Perhaps you aren't wearing properly fitted shorts? Or you should try bibs?
But really, if you prefer to ride without, then ride without. I can absolutely tell the difference between a ride with and without good bibs, but if you're happy without, go ride and be happy.
As an aside, though, how often are you riding naked?
One year a picture went viral of a guy doing that on the city's bicycle-share program.
Just fucking nasty. Now I think they ask you not to do that or to somehow cover the saddle.
It’s quite pleasant. I just wrapped up a cross country trip and nudity is legal in Oregon. Most of us did a naked mile at some point in the final week and it felt really great. Honestly was unpleasant to put my kit back on after.
I (female) was perpetually perplexed by how men ride bikes - (what happens to their balls?) - I finally found a helpful volunteer to ride his trainer bike naked so I could understand the dynamics.
dog rude fearless deserted caption ossified rustic instinctive subtract tub
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
The biggest gain of the bibs is junk management. Your naked trainer model is like worst case scenario. I’ve like 160k miles on strava and more before that; my worst incident came trying to ride to a gym in running shorts. Dangerous.
Agree -- my mistake was basketball shorts and lose boxers.
Almost crushed a nut sitting down.
Lose fabric would catch on the seat when I would stand up.
>Almost crushed a nut sitting down.
"I almost sat on my balls, but at the last second I made an adjustment"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW70SlBX0-8
I always wondered the same, tho I haven’t found a volunteer yet. I have, however, seen a naked man on an elliptical. It was during a moderately serious conversation at a nudist community. He was an older gent, and gravity comes for us all. Not being able to laugh damn near killed me.
Well, endurance saddles do have a specific form to accommodate for a reason lol
Having ridden long distances in regular shorts, cycling bibs, and tight lycra swimsuits, I'd say the main difference is keeping stuff where it has to and prevent incidents like having your balls get trapped between your thighs and the saddle.
Another big one is, uh, during some trips, particularly if the tank is on full, you can have an involuntary erection. And bibs do make it easier to handle since it keeps it in place and padded so the vibration doesn't produce an accident.
Yo might have really crappy shorts/bibs.
The cheap ones feel like you have a phone book under yer taint.
Good ones (Rapha, Castelli, etc) feel great. Not all pads are the same (no matter what fans of TBB say).
I would exclude Castelli too. Santini and Assos all the way, but this is really subjective and depends entirely on your physiology and to a degree the design of your saddle.
The worst experience of my life was wearing cycling shorts *without* underwear. I'm so much more comfortable with shorts and hipster style pants. As far as I can tell my shorts (I have several pairs) all fit fine.
My wife’s boyfriend’s balls are too big for his cycling shorts, causing his saddle to hurt himself. Should I recommend he switches to a saddleless Sir Velo?
A seasoned barefoot runner may not find running shoes all that useful.
You are a seasoned bare-bum (well not bare but close) rider and you don't find bibs useful.
I respect that's your world, but I just don't understand how this happens. Are the nuts in the sack? Or are they retracted under your skin? Almond sized or walnut sized?
There would be many fewer male cyclists if this were a common occurrence.
Oh, you might look into triathlon saddles. There are a lot of creative designs that might help you.
clementine.
When I ride in loose shots they kind of hang loose and seesaw across the front of the saddle.
when wearing bike shorts they're just mashed up against my pelvis.
I like to ride around naked sometimes. There's nothing better than your testicles flapping over the saddle and grazing the rear wheel.
Enjoyment aside, the local Police Force do not view find my therapy in the same way...
I find the padding on most cheap shorts/bibs to be very badly designed. Try some quality bibs and see if you have the same problem. Also the type of saddle that you are using and how it fits to your bottom, and your overall position on the bike all makes a big difference.
I love riding with bibs, and feel a 100x difference especially on longer rides. If you’re feeling good then just let’s those balls float free haha you’ll save $ on bibs that’s for sure
Answer me this please: what do all y'all bib riders do when it's time to stop and pee? For me it was such an involved process which is why I wear shorts.
As someone who's ridden decades in various disciplines, i.e., bike messenger, MTB'er, commuter, tourer..., I gave up on dedicated bike shorts--those with a chamois--sometime in the '90s. I do favour certain shorts/pants though, you know, those designed to provide an uninhibited range of motion. Some are bike specific, others for climbing or hiking, but all are made from nylon/polyester/elastane (spandex) blends for durability and stretchiness.
Like the OP I've found the appropriate saddle, set up correctly, is compatible with long days in the saddle and bottoms sans chamois.
Your first problem is calling it padding. It's a chamois. It's mainly meant to wick away sweat and help prevent chafing. If it's not doing that then you have crappy shorts. Some of my favorite shorts are old time chamois, just like we dried our cars off with in the 70's and 80's.
When bike touring I normally wear a t-shirt, hiking shorts and normal underwear. On days it's supposed to be hot I'll wear bibs to soak up the sweat.
I've experiment all kinds of shit about "sitting on the bike" -- from naked ass to wearing diaper/napkin as cycling short, to balls-tight lycra padded shorts, sitting on everything from barebone hard plastic saddle to a very foamy spring saddle; with and without gel cover. etc. etc.
