Please recommend a pair of winter padded tights

[Deleted member 121159]

My pretty basic Boardman tights have served me well so far, but as I'm doing longer rides I'm in need of a more generously padded pair of tights. My bum was so sore after that 100 mile ride!! I'm looking for something that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, maybe around £50-70. Any recommendations?

 

[T4tomo]

get some unpadded roubaix tights and wear over your best padded shorts. better than buying cheap padded ones that hurt your bum, or spending a lot on good ones that you can only use for a few winter rides.

 

[cougie uk]

It's not usually the shorts that are the issue - look at Tour riders doing >100 miles a day - skinny chamois. Make sure your position is good, your saddle agrees with you and maybe try some chamois cream too ? Impossible to recommend a pad - different people prefer different things.

Actually after checking your avatar - it's probably your bikini bottoms rubbing.

 

[Deleted member 121159]

get some unpadded roubaix tights and wear over your best padded shorts. better than buying cheap padded ones that hurt your bum, or spending a lot on good ones that you can only use for a few winter rides.

Thanks, that makes sense. Will look into this option.

 

[Deleted member 121159]

It's not usually the shorts that are the issue - look at Tour riders doing >100 miles a day - skinny chamois. Make sure your position is good, your saddle agrees with you and maybe try some chamois cream too ? Impossible to recommend a pad - different people prefer different things.

Actually after checking your avatar - it's probably your bikini bottoms rubbing.

I changed from drop bar to flat bar to find a better position for me. Flat bar bikes are much easier on my neck/shoulders and hands/wrists. The change in weight distribution means that there's more weight on my bum, though. I have no interest in going back to drop bar - I'm not that bothered about speed/aerodynamics, plus I love the ease of braking and more control I have of the bike. In fact, loads of people seem to do thousands of miles on a flat bar bike of all sorts with no issues. I'm not planning anything like that any time soon so I'm hoping a thicker pad will solve the problem for me. Chamois cream - that mainly protects against chafing doesn't it? I think my problem is that the soft tissues around the sit bones get sore.

 

[vickster]

look at your saddle too

 

[cyberknight]

get some unpadded roubaix tights and wear over your best padded shorts. better than buying cheap padded ones that hurt your bum, or spending a lot on good ones that you can only use for a few winter rides.

Thats exactly what I do plus if you ride most days it saves having loads of padded tights

 

[Deleted member 121159]

Thats exactly what I do plus if you ride most days it saves having loads of padded tights

How padded should the shorts be anyway, if I'm riding for 6-10 hours? Basically I'm not too sure if the tights are the problem or something else. Or does my bum just get used to it over time?

 

[Deleted member 121159]

look at your saddle too

I've tried two different ones, one wider and plusher, the other narrower and harder. My bum hurts on both of them, just different parts!

 

[Reynard]

I'm more inclined to think it may well be your riding position.

First thing to check is the saddle height and saddle fore/aft/tilt. It's the cheapest thing you can look at first - don't splurge on anything else until you can rule all that out.

My guess is that your saddle is somewhat too low. I'd suggest raising progressively in 5mm increments (with a test ride or three after each) and see where you go from there.

 

[vickster]

I've tried two different ones, one wider and plusher, the other narrower and harder. My bum hurts on both of them, just different parts!

Get your sit bones measured and take it from there, neither wide nor narrow might be right…there are hundreds of saddle choices.
get some decent shorts and over tights too

 

[Alex321]

get some unpadded roubaix tights and wear over your best padded shorts. better than buying cheap padded ones that hurt your bum, or spending a lot on good ones that you can only use for a few winter rides.

Agree with this.

I wear shorts all year, in the winter with unpadded tights over them or with leg warmers.

 

[PaulSB]

I changed from drop bar to flat bar to find a better position for me. Flat bar bikes are much easier on my neck/shoulders and hands/wrists. The change in weight distribution means that there's more weight on my bum, though. I have no interest in going back to drop bar - I'm not that bothered about speed/aerodynamics, plus I love the ease of braking and more control I have of the bike. In fact, loads of people seem to do thousands of miles on a flat bar bike of all sorts with no issues. I'm not planning anything like that any time soon so I'm hoping a thicker pad will solve the problem for me. Chamois cream - that mainly protects against chafing doesn't it? I think my problem is that the soft tissues around the sit bones get sore.

I've tried two different ones, one wider and plusher, the other narrower and harder. My bum hurts on both of them, just different parts!

Based on these posts I would guess the position on your road bike was all wrong and you still don't have it right on the flat bar. As regards tights I've worn unpadded Funkier for years with very good quality bib shorts underneath and I find it works very well. My bib shorts are Assos Mille GT.

 

[Deleted member 121159]

I'm more inclined to think it may well be your riding position.

First thing to check is the saddle height and saddle fore/aft/tilt. It's the cheapest thing you can look at first - don't splurge on anything else until you can rule all that out.

My guess is that your saddle is somewhat too low. I'd suggest raising progressively in 5mm increments (with a test ride or three after each) and see where you go from there.

Based on these posts I would guess the position on your road bike was all wrong and you still don't have it right on the flat bar. As regards tights I've worn unpadded Funkier for years with very good quality bib shorts underneath and I find it works very well. My bib shorts are Assos Mille GT.

I'm sure the position could have been better on the road bike, but I'm inclined to think that typical road bikes can't really be very comfortable for me. First I'm tall (6'2'), and I also have chronic stiffness/discomfort of neck&shoulders. So the stretched out position on the drop bar wasn't great for me. The reach on my flat bar frame is actually longer than the road frame, but the effective reach is much shorter as I'm on a flat bar. Hence a more upright position, more weight on bum, ergo more pain on bum.

I'll try saddle adjustments, see what happens. Thanks for the recommendation, too.

 

[DCBassman]

When you say you changed from drop to flat, do you mean on the same bike? That can lead to a whole new world of mis-alignment in its own right.
Because of my odd body shape, and the fact that the bike in question was on the very edge of being too big, I got away with this, but it usually means a new bike.