lycra shorts

[derrick]

Thinking about getting a pair of lycra shorts, there seems to be a big differance in pricing, do you get more padding in some, is the padding made of differant material, which make do do you reccomend, i feel i need extra padding.
Cheers Del.

 

[subaqua]

the longer you ride the thicker the padding you need. I use the decathlon/btwin shorts whixch have blue red and orange with red being in the niddle for 1-2 hour rides. the thinner ones are for rides less than 2 hours and the thicker for longer rides again.

20+ (OMFG) years ago, i had a great pair with a whocking great chamois pad in them and could ride for 5 hours without even feeling it. wish i could remmeber where i got em from as they were cheap but good.

 

[PpPete]

I had a pair of Aldi shorts last year which were great... they don't look or feel any different now but definitely not as comfortable as they used to be. I think the padding has been crushed by my surplus kgs.! But for the price, even if they only last a year they are worth it - unlike the Lidl ones which were pants.
I've used the Decathlon ones with the blue pads - which are not bad, but my "best" pair are Decathlon bib shorts with the red pad .... €29.99 so expensive for me.... but comfortable even up to a 15 hour / 300 km ride.

 

[cyberknight]

the longer you ride the thicker the padding you need. I use the decathlon/btwin shorts whixch have blue red and orange with red being in the niddle for 1-2 hour rides. the thinner ones are for rides less than 2 hours and the thicker for longer rides again.

+1

Best fitting ones i have found as they give you thigh room which a lot of shorts i have tried don`t
I use the blue padded ones for commuting but after 30 miles+ or so i get a bit tender and have a couple of pairs of the red padded bib shorts for club runs and they are good for 70 miles +

http://www.decathlon...formen-3899272/

http://www.decathlon...flat-172056691/

http://www.decathlon...lain-172065475/

I prefer the bibs for longer rides as you do not get any digging around the waistline

 

[al-fresco]

I'm not entirely convinced that thicker padding = more comfortable shorts. My current faves are Tenn boxers (£11.99) which seem to have a quite thin pad but are good for at least 9 hours. Tenn Vipers, on the other hand, have a thicker pad but I picked up some nasty sores on a 5 hour ride. YMMV.

 

[Globalti]

It's not the thickness of the padding that matters; it's the density. You don't want thick squishy padding as it will become uncomfortable over the miles, you want a good sheet of material that's got enough stiffness not to get creased.

To keep the pad in the right place bib shorts are far better than plain. I strongly recommend dhb, which is Wiggle's own brand. Good value kit and very comfortable.