Expensive shorts, worth it or waste?

[AndyWilliams]

Mine were £4.99 and seem ok up until 48 miles, that's when the pad starts to move from arse to front. So well protected balls but your arse, the bit that needs it most was just lycra.

I will very soon spend a good amount on padded shorts. This thread has been very helpful, thanks.

 

[S.Giles]

However, I too regularly do 50 to 60 miles in the more up market Matalan jeans.

I'm saving up for some of those.

One day!

Steve

 

[Garethgas]

I'm saving up for some of those.

One day!

Steve

Whilst I mock your poverty, your ambitions are commended Sir.

 

[Keith Oates]

One of the most comfortable pair of shorts I have does not actually have any 'padding' but only a felt lining. I bought them very cheaply at a stall near a race meeting that I attended in Manila. I wear them on fairly long 2 to 3 hour rides and find them OK. I also have some more expensive thickly padded shorts that are also good but on very hot days the padding absorbs the sweat and then the skin can get a rash. But like most things we are all different so it's a matter of trying them and see what suits you for comfort !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Klassikbike]

The important thing is everybody is different and rides different.
Some might be happy with the 5 pounds short others with the 200 pounds.

I have some padded shorts from Pearl Izumi that I really like (Mid-Top range), but when a friend tried this model on a tour he felt some burning pain.
For me with saddles its long slim and hard saddles, somehow I feel the most comfortable with them.

 

[screenman]

What is expensive to one person is good value to another.

One thing for sure, nobody ever regrets buying quality.

 

[vickster]

What is expensive to one person is good value to another.

One thing for sure, nobody ever regrets buying quality.

As long as it's comfortable

 

[John the Monkey]

I must admit, I'm a bit of a cheapskate. I have 3/4 tenn shorts, that cost me less than £20.00 and I also admit I'm more than happy with them. On the other hand I freely admit that I don't do anywhere near the mileage that some people on this forum do. Maybe when I up my mileage, I'll feel the errr need to buy more expensive kit.

I've bought £20 shorts that had pads that weren't so much uncomfortable, as *abrasive*.

Which isn't to say that pricey shorts are better (my most expensive are dhb) but you're probably more justified in moaning about them if they're awful

 

[Over The Hill]

I think the answer depends on your cycling and how much/how long you cycle. We are in beginners here.

If you cycle perhaps 10 miles max for around one hour and you are not used to it then you will probably find anything is OK and you may be a bit tender anyway. You are sitting on part of you that is not usually sat on with a normal chair. It just needs to get used to it.
Over 10 miles/ 1 hour then the quality shows through. Comfort is more important and better quality foam inner holds its shape when cheap stuff just collapses.

If you are new and extending your ride length/time then even if you are collapsing after 5 miles now, you will soon be fine with 20 or 30 mile rides, you can get used to cycling and really improve dramatically in say six rides if you go twice a week. People go from nothing to doing the London Brighton ride of 54 miles in 2 months. So if you are aiming to push the miles up then go for decent from the outset.

Also make sure you are happy with the saddle first! They are all very different and what is right for one person is not for another.

 

[John the Monkey]

but i don't think that i could ever justify £278 on pair of shorts unless i won the lotto, in which case id be a pair for each day of the week & a pair for each member of the the cycle chat forum with matching tops & helmets & shoes of course.

If you rode 100s of miles a week, you'd be spending a lot of time on that pad.

If you do a 50 every other Saturday, you're probably more sanguine about inexpensive shorts, and more dismissive of expensive ones. Horses for courses, and so forth.

Comfort in this area is pretty important though, having owned the single least comfortable saddle in the entire world (the Pro-Logo Nago PAS, thank you for asking) I know that it can mean the difference between feeling like doing an extra few miles, and turning back early.

 

[John the Monkey]

Anyone considered a gel seat as an alternative instead?
I did this (after a sit bones measure) and now buy cheap shorts(aldi, lidl, etc) as the seat has a gel pad

Personal preference again, but a too heavily padded saddle doesn't work for me - tends to rub on my thighs.

The saddle on my Giant SCR2.0 (my first "proper" road bike) was changed in short order, for a Fizik Arione.

 

[yello]

gel seats can too soft, ime

"worth it or waste" is only really something you can answer for yourself AFTER you've bought and worn the bibs on your rides.

I don't think my Assos shorts are a 'waste', because they are comfortable and they work. Equally, my cheaper dhb bibs work and were significantly cheaper. Ditto my ages old Nike bibs. Do I ride around in the Assos full of regret, thinking 'what a waste of money'? Hell no! Quite the opposite. They're lush!

But I have learnt that I personally don't need to pay Assos prices to achieve a level of comfort that I find acceptable. In today's market that tends to be around the £100 mark.

The only time I've thought 'what a waste' is with stuff that hasn't worked for me - and that does tend to be cheap stuff. I'm thinking of some Ozzo bibs I bought many moons ago. So, by extension, I include Aldi/Lidl and Tenn etc. Yes, I do use price as a first level indicator to quality and performance. YMMV.

 

[jay clock]

interested in this thread thought id check out some of the items you lot were talking about & oh my god, now i am the first to admit that im a tight stingy git & bought a few pairs of lidl specials last week as my first venture in to the lycra clad world of cycle riding & was trying hard to justify spending £10 on a pair of shorts but ive just came across bib shorts on a few sites at £278.00, do these come with golden threads woven into the fabric? Or come with a massage function built in to constantly rub baby oil on your plums while your riding to increase fertility?

Seriously £278.00 for shorts why so expensive? that's £38 more than my bike cost. For that kind of money id expect them to do the peddling so i could sit back & relax. Being blissfully ignorant can somebody explain why (unless you were in the tour de France & needed every advantage you could get) would anybody spend that kind of money on something that is basically going to cover the plumbing. When ive heard you guys & girls talk about dear shorts i kinda thought may be £80-£100 max

Cycling (and triathlon) are my fun leisure time and my hobby. Other people spend money on Sky TV, flash cars, flash clothes, I choose to spend mine on long lasting kit and accessories that help me enjoy what I do. And my experience of the cheaper kit is that it does not last

 

[cyberknight]

The important thing is everybody is different and rides different.
Some might be happy with the 5 pounds short others with the 200 pounds.

I have some padded shorts from Pearl Izumi that I really like (Mid-Top range), but when a friend tried this model on a tour he felt some burning pain.
For me with saddles its long slim and hard saddles, somehow I feel the most comfortable with them.

+1
Your body shape, pad shape and saddle all play a part .
I used to get on really well with one brand but now my derrrier must have changed because the pad just rube my raw so i have switched to another brand with a different pad shape that suits me perfectly.

 

[Mark1978]

Cheapo padded shorts from sportsdirect - after 10 minutes it feels like i'm sat on a wet flannel resting on a brick.

My mid range Altura ones from halfords are tons better, much better with sweat, good seams and better padding by a country mile.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/clothing/shorts-trousers/altura-gel-mens-bib-shorts