Padded Bicycle shorts yay or nay?

[menusk]

What's the consensus on mtbr? Do you or don't you pad? Lately I've been going out without my padded spandex and just reg shorts and I feel fine but in the back of my mind I feel I should wear them. I'm just waiting for that one big hit where I look back and think to myself I should have worn them.

[mimi1885]

Yay all the way. Lycra or baggies just pick one.

[mattnmtns]

Yay all the way. Did a short ride a few weeks ago without them. I was fine but would have rather had some extra comfort.

Baggies for me though

[mtnbikej]

Try a pair of baggies with built in chamois and see or yourself.

[burtronix]

Depends on how far you ride, what kind of terain, hard-tail vs. FS, how much time you spend out of the saddle, how well your saddle fits. I wear baggies or lycra, but always with a pad.

[sodak]

It seems my opinion is a bit different than the others. I do more Freeride/DH and rarely sit, which could be my issue with them. And the padding was in a pair of DH shorts and the internal shorts with the pads were not very tight fitting. To me it felt like I was wearing a small diaper, and I hated it. There is an odd feeling with a bit of extra weight in the rear of your pants all day. Just my view, didn't like them.

[inter]

For me, yay and nay..I prefer mtb shorts with removable pad. Sometimes I ride with and sometimes without pad. For long ride over 2 hrs, I would wear pad. My saddle is comfy enough even without pad.

[sgltrak]

Yay. Always.

[MadMacMan]

Yes in the padding. I ride a hard tail and really couldn't do any length ride with our then.
I spent this evening with my daughter for an impromptu ride through the neighborhood. My shorts were in the wash so I just rode with what I had on and I was missing the support and padding a lot

[SenorSerioso]

To me it felt like I was wearing a small diaper, and I hated it. There is an odd feeling with a bit of extra weight in the rear of your pants all day. Just my view, didn't like them.

I felt the same way with mine. Maybe I bought a crappy pair.

I have never worn one until recently and don't think I will unless the ride is 20+ miles. I've been riding so long without one my sit bones don't hurt until that point anyway.

[006_007]

I love padded shorts under my baggies. Recently switched to bib shorts (under baggies), and those are fricken amazingly comfortable.

[evasive]

I love padded shorts under my baggies. Recently switched to bib shorts (under baggies), and those are fricken amazingly comfortable.

That's how it's done.

Considering that a decent pair of Lycra shorts have a cost on par with a decent pair of baggies, you can guess how good the liner short is. I usually buy baggies without them to avoid paying for something I'll remove anyway. The difference in the pad quality and construction is significant.

[John Kuhl]

I always wear padded baggies. I'm not much of
a hardass anymore.

[TulsaClint]

Rode with regular cargo shorts for years, bought a pair of mountain bike specific baggies a few year ago...will never turn back. Spandex/roadie panties? Never!

Non padded, never rode with anything padded. I must say on some long rides I've thought about it. But it must be in baggies!

[Shibby]

Hell yes! My saddle is positioned well and adjusted properly for a comfortable ride, but the padded shorts made a huge difference, particularly for longer rides where I'm in the saddle for extended periods.

I have the padded spandex shorts underneath baggies. Spend the money on a decent pair of padded shorts - cheaper ones tend to have less padding. Also, make sure they fit right - they shouldn't feel like a 'diaper' as one other poster said.

[willdtrout]

I've been wearing padded Lycra shorts so long I cant imagine riding without. I took my newb nephew to Moab last year, he was embarrased to wear them but tried them under some baggies after a few rides. Said they made a big difference and kept wearing them.

[p08757]

I've never wore them. My typical rides are between 1 and 2 hours at a time and thus far I have never had a problem. If I see some on sale, I may pick some up and give it a try.

[tangaroo]

I wear em under baggies. I'm not racing so don't see the point to lycra.

[NateHawk]

no question. wear a chamois. I have (and will continue to do so) ridden short rides (say, 20min) around town without them and you wear holes in clothes surprisingly fast that way. they're just not designed to account for that kind of wear pattern so you get holes in the ass of your pants/shorts/underwear. all of my bike shorts have one or two orders of magnitude more miles on them with nary a sign of wear in those same areas because they're designed for it.

I have a great pair of liners for my PI baggies. They have the same high end chamois as the nicer road shorts, but the fabric is a lycra mesh (that you wouldn't want to wear by themselves) made to be liners for baggies. I need more pairs of these or similar so I don't have to wash as often.

[nvphatty]

To me it felt like I was wearing a small diaper, and I hated it. There is an odd feeling with a bit of extra weight in the rear of your pants all day.

perhaps the xtra weight was there when you started the ride and squished it's way out...jus sayin.

oh and yay for bags or lycra.

[Circlip]

Important to note here that the primary purpose of a "chamois" (a bit of a misnomer with modern padding materials and construction) isn't to provide padding per se, it's to reduce the chafing you would otherwise have from the seams running up the center of just about any shorts whether biking-specific or casual. If it weren't for this, a properly fitting saddle would solve the problem without the need for the chamois/pad.

[blaized30]

yaysh. baggies w/padding. commando of course.

[Flat Again???]

Really like Fox baggies with the cut out chamois.

[JoePAz]

What's the consensus on mtbr? Do you or don't you pad? Lately I've been going out without my padded spandex and just reg shorts and I feel fine but in the back of my mind I feel I should wear them. I'm just waiting for that one big hit where I look back and think to myself I should have worn them.

The padding is not for impact although some padding takes the edge off. The padding (chamios) is to absorb sweat and prevent chaffing. For me this critical on my road bike and less so on the mtn bike due to seating position.

[ghettocruiser]

Yep. Under moto shorts on the big bike, a la carte on the road bike, and I mix it up on the XC rig.

I did go the jeans route back in my BMX period, and needlessly trashed a lot of not-that-cheap-even-in-the-mid-1990s pairs of jeans.

Personally, I have yet to find a substantial difference in comfort between shorts and bibs, although I find I need to peel off some coin to get a pair of either that offers ride-all-day comfort (cough...assos..cough)