Time for better shorts

pbassred

I have come to the conclusion that with my current cheap shorts my saddle time is limited to about 2 1/2 hours. My muscles are fine. Its my ass. I'm OK with waist shorts. Any recommendations for a brand that will last all day? I would like to look and compare, but my LBS said " we are getting some in" (its mid April!). Evans had 3 pairs in stock.

I will have to go on recommendations.

yiannism

Castelli and endura are safe bets (but are plenty other good brands out there too), i use both and i am happy with them even after 6-7 hours of cycling. Just have in mind that they have deferent qualities, the more expensive have better quality of pad. You have also to consider a new saddle too, the comfort is combination of two. Also how the saddle is installed play crucial role for comfort. Ive put mine 5 degrees down and i feel much better. An other trick is to try to not sitting all the time, and give time to your blood to circulate.

Still just have in mind that after 3-4 hours the pain is an avoidable.

imafatman

I like the Castelli shorts because they come in XXXL lol.

Mine were pricey at £70 but it's a necessity.

Also they have a shelf life.... After so many miles they just don't work as well. I wear my old shorts for sub 2 hour training rides and my new ones for the big rides.

kajjal

Best to buy bib shorts as they fit better. As above i wear castelli xxxl or gore xxl, 2m tall and about 100kg.

flasher

Assos.

supermurph09

imafatman wrote:

I like the Castelli shorts because they come in XXXL lol.

Mine were pricey at £70 but it's a necessity.

Also they have a shelf life.... After so many miles they just don't work as well. I wear my old shorts for sub 2 hour training rides and my new ones for the big rides.

A Castelli XXXL equates to a about a standard XL....

imafatman

Supermurph09 wrote:

A Castelli XXXL equates to a about a standard XL....

Was not aware of that, it fits me quite comfortably. I'm 6'2 tall and wear a 42" waist jeans.

Matthewfalle

Lusso for £30 odd at Merlin. Best short I've worn in years.

Willdphillips

I was looking at the same thing and generally it's a case of you get what you pay for. Saying that I use Sport Pursuit, if you can be bothered with the waiting time and found Rivelo bibs are great for me and usually on there at a decent price.

fenix

DHB Aeron ones are better than Castelli in my experience.

keef66

I'd second the suggestion to try bibshorts, they are so much comfier.

I've had DHB, Assos and La Passione so far. Of the 3 I find the Assos the most comfortable for longer rides. Just the cheapest* ones they do. Got them direct from their outlet shop.

*relatively speaking; they are still quite dear for stretchy underwear with a pant liner.

ChopFamily

Yeah definitely try bib-shorts, I used waist shorts when I 1st started & bib-shorts are some much more comfortable. I prefer Sportful in my shorts, but everyone is different its a tricky one. Best time to buy is when we are heading to winter so summer stock is reduced. Not great for now though.

fudgey

Horses for courses really as everyone is different.
I stared off with a couple of pairs of BBB bib shorts, kept getting sores and then winter came so tried some DHB roubaix tights. Still not great on longer rides then i binned it and trashed them...
The mrs bought me some DHB ASV tights that again on longer rides are not great and i was still getting the odd sore so have to use chamois cream with them.
I since bought some Castelli free aero race bib shorts and they were much more comfortable and £115 a pair! They are almost a year old, and now the pad scrunches up a bit after a wash so thats quite annoying for the price they were.
I can do 3 hours ish in them, but much longer and it gets uncomfortable. Did 3 century rides last year longest took 7 hours, but by then my arse was the least of my worries ha

step83

As people have said id look toward bibs. Generally better in terms of fit an they wont move.

Pads though totally subjective, personal favourites for me are either Ale or Enduras FS260's done 5-6 hour rides in both without issue.

Another spanner to throw in the works, is your saddle correct for you? You could have the best pad in the world but the wrong saddle will just hurt.

Riding High

Another vote for Assos.

I have owned Assos shorts for years, never had any problems and they are super comfy. Definitely needs to be bib shorts and I know they are expensive but worth every penny if comfortable and still going strong years later.

coops1967

Take a look at DeSoto - they do some excellent shorts as they are quite Tri focussed ( or well known for that...).

The 5mm pad is 'invisible' when worn - so popular for those run and bike, and perfect if you don't need a lot of padding.

They do a well regarded '400 mile' version in shorts or Bib - designed to let you ride 100 miles a day for 4 days not not feel sore... apparently. It's an 11mm pad though - the sweet spot for me is their 7mm Classico pad which i just tried in a bib short. Perfect.

renevat

Chapeau kit works for me. Got a couple of pairs of their bibs and tights. Pad very comfortable and good for 6 hours+, also have a free repair policy although I have not had any reason to test it out yet.

geryben

Matthewfalle wrote:

Lusso for £30 odd at Merlin. Best short I've worn in years.

That is true!