I gotta get some padding!

[Lochen]

If you're getting arse trouble after only 8 miles then you don't have a suitable saddle. Fix that first and only then worr about special shorts. I remember in my youth being in absolute agony 30 miles into a 45 mile ride. Cured by buying a brooks b17 saddle. It must have been at least 20 years later i bothered with special shorts - which are "a good thing" but if you're in pain after 8 miles are certainky not the answer. Note: Brooks b17 and team pro leather saddles suit me very well from first day - no breaking in and no exotic potions - but may be agony for someone else. Saddle first !

Ah. I've accidently misled everyone. My arse soreness and numbness was brought on by a 14 miles ride yesterday.
The 8 miles one was to make more adjustments. Both backside and nuts were fine today. But it was only 8 miles
Apologies

 

[DRM]

Try Tenn outdoors too, decent quality at a good price.
http://tenn-outdoors.co.uk/

 

[mjr]

Ah. I've accidently misled everyone. My arse soreness and numbness was brought on by a 14 miles ride yesterday.

I still don't think that's long enough to have trouble, but others who ride padded might think it is :shrug:

 

[mk6golf]

I have some dhb Aeron tights for day to day stuff and turbo in the garage and then nice Castelli for best.

Wear next to the skin and don't worry about an over layer.

 

[I like Skol]

Started typing this a couple of hours ago but had to go out so some of the points have already been covered......

I'll give an alternative option. In my case I ride without padded shorts, or cycling specific shorts of any kind. I may just be immune but I suspect that the right saddle is comfortable without padding. My current favourite is the Charge Spoon but I am almost as happy on some others that bikes have come fitted with. Did dabble with padded shorts in the 90s but in the end decided it wasn't worth the faff and they got pretty uncomfy when wet and muddy on an MTB ride anyway. Now ride anything up to 185 miles in a day with just M&S trunks and whatever shorts or leggings are suitable for the prevailing weather. Most important thing is a saddle that suits, set up correctly, on a well fitting bike. Padded shorts are not a substitute for this!

 

[bikeman66]

Contrary to what a lot of folk think, a saddle with minimal padding will probably cause less discomfort.

With a thickly padded saddle, your weight will compress the padding around the sit bones, leaving the other padding to stay quite firmly in contact with areas where it perhaps shouldn't be. Saddles are trial and error, but I prefer a slightly firmer one, with minimal padding throughout, and preferably a "cut-out" or recess through the centre line (to reduce or alleviate pressure on the area between the spud sack and the back door).

I use bib shorts in preference to regular shorts, in order to stop them migrating downwards. Search around a bit and see if you can find some that are well discounted. Usually, the more you pay, the better quality padding you'll get. You will probably have seen some astronomical prices for cycling gear (bib shorts included) but you can get perfectly decent shorts for reasonable money by hunting around. My latest pair (BIEMME branded) should have been £47, which is still not expensive for a decent pair of bibs, but I found them on sale for £22. Think that was somewhere like Ribble Cycles I believe.

Would agree with other contributors above, that the saddle is the first thing you need to try to get sorted.

 

[r04DiE]

If you have to pee, most bib shorts / bibs have very accommodating elasticity, so you can just "flop your baguette out" and pee in a bush quite easily.

True, you just need to roll the leg up a bit.

 

[fossyant]

I would advise any padded shorts. If you are a fella, they keep the family jewels out of the saddle firing line, and if you are a lady, they help pad the lady bits. You don't want clothing seams near the 'tender parts'.

I have a good mate who isn't a cyclist, but went out on his bike and had a bad 'fall' according to his father. 'Dad' knows all about me breaking my back as we've been mates since I was a kid. Dad said 'he wasn't riding all professional (sort of referring to me in cycling kit, but he fell off his bike fand banged his testicles and they are very swollen and is having scans'. The next bit 'oh he's very embarrassed and is keeping it quiet'. Don't you love 'dads'. We're in mid 40's and our 'dad's' are in the 70's....

 

[Lochen]

Thanks again for all your replies everyone. Really helpful.
I'll be looking at the saddle before anything else, from what folks have said, padded shorts may well mask what could be a poor saddle.

Much appreciated.