I am not hardcore rider, but I do like getting out there on my hybrid.
I recently had a not-so-fun experience. I went out riding wearing my mountain biking shorts that have an inner liner with some gel support.
DO NOT PUT THESE IN THE DRYER
My wife had put them in the dryer, and I think a combination of that, my large posterior, and the lack of humidity in SoCal contributed to them blowing out on one side.
I was riding with my kids, and we stopped at a turnaround point and I realized my seat was wet. Wet with what felt like silicon oil. Like the clear stuff you put on car trim.
Needless to say, the ride back was not as pleasurable, and my bike got a good coating of this crap. Luckily a plastic bag in the car saved my car seat since we had driven to this place.......
Any recommendations for decent padded shorts that are not 'biker shorts' but look more like regular cargo shorts? (preferably with no gel in the seat)
A couple of things come to mind. One, I would never put any of my biking/technical clothing through the dryer- line dry only. Two, I would also avoid any bicycle short that has gel in the padding. Shorts, in my opinion, are one piece of gear not to skimp on when it comes spending- they can impact your enjoyment of a ride much more than other gear.
As far as shorts that don't look like bike shorts- try getting a padded bike short liner. This is a tight fitting short with padding in the crotch that is less bulky than a regular bike short. This will allow you to wear the liner under a regular pair of shorts if you so desire. I bought a couple of pairs of Trek shorts on sale at an LBS just for the removable liners that came with them, as I found them to be quite nice.
If you have any issue with the comfort of the pad, try some Assos chamois cream. I've used it a lot for road riding, and love the stuff.
I thought gel padding was a solid, rubbery, silicone-like material. In fact, I bought some gloves with gel padding and the stitching came loose, and the padding inside was just a thin flap of rubbery material.
Are you sure you didn't just wet yourself? Or maybe your ride had a happy ending?
Thanks for the tips. I will definitely get a short liner.
It is partially my fault for not telling my wife to line dry them. She line drys a lot of her clothes......
I was a little bummed since I did pay more than what I would normally pay for shorts, go them from the LBS. I learned that lesson awhile ago with respect to wetsuits and ski pants. Could be the difference between fun and not fun.
Hopefully the other Beginners read this and avoid the gel as well.......
Did I mention it looks like you have the runs and lost a little bowel control? My kids thought it was funny, but I was not too thrilled. Darn kids. Gotta love em.
I never go with anything gel, for that exact concern.
A good set of chamois-lined shorts should do the trick, and they're much friendlier with upkeep. I also recommend Hoss stuff. I've been happy with all Hoss stuff thus far.
I've put my 6-yr-old Pearl Izumi shorts in the dryer a few thousandish times over the years and they're still holding up great. The elastic is all in excellent shape and the padding is still cushy. Of course, they're foam, not gel, so I'm not worried about any leaks... well, at least not from my shorts.
i just use really low heat and everything's been fine so far. but i also don't have any gel shorts. i also wash my stuff on the gentle cycle.
most brands that make any mtb shorts have a baggy short, i personally like ones with removable liners, which cost a bit more but i find them more comfortable and for long trips you can buy more liners and just have the one shell, thus saving space. i own and sell the endura brand, but have used others(specialized, fox, etc) that have worked great.
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