time for new undies!

[FishMan]

Most of my old tightie whities have wear holes where my butt meats my saddle. My wife doesn't like them anyway. So its time for some new undies.

Does anyone have any recommendations for undies that are as comfortable on the bike as they are off the bike? I might put on 20-30 miles a day just riding around town doing errands and such. It seems like a lot of briefs and boxer briefs have a seam right on my taint that gets pretty raw by the end of the day. And I'm not a big fan of boxers, don't like my junk flapping around and sticking to things. My boys need some support!

So yeah, if you've found some magic comfy underwear, please fill me in.

[davkatreb]

Baggie MTB shorts work for me. When it gets cold out, I usually just pull regular shorts on over my tights. Or maybe bib overalls over the Lycra, and just roll up the legs.

[real_ss_budgie]

hey thats trippy..today i went out and scored 2 pairs of cotton lycra bonds undies for the very same reasons.. crunchy holey grundies due to cycling....so cotton lycra jobbies are the go mate..cost a wee bit more but your cod enclosure stays comfy.

barry

[rockyrider]

Cotton and moisture are not good buddies, think about these (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=6000137&subcategory=60001218&brand=&sku=2235&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Subcat%3A%20Accesso ries%20%2D%20Base%20Layer)

[KCJeffro]

Target has some Merona that I've been happy with. They're nylon and lycra and run about $7.

[ducpilot]

UnderArmour makes undies

[S. cerevisiae]

go for wool boxer-briefs. There are a couple of outfits tht retail them. Google "wool underwear". No stinkies, wear much better, and smaller carbon footprint than lycra.

[FishMan]

Great feedback guys. I think I will buy one of each of several of these to try out and then buy a few more of whichever I like best. I am definitely moving away from cotton as a base layer. Over the past 10 years I have slowly phased out cotton socks, now its time to do the same with the undies.

Oh, and KCJeffro, funny thing, I actually picked up a pair of those the other day, but I haven't had a chance to wear them on the bike yet. I am a little worried that the one seam they do have is in exactly the wrong spot.

[tryandgetme]

and here I thought this was going to be another close call story.

There's probably no other sport that reliably wears holes in that spot on gitch.

[slide]

Why bother with undies in the first place?

[FishMan]

Why bother with undies in the first place?

because I'd rather wear hole in my undies then in my shorts ;)

[dangerousdave]

Yeah, here in the hot zone undies, seams and chaf are a big deal... matter of fact I've threaded about before here!....
What I have done is used the tightest- yup- sometimes even designer superpouch models:eek: of lycra/spandex/cotton brief poss. while still being comfy in the leg holes, since I have big thighs, and then to avoid the seamy issues, I turn them inside out, which puts the bulkier part of the hem and seam to the outside. It hleps alot.

[lubes17319]

http://www.rei.com/product/747738

I'm looking at trying out some of these.

[riderx]

I use Underarmour compression shorts (http://www.underarmour.com/ProductDetail.cfm?site_id=1&dept_id=7&coll_id=1107&pf_id=1000026) on my dirt commute or just longer errand type riding. Put them under regular shorts and just go. They are like bike lycra without the chamois.

As a bonus, they pack small and you can use them as a clean layer between your chamois on bike tours. One pair of chamois and 2 compression shorts gives me 3 days of clean fiding with a lot less bulk to pack. And they dry our way quicker too.

[robcycle]

Yup, +1 on the compression shorts. I got them from Target and, IIRC, they were $10-15. Well worth it. You could wear them to ride to work, and then with a quick rinse and squeeze, you could wear them at work, too.

-Rob.

[phlyin phil]

No undies, no holes. Underwear is not keeping you from wearing out your pants. They a re probably rubbing on your shorts and wearing out that way. Seems redundant to me. But I guess it's not for everyone. It is cooler though. Think about it, you are already saving money by not driving, now start saving money by not buying underwear it's only weird at first. The same people who want you to drive, also want you to wear underwear.

[robcycle]

The same people who want you to drive, also want you to wear underwear.

I know a beutiful piece of logic when I see one :p

Thanks, man :cool:

-Rob.

[slide]

What an HPV harvested all that cotten for all that undergarmentry?
Noooo. Think of all the resorce that could be used for other more important things like Ritchy Grips!

[FishMan]

As a follow-up after several months and 5 pairs of new underwear (all boxer-briefs) here are my conclusions:

The Patagonia Active capoline underwear have the best seams for cycling. No seams near the sit bones to chafe on the butt. If money were not a factor these will be my undies of choice.

REI MTS synthetic undies are pretty good too. The seam is very close to the sit bones but not quite there, so good enough. $10 cheaper a pair then the Patagonia.

I did not like either of the Under Armor undies I used. The regular synthetic pair of boxer briefs I tried had seams in bad places. The "Compression" shorts weren't comfortable on me. They are really tight, even though the other Under Armor undies were the same size and actually fit a little loose. They are very similar to bike shorts materials though, and the single seam running down the middle doesn't cause saddle sore.

The "cheap" Merona undies from Target had seems in a bad spot.

I did not try the ExOffcio or Smartwool undies. I would LOVE to get some of that smartwool stuff on my butt, but at $40 a pop, I am afraid I would like them too much and end up with $200 with of underwear in my drawer.

Lastly, while these fancy undies seem to make me more comfortable, I feel like they are not necessary for shorter rides. If you will be spending less then 60-90 minutes on the bike anyway, I don't think the seams matter that much. The only factor I would really consider is now that its the cold time of year the synthetic stuff will be a lot better at keeping your junk dry and warm. I think in the summer regular cotton undies with suffice for most days. However over time I plan to wear all the old undies out and replace them with new synthetic ones that better fit my biking lifestyle.

[wigger thomas]

very very funny thread.

All I can add is that the WTB love channel has made padded bike shorts a lot less important.

[FishMan]

very very funny thread.

Its hard to be too serious about underwear, but I'm trying.