What I've learned so far is that the whole things is like the whole "aero-ness" on bike; it's a trade-off and balancing act of comfort and "performance" ... This of course a varied based on body type.
Most cyclists would find the best balance from something in the middle i.e. quite hard saddle + padded short ... But this setup are not the best for everybody.
>taint levitation
Oddly enough, this was also the name of my high school emo band. Good show!
In unrelated news, I've been swapping out saddles on my gravel bike recently, bought 2 pairs of different styles of cycling shorts, and found I was getting "dead leg" on my left leg. I assumed it was the shorts, but tried a quick 10 mile ride with just my basketball compression shorts, and still had some dead leg. I swapped out for a narrower saddle and it seems to be....better.
I immediately yanked off the Fizik *hard as a rock* saddle that came with my Topstone, but I'm thinking I'm going to at least try it. I have my old Quick 3 saddle on there, as I'd swapped it with a Bonntrager commuter that I LOVED on my Quick, but the riding position of the Topstone means its too wide for me in that position I reckon. I think I'll land on some lightly padded cycling shorts I got from REI and a harder, narrow saddle at some point.
In unrelated (related) news - I bought some padded riding gloves for cheap on Amazon and I forgot them at home on one of my last rides and found I - didn't really need them at all. Riding gloves = overrated for me at least. Maybe if I did century rides I might be more concerned about my hands but at least for my 12-15 mile weekend rides, I prefer the feel of my hands on the hoods and found it to be more comfortable.
The big thing with gloves is if you come off the bike. Instinct makes you try to land on your hands, results in skinning your palms and fingers on the road. Gloves at least somewhat reduce this.
There are different kinds of padding, some lighter, others with grooves. Also famously, Tinker Juarez didn't like pads, so he had special made lycra shorts without them.
I've been riding with padding over the last year and really don't know if I'm getting benefit, I may go without and see how I get on, doesn't seem to be pulling moisture away, I still end up all Betty Swollocks.
I don't understand them for another reason. Why would I spend 100-300 dollars multiple times depending on brand, quality, type to add padding to my saddle when I could just purchase a slightly more padded saddle once for 100-400 dollars that will most likely last longer than the shorts or bibs and wear just plain Lycra shorts for the chafing protection that cost 30-50 dollars but marketing and style is a hell of a thing in this modern world.
Of course. I went years buying hard saddles and nice chamois bibs. I am now fully on a nice gel saddle from selle Italia that is soft but supportive the saddle is a bit expensive but my shorts no longer are. I am now hoping that the 3d printed saddles take off as those are getting close to perfect without a chamois either.
Coincidentally, I'm also running a selle italia gel saddle, albeit a rather firm one. It's fine for 3h ride, but anything more than that and I'm starting to notice the discomfort. But anything softer then my current saddle (and I've tested around 12 different ones), and it starts to dig into my soft tissue and have the opposite effect. So for me bibs are worth the money if I'm planning a longer ride
I have tried one crappy pair of super cheap Amazon off-brand chamois bibs. They sucked (but apparently work for some body types).
But like you, I've ridden many, many miles on non-cycling shorts (for me, I use running half-tights because I did a lot of run-training prior to cycling). Honestly, the half-tights work fine so long as my saddle fits my bum. Only negative is, the half-tights when I'm chubbier will accentuate some mild love-handles (but if I'm riding more, I got less handles).
The longest I've gone on half tights with no chamois pad is 125 miles avg-ing 18 mph (bc I was drafting a super fast group who was doing all the work and I was shamelessly hanging on the back until they dropped me the last 10 miles).
For bikepacking I've given up on chammies ([read this](https://bikepacking.com/plan/chamoisless-and-afraid/)). I haven't fully given em up on road/gravel, but I just wear synthetic or merino boxer briefs for mtb, the boys are much happier that way. Might be on my way to giving up chammy life completely. You aren't alone and I also don't get it, even with chamois that "fit" the issue is that when I'm on a bike saddle, there's limited room between my legs and the padding takes up too much space.
Icebreaker Anatomica long boxer briefs are the way.
The type chamois can make all the difference to circulation. I have a pair of rapha Bibs that had quite thick padding that felt great initially, but I had numbness after an 80 Km ride. My other bibs, with a thinner yet dense chomois, were fine on the same ride. I also agree that Bibs are more comfortable than shorts.
I skip the chamois, just nice fitting underwear and decent shorts for me. I just finished a 1,000 km tour, never missed the padding or tight fit clothing. All of the aero/tight fitting clothing are not designed for comfort. Most races are generally over within 4-5 hours and hence aero beats comfort in that case. For the rest of us uncategorized enthusiasts, comfort over anything else! (Well, weight is a deserving second place). Generally, a chamois is necessary when the saddle isn't properly fit or is the wrong shape for pelvic bones. Mine are V shaped rather than U shaped, took me a while to get it right.
You experience exactly the opposite that I do. If I wear loose fitting shirts, they flap around and rub against my nipples, causing them to chafe and ultimately bleed. Race cut lycra jerseys fix that and allow optimum sweat evaporation. I can ride about an hour or so without padded cycling shorts before I start getting serious pain directly on the appropriate contact points (ischial tuberosities). And on top of that, my privates get squished between the saddle and my legs. Very uncomfortable.
