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I used to frown up the whole Lycra shorts thing(for myself anyways) until, I ended up with a pair of Endura(really rad company from the UK check them out) 3/4th biking pants and, to my dismay they had a pair of good old fashion biking shorts as a clip in liner. I was going to be danged if I was going to spend that kid of money on them to not see what the big deal is. Long story short I may not wear them on the outside but i’m a firm believer in those silly shorts I can’t believe how much more you can enjoy the ride without worry about the monkey butt or the sore spots of the previous days ride.
so my question is who rides with and without the padded beauties?
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I wear biker shorts under my baggies.
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I found some with the same style at Dick’s Sporting Goods about four months ago. They are awesome. I can say that I like riding a whole lot better with them. I just don’t like the ones that are to short. Some things aren’t just supposed to be seen while riding. Mine go down to the knees. I like the padding part to that soreness can get to ya after a while.
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Y’all know I’m about as old school as anyone you’ll see on the trail but I gotta say, good shorts have had a HUGE difference in my life. Mudhunny bought me a pair of Fox Mid Rangers for my birthday last year (I don’t want to know how much they cost) and they are seriously the heat.
The padded liner inside eliminates chaffing and lets me stay in the saddle pretty much all day. Tons of pockets (some velcro) mean I can carry all my junk (Clif Bar, camera, keys, etc.) though I suppose Mongoose does the same with his cargo shorts
The Mid Rangers are pretty stylin’ too, so much so that I’m no longer embarassed when I need to run into the gas station for a gatorade after a ride. I only have one pair but honestly that’s all I need – I’ll wear ’em stinky if I have to. Seriously, one pair of good shorts will change your life! -
Oh yeah, one more thing. You know how people wear spandex on the trail because they already wear it on the road? I’ve been going the other way lately – I wear my Fox MTB shorts on the road bike! They do tend to flap a little in the wind but otherwise I’m much more comfortable in them…
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"Mongoose" wrote
I disliked the shorts because they were too bulky, funny looking, and the pads felt like I had a diaper under my buttocks.
Right on, it does take some getting used to. The more expensive padded shorts are contoured so they don’t feel bulky. I hadn’t thought about downhill riding in bike shorts – makes sense that you don’t need a lot of padding.
What you do need for downhill (or XC for that matter), is support for your boys. For this reason alone I always wear the tight stuff to keep everything in the right place 😆
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I have a couple of pairs of what they call "Liners". they are a lighter version of the famed spandex version. These are cool because you don’t do the show me thing. Just put them on and your favorite pair of shorts right on over.
A nice alternative to the bare all bike shorts.
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I have also used the ‘liners’ under regular shorts for a few years now- work great, especially if you have them favorite shorts that have all the pockets you want.
I too got a pair of the fox mid ranger’s this spring in anchorage, liked them so much I bought a pair for riding stateside too- 😃
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I be the opposite of Mongoose.
I ride in high end lycra shorts, exclusively.
I’ve had several pair of baggies, and gave all of them away to friends. Never could find a pair I like that didn’t get hung up on the nose of the saddle.
I’m not hung up on looks. As a matter of fact, I generally think the non-biking short rider is the one that stands out from the norm on the trail.
My strong advice (especially if you like to ride long/far): get a good pair of shorts with a good chamie inside and you will be better off for it. Better hygene, more comfort. I couldn’t imagine doing any ride without a chamie involved, but being the saddle for 3+ hours would seem like a no brainer to me.
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Just adding my two cents….Hey all…Hi Mongoose well when i ride i need a chamois and shorts….Goose you know what i mean you did see my seat… Carbon is a bit tough on the butt!..Actually on both my rides i still use a ride short and a chamois liner. I find that the Oakley shorts are great…I have fox but don’t like it as much…The Oakley ballistic is great as well as the Remix…They hold up to abuse…I don’t use tights….Kinda not my thing anymore.
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I always wear a nice pair of padded shorts. Off-road I wear Fox Mid-Ranger shorts – best shorts I’ve found and they don’t really feel or look like bike shorts. On the road I wear Lycra (Pearl Izumi). I’ve tried the lycra off-road but it just doesn’t feel right.
I was at an REI store this week-end and saw that thye have the Mid-Ranger shorts for $45 (clearance)
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I’ve used ’em all (spandex, baggies with liners, just plain shorts) and I don’t have strong feelings about any of them. Back when I used to do more technical riding (Palmer Park), which meant constantly going back and forth across (in front of or behind) the seat I liked the spandex since I wouldn’t snag the seat with the shorts. On long rides (like 30-40 miles) I like having the padding of any kind of riding short. But, for most of my rides, which typically are 15-30 miles on reasonably easy trails, I just wear regular shorts. They are cheap and easy and my butt holds up fine if I’m only in the saddle for a few hours.
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My friend donated to me some skin tight road bike shorts. I get some good looks on the trail with them on, being a young’un 17 year old, I guess they assume that I would be "stomping" some sick jumps or whatever.
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I tried the Fox Mid Ranger’s…..and I like them.
First baggie I’ve owned that I may keep.
Thanks for the suggestion.
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I stick to the Dickies. They can take a serious beating, last for years, and thay cost about 17 bucks for the shorts. O yea a little pointer the more you ride the less the buttocks hurts. Try it out!
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"D-rock" wrote
I stick to the Dickies. They can take a serious beating, last for years, and thay cost about 17 bucks for the shorts. O yea a little pointer the more you ride the less the buttocks hurts. Try it out!
