Bicycle shorts for touring?
 

Firstly sorry if this is the wrong section.

I am in somewhat of a dilema. with my motorbike being my sole form of transport i cant go for the 5 days without it to sent off the saddle to get gel inserts and memory foam toppers to make it more comfy for touring. i also am at max seat height im comfy with so an air hawk or similar would just add more seat height.

As a day-to-day bike it works a treat with my usual riding gear, but is uncomfortable in just my kevlar jeans which is what i will take touring in august.

I am wondering if anybody has used cycling shorts under their jeans to increase comfort and how effective it was?

i am thinking it could get too hot and sweaty in the shorts over the course of the day this being the main draw back i can think of and putting me off.
until the weather gets hot enough to try it out in the UK im just guessing the effects/sensation

any experience in this field?

Swear by them
 

Always: great in the jungle also - keeps the ants out of your pants.
Rinse them out at the end of the days' riding, hang them somewhere to dry and put them on again next day, every day.

super news that it can work. thanks Dave

Just to clarify Gary, I have a pair of the cycling shorts with the padded insert and another pair of lycra shorts without the padding (more appropriately used for running): it is the latter that I use on the motorbike, while the padded pair are good for the purpose they were designed for = cycling.

I did try the padded pair a couple of times on the motorbike but, for me, they tend to be too bulky "up front" against the tank - I suppose it depends on how "bulky" you are in the nether regions. :innocent:

Either will be sweaty, but isn't everything on a hot day? Hence, it is really easy to rinse them out and use each day.

Whatever, do a few test rides with a pair before the longer travelling.

I've tried too with padded cycling shorts and they made matters worse. I use a sheepskin and swear by it
You still have a bit of time to customise your saddle yourself. I've taken an inch or two off the crown of the seat with an abrasive disk fitted to an angle grinder. Recovered the lot with a cheap insulating beach/camping mat and restapled the original cover. The seat is now much wider and more comfy.
Africa twin rd04

sent from my thingy, using whatchamacallit

I used to ride with cycle pants (padded), but for the last few years, I have not been able to get the 'older' style cycling pads with cotton inserts/pads. All the new ones have a neoprene type insert. The cotton abosrbed the seat and worked the great. The neoprene is like a wetsuit and makes things worse.

If I can get cotton padded cycling pants again, I'll go back to them.

I think you're in the right section Gary.

A Real Seat
What you need is a quality custom seat. What bike do you have? Surly there must be someone in the UK who does seats? We've half dozen seat makers here ... ignore the amateur DO-It-YOUR Selfer's with grinders and electric knives, they don't know jack about making a real, comfortable seat. Spend the money, get a REAL seat made by a PRO. Wide is GOOD!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y...08_3buFt-L.jpg
My Corbin seat ... good for 10 riding hours a day ... day after day.

Jeans?
If going into hot weather, leave them at home. Denim is thick, does not breath well. You'll sweat and suffer in the heat. If it rains, they'll stay wet all day and night = Monkey Butt will be the result! doh

Buy some nice vented mesh riding pants for the heat. Wear armor UNDER.
(knee pads, hip,) Or inexpensive dirt bike/Moto Cross pants. Great in heat, easy to wash/dry. Go to Andorra ... super cheap, lots of choice. Save your jeans for UK weather. Bring rain pants to go over your vented riding pants ... just in case.

Bicycle Shorts!
Used them the last 12 years. Almost never ride without them! The BEST are the Made In Italy padded ones. My current ones are washable, dry fairly quickly. These padded shorts add at least 1 to 2 extra hours of comfort on a long riding day, BETTER than NON padded shorts. They also help prevent Monkey Butt (baby powder should be applied daily to stay dry & rash free) Gold Bond powder!! :thumbup1:

I don't buy riding shorts in bicycle shops ... too expensive. I buy used ones at our local Good Will or Salvation Army stores. $3 to $5 a pair. I have 6 pairs, bring TWO pair on longer rides. Wash every evening, dry over night. Lots of folks get into cycling to lose weight, give up and give all the fancy riding gear away. Recycling is GOOD!

You wouldn't care to stick an arrow on the last pic would you, pointing at where your butt goes on that Corbin seat as it looks like there's a hollow at the back and a lumpy bit at the front. I could imagine myself sliding backwards on it until I get to roughly level with the Corbin sticker, which looks a bit far back for highway travel - unless you're about 6' 4" (and you may well be) when it's probably about right.

I'm 5'7" ... that seat just plain works. Only minor complaint comes when standing. The Corbin is just a bit too wide up on the nose, which splays my legs just a bit. After a day, I'm used to it again ... all good.

