How I ride chamois free

Рет қаралды 22,513

kait boyle

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 113

@shawngordon3543 5 ай бұрын

that dog is living their best life

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

Hank is a good boy 🥰

@shawnlocke207 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for this video. There was a lot of really good info and no annoying music and fluff. I really enjoyed your straight forward to the point delivery. My biggest take away is I need a professional bike/saddle fit because finding the right seat and getting it situated is an on-going problem for me.

@kaitboyle 5 ай бұрын

Thank you! So happy you appreciate it. The professional bike fit is a worthy investment and will provide information you can apply to all future bikes.

@twowheelsintokyo7039 5 ай бұрын

Back in the day, a chamois pad was just that, a thin sheet of natural chamois with little and sometimes no padding. I found these old-school shorts the most comfortable I have ever used. But over the years these pads have become ever thicker and more sophisticated, and much less comfortable. When people, especially people new to cycling, go shopping for shorts, they think thicker is better, and they buy the shorts with the thick padding. Since that is what people buy, that is what manufacturers make and sell. I gave up on padded shorts years ago, and rely on well broken-in saddle. After some 5 decades of riding, including some seasons racing, I eventually found my way to Brooks saddles, and now run B-17s on all of my bikes. I find that I can ride all day, every day, in comfort, whether I am wearing jeans, slacks, or hiking shorts.

@deanhargett 5 ай бұрын

A thin, seam free chamois is the best chamois. I really do not like the diaper style pads.

@rachaelmurray8051 5 ай бұрын

Yes I liked the leather chamois, no padding back in the day. Can you still get those?

@kaitboyle 5 ай бұрын

@@rachaelmurray8051 I don't know! But I would be so curious to try an original pair.

@Surestick88 5 ай бұрын

There was a golