CarynLea

someone told me that your not supposed to wear underwear with bike shorts. Is this true? Sorry if this is dumb.

Caryn

FlatSix911

True ... for both men and women ...

The truth shall set you free!

CarynLea

Ok thanks a lot, that's good news, actually, the underwear sometimes folds or pinches and hurts my skin.
It's raining now, but as soon as it stops, I will be free!

Thanks again Caryn

Bikeforumuser0013

Wear what you want to wear. If it's comfortable, do it. If not, don't do it.
When I wear cycling shorts, I wear underwear of the same material (think Under Armour or Nike Pro) so there's no bunching or seams. I do this because I don't want to be washing my cycling shorts every day

CbadRider

It's not a dumb question. Cycling-specific shorts generally have a pad (chamois) and are designed to be worn without underwear. Most pads have antimicrobial properties to help prevent irritation, but they do need to be washed after being worn.

cyclist2000

Don't wear the underwear. The edges will cause abrasion and chaffing. When using the riding shorts it may be necessary to use a chamois cream if you have chaffing without the underwear. Chamois cream is applied to your skin.

Homeyba

You need to own more than one pair of cycling shorts.

Bikeforumuser0013

I have two. And now I wear neither.
The only places I ride are retail stores, restaurants, work, and school. No need to wear cycling shorts. Jeans and khakis are fine! (Although I have been spotted wearing Portland Cyclewear's knickers.)

Machka 

+1

I have 4 pair here in Australia, and a box full packed back in Canada.

Welrish

When I first started riding, the guy at the LBS told me that if I was going to be on a bike for more than an hour, I needed bike shorts. This is for the moisture wicking ability and the padding. Cotton underwear will cause chafing and irritation, therefore you ride with no underwear. I wore the bike shorts and a cotton shirt. The next week I rode with bike shorts and a jersey. What a difference! The moisture wicking really makes a difference if you are riding for a good workout.If you are going on an enjoyable ride, you need the proper equipment.

Maxxxie

Personally, wearing underwear under my nicks has never bothered me. My rides are anywhere between 1 hour and 5 hours. I honestly can't tell the difference when I wear them and when I don't. I go commando these days, not for any comfort reasons, but for a very practical reason: less underwear to wash at the end of the week!

Max

ahsposo 

Ladies.

There is a fundamental difference between ladies small clothing and boys. Boys boxers will bunch up under spandex creating crease chafing and huge doofus reality and tighty whiteys will create crease chafing and the fungus umungus. If the ladies wear a little something betwixt dermis, chammy and seat who are we (the stupid boys) to say otherwise. I, for one, am happy you grace us with your presence.

Yours,

Mr. Manners

Machka 

Speaking as a woman ....... lose the underwear. It's no different for us. Most women's underwear is terribly uncomfortable. Either it goes where it doesn't belong or there's lace which is really horrible stuff created by someone with a strong sadistical bent.

It is a rare occasion that I will ride in "civvies" with underwear underneath. Most of the time I prefer cycling shorts simply because they don't move to places they don't belong and there is no lace. If I do ride in "civvies", I prefer riding with a bathing suit on underneath.

009jim

What is the purpose of underwear? The more junk you wear, the more you gotta wash come washday. More wash means more detergent and that means pollution. Lose the undies. Minimise.

Timber_8

I have worn thongs under everything for years just to keep my bits in place and have yet to have any issues. I think it might be a personal choice in many circumstances. Spending 6 hours in the saddle might be a different story

Bikeforumuser0013

Machine washing degrades any fabric and I want to prolong the life of expensive cycling shorts. When I did wear them, I would wear a couple times before washing, and only change underwear daily. Underwear is cheaper to replace, I wear it with or without cycling shorts, and I already have a lot of it.

CliftonGK1

Handwash your bike gear, or use the lightest cycle on your machine. I wash all my stuff (even my wool jerseys) in my machine with Woolite detergent on the 'handwash' cycle, which only agitates the load once every few minutes and allows it to soak (just like handwashing in a basin.) You'll get a lot longer life from your kit if you don't beat it up in the washer.

I don't wear underwear with my cycling gear, and I have enough that I only need to wash my gear twice a week.

Homeyba

Last I checked, this was the "long distance" forum. Not the ride to the store or school forum. When I was a kid, I rode all around town in jeans and underwear too. A 5-6hr ride is barely a century ride for a lot of people. The farther you go on the bike wearing underwear the greater your chances of having a problem. If you are going to be riding long distances you are better off not wearing them.

Machka 

+1 We've got a few short distance responses in here for some reason. But then it's not clear if the OP is a long distance rider either. Perhaps this should have been posted in General Cycling.


The longest distance I've ridden in underwear (usually a bathing suit as mentioned above) and regular shorts has been 80 km on a tour. My Brooks saddle made that possible, and with my Brooks saddle, I could have ridden longer than 80 km without any issues. I don't know if I could have done that with the other saddles I've tried in the past. But even with my Brooks saddle, I don't know that I would have felt comfortable much past about 120 km.

There are, however, some long distance riders (i.e. brevets, randonnees, etc.) who prefer to ride in regular shorts, and presumably underwear. One particular east-coast US rider springs to mind. I believe he's an RBA now out that way. And there were riders in all sorts of different kit on the PBP. Rowan often does centuries etc., without padded shorts. He wears what are essentially unpadded cycling shorts with regular shorts over them ... but again, he's got a Brooks saddle.

unterhausen

I'm guessing a lot of people hit the new posts link without thinking, and that's where we get a lot of people that think riding to Starbucks and then the grocery store is a long ride. Of course, then we get the people who don't scan all the way down to "touring," and get stuck at "long distance cycling."

CliftonGK1

I've seen pix of Drew Buck's "Onion Johnny" setup, and I don't imagine he's wearing a pair of padded lycras underneath those traditional knickers.
I have an upright cruiser setup with a B-17, and it's comfortable for anything up to about 50 miles in regular street clothes. It's a heavy beast, so I haven't ventured to try anything more than 45 - 50 on it.

GLA

I wear clean knicks for each 'day' of PBP - different brands/styles so I have different pressure points - but no underwear.

I rode much of London-Edinburgh-London 2003 with an English guy who just rode in running shorts, though he said he had no underwear either (must have been a bit breezy )

rogerstg

Do you really think that thin underwear "protects" your shorts from butt crack sweat after a day of riding?

rumrunn6

long ride = proper (expensive) bike shorts against your skin.

I find mine air dry overnight quite satisfactorily