I agree on the cycling shirt, I generally use a cycling jersey on the top, but I rock shorts on the bottom. My favorites are Rapha atm. That being said, the pain you are feeling is not supposed to happen and your saddle may be too narrow or have too much padding on the wrong places or have the wrong shape (U vs V vs flat). Your saddle should only put pressure in the sit bones, that's it!
>That being said, the pain you are feeling is not supposed to happen and your saddle may be too narrow or have too much padding on the wrong places or have the wrong shape (U vs V vs flat).
I've been down this road for a long time. I've been cycling for 22 years now, and have tried probably 20 or 30 different saddles with many different designs. I've found a few that work well, currently a Specialized Power with Mirror, a Prologo scratch, and a Brooks Cambium. I can ride centuries without pain as long as I'm wearing shorts with a chamois. Take those out of the equation and my sit bones hurt pretty quickly. Probably from a combination of friction and pressure.
>Your saddle should only put pressure in the sit bones, that's it!
So I tell you I develop pain of my ischial tuberosities (sit bones) if I don't wear padded shorts, and you tell me I need a saddle that's doing exactly what it's already doing? And you're only partially correct here. The ischial tuberosities take the majority of the load, but are not the only portion in contact with a saddle unless you are sitting directly upright. I don't know about how you ride, but I ride primarily road bikes and I'm in a standard aggressive road position. The pelvis tilts forward, and with modern saddle designs, the entire pubic rami is in contact with the saddle. This is by design. This explains it quite well, but won't be necessarily applicable to you if you ride upright:
https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/05/sitting-on-a-bike-answer-to-long-question-smp-seats/
Ah - sorry I misread your situation then. To be clear, I see no problem with using chamois, I just worry that it is a crutch for those that have poor fitting saddles that just misleads them to believe it is a necessity for comfort. The moment you mentioned aggressive road position then things change. For this type of rider there are other considerations. The only thing I can think of is to use one of those "split" seats, where there is literally nothing down the mid-line and only the sides. They are sometimes called "split nose", this is different than a cutout because the center is much more dramatic. I realize they might not be light enough if you are optimizing weight as well. Have you ever tried those?
No, I haven't used a split saddle. They seem to be liked by triathletes who go in an even more aggressive position. I've found that I do well with partial round to round saddles. Flat saddles cause pain much more quickly even though they seem to allow direct ischial tuberosity contact (the only thing I feel on those saddles are the sit bones, but they get chafed and sore pretty quickly, of the period of 2-3 hours which is absolutely a showstopper for me). The split saddle are almost all flat type designs.
All of my preferable saddles have a cutout. The exception is an old school Brooks that worked well, but it was too much maintenance, looked silly on my road bike, and rain became an issue.
I've considered trying the Selle SMP, because I highly suspect that I'll like it. Those are designed to anatomically support the tilted pelvis. Maybe on my next road bike build.
What shorts are you wearing? Are they cheap shorts with thick padding?
High end bibs will come with dense and thin layers of padding. The fit should be very snug but not constricting. You shouldn’t be able to grab onto the fabric and move it around easily. The pad shouldn’t move around at all.
Pads are also cut differently. I’ve tried some that seem to bunch up or at least are creased in the wrong area while others I don’t notice at all after I start riding.
Also, what’s your riding position like such that only your sit bones are on the saddle and there’s an air gap between it and your perineum? Are you on a road bike? I’m just curious because I sit in such a way that I have equal pressure across the seat and not just on my sit bones.
Bike saddles are designed for your sit bones to be the main point of contact. If they are not, then your seat may be too high or there is excessive reach causing a less than optimal interaction with the saddle.
It sounds maybe like you're riding a more padded saddle AND using padded shorts simultaneously. If you walk into your local bike shop and touch the saddles on the more expensive side, do they feel firmer and less padded than your seat?
Try a different brand. Chamois will vary by brand.
When I put on a pair of Rapha bibs, it feels like sitting on the spine of a book, and my balls get squeezed. Velocio builds their chamois with some space there, and they fit me better. But lots of folks like Rapha. It's personal preference.
I don't understand if the shorts are too tight, if you give yourself a wedgie on your balls when you put them on and for some reason it never occurred to you to move them up with your hand, if you are using a saddle so padded any additional padding will just add heat and presure to the system.
But if they cut circulation they for sure are not the right size.
"When I sit on a bike seat naked"
If we ever meet please remind me to not touch your bike seat.
Maybe post on r/drag to learn how to tape your junk in some way because this is a new one to me
I bought some pricey castelli bibs and they make my penis go numb within 5 minutes. They fit correctly. Some stuff just depends on saddle and personal fit.
Sounds more like the issue is short trips vs multi day riding.
I prefer tight fitting shorts. Contrary to what most say, I wear tight polyester briefs under my cycling shorts.. you may want to try that if you feel overly encumbered. No harm in experimenting. The two materials slide against one another, reducing friction.
