is using the "Elite" model from Performance and seems to really like them.  They appear to be very well made.

When it comes to bibs I really never got what is so nice about them.  I tried them once and only found disadvantages.  I can see where they might be nice for riders so skinny that they can't keep shorts up, for those with a roll in the middle, or for those who for some other reason don't find that shorts fit properly. 

[whittierider]

In only get the least expensive ones from Performance and Nashbar, and I am comfortable in them all day and have no problems, and they last thousands of miles.  I do insist that the pad be thin and unsculped; ie, I don't want any ridges and shapes molded into the pad.  They always assume the rider sits straight and symmetrically on the saddle, which I don't, and have not since childhood.

[Awf Hand]

I did my first tour last year and had two different manufacturer's shorts along.  I'm glad I had two pair and that they were different lining material.  One provided relief from the other.  Both worked great, but one pair was 75$ and the other was 25$.  For a short ride, I'll take the more expensive pair.  For a multiday ride, both.

[driftlessregion]

As has been said, personal preference is most of it. Any name brand will be good, I stopped using the cheap ones when I could afford better, but didn't have problems with the cheap ones I admit. Make sure they aren't too big; you don't want them moving around at all; that causes chafing. Aggressive riding style will require thinner pad (and thinner padding on the saddle too-another reason for Brooks saddles) for the same reason. I love bibs for the same reason: they don't move around (and no tight band around my middle age middle).
Good luck!

[DaveB]

When it comes to bibs I really never got what is so nice about them.  I tried them once and only found disadvantages.  I can see where they might be nice for riders so skinny that they can't keep shorts up, for those with a roll in the middle, or for those who for some other reason don't find that shorts fit properly. 

I'm not that taken with the idea of bib either.  I've used them a bit but regular shorts work just as well for me. 

One thing with bibs is that it's much more convenient to have a jersey with a full length separating zipper if you use them.  I expect the reason is obvious. 

[johnsondasw]

I found after much trial and error and wasting money on cheap shorts that I have to spend $100 for a pair.  they last way longer anyway and are more comfortable by far.

[lonerider]

+1 on the cheap shorts rule, don't go there. Have spent good money on bad product and regretted many times trying to "feel good" about saving money.

Recent discovery; Have worn Sugoi RS Flex shorts for about 8 years now and love them. Easily get over 10 thousand miles to a pair and own three pairs now. The only brand I buy, however pair of Specialized RBX shorts were given to me this winter while riding in CA for a week. Very impressed with their comfort and look forward to sitting in the saddle for a long ride this spring. Just may have found an alternative to the Best of Breed Sugoi RS Flex!

Just went through my cycling logs and found the original Sugoi RX shorts have a bit over 16 thousand miles. The others considerably less since they are newer. Average yearly mileage is between 2 and 4 thousand miles.