Long distance protection

[skudupnorth]

Need some help on choosing some new padded shorts and gloves for long distance riding as my old clothes have shown they have died today on a 50 mile round trip by giving me serious grief on the rear end and hands.
What do you sugest as a good make for such trips and longer as i plan to ride to Cornwall next year and definatly know my backside and hands will not cope with the pain they are feeling now !!!

 

[vernon]

Need some help on choosing some new padded shorts and gloves for long distance riding as my old clothes have shown they have died today on a 50 mile round trip by giving me serious grief on the rear end and hands.
What do you sugest as a good make for such trips and longer as i plan to ride to Cornwall next year and definatly know my backside and hands will not cope with the pain they are feeling now !!!

I found that padding in shorts caused more problems than they solved. The wearing of M & S cotton briefs and heavyweight cotton shorts provide sufficient ventilation and friction reduction without the need to use creams, lotions and potions to avoid saddle soreness.

I used to think that the creams stopped saddle sores from forming until I did a couple of 100km rides without using them and found that nothing untoward happened in their absence.

You might consider padding your bars rather than your gloves. Specialised Bar Phat gel pads do a decent job as do lengths of inner tube wrapped around the bars before wrapping them in bar tape.

All suggestions have worked consistently for me for 25+ 100km Audaxes per year and my last five annual 1000km+ summer cycle tours.

 

[rich p]

Each to his own but I prefer to ride in padded lycra shorts. I find them comfortable and quick drying after a wash in the evenings.

 

[Plax]

I'm with Vernon on this one. Padding just makes cycling even more uncomfortable for me. I did buy some DHB padded shorts from Wiggle (after initially not getting on with Aldi/Lidl padded stuff). When I first wore them I though I thought they were brilliant, and indeed they are for short rides, but after 1 x 85 miles, 1 x 90 miles and 1 x 62 mile journeys I've revised my opinion on them as quite frankly they get very uncomfortable, and the last time especially they were *really* uncomfortable.
From now on I'm going to stick with the non-padded option as my Brooks saddle is more than comfortable enough for me.

 

[skudupnorth]

Thanks for the replies and you have helped in solving the problem.I had been reading reviews on the Brookes seat and have decided to go for the slim B17 plus ditch the padded shorts.My better half will like the M&S answer seeing as she works for them....RESULT !!!

 

[shirokazan]

I...have decided to go for the slim B17 plus ditch the padded shorts.

skudupnorth, I've found the normal B17 quite comfortable but not the B17 Narrow, so beware.

 

[skudupnorth]

skudupnorth, I've found the normal B17 quite comfortable but not the B17 Narrow, so beware.

Cheers for the update,i have never had a B17 and thought the slim version might be similar to my original seat but comfy ! How bulky is the standard B17 ?

 

[Plax]

Cheers for the update,i have never had a B17 and thought the slim version might be similar to my original seat but comfy ! How bulky is the standard B17 ?

I don't think it's bulky, think if you look at the website they might give you the dimensions of the saddle. One cycling colleague has the Brooks Swallow which looks razor thin but he likes it. If you can try a few out then that would be ideal, otherwise you won't go far wrong with the standard B17

 

[skudupnorth]

I don't think it's bulky, think if you look at the website they might give you the dimensions of the saddle. One cycling colleague has the Brooks Swallow which looks razor thin but he likes it. If you can try a few out then that would be ideal, otherwise you won't go far wrong with the standard B17

Cheers again,all very helpful in my Cornwall quest !

 

[Kirstie]

Oh well I'll put a spanner in the works then.
Assos shorts and chamois cream makes for a happy bum, but they will cost you. Touring in anything else just doesn't work.
Bontrager contact point stuff (saddle, ergonomic grips) work for me. Bar tape with gel is also good.
Specialized body geometry gloves are brill.
If your hands are really hurting then you may need to have a bigger rise on your stem or increase the stack height on your steerer tube so you're not leaning on them as much.

 

[skudupnorth]

Oh it's no spanner Kirstie,any adivice is a great help as i don't want my first big trip to be my last because of a pain in the backside ! Need to be able to cope with 100 mile days to Cornwall to meet up with the family in time.

 

[skudupnorth]

Ordered my Brookes today,cannot wait to see if my buttocks like !!!

 

[ASC1951]

Oh well I'll put a spanner in the works then......If your hands are really hurting then you may need to have a bigger rise on your stem or increase the stack height on your steerer tube so you're not leaning on them as much.

The correct riding position is a very important factor in how all your contact points will cope. I invested in a BikeFit session years ago and can happily ride all day without gloves or any padding on the bars. I've never felt the need for cream on the crevices, either, but that only works with proper cycling shorts (i.e. nothing with crotch seams) and you do have to have clean ones every day.

 

[PaulSB]

Assos shorts and chamois cream makes for a happy bum, but they will cost you. Touring in anything else just doesn't work.

+1 though I rarely use cream these days and it doesn't have to be Assos cream, Sudocream for example is just as effective plus it doesn't make your bits tingle as much as Assos does!

On the shorts costs, yes Assos are VERY expensive but also good value. I think a new pair of bibs for me would be £140-£160. I paid about £90 five years ago and that pair are still going strong. Other than wear on the inner thigh and having to restitch the pad from time to time they are in great condition. So that's just £16 per year, even at £150 it's only £30 per annum.