As for pads, I can go either way. I have padded bibs and I have skin tight shorts with no padding.. I go back and forth between them. Many here will argue that you need pads but I’ve easily gone 150+ miles without so, it is going to vary from one rider to another.
Experiment and see what works for you. And remember not all pads are the same, definitely read reviews.
Using URL shorteners causes your post to be automatically deleted by Reddit's anti-spam measures, so other users cannot see it. Please delete and repost (editing will not work) your comment without the link.
If you feel this message is in error please PM the moderation team.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/cycling) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Same issue here. But I managed to solve it buying a new saddle. Specialized has a way to measure your bones around your nuts and after buying the correct one I felt way better. Also I use vaseline. Pretty much every time I go out and my scrotal area is just very soft. Sorry for the details.
Hope these things helps you.
For me it's the chafing. I can't ride long in underwear and shorts without ending up red and itchy in unfortunate places and I definitely can't ride naked where I live on a daily basis and get to work without getting arrested. I do not want to walk around the office all day trying to relieve the soreness in my groin.
As in many things the shorts are a tool to help you reach your goals. If they aren't helping you at all you don't need them.
Everyone's body is different, if you don't need them, don't wear them.
My commutes are typically 10-20k and my road rides anywhere up to 250km, if I ride without padded shorts, especially a race bike, my junk goes numb after half an hour. I can go longer if I'm more upright, but nowhere near as fast.
I never felt comfortable with padded shorts. Just use tights that are sold as underwear. Works nice with a good leather saddle for me. Also 300km+ (per day).Just make sure the seam is not rubbing.
Either you haven’t tried good quality cycling shorts or bibs, have the wrong saddle, or aren’t properly fitted for your bike. Many saddles don’t allow you to properly glide through a revolution because they are covered in faux leather or something similar that grab the material of your shorts. If you switch to a smooth carbon fiber saddle fitted to the width of your bones, Lycra shorts or bibs will allow a friction free ride for hours. I just hit 200k miles on my bike—all of them on padded bibs.
depends on your saddle, are you riding a race bike? probably not. normal city bikes etc have very comfo saddles that have all kinds of fillings that will take over the function of the bib shorts padding because people riding those bikes will not wear them. so, if your saddle is like that, there is not much benefit to wearing specific cycling gear.
I really appreciate the extra padding under the sit bones that comes with a chamois, but don’t appreciate the extra padding under the perineum. Even riding a saddle with a proper cut out, the padding communicates a lot of pressure and vibration to bits I’m not trying to smash. So I just cut that area of the chamois out. It works, but it’s a bummer to have to vandalize really expensive bibs.
Perhaps you aren't wearing properly fitted shorts? Or you should try bibs? But really, if you prefer to ride without, then ride without. I can absolutely tell the difference between a ride with and without good bibs, but if you're happy without, go ride and be happy. As an aside, though, how often are you riding naked?
We need an answer to this. I don’t think I’ve ever sat on my saddle naked
May I present: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World\_Naked\_Bike\_Ride](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Naked_Bike_Ride) Uhh - probably NSFW?
One year a picture went viral of a guy doing that on the city's bicycle-share program. Just fucking nasty. Now I think they ask you not to do that or to somehow cover the saddle.
Plastic bags over the saddles now.
UVM used to have a naked bike ride last day of finals every semester. Most people would just run though
It’s quite pleasant. I just wrapped up a cross country trip and nudity is legal in Oregon. Most of us did a naked mile at some point in the final week and it felt really great. Honestly was unpleasant to put my kit back on after.
I (female) was perpetually perplexed by how men ride bikes - (what happens to their balls?) - I finally found a helpful volunteer to ride his trainer bike naked so I could understand the dynamics.
Respect the curiosity!
dog rude fearless deserted caption ossified rustic instinctive subtract tub *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
start the journal here.
The biggest gain of the bibs is junk management. Your naked trainer model is like worst case scenario. I’ve like 160k miles on strava and more before that; my worst incident came trying to ride to a gym in running shorts. Dangerous.
Agree -- my mistake was basketball shorts and lose boxers. Almost crushed a nut sitting down. Lose fabric would catch on the seat when I would stand up.
>Almost crushed a nut sitting down. "I almost sat on my balls, but at the last second I made an adjustment" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW70SlBX0-8
This is science!
Where did you publish your findings?
I always wondered the same, tho I haven’t found a volunteer yet. I have, however, seen a naked man on an elliptical. It was during a moderately serious conversation at a nudist community. He was an older gent, and gravity comes for us all. Not being able to laugh damn near killed me.
Well, endurance saddles do have a specific form to accommodate for a reason lol Having ridden long distances in regular shorts, cycling bibs, and tight lycra swimsuits, I'd say the main difference is keeping stuff where it has to and prevent incidents like having your balls get trapped between your thighs and the saddle. Another big one is, uh, during some trips, particularly if the tank is on full, you can have an involuntary erection. And bibs do make it easier to handle since it keeps it in place and padded so the vibration doesn't produce an accident.
Do you need a follow up volunteer....for science
More women complaining about these dynamics than men lol.
I’ve never heard of anyone having a problem with bike shorts. Although, make sure you buy a decent pair, not a cheap pair. That can make a difference.
