If soft seats are not good, why have soft shorts?

So, I was thinking about this..

If padded seats are not good [ that is, in the long run they push up
on sensitive areas and cause more discomfort than a non-padded one ],
then why are padded shorts ok?

Seems like the same thing, just in the shorts instead of the seat..

?

wle.

wle wrote:
So, I was thinking about this..

If padded seats are not good [ that is, in the long run they push up
on sensitive areas and cause more discomfort than a non-padded one ],
then why are padded shorts ok?

I don't think they are.

I've been discouraged that a lot of shorts makers have been switching
from flat, synthetic chamois style pads to "molded" foam things. I find
them a lot less comfortable and more so as the miles pile up.

Peter Cole wrote:
wle wrote:
So, I was thinking about this..

If padded seats are not good [ that is, in the long run they push up
on sensitive areas and cause more discomfort than a non-padded one ],
then why are padded shorts ok?

I don't think they are.

I've been discouraged that a lot of shorts makers have been switching
from flat, synthetic chamois style pads to "molded" foam things. I find
them a lot less comfortable and more so as the miles pile up.

I agree. The molded in contours may fit somebody's crotch, but not
mine!

Joseph

Peter Cole wrote:
wle wrote:

So, I was thinking about this..

If padded seats are not good [ that is, in the long run they push up
on sensitive areas and cause more discomfort than a non-padded one ],
then why are padded shorts ok?


I don't think they are.

I've been discouraged that a lot of shorts makers have been switching
from flat, synthetic chamois style pads to "molded" foam things. I find
them a lot less comfortable and more so as the miles pile up.

No kidding. I received a couple pairs of different model Pearl Izumi
shorts for Christmas, they have a substantial molded foam thingy in
them, and they are annoying as hell.

Greg

--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

Per wle:
on sensitive areas and cause more discomfort than a non-padded one ],
then why are padded shorts ok?

Seems like the same thing, just in the shorts instead of the seat..

One factor: the depth of the padding. Shorts seem tb only 1/8" or so max
whereas the really-added seats look more like 1/2 to 3/4".

Intuitively, I wonder if "padding" in shorts also has a skin protection
function... something like that material being easier on the skin than, say, a
lycra weave.

Finally, I'm thinking vibration damping/isolation...?
--
PeteCresswell

G.T. wrote:
Peter Cole wrote:
wle wrote:

So, I was thinking about this..

If padded seats are not good [ that is, in the long run they push up
on sensitive areas and cause more discomfort than a non-padded one
], then why are padded shorts ok?


I don't think they are.

I've been discouraged that a lot of shorts makers have been switching
from flat, synthetic chamois style pads to "molded" foam things. I
find them a lot less comfortable and more so as the miles pile up.

No kidding. I received a couple pairs of different model Pearl Izumi
shorts for Christmas, they have a substantial molded foam thingy in
them, and they are annoying as hell.

Yup. What's weird is they can feel OK for one stretch, and like crap
(almost literally) the next.

Give me a nice, soft flat pad any day.

On Mon, 22 May 2006 11:53:56 -0400, Peter Cole wrote:

wle wrote:

So, I was thinking about this..

If padded seats are not good [ that is, in the long run they push up
on sensitive areas and cause more discomfort than a non-padded one ],
then why are padded shorts ok?

I don't think they are.

I've been discouraged that a lot of shorts makers have been switching
from flat, synthetic chamois style pads to "molded" foam things. I find
them a lot less comfortable and more so as the miles pile up.

I feel the same way. Of all the shorts I own, my favorites are some older
Hind ones which have no real padding, just a synthetic chamois.
Unfortunately they're almost worn out, and similar ones are very hard to
find now.

Matt O.

I really miss the shorts with the real natural chamois that I would
grease up with Assos cream before every ride. The synthetic chamois
just don't seem nearly as confortable. But no one seems to make shorts
with natural chamois anymore.

Joel

Matt O'Toole writes:

So, I was thinking about this..

If padded seats are not good [ that is, in the long run they push
up on sensitive areas and cause more discomfort than a non-padded
one ], then why are padded shorts OK?

I don't think they are.

I've been discouraged that a lot of shorts makers have been
switching from flat, synthetic chamois style pads to "molded" foam
things. I find them a lot less comfortable and more so as the miles
pile up.

I feel the same way. Of all the shorts I own, my favorites are some
older Hind ones which have no real padding, just a synthetic
chamois. Unfortunately they're almost worn out, and similar ones
are very hard to find now.

....and from where did all this come? Aha, the hard-ass Flite saddle
and others who are no longer making saddles with a variable thickness
plastic undershell and having a thin layer of foam. Save weight on
the bicycle and put it in the shorts. No one weighs shorts but we see
plenty of advertising about how light saddles and even whole bicycles
are.

You asked for it!

Jobst Brandt

wle wrote:
So, I was thinking about this..

If padded seats are not good [ that is, in the long run they push up
on sensitive areas and cause more discomfort than a non-padded one ],
then why are padded shorts ok?

Seems like the same thing, just in the shorts instead of the seat..

?

I've always figured the effect originally intended in shorts is not so
much softness, and resistance to wrinkling. Thick fabric that wrinkles
where you sit will chafe at your skin and rub it raw.

Thin lycra stretches, pulling the fabric between butt and saddle so
that it doesn't wrinkle. And properly shaped pads add thickness and
stiffness which reinforces against wrinkles.

A further possibility is that the thicker pad, stretched and held in
place by the lycra, moves with your body, staying stationary with
respect to your skin. Lack of relative motion between the pad and skin
prevents chafing.

If the same padding were in the saddle, your skin would move with
respect to the padding. Again, more chafing.

Those are my beliefs, anyway. Can't say I read them anywhere else.

- Frank Krygowski