Whether you’re a beginner heading out for a few miles a week or a seasoned enthusiast who logs several hours a day on the bike, the foundation for a comfortable ride is high-quality cycling shorts with a built-in chamois pad.
Bike shorts save rides – if you know how to use them correctly. Used correctly, the chamois padding in your cycling shorts is your best defense against ride-wrecking soreness (and sores) in a sensitive body part.
Here are some tips to keep in mind about wearing chamois:
1. Buy women’s-specific bike shorts.
They were made specifically to fit your anatomy and, let’s be honest, that is one place we can agree we are definitely different from men!
2. You don't always need chamois shorts to ride a bike.
Wearing a chamois on rides over 10 miles is a good idea, particularly if you are new to cycling. For bumpier rides where you’re mostly riding in the saddle and for more sensitive backsides, consider wearing bike shorts on even shorter rides.
3. When wearing a chamois, do not use padded seat covers.
Padded bike shorts are meant to be the only layer between you and your saddle, adding anything else will only make chaffing worse.
4. Do not wear underwear beneath your bike shorts.
Wearing underwear with your bike chamois can create a lot of problems.
First, it blocks your nether regions from the chamois designed specifically to trap bacteria and fight friction against your bare skin. That creates a petri dish in your sweaty undies. Second, wearing underpants while riding inevitably leads to wedgies; these create friction and chafing that cause slight tears in the skin, which can then get infected or inflamed—the perfect storm for a dreaded saddle sore.
So chuck your panty-wearing notions out the window and embrace cycling’s commando aesthetic.
5. Use chamois cream properly
No matter how great your chamois is, there’s a good chance that you’ll start to rub after a long day in the saddle. Chamois cream is a thick cream that helps eliminate this friction.
A little is enough. Just apply a small amount on areas that tend to rub after a long time in the saddle.
6. Proper fit is vital when it comes to chamois comfort.
Your shorts should fit tightly—not so much that they restrict your breathing, but also not so loose that the chamois moves under you. A chamois with too much wiggle room can create that dreaded friction, and loose seams in shorts can cause chafing.
The challenge is that fit can vary wildly from brand to brand, and sometimes even within a brand. That’s why I tend to stick with the same brand when I find one I like and that fits well. I’ve learned when those brands put products on sale and tend to stock up at certain times of the year.
7. Take care of your chamois
The best way to care for your chamois is to wash and double rinse it. Your chamois should always be washed inside-out so that it’s exposed to the maximum amount of water possible. How else are you supposed to wash away all that chamois cream, sweat, and other ‘stuff’ before your next ride? A sensitive skin detergent and the double-rinse cycle are also your friends if you’re prone to rashes after long or hot rides since your harsh detergent might be to blame for those.