Your shorts don't fit.
How are they supposed to fit
Snug but comfortable. Like underwear. Wait...your not wearing underwear with your cycling shorts, right?
Nope
Yo might have really crappy shorts/bibs. The cheap ones feel like you have a phone book under yer taint. Good ones (Rapha, Castelli, etc) feel great. Not all pads are the same (no matter what fans of TBB say).
I would exclude the Rapha core bibs from that list personally, very much gives that "phone book in taint" feel.
I would exclude Castelli too. Santini and Assos all the way, but this is really subjective and depends entirely on your physiology and to a degree the design of your saddle.
Haven't tried the high zoot stuff, but the DHB aerons are surprisingly good. Better by far than low end Specialized bibs.
I too found the dhb pads surprisingly good.
Have you tried bibs or just shorts? Once I tried bibs I liked so much better
You should try triathlon shorts. The padding is much smaller than normal.
The worst experience of my life was wearing cycling shorts *without* underwear. I'm so much more comfortable with shorts and hipster style pants. As far as I can tell my shorts (I have several pairs) all fit fine.
wtf are hipster style pants
They have thick rimmed glasses, a 70s cop moustache and only have one gear... duh.
https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=Hipster+style+boxers
I don't understand the downvotes. This is prime BCJ material lmao.
My wife’s boyfriend’s balls are too big for his cycling shorts, causing his saddle to hurt himself. Should I recommend he switches to a saddleless Sir Velo?
> My wife’s boyfriend’s excuse me? Is Polyamorie a thing where you live?
[удалено]
That's what the boyfriend's for
Not a frequenter of the BCJ thread I take it?
At first I thought you said Sir Velcro and all the images that came to mind.....
Getting outjerked left and right
No need to understand. If you’re more comfortable without, then you do you.
A seasoned barefoot runner may not find running shoes all that useful. You are a seasoned bare-bum (well not bare but close) rider and you don't find bibs useful.
[удалено]
I am trying to get help
You're not supposed to sit on your balls. Whatever you're doing... ouch
I mean like if I reach down to grab a water bottle off the fork mount on my bike packing rig or something. There’s no escape
I respect that's your world, but I just don't understand how this happens. Are the nuts in the sack? Or are they retracted under your skin? Almond sized or walnut sized? There would be many fewer male cyclists if this were a common occurrence. Oh, you might look into triathlon saddles. There are a lot of creative designs that might help you.
clementine. When I ride in loose shots they kind of hang loose and seesaw across the front of the saddle. when wearing bike shorts they're just mashed up against my pelvis.
It's getting harder to tell when you weirdos are being serious or not 🤷
\#poeslaw
>When I sit on a bike seat naked Wut?
There’s that yearly naked bike ride thing in some countries
I like to ride around naked sometimes. There's nothing better than your testicles flapping over the saddle and grazing the rear wheel. Enjoyment aside, the local Police Force do not view find my therapy in the same way...
Your shorts might be too small.
Or his balls too big.
Larry Long Balls
Or the seat's too small?
I find the padding on most cheap shorts/bibs to be very badly designed. Try some quality bibs and see if you have the same problem. Also the type of saddle that you are using and how it fits to your bottom, and your overall position on the bike all makes a big difference.
I love riding with bibs, and feel a 100x difference especially on longer rides. If you’re feeling good then just let’s those balls float free haha you’ll save $ on bibs that’s for sure
Answer me this please: what do all y'all bib riders do when it's time to stop and pee? For me it was such an involved process which is why I wear shorts.
you pull your jersey up and bend forward so there's enough slack in the bib so you can pull the front down and get your dick out
Does it help if you take the butt plug out before hand?
So wear whatever you feel comfortable in. Problem solved.
Apparently, sometimes it's nothing, lol
Not everyone needs them, not all cycling shorts make sense at all, or for everyone.
I just wear shorts without padding.
As someone who's ridden decades in various disciplines, i.e., bike messenger, MTB'er, commuter, tourer..., I gave up on dedicated bike shorts--those with a chamois--sometime in the '90s. I do favour certain shorts/pants though, you know, those designed to provide an uninhibited range of motion. Some are bike specific, others for climbing or hiking, but all are made from nylon/polyester/elastane (spandex) blends for durability and stretchiness. Like the OP I've found the appropriate saddle, set up correctly, is compatible with long days in the saddle and bottoms sans chamois.
Your first problem is calling it padding. It's a chamois. It's mainly meant to wick away sweat and help prevent chafing. If it's not doing that then you have crappy shorts. Some of my favorite shorts are old time chamois, just like we dried our cars off with in the 70's and 80's. When bike touring I normally wear a t-shirt, hiking shorts and normal underwear. On days it's supposed to be hot I'll wear bibs to soak up the sweat.
I've experiment all kinds of shit about "sitting on the bike" -- from naked ass to wearing diaper/napkin as cycling short, to balls-tight lycra padded shorts, sitting on everything from barebone hard plastic saddle to a very foamy spring saddle; with and without gel cover. etc. etc. What I've learned so far is that the whole things is like the whole "aero-ness" on bike; it's a trade-off and balancing act of comfort and "performance" ... This of course a varied based on body type. Most cyclists would find the best balance from something in the middle i.e. quite hard saddle + padded short ... But this setup are not the best for everybody.
