Bikepackers; chamois shorts or not?
 

Who Bikepacks wearing road cycling chamois shorts or bibs?
who bikepacks wearing mountain bike shorts?

pros/cons?

wearing Rapha randonnee shorts (no chamois) and a thin silk underwear with flat seams.
don't want to look like a road cyclist, I do that all year long on the road bike at home.

Hiking shorts (and underwear). I find capilene underwear easier to wash every night compared to padded shorts.

Regular road shorts for me.

Touring (as opposed to bikepacking), I wear mountain bike shorts so that I have some pockets.

Also tour with some bike pants that are convertible, zip off legs and of course a few pockets.

I wear the same cycling shorts regardless. My current favorite is REI cycling underwear, basically a not too padded shorts with thinner panels. I find they breath very well. When in town or camp I have a pair of nylon sports shorts I pull over top.

I like these, lightly padded, easy to wear when not biking and was/dry quickly:
​​​​​​https://andiamounderwear.com/shop/mens-padded-skins/

Rb, how much do you ride? I can't keep track of some user names, I thought you were the NYC dude, but I must be wrong.
Seems that you're trying to suss out stuff from asking folks here, but definitely with this one, you've just gotta ride and ride and listen to what your own butt and bits tell you.

for me personally, unless I'm commuting , I wear the same padded bike shorts for any proper rides, and maybe put some thin overshorts on top if I'm doing a bit of mountain biking. Without padding my arse gets sore, simple as that.

I also find regular padded lycra shorts alone to be cooler in really hot weather, but then to be honest, I don't have any good mountainy type shorts that have padding, so I have to double up, which is just plain hotter naturally. Probably less of an issue when cooler.

re "looks", I don't care about riding with "road" shorts, but I certainly don't want to sit on rough things or fall onto stuff with my good (expensive) bike shorts, so another good reason why ill put on thin over shorts on top mountain biking, but for most any riding even on dirt or whatever, bike shorts only are my choice.

For years I've considered trying some good biking regular looking shorts and maybe padded inners, but in the end just don't bother and prefer to use the money for different tires or something else.

good luck

I find the longer the trip the less practical it is to wear a chamois. Having said that I kind of waffle between yay or nay. Either way, I keep riding.

I like my cycling shorts whether MTB style or road style when touring dirt/gravel roads as those shorts are comfortable and the chamois eliminates any chadfing worries.

Cheers

djb, I ride 100s of miles a week. No, im not the NYC dude. Thanks for your input.

" I keep riding"; best comment ever!

No padding.

then you certainly know how your bits and bytes feel from riding!
I guess the only thing of using padded shorts bikepacking would maybe be less opportunity to wash them daily--which Ive always done touring, in campgrounds or motels, and stick them on my panniers the next day if not dry enough. Fast washing certainly is easier with a sink or in a shower. Ive become very adept at fast washing of shorts, jersey and socks.

The washing thing has been a big problem for some. Both the need to wash daily and the need for having them dry at the start of the day seem to be a prime requirement for many or even most. They cite issues with saddle sores and so on. Personally I have not found either to be a big deal and have not found that saddle sores resulted if I wore the same shorts a few days in a row or put them on damp in the morning.

I have gotten by with one pair of shorts on some long trips. Especially in that case I do find it key to get out of them as soon as I am off the bike for the day and into something that lets me air out. Running shorts with a light nylon breif work well for that in camp airing out.

I can only relate this to my experience of really preferring to wash my shorts every day, the saddle sore issue can occur and its just something I want to avoid.
I find washing them right away, getting as much water out by squeezing, let hang while doing shirt and socks, then squeeze lowest sections again, then use part of my towel to "roll and press" gets the most water out.
It's also so important to find the warmest and most open area for wind and sun to greatly reduce drying time. Bunched up overly wet clothes in the shade just won't dry quickly.
it's rare for my stuff not to be dry, but that's why a second pair of padded shorts is the way to go.

this is what works for me, everyone has to find what is ok for them to avoid having uncomfortable nether region issues that can be a real drag.

Yeh, just to be clear if it is easy to wash my shorts daily I do as well. If I have access to a sink or shower in camp my shorts get washed out too. If I wild camp a few days in a row they may not for that period.

As far as them being damp. I am soaked with sweat while riding most of the time, so I really don't see putting on shorts that are damp with water as a big issue. Sure I wring them out as best I can. I put them in the sun to dry too (inside out), but maybe more to kill what ever may start to live there if left too long. Sun is a great sanitizer.

Saddles sores or even just a bit of chafing can be a real problem if left untreated. I find that for me zinc oxide based diaper cream applied overnight works like magic, but doesn't work well while riding. In the morning and chafing that might have started is cleared up. During the day if any chafing should start one of the udder cremes used for milk cows works great. Some are packaged and sold for human usage and availble at big box stores drugstores, and grocery stores, but they are also available at farm supply stores.

I agree on putting on damp shorts, no big deal other than a bit of a brrrrr feeling on a cool morning, but no different than when we sweat. And I find they dry out riding quite quickly. I just tend to rotate my two shorts, so if it's still damp, I just put on the dry ones.
And yes, airing out and being in sun really does work well, that's my experience as well. Even my shoes don't stink if I do the airing out thing.

oh, and yes i also find the overnight cream thing to really work well too. Just important to catch it right off though.

Interesting discussion.

For myself I suffered quite a bit from friction sores on a number of saddles, hence my preference for cycle shorts. A thinner pad, early intervention, creams and trying to stay as dry as possible works for me.