comfy padded recumbent shorts

[wojtek]

not sure if i should put this thread here or in the sales section...

Recumbent riders surely experience that casual shorts tend to turn into parachutes when riding a recumbent. The only way for recumbent are either long jeans [a joke] or non padded lycras. But non padded lycras are not so comfortable, look gay and don't really offer what cyclists need. The pads.

Last year i have had some custom made shorts made with the pads sewed further behind so that the pads are actually in the place where there is a contact between the body and the recumbent seat. The comfort has REALLY IMPROVED! Especially for longer rides, it makes a difference.

I am not sure how many of you would be interested in those, and if there are any available on the market? [ i did quick google search but found nothing]. I have a contact back in Poland that can do some of those custom made with good quality but a bit pricey but if the interest is big, i may try to source them in China for better price.

awaiting your feedback.

 

[John in CR]

I thought you guys would pad your nice comfort position seats, not pad your clothing. I understand the parachute thing with regular shorts and I just accept the air conditioning and opt for more power. I think one of my pairs of cargo shorts has a drawstring at the end of each leg, but I've never used it.

 

[wojtek]

the padding of the seat is a must, but with the extra padded shorts directly under the body where the most stress is placed, the comfort is far better for longer rides.

on a recumbent , you cant just stand up and "add your legs to the suspension system".. you just sit and go over whatever the paths will bring..

 

[amberwolf]

I dunno why you'd want padding...just use a suspended-mesh seat and it'll conform to you, and also keep road vibration/etc. away from you.

I've tried both methods, and the mesh is far superior, even made from the crappy materials I had at my disposal.

 

[dogman dan]

I can definitely see how the pockets, or the seam stitching could chafe, even on a padded seat. No padding except underwear inside the pants. You might really need a pad between the pants and the skin.

Padded shorts are the ticket either way you ride. I take flea store lycra shorts that don't fit, remove the chamonix from them, and hand sew them into my cargo shorts. That way when I ride longer distances I have all the advatages of lycra shorts, plus the pockets and normal look of casual shorts. Once it cools off, then you can just wear the lycra as underwear.

For the parachute effect, maybe you could add some velcro tabs to the side seam, allowing you to cinch em up when you want to.

 

[wojtek]

+1
i am talking about 100kms+ a day. If you just travel to work for short time, you can go naked and wont feel much discomfort ...
some people are more sensitive than the others, that is another thing.

I tried to put some extra memory foam padding under the mesh seat but it didn't work out well, even though the quality was good.

I can definitely see how the pockets, or the seam stitching could chafe, even on a padded seat. No padding except underwear inside the pants. You might really need a pad between the pants and the skin.

Padded shorts are the ticket either way you ride. I take flea store lycra shorts that don't fit, remove the chamonix from them, and hand sew them into my cargo shorts. That way when I ride longer distances I have all the advatages of lycra shorts, plus the pockets and normal look of casual shorts. Once it cools off, then you can just wear the lycra as underwear.

For the parachute effect, maybe you could add some velcro tabs to the side seam, allowing you to cinch em up when you want to.

 

[ebent]

I use one of these http://www.obusforme.ca/obus_forme/sit/the-obusforme-seat.html Without the cushion I get out of the trike stiff. But with the cushion it is more comfortable than any chair I have. I've used the sane one for 6 years.

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Interesting, I would love to see some bicycle clothing that is recumbent specific, but I would wonder if it's not more of a seat style/shape issue? I too have a "hammock" designed suspended seat, and riding every day for 7 days, (averaging 41 miles, longest day was about 60-65miles) I never felt uncomfortable.

This was during some unseasonably hot dry weather, so it might be different when it's more humid as it's usually over-cast and in the 60F temp in Oregon where I live, but I guarantee you I was sweating plenty!

I have a set of Endura Hummvee shorts, not cheap (about $80 including the liners), but very comfortable on a wedgie bike, and they have lots of pockets, not as spacious as cargo pants pockets, but close, and not tight fitting, the lycra liners were padded, but on the recumbent, they became less desirable as the lycra doesn't breath well.

http://www.endurasport.com/Product.aspx?dept_id=112&prod_id=115

I have had dubious results with the shorts, I had to ask for a replacement pair of the lycra liners early on when the threads came undone, and now after maybe 1 year's use, the metal vents on the "cell phone pocket" are falling off but with just regular under ware they are quite comfortable on my Vision R-40.

My seat is stock, and well padded, if I were you, I would look into different options of seats, or that seat cover doc mentioned instead of shorts.

I have worn just about anything for a quick ride, and been quite comfortable, but like you say, short rides don't indicate how you will feel on long ones.

What I really want to get though is some well breathing under ware like these:

http://www.rei.com/product/746314/exofficio-give-n-go-sport-brief-mens

The bottom of the shorts have velcro to tighten at the legs, but they never really stayed well, and not at all in the recumbent position. I hate wearing "jester costumes" on a bike (most lycra looks that way to me) so I would wear the padded shorts underneath cargo shorts on wedgie bikes, but now I can wear just about anything and be comfortable on my bent.

I mean, if you think about it, in a car you don't have to wear special clothes to be comfortable on the seat, why should you on a recumbent with the right seat? Granted you're going to dealing with sweat depending how much you pedal, but IMHO, it's more about the design of the seat being best for you on a recumbent.

 

[wojtek]

man i have done 5600KM in 50 days, riding non stop everyday on a very stiff carbon recumbent. I know what i am talking about

I think this may also be person specific problem. Some may not have the need for anything extra..

For me the problem was with the bone right above my ass

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

man i have done 5600KM in 50 days, riding non stop everyday on a very stiff carbon recumbent. I know what i am talking about

I think this may also be person specific problem. Some may not have the need for anything extra..

For me the problem was with the bone right above my ass

Wow, I envy you wojtek, that must have been a great ride! Where did you travel to?

Not trying to tell you what to think, just relaying my experiences. :wink:

I wonder if it might depend as much on the position of your body as it rests on the seat, but if these padded shorts work out for you, great!

I love the idea of recumbent specific gear, especially clothing. Definitely not enough of that available!

Pockets on the sides or something that allow easier access while on a recumbent would be nice too, maybe jerseys with side/front pockets like where you have them on a sweat shirt for little power bars or something

 

[Rassy]

LI-ghtcycle wrote:

I too have a "hammock" designed suspended seat

I think the above statement could be misleading when discussing the comfort of recumbent seats. I know of three distinct seat styles, and then there are variations within each style.

The Vision bike and my old Sun delta trike shared a similar design where the saddle is padded and the back is mesh. The difference on these two is the Vision seat has a one piece frame and the limited tilt adjustment affects both the back and the saddle. The delta trike has a hinge between the saddle and the back, so the tilt only affects the back.

My terratrike has a one piece frame with a mesh "hammock" that comprises both the saddle and back.

Other recumbents have a one piece rigid molded seat.

Not trying to nit pick, but, okay I'm being picky.