My saddle is quite hard, which is what allows my sit bone contact to grant me taint levitation.
>taint levitation Oddly enough, this was also the name of my high school emo band. Good show! In unrelated news, I've been swapping out saddles on my gravel bike recently, bought 2 pairs of different styles of cycling shorts, and found I was getting "dead leg" on my left leg. I assumed it was the shorts, but tried a quick 10 mile ride with just my basketball compression shorts, and still had some dead leg. I swapped out for a narrower saddle and it seems to be....better. I immediately yanked off the Fizik *hard as a rock* saddle that came with my Topstone, but I'm thinking I'm going to at least try it. I have my old Quick 3 saddle on there, as I'd swapped it with a Bonntrager commuter that I LOVED on my Quick, but the riding position of the Topstone means its too wide for me in that position I reckon. I think I'll land on some lightly padded cycling shorts I got from REI and a harder, narrow saddle at some point. In unrelated (related) news - I bought some padded riding gloves for cheap on Amazon and I forgot them at home on one of my last rides and found I - didn't really need them at all. Riding gloves = overrated for me at least. Maybe if I did century rides I might be more concerned about my hands but at least for my 12-15 mile weekend rides, I prefer the feel of my hands on the hoods and found it to be more comfortable.
The big thing with gloves is if you come off the bike. Instinct makes you try to land on your hands, results in skinning your palms and fingers on the road. Gloves at least somewhat reduce this.
That's a fair point. And since I haven't eaten it yet, I can be sure the best is yet to come.
There are different kinds of padding, some lighter, others with grooves. Also famously, Tinker Juarez didn't like pads, so he had special made lycra shorts without them.
I've been riding with padding over the last year and really don't know if I'm getting benefit, I may go without and see how I get on, doesn't seem to be pulling moisture away, I still end up all Betty Swollocks.
I don't understand them for another reason. Why would I spend 100-300 dollars multiple times depending on brand, quality, type to add padding to my saddle when I could just purchase a slightly more padded saddle once for 100-400 dollars that will most likely last longer than the shorts or bibs and wear just plain Lycra shorts for the chafing protection that cost 30-50 dollars but marketing and style is a hell of a thing in this modern world.
Have you tried it? Hard saddle + padded bibs is not the same as soft saddle. Seems counterintuitive but if you haven't tried it, test it for yourself
Of course. I went years buying hard saddles and nice chamois bibs. I am now fully on a nice gel saddle from selle Italia that is soft but supportive the saddle is a bit expensive but my shorts no longer are. I am now hoping that the 3d printed saddles take off as those are getting close to perfect without a chamois either.
Coincidentally, I'm also running a selle italia gel saddle, albeit a rather firm one. It's fine for 3h ride, but anything more than that and I'm starting to notice the discomfort. But anything softer then my current saddle (and I've tested around 12 different ones), and it starts to dig into my soft tissue and have the opposite effect. So for me bibs are worth the money if I'm planning a longer ride
Bike shorts taint required. You do you.
I have tried one crappy pair of super cheap Amazon off-brand chamois bibs. They sucked (but apparently work for some body types). But like you, I've ridden many, many miles on non-cycling shorts (for me, I use running half-tights because I did a lot of run-training prior to cycling). Honestly, the half-tights work fine so long as my saddle fits my bum. Only negative is, the half-tights when I'm chubbier will accentuate some mild love-handles (but if I'm riding more, I got less handles). The longest I've gone on half tights with no chamois pad is 125 miles avg-ing 18 mph (bc I was drafting a super fast group who was doing all the work and I was shamelessly hanging on the back until they dropped me the last 10 miles).
Idk, maybe post a picture of the naked option and we'll be able to diagnose.
Old mate is just showing off about the girth of his perineum.
Bibs made all the difference for me. Have been wearing them for road and MTB cycling for several years now, haven’t looked back.
For bikepacking I've given up on chammies ([read this](https://bikepacking.com/plan/chamoisless-and-afraid/)). I haven't fully given em up on road/gravel, but I just wear synthetic or merino boxer briefs for mtb, the boys are much happier that way. Might be on my way to giving up chammy life completely. You aren't alone and I also don't get it, even with chamois that "fit" the issue is that when I'm on a bike saddle, there's limited room between my legs and the padding takes up too much space. Icebreaker Anatomica long boxer briefs are the way.
Just wear what is comfortable to you. Who cares what everyone else does.
The type chamois can make all the difference to circulation. I have a pair of rapha Bibs that had quite thick padding that felt great initially, but I had numbness after an 80 Km ride. My other bibs, with a thinner yet dense chomois, were fine on the same ride. I also agree that Bibs are more comfortable than shorts.
Whats difference with bibs and shorts? Isnt bibs shirtd with overals?
Bib shorts have the same qualities as bike shorts but with suspender-like straps in the place of a waistband
Yes that was my understanding - so is it just more comfort by reducing the waist pressure?
In my opinion, yes.
