Old Style Chamois Pad

[rick78]

I have just acquired a pair of bib shorts from the late 1990s. The shorts have an old style Chamois (see attached photo) which is very different to the more modern pads which in my experience are much denser. The pad in the shorts I have acquired seems very flat with limited padding. Is this normal for shorts of the period or does it indicate that the pad has been well used and is reaching the end of its useful life?

 

[Yellow Saddle]

That's a standard 1990s synthetic chamois. They had very little padding and indeed, we need less padding than is the norm with today's nappy-shorts with mouded, laser-welded, anatomically-correct, silver-impregnated, branded pads.

I've done some of my longest rides in those and don't have any scars to show for it. You can come look if you don't believe me.
Before those, the pads were made from real chamois, i.e. soft-tanned kid skin. These turned hard when dried after a wash but with some manipulation, turned perfectly soft again. Even those did the job but we ran out of kids, hence the synthetic stuff. If the lycra in those shorts haven't give up the ghost, ride 'em till they die. Back in the days, many cycling shops offered a chamois-replacement service because kid leather didn't last as long as plastic.

 

[rick78]

Thanks for the reply. When I started cycling in the late 1990s I seem to recall the shorts having a bit more padding but perhaps my memory is playing tricks on me.