Know of any racers that don’t wear padded shorts? I’m willing to bet they ride more than you do and they still manage to feel padded shorts are needed.
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😮 I KNOW my bunns in black spandex are a scarry site but ain’t no way I’m riding ANY style of bicycle with out "padded bicycle specific" shorts! Infact I like the Gel instead of the standard cloth chamie. Still so I can’t "burn the eyeballs from fellow riders", I will only wear Black, my body in neon colors, would be outlawed! 😉 😼
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OK .. I have been pondering this a bit over the past week.. I really am not a fan of wearing spandex on the trails but I do wear them under my basic comfortable shorts..
MY question is wouldn’t it be more economic and practical and CHEAPER for the saddles to be padded ?? I hate riding around like a have a load in my pants (sorry to be blunt) Regardless of whether you wear spandex or shorts??
is this just an industry thing to make money.. it would be easier to have a little more padding on the saddle!
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Well,when riding a bike,especially a mtn bike,the rider has a pretty good tendancy to move around,back and forth on the seat and if the seat has a bunch of padding on it then it mmakes it difficult for the seat to slide between/on the riders butt and thighs.You want a slim and trim seat for this so your riding is is not hung up on the seat…believe me,you’ll learn one way or the other,haahhha..
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If you get really good shorts, they don’t feel like you have a load in your pants.
I wear spandex, by the way, I had a really great pair of Descente ones that recently wore out and I just got some Giant ones that I like.
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I’ve ridden mountain bikes for 20 years and can’t imagine riding without padded cycling shorts. And I ride in Lycra and have only tried the "baggie" variety once. Wasted $60 on a Pearl Izumi pair. Never again!
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I ride in plain baggy shorts and use an A.R.S padded seat. So far haven’t regretted it(got about 1,000 mi’s on seat) and it cost me less than a single pair of shorts.
Did 20 miles today on the Tanasi trail system and my derriere is about the only part of me that doesn’t hurt 😀
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I just wear regular cargo shorts with Nike Combat compression shorts underneath them. I never seem to have any issues. Am I the only one who does this 😃
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I bypass the spandex garbage strickly cargo shorts bro. I use anti-chaffe by body glide it’s a deoderant style stick thats clear, non-staining, and no mess I swear you don’t even realize it’s there. Runners use it and it works like a champ!! As far as the "4th point of contact"<—–(Airborne term) goes I never really had a problem with that I’m standing and sitting so much that I’m never in one spot long enough the terrain around here is mostly up and down, up and down so I never really sit too long
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"1sikkHucker" wrote
I bypass the spandex garbage…
Just because you don’t use something doesn’t make it garbage… 😏
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"maddslacker" wrote
[quote="1sikkHucker":gc3c2dio]I bypass the spandex garbage…
Just because you don’t use something doesn’t make it garbage… 😏[/quote:gc3c2dio]
+1 to this
"Beaker" wrote[quote="D-rock":gc3c2dio]I stick to the Dickies. They can take a serious beating, last for years, and thay cost about 17 bucks for the shorts. O yea a little pointer the more you ride the less the buttocks hurts. Try it out!
Know of any racers that don’t wear padded shorts? I’m willing to bet they ride more than you do and they still manage to feel padded shorts are needed.[/quote:gc3c2dio]
And this.
If you ride enough, you are going to want a decent chamois, or you will begin to suffer the consequences.
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"mtbgreg1" wrote
If you ride enough, you are going to want a decent chamois, or you will begin to suffer the consequences.
Look at him 😄
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"ollysj" wrote
[quote="mtbgreg1":3i9tno9b]If you ride enough, you are going to want a decent chamois, or you will begin to suffer the consequences.
Look at him 😄
[/quote:3i9tno9b]I’ll just leave this here…
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Alright, alright, your right just ’cause I don’t own/wear spandex doesn’t make it garbage, funny pic of the monkey tho
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Holy thread revival!
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"dgaddis" wrote
Holy thread revival!
I’m kind of happy about this. I find that we don’t talk about our butts enough as a community.
I may be forced to get rid of my padded seat(bent the hell out of the rails with my butt) and only have the sliver of plastic that came on the bike as a replacement. I guess I’ll see if I’m man enough to go sans any padding at all or whether I’ll have to break down and spend the dough on another pansy seat.
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I’ve found that I prefer a saddle with less padding and some built in flex. Padding you just sink down into, and it’s more surface area to cause friction and uncomfortableness.
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If you’re interested in taking care of your taint, be sure to read this article (if you haven’t already): http://www.singletracks.com/blog/beginn … treatment/
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The issue I had(and the reason I went to the padded seat with the recessed centerline) is because I initially had an issue with my jiggly bits going completely numb while riding.
As I learned more about this, I realized I could have probably just either gone to a non-padded seat with the recessed center or even just tilted the nose down to relieve the pressure.
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Guess I am the odd man out. I still prefer a basic pair of shorts of lycra/spandex. I do have a pair of lycra that I will wear athletic shorts over on long road rides. But it’s rare at best.
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"Funrover" wrote
Guess I am the odd man out. I still prefer a basic pair of shorts of lycra/spandex. I do have a pair of lycra that I will wear athletic shorts over on long road rides. But it’s rare at best.
You’re not alone. <fist bump>
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+1
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The Mid Rangers are pretty stylin’ too, so much so that I’m no longer embarassed when I need to run into the gas station for a gatorade after a ride. I only have one pair but honestly that’s all I need – I’ll wear ’em stinky if I have to. Seriously, one pair of good shorts will change your life!
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