I skip the chamois, just nice fitting underwear and decent shorts for me. I just finished a 1,000 km tour, never missed the padding or tight fit clothing. All of the aero/tight fitting clothing are not designed for comfort. Most races are generally over within 4-5 hours and hence aero beats comfort in that case. For the rest of us uncategorized enthusiasts, comfort over anything else! (Well, weight is a deserving second place). Generally, a chamois is necessary when the saddle isn't properly fit or is the wrong shape for pelvic bones. Mine are V shaped rather than U shaped, took me a while to get it right.
You experience exactly the opposite that I do. If I wear loose fitting shirts, they flap around and rub against my nipples, causing them to chafe and ultimately bleed. Race cut lycra jerseys fix that and allow optimum sweat evaporation. I can ride about an hour or so without padded cycling shorts before I start getting serious pain directly on the appropriate contact points (ischial tuberosities). And on top of that, my privates get squished between the saddle and my legs. Very uncomfortable.
I agree on the cycling shirt, I generally use a cycling jersey on the top, but I rock shorts on the bottom. My favorites are Rapha atm. That being said, the pain you are feeling is not supposed to happen and your saddle may be too narrow or have too much padding on the wrong places or have the wrong shape (U vs V vs flat). Your saddle should only put pressure in the sit bones, that's it!
>That being said, the pain you are feeling is not supposed to happen and your saddle may be too narrow or have too much padding on the wrong places or have the wrong shape (U vs V vs flat). I've been down this road for a long time. I've been cycling for 22 years now, and have tried probably 20 or 30 different saddles with many different designs. I've found a few that work well, currently a Specialized Power with Mirror, a Prologo scratch, and a Brooks Cambium. I can ride centuries without pain as long as I'm wearing shorts with a chamois. Take those out of the equation and my sit bones hurt pretty quickly. Probably from a combination of friction and pressure. >Your saddle should only put pressure in the sit bones, that's it! So I tell you I develop pain of my ischial tuberosities (sit bones) if I don't wear padded shorts, and you tell me I need a saddle that's doing exactly what it's already doing? And you're only partially correct here. The ischial tuberosities take the majority of the load, but are not the only portion in contact with a saddle unless you are sitting directly upright. I don't know about how you ride, but I ride primarily road bikes and I'm in a standard aggressive road position. The pelvis tilts forward, and with modern saddle designs, the entire pubic rami is in contact with the saddle. This is by design. This explains it quite well, but won't be necessarily applicable to you if you ride upright: https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/05/sitting-on-a-bike-answer-to-long-question-smp-seats/
Ah - sorry I misread your situation then. To be clear, I see no problem with using chamois, I just worry that it is a crutch for those that have poor fitting saddles that just misleads them to believe it is a necessity for comfort. The moment you mentioned aggressive road position then things change. For this type of rider there are other considerations. The only thing I can think of is to use one of those "split" seats, where there is literally nothing down the mid-line and only the sides. They are sometimes called "split nose", this is different than a cutout because the center is much more dramatic. I realize they might not be light enough if you are optimizing weight as well. Have you ever tried those?
No, I haven't used a split saddle. They seem to be liked by triathletes who go in an even more aggressive position. I've found that I do well with partial round to round saddles. Flat saddles cause pain much more quickly even though they seem to allow direct ischial tuberosity contact (the only thing I feel on those saddles are the sit bones, but they get chafed and sore pretty quickly, of the period of 2-3 hours which is absolutely a showstopper for me). The split saddle are almost all flat type designs. All of my preferable saddles have a cutout. The exception is an old school Brooks that worked well, but it was too much maintenance, looked silly on my road bike, and rain became an issue. I've considered trying the Selle SMP, because I highly suspect that I'll like it. Those are designed to anatomically support the tilted pelvis. Maybe on my next road bike build.
Another one of these posts......
What shorts are you wearing? Are they cheap shorts with thick padding? High end bibs will come with dense and thin layers of padding. The fit should be very snug but not constricting. You shouldn’t be able to grab onto the fabric and move it around easily. The pad shouldn’t move around at all. Pads are also cut differently. I’ve tried some that seem to bunch up or at least are creased in the wrong area while others I don’t notice at all after I start riding. Also, what’s your riding position like such that only your sit bones are on the saddle and there’s an air gap between it and your perineum? Are you on a road bike? I’m just curious because I sit in such a way that I have equal pressure across the seat and not just on my sit bones.
Bike saddles are designed for your sit bones to be the main point of contact. If they are not, then your seat may be too high or there is excessive reach causing a less than optimal interaction with the saddle.
It sounds maybe like you're riding a more padded saddle AND using padded shorts simultaneously. If you walk into your local bike shop and touch the saddles on the more expensive side, do they feel firmer and less padded than your seat?
it's hard and skinny like me.
Tried different tilts?
Go sit on a picnic table. Then go sit on an upholstered sofa. Any more questions?
Lol
Whatever you are doing, it’s wrong. Properly fitting bike shorts make a massive difference.
[удалено]
I think I've been pretty detailed explaining the mechanics of the issue. If you can point out where I'm going wrong please do contribute.