On long highway runs the rather FIRM Corbin gives great support ... it also allows room to move up, back or in the middle. Shifting position helps on a long day. I like it. No Butt Burn. A very good seat. (as dozens of other DR650 riders will attest to)

I do slide a bit with Moto Cross pants on ... but with my leathers ... I stick like glue ... leather to leather ... Yes, that's a real leather cover ... now 9 years old. Holding up well.

Most of the good US seat makers (4 or 5 others) pretty much copy the Corbin "Cowboy Saddle" concept, at least for Dual Sport bikes. Corbin's seat makers are ALL former Mexican Horse Saddle makers from the old country. Been this way for decades.

Some Corbin seats are good ... some NOT. They don't suit every rider or work with every bike. This DR650 one works quite well for me. I figure if I can match mileage/hours with guys riding GS's, V-Stroms, KTM 990's, Tiger Explorers ... and not suffer any more than they do ... got to be doing something right! bier

The stock Suzuki torture rack "seat" is good for 2 hours MAX ... if you're a hard ass, less for the "unseasoned". :smartass:

I bought a few pairs of lycra cycling shorts new on ebay. They were made in China, cost $6 apiece and were treated with some anti-bacterial chemical (nuclear waste possibly). The padding isn't removable but, on the positive side, it makes you look ever so manly...I did a 5000mi trip form Northern New York to Key West Florida during what turned out to be one of the hottest and wettest summers in the Southeastern US (24 days/rained 20/out of the 20 it rained significantly 16). These things were superb! Zero stink (nuclear anti-bacterial stuff worked well). Wash out in a sink, stream, puddle and they dried in 2 hours. They wicked moisture and dried out swiftly when riding wet (my raingear finally died so I tossed it and rode with mesh jacket, for armor, and mesh pants). This was a perfect solution as I was going to get wet anyway so the wind through the mesh kept me cool (100+ degrees F much of the trip). Now on to the disgusting truth... my wife, wearing cargo pants over the bicycling shorts, and me with the mesh, went 17 days of wear before the stink factor suggested (demanded?) they be laundered. In ordinary underwear, in jeans this would have been necessary each day (we're not complete barbarians). Well worth the cost even at 5 times the cost. Lose the jeans and get some proper riding pants (armored knees/hips) with ventilation (ebay is a good place to look).:taz::taz:

thanks for all the helpful replies.
the cycling shorts i have (3 different pairs) all were worse so i just left them at home. as it turned out we were forecast 10 days of heavy rain so the jeans stayed at home and i used my normal textiles. on some longer days my bum still hurt but all in all wasn't too bad and we got lucky and only got rained on once thanks to a fluid plan to follow the best weather.

i ride a cb500x and corbin have recently made a custom seat so it may be something i look into if funds allow. i had a custom seat on my vt750 aero and it made the world of difference, mustang set the bar high on that.

also sheep skin could be a way to go as far and away cheaper than a custom seat.

Gary,
I'm surprised the bicycle padded shorts did not work for you. They were padded ones, right? I'm impressed with mine ... for all the reasons already listed by others above. Great in heat and cold. I take a couple pair along and wash them daily or when possible.

I would skip the Sheep Skin. Go with a seat pad, like Air Hawk, Saddleman and many other brands. I'd go with a NAME brand, not some Ebay junk ... although many have had good luck with the pad sold at WalMart.

I would not get a Gel seat pad. They get TOO HOT ...
A good custom seat, is, IMO the best option but a quality seat pad gives relief to many riders and lots cheaper than a custom seat.
Google them and check them out. :scooter:

Just curious as to how much height padded cycle shorts add... probably about the same amount as a properly deflated Airhawk?
I've been using an Airhawk for years, but might try experimenting with cycle shorts just to see what they are like.

Added height is negligible ... maybe 1/4" to 1/2" most. But the thing I like is the luxurious feel they provide ... especially the high quality Japanese and Italian shorts. New they cost like $75 to $100. (in a bike store) I scrounge around and find them cheaper.

I also love them riding Off Road. Always used them on LONG, HARD Baja dirt rides where Monkey Butt can be an Show Stopper issue on a 21 day hard ass ride. The bike shorts give you a nice margin of comfort and protection. :thumbup1:

Underdaks..
 

just a quick question...what about the body armour type undershorts (Dainese or IXs or similar) dont they have a padded rear end support or are they only hip and thigh padding? I ask because I was interested in if they helped with numb bum syndrome...butt (pardon the pun) I haven't got around to looking at them yet