There is always an air of mystery when padded shorts are mentioned and men might be nervous about this one, but I'm fairly sure some of you wear them too.
When I first saw my new bike saddle I could not believe how thin it was. There wasn't much of it. After a few rides I kinda got used to it, but it was not comfortable.
I thought that this couldn't be right and I wondered if there were some saddle secrets I wasn't privy too. I asked my coach Roots Mountain Biking, but for once, he really wasn't much help. After a bit of research I found something called 'Padded Shorts', they are meant to help with the comfort factor regarding your rear. I researched more.
I went to ebay and found these for £4.99.....
They arrived from Hong Kong very quickly and I have to admit I was quite excited.
This time I thought, I'm going to have a comfy ride AND I'll look like wonder woman!
Sadly I was quite mistaken.....
These padded shorts felt more like a lumpy thong and gave me the worst wedgie.
It was the most uncomfortable ride I've ever had and I kept having to duck behind the trees to rearrange myself, thankful only for the fact that it was a night ride.
I realised I was only on the brink of the world of saddle secrets. I needed to start again. This is what I found.....
- Importantly ... and it didn't say this in the instructions from Hong Kong, but you DO NOT wear pants underneath (did you know that?) you just wear the padded shorts! Ahh, I thought, that will help.
- You must go all out and buy a quality pair of padded shorts, there is simply no middle ground. The shorts have different materials and placements depending on where you need them.
- Cream is available..but I haven't got there yet and I'm wondering if the cream is just for road bikers....a whole other world of mysterious road bike secrets.
- Chamois (apparently not just for car windows)...still not sure about that one either and am assuming it's the road bike department too.
Realising my mistake, I found these fabulous shorts from Endura. They have elasticated legs to stop them riding up and the pads certainly don't give you a wedgie!
They really help the comfort factor and I recommend them to both girls and boys who sit on saddles.
As for the cheap padded shorts from Hong Kong?
They were clearly not fit for purpose.....
So I gave them to my crazy sister, who I knew would find a use for them....
You can find more of her very useful fashion tips over at
