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I'm currently a senior in high school, so I understand your concern about style. In my opinion, and that of all my friends, wearing lycra shorts to school looks ridiculous, no offense. I don't know how far your commute is, but when I take my road bike to school, it's only 3 miles, so I just wear regular shorts and bring another t-shirt I can throw on so I'm ...

Padded seats tend to have more padding than used at any given time. This pushes the other 'extra' padding into the soft tissues. This causes numbness and discomfort over time. So slim hard seats are actually more comfortable over time, if they are the right size. You need to make sure your sit bones (ischial tuberosity) are well situated. The sit bones of ...

Wear some non-Lycra shorts/tracksuit bottoms over the top of your Lycra ones if you are self conscious about them. Change out of the Lycra ones in a toilet cubicle if you are concerned. You can also buy baggy cycling specific shorts which have many of the advantages of Lycra based ones but without the concern about showing off your entire package. A quick ...

What type of shorts? First you need to work out what sort of cycle shorts you are looking for: Regular cycling shorts - these are your classic lycra bike shorts, no bibs, no extra fancy bits. Generally quite comfortable They do have a tendancy to "roll up" under your gut a bit, particularly for those of us that carry a bit more weight than we should. ...

Unless you are travelling really far (5+ miles) or going for some kind of home to school time trial record, just wear your regular clothes (tuck your trousers into your socks if need be) and cycle a little slower. Too many people are too obsessed with racing their bikes places, but if you think of cycling as a faster and more efficient way of walking then ...

A die-cut and formed chamois will generally be more comfortable than just a plain pad. This type of chamois will usually have pre-formed creases and differing levels of padding in different areas. More "panels" will generally contour to fit your body better than fewer panels. All of my favorite shorts in the past have been 8-panel or higher. I also ...

As far as personal comfort goes, you want a chamois that's thick and stiff enough to provide padding, but not so thick or stiff as to feel diaper-ish. A thick pad that you can squeeze to almost nothing with your fingers will act the same way when you sit on it. But whatever you do, don't skimp on your shorts. Everyone will have personal preferences as to ...

Putting the padding in the shorts means that the padding will always be exactly where you need it. Most people tend to change their position on the bike a bit, specially when riding longer tours. With the padded saddles, the padding won't change when you alter your position, which can result in blisters or sores.

Eventually, the material will thin out and holes will start to appear. Objectively, if people can see your junk, then it's time to retire the shorts (or, in colder climates, restrict them to winter-only duty under tights). The chamois will deteriorate over time as well, so if a pair of shorts isn't as comfortable as it once was, it's about time to throw it ...

As a followup to my answer on "Picking Chamois Creme", BodyGlide hasn't affected the life of my shorts so far after 3 years of heavy use. But it never completely washes out either. My experience with other products is too limited to comment.

There's no right/wrong answer. Just make sure you have some sort of towel available so you can wipe your hands before riding. What I generally do is place dabs on the chamois and rub the sides together to spread it around -- keeps the hands relatively clean and doesn't require a separate applicator. Some people prefer to rub it on their butt. I don't use ...

These look like normal wearing patterns of cycling shorts, unfortunately. My last 3 shorts (last five or six years) had to be put away because they became "transparent" right in the regions where they COULDN'T be transparent, even though they were still pretty much rideable. But it was very unconvenient to go inside convenience stores, for example. I ...

I've experienced wear on some of my cycling shorts before and after a while I traced it back to the velcro strap on my saddle bag. It was rubbing on the inside of my leg when i would pedal and wearing out a patch on my shorts. I don't know of any chamois creams that would cause that type of damage. Do you purchase quality or budget cycling shorts? I've ...

It's never a good idea to rely on the saddle for padding. The reason is simple. The sit-bones will sink into the softest saddle and therefore put extra pressure on other parts of the male anatomy where you end up feeling as if your 'privates' dropped off on the road a few miles back. You should also be 'fitted' for a seat so that you get the right width of ...

Depends on the type of lube/cream you're using. For short rides, I just use Glide. It comes in a deodorant style container and can be applied directly to the nether regions. For longer rides, I use a tube+cream based lube that i apply in both places chamois and directly to the "friction zone." One indispensable word of advice, if you are directly ...

It really depends on the type of Chamois Cream you are using. I use Assos and that has a little bit thicker consistency than Vaseline, so it typically takes a bit more to get a good spread across everything. The rule of thumb I follow is anywhere where friction will be a factor. That for me means most of the taint, and the inner part of the upper thigh. ...

I've only worn out 3 or 4 pairs of regular shorts in the last 18 years, so it's possible to make them last. I try to buy high quality pairs and relegate the older ones for use on the trainer. Proper care (gentle cold water wash, hang dry) is important to keep them from wearing out too soon. If the shorts develop large holes, lose their stretch or the ...