Padded shorts for upright posture
 

Good morning!

I am am looking for some recommendations for padded men’s bike shorts. I’m not riding a road bike, I’m riding an e-bike. I’m doing rides that are 20-40 miles, and my butt is sore. My posture on this bike is sitting almost straight upright. The pants that help my road bike riding do almost nothing, because I am not leaning forward.

Any thoughts?

Don't know about shorts, but saddles made for leaning forward on a road bike would not be comfortable on whatever kind of bike it is (just says an bike in your ?). Maybe get a saddle made for a more upright sitting position. If the saddle isn't made for the way you sit on the bike, I don't know that changing shorts would help. You could try (or maybe already have?) tilting the saddle back to see if it helps.

Corrected!
 

I fixed it. Thanks.

I’m on a RADWagon. It’s a cargo bike. Decent seat, upright riding position. Well positioned and balanced, just get a sure butt on longer rides. I do 18-20 every day, no problems. The longer ones (30-50) are the ones I need some help on.

I'd look at the saddle first, the whole tradeoff between pressure just on sit bones vs. padding could turn out different. But if you've got a setup intended for sit bones, and you aren't parking them in the right place on the saddle due to the relaxed nature of the ride, that is going to be an issue Also consider that if you aren't pedaling at all, or are doing so with only light force, that means more of your weight is on the saddle as your legs aren't taking some of it. Stand up for a minute sometimes to get a break.

Check out the Serfas Tailbones saddles. Lycra fabric over progressive density foam. Basically, it puts the same material as padded cycling shorts onto the saddle, so you can wear whatever clothes and underwear you like.

I've had two similar saddles -- an old Terry Georgina or something like that, and a Bell -- both with Lycra over dense foam. They breathe well in hot and humid weather, so my pants don't feel clammy after I get off the bike. At the moment I'm not using either saddle, but that's because I've reconfigured the bike that I used with those saddles. With the current setup I need a different saddle shape, but I'm still leaning toward a Serfas Tailbones.

The only care I gave the saddles was to aim a portable fan at 'em when I got home from a rainy ride or particularly sweaty ride. Occasionally I'd wipe down the Lycra fabric with fabric cleaner on a sponge, and spray it with Febreze. I'm surprised how long those saddles have lasted -- both are at least 20 years old.

I use minimalist narrow, firm saddles on my road bikes, and wear the usual padded shorts. It's fine for that purpose. But for a cargo, errand or commuter bike, I'd rather have a saddle that's comfortable with ordinary clothing.

Some friends like the Selle Anatomica, but it's pricey compared with the Serfas Tailbones, and I'm still not sure the leather saddle is suitable for an all weather hybrid/commuter/errand bike.

By the way, if you do settle on a better saddle rather than padded shorts, you might also consider some tech fabric underwear like the Champion boxer/briefs made from the same wicking fabric as cycling shorts. They're ultra-thin, very comfortable, dry quickly while wearing even on the muggiest day. The kind with the mesh pouch for the delicate bits is the best. Under Armor and others sell similar underwear but Champion is the best buy. With the Lycra/foam saddles and comfy underwear, I've ridden my hybrids up to 60 miles in a day and was comfortable wearing jeans, baggy shorts, whatever I had on that day.

Thanks. That’s awesome info!

Thanks, I am looking into a new saddle.