Losing the chamois… Gradual or Cold Turkey?!

I have many pairs of bib shorts, these are cheap DHB items that are now many moons old. The chamois has lost all its padding and they are looking worse for wear. They still function, but well past their best.

Thankfully these are always hidden by shorts and tops!

I need more, but i am thinking about ditching the cycling short with chamois altogether and just going without.

The question is twofold…. if you ride sans chamois, was it a gradual conversion? if so, what did you do, short rides without, longer with, until your undercarriage became more conditioned? Or did you go cold turkey, just stop using them and let your body take its natural development… gooch be damned!?!

And now you are free from the chamois, what kind of under short or pant do you use? I have some running base layer shorts that are very comfy and keep everything in place, so was thinking of these as a replacement to a proper cycling short.

Do you use chamois butter to help with the lack of padding?

Any info and feedback is welcome to help me on the road to chamois free living!

I tried using cycle shorts a few times because that was the expected norm. They were hot, sweaty, constricting and generally horrible so I generally didn’t use them.  Every year is so I’d see them in the drawer and think ” oh I should be using them”. Which I did, once, same result.

In the end I binned them.

I just use normal boxers/ trunks or whatever they are called. If it’s a long or cold ride then I use Tiso Bawbags which are just bamboo boxers.  Works fine. No problems on standard rides.

If I’m doing a *very*long ride then I’ll change them part way through, but TBH that is very rare.

The idea of using chamois pads, or even worse butter, is utterly repellant. I just keep mine dry and aired.

The one complication is that it doesn’t work well if your arse gets damp, so I use mudguards and over shorts where needed

I forgot to wear my padded shorts a few years ago and realised they made no difference, as in I had no pain or discomfort without them. But perhaps the key factor is that the Charge Spoon saddle that I have used for 10 years in different guises is perfect for me.

I wear Under Armour sports underwear.

Road or MTB? I can’t imagine not wearing them commuting where sat down 99% (precisely) of the time… MTB, I wear really thin ones anyway, but still can get a bit sore.
My son wore chamois for a few rides, but never uses them now, so I think you gotta be conditioned to it.

Yeah, cold turkey might work in place of the chamois I suppose.

Depends if you can get consistently thin slices.

When I started cycling I never bothered and it seemed fine tbh. I could easily do 3-4hrs road cycling and don’t recall it being painful or uncomfortable. Now I have a bit more spare cash I buy decent padded shorts and bibs but only because its the done thing and people used to seem mildly shocked if I mentioned not using padded shorts.

I think it probably depends on the frequency of your riding- I’m sure if you go out pretty regular you will easily get used to it but if you’re “only” riding once a week or less than its probably gonna ache each time.

I suppose it’s all about what you’re used to. I always use padded but last summer hol I unexpectedly hired a road bike and did 40 miles in normal holiday shorts. I didn’t die but was glad to get back to my normal cycling shorts

Going from a bad or old chamois to nothing might well be an immediate improvement, in my experience of worn-out and cheap shorts. Going to a good comfortable chamois instead is for me a bigger improvement though. I mostly wear jeans for utility cycling, commuting, and running the kids around on their bikes, and started my own mountain biking largely in army surplus cargo trousers, so a chamois is by no means necessary. It’s just a personal comfort thing.

For many years of commuting I just wore normal underwear. Including for long rides. What’s a bit of sweat. And a bit of chafing? And occasional sores? I’d tried cycle shorts but thought nah.

When I got more into it including roadbiking and started wearing them. I don’t know how many folks would ride the fred whitton, three peaks race, across the alps etc in normal undercrackers? I’ve never bothered with bum butter type products and never had any issues,. If you want to ride quickly without clothes flapping about in the wind, stay dry and not get sweaty, cycle kit is actually pretty good for er cycling in and a lot better than non cycle kit.

That said, these days with the occasional short dry mtb ride I sometimes don’t bother, and just have normal underwear and tshirt ec. I don’t think its all that much of a big deal for that sort of stuff. So I’d start there, I guess.

I’m very similar to nickfrog above. Haven’t used a chamois in years now

I just found them a faff, unless I was cycle commuting when lycra was actually convenient (i.e. as an item of clothing, not as underclothes)

Under armour boxerjocks (my normal boxers) and charge spoon saddle. Works fine for me, even bikepacking for a few days

For me it’s not about the padding. It’s about having a smooth surface with no seams to rub. I wear mesh liner shorts all the time for actual rides. I do have some very nice 7mesh boxers with a thin pad that I use for cafe rides with the family. If you are going chamois less then look for sports boxers as they tend to wick well and have very little seams.

Lycra running boxer shorts from Decathlon. Smooth no seams. Fast drying. Under Ron Hill tracksters or baggy running shorts.

I just ride in running shorts or whatever, I never understood the need for padding. Have these people not heard of a C17?

Yeah, cold turkey might work in place of the chamois I suppose.

Depends if you can get consistently thin slices.

Bootiful

The idea of using chamois pads, or even worse butter, is utterly repellant.