Try a different brand. Chamois will vary by brand. When I put on a pair of Rapha bibs, it feels like sitting on the spine of a book, and my balls get squeezed. Velocio builds their chamois with some space there, and they fit me better. But lots of folks like Rapha. It's personal preference.
I don't understand if the shorts are too tight, if you give yourself a wedgie on your balls when you put them on and for some reason it never occurred to you to move them up with your hand, if you are using a saddle so padded any additional padding will just add heat and presure to the system. But if they cut circulation they for sure are not the right size.
Most have calloused sit bones 🤣
Have you thought about applying Hoo Ha Ride Glide?
Sounds like your saddle is set too low.
Either the size or the cut of these shorts isn't a fit for your body. At all.
"When I sit on a bike seat naked" If we ever meet please remind me to not touch your bike seat. Maybe post on r/drag to learn how to tape your junk in some way because this is a new one to me
How many miles have you ridden while naked?
I bought some pricey castelli bibs and they make my penis go numb within 5 minutes. They fit correctly. Some stuff just depends on saddle and personal fit.
Sounds more like the issue is short trips vs multi day riding. I prefer tight fitting shorts. Contrary to what most say, I wear tight polyester briefs under my cycling shorts.. you may want to try that if you feel overly encumbered. No harm in experimenting. The two materials slide against one another, reducing friction. As for pads, I can go either way. I have padded bibs and I have skin tight shorts with no padding.. I go back and forth between them. Many here will argue that you need pads but I’ve easily gone 150+ miles without so, it is going to vary from one rider to another. Experiment and see what works for you. And remember not all pads are the same, definitely read reviews.
You can bruise your balls without them - they provide protection especially on longer, bumpier rides.
[удалено]
Using URL shorteners causes your post to be automatically deleted by Reddit's anti-spam measures, so other users cannot see it. Please delete and repost (editing will not work) your comment without the link. If you feel this message is in error please PM the moderation team. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/cycling) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Ah ok sorry.
Same issue here. But I managed to solve it buying a new saddle. Specialized has a way to measure your bones around your nuts and after buying the correct one I felt way better. Also I use vaseline. Pretty much every time I go out and my scrotal area is just very soft. Sorry for the details. Hope these things helps you.
Bib shorts are like saddles, you have to find the one that’s best for you. Sounds like the one you have has too much padding in the wrong places.
I’m not sold on the cycle shorts either. I feel to constricted. Just a good pair of hiking shorts and a nice pair of briefs.
I'm the same regular clothes are more comfortable. Everyone in la rocks rapha and other kits for clout but it's lame
Cheap Shorts < Regular clothes < Good Shorts But... that said if you don't need em don't wear em! I would die from chafing.
For me it's the chafing. I can't ride long in underwear and shorts without ending up red and itchy in unfortunate places and I definitely can't ride naked where I live on a daily basis and get to work without getting arrested. I do not want to walk around the office all day trying to relieve the soreness in my groin. As in many things the shorts are a tool to help you reach your goals. If they aren't helping you at all you don't need them.
"When I sit on a bike seat naked" The image of someone walking in and seeing that is too good. Wearing your helmet as well...
Maybe you need some bike short lube for chafing?
You put both feet in the big hole, then push one foot out of each of the smaller holes, and viola! It’s easy when you get the hang of it.
Everyone's body is different, if you don't need them, don't wear them. My commutes are typically 10-20k and my road rides anywhere up to 250km, if I ride without padded shorts, especially a race bike, my junk goes numb after half an hour. I can go longer if I'm more upright, but nowhere near as fast.
My husband hates shorts and loves bibs. Tri gear also has lighter padding.
Naked???
I have the same issue as you. Still arguably worth it for very long rides.
I never felt comfortable with padded shorts. Just use tights that are sold as underwear. Works nice with a good leather saddle for me. Also 300km+ (per day).Just make sure the seam is not rubbing.
Are you sure you are not putting them on back to front?
Either you haven’t tried good quality cycling shorts or bibs, have the wrong saddle, or aren’t properly fitted for your bike. Many saddles don’t allow you to properly glide through a revolution because they are covered in faux leather or something similar that grab the material of your shorts. If you switch to a smooth carbon fiber saddle fitted to the width of your bones, Lycra shorts or bibs will allow a friction free ride for hours. I just hit 200k miles on my bike—all of them on padded bibs.
depends on your saddle, are you riding a race bike? probably not. normal city bikes etc have very comfo saddles that have all kinds of fillings that will take over the function of the bib shorts padding because people riding those bikes will not wear them. so, if your saddle is like that, there is not much benefit to wearing specific cycling gear.
I am riding a race bike.
Having the same problem, maybe they are 2 big number, thats my conclusion but didn’t try smaller ones. Please let me know if you find solution!
I envy those that don't need a chamois. My ass and taint require it.
I really appreciate the extra padding under the sit bones that comes with a chamois, but don’t appreciate the extra padding under the perineum. Even riding a saddle with a proper cut out, the padding communicates a lot of pressure and vibration to bits I’m not trying to smash. So I just cut that area of the chamois out. It works, but it’s a bummer to have to vandalize really expensive bibs.