Why is it more repellant than normal underwear? I don’t always use cream though, usually only on long rides or several back to back days.

If you’ve already got the required number of children then just go sans chamois 😂

I went the other way, never wore them, then would get a sore on one spot, would never recover for the next ride and be a faff, went to chamois and only time i butter up is on the seams of one pair, find the right ones and they’re great, find crappy ones and they’re just as useful as boxers.

Always cycling shorts/bibs. Prefer my undercarriage to be tucked up.

A cold turkey is definitely a possibility and it’s unlikely to be gradual.

What’s the issue with a chamois though OP?

The thought of boxers/pants up my ass crack for 50 miles just makes me shiver.

Proper supportive bibs and chamois that fit properly feel like they aren’t there. Poor quality, rubbish fit I can understand.

I guess it’s more of a money saving exercise than anything. Invest in a few pairs of new bib shorts, which potentially could be a couple of hundred quid.

or follow in the footsteps of a few others and go without, which in turn is ‘cheaper’, assuming my undercarriage doesn’t turn to mush and I require reconstructive surgery 😬

I just stopped wearing them on my MTB and never looked back, horrible sweaty things. Your arse soon gets used to it.

I still wear them if out on the road bike but only because all my Lycra bib shorts have them.

I just use normal boxers/ trunks or whatever they are called. If it’s a long or cold ride then I use Tiso Bawbags which are just bamboo boxers.  Works fine. No problems on standard rides.

If I’m doing a *very*long ride then I’ll change them part way through, but TBH that is very rare.

The idea of using chamois pads, or even worse butter, is utterly repellant. I just keep mine dry and aired.

Geez. So on a long or cold ride you double bag yourself in two pairs of skids. And if it’s a very long ride you go out with a second pair tucked in a pocket and (I’m guessing here, and now I’ve thought it I can’t unsee it) dive behind a bush and change your kecks for a fresh pair…..I’m assuming because you’ve smegged up the first ones….which have to go back in your pocket.

That’s pretty messed up. But yes, cycle shorts are repellant (sic)…. call me an oddball, but I’m not convinced your judgement on this is too reliable!

Cycle bibs for win. Lycra out loud and proud on the road or festering under something baggier if mixing with the cool kids off road. Can’t imagine why I wouldn’t bother on anything more than a pop to the shops.

I tend to get a rash where the legs of the lycra grip my thighs, so looking to go sans chamois and just ride in boxers & shorts, used to ride hundreds of miles like that bitd so hopefully won’t be any problems.

I wonder if the degree of saddle padding / shape compatibility comes into this at all. I’d be happy enough to use, say, an original Bel Air saddle. sans chamois off road for short to medium rides, but more sparsely-padded saddles are definitely less forgiving ime, ditto long – four hours plus-type – road rides when you’re in the saddle more of the time / indoor riding. On the mountain bike I tend towards more minimal pads and shorts/liners with lots of ventilation.

I’m quite enjoying the visceral, melodramatic hatred of pads mind. I can think of many worse things, saddle sores for one, though I can also see that using a soggy chamois isn’t likely to help with those either. Not many elite road riders out there in unpadded shorts. It’d be interesting to know what enduro bros do though.

I’ve recently become a bit of a convert to SQlab saddles and note that they have an interesting take on bibs, with their own shorts using a thinner, firmer pad that’s supposed to resist deformation when riding and also incorporates an internal slip layer. Sounds interesting and makes theoretical sense to me, but is also ruinously expensive, so not on the shopping list any time too.

More generally, pads are very variable. Some of the cheaper ones and gel stuff are just horrible ime, really good quality road shorts are a different game altogether, but even then, there’s a fair variation in thickness, compressibility and width. You need one that suits your undercarriage. I have a pair of Assos bibs that have a pad that’s just way too wide and soft for me for example., I don’t use them and if they were my only experience of padded shorts, I’d probably hate them too.

Anyway, try it and see would be my take. It’s not going to cost owt bar maybe a careful choice of seamless undercrackers.

Dickyboy

Full Member

I tend to get a rash where the legs of the lycra grip my thighs, so looking to go sans chamois and just ride in boxers & shorts, used to ride hundreds of miles like that bitd so hopefully won’t be any problems.

I think a reaction to the silicon in the grippers is not uncommon, but other shorts don’t use it.

I think the type of ride your doing also makes a difference, a leisurely pootle as opposed to somthing that raises a sweat and how hot it is.

I can’t think of anything worse than chaffing in a pair of sweaty boxers but cheap and nasty pads are also grim.(currently liking the decathlon racer 2s at about 50-squid )

I also think once you’ve broken your arse in the paddings not the issue but  not having anything rub/sweat is.

Not sure why anyone’s concerned about pad cream, tbh if I was doing any exercise/long walking I’d be lubing up my undercarriage with Vaseline (as my mate used to say one dab only no returns if sharing on the trail)

Geez. So on a long or cold ride you double bag yourself in two pairs of skids.

No, you tumschie. 🤩What I meant was that if it’s a long or cold ride then I would use the bamboo boxers instead. Not as well.😄

And if it’s a very long ride you go out with a second pair tucked in a pocket and (I’m guessing here, and now I’ve thought it I can’t unsee it) dive behind a bush and change your kecks for a fresh pair…..I’m assuming because you’ve smegged up the first ones….which have to go back in your pocket.

No. On one ride that I did, which was a smidge under 500km distance, I stopped off at home to cook the kids tea and get them ready for bed. Because I had stupidly gone out without mudguards earlier that day my gruds were damp and so I changed them, in the comfort of my own home before I went out to finish my ride. I probably changed my trousers and top as well at the same time. There are probably a couple of other days ( eg in the van after the second or third lap of Gisburn in deepest winter) where I changed clothes, including gruds, between parts of a big day out.  But I don’t think I have ever dived behind a bush to do it.

Oh and doing that 24hr race down near Gloucester … (Mayhem ?) I’m pretty sure I changed clothes at least once during a pit stop.

But for short or non strenuous rides, eg double digit distance, one set usually suffices.

Taking a spare pair along would indeed suggest something was awry

I think there’s a misunderstanding about “boxers” between some people.

my boxers that I wear as regular non biking underwear are cotton and have a seam up the middle, and are relatively loose on the two veg.

my boxers I wear biking, are a polyester/ Lycra blend (I think), have no seam where you sit, and hold the boys snugly in place so I don’t ever sit on them.

“I think a reaction to the silicon in the grippers is not uncommon, but other shorts don’t use it.”

@morecashthandash Thanks – I’ll look into it 👍

my boxers I wear biking, are a polyester/ Lycra blend (I think), have no seam where you sit, and hold the boys snugly in place so I don’t ever sit on them.

I believe these are called “trunks”.

My own preference is for a lace thong. Doubles up for cassette cleaning duties.

Decathlon’s bib’s are good, and I’m currently using Planet X Carnac bibs, which are equally as good.

If you’re ditching the bibs to save cash are you going to cheap cotton t-shirts too?

No. On one ride that I did, which was a smidge under 500km distance, I stopped off at home to cook the kids tea and get them ready for bed. Because I had stupidly gone out without mudguards earlier that day my gruds were damp and so I changed them, in the comfort of my own home before I went out to finish my ride

500m or 50km?

If you’re ditching the bibs to save cash are you going to cheap cotton t-shirts too?

My guess is that he’s not ditching them to save cash, but to gain comfort.  That’s certainly my approach.

500m or 50km?

Um, no. I only mention it as dudeofdoom was suggesting that one needs to be pushing at a certain effort/ duration to appreciate padded shorts and not prefer gruds.

Wear whatever you feel most comfortable in. It’s entirely a personal choice really isn’t it?

“I think a reaction to the silicon in the grippers is not uncommon, but other shorts don’t use it.”

@morecashthandash Thanks – I’ll look into it 👍

another option, if the shorts are suitable is to turn the gripper/bottom 1″ of the leg over, still get the snug fit, but no silicon on leg. I’ve seen that done before, especially where sponsor kit needs to be worn.

They were hot, sweaty, constricting and generally horrible

You’ve got the wrong size?

Inside out?

Got normal shorts with a *far* too tight waistband?

Wear whatever you feel most comfortable in. It’s entirely a personal choice really isn’t it?

That’s the sort of thinking that leads to degeneracy and societal disintegration.

If you’re ditching the bibs to save cash are you going to cheap cotton t-shirts too?

I ride in regular t-shirts anyway. Rather than riding tops.

From a cost perspective, its a case of spending £20-30 on a bunch of boxers/pants that are suitable for riding, versus £100-200 on a couple of pairs of new bibs. Its not life changing money obviously.

I tried using cycle shorts a few times because that was the expected norm. They were hot, sweaty, constricting and generally horrible

Crap cycling shorts are, well, crap.  I had some Endura ones circa 2003 and they were awful and chafed a lot.  Back then you’d get 6 or 8 panel ones, the more panels the better shaped they were and you got less folded fabric rubbing your scrotum.  I then got some Assos shorts which were a revelation. Expensive at the time (<£100 though) and they lasted a decade so it was well worth it. Now I have some expensive and cheap ones, and they are all pretty good.  I also had some bad (and some very bad) experiences with baggies with liners.

The main reason I wear them is to keep everything in place, to not bunch up and rub, and because I also ride road I already have them for that so I just put them on under baggies.  However I have some thick Endura baggies that are almost like normal shorts out of a really heavy almost canvas, and under these I wear some technical trunks made from nice wicking cooling fabric. This is ok on the MTB for rides of a couple of hours or less, or where I’m not pedalling along for hours.  But it needs good wicking underwear – normal underwear is a recipe for sweaty chafing, and I think this works because the outer shorts are thick. I wouldn’t want to do it with my thin shorts that are made to be worn over a pad I think.

Regarding leg grippers, lots of shorts now (Decathlon for one) don’t have silicone grippers, they just have a thicker longer cuff which works well. Also a similar idea on the waistband.  This is much better even if you’re not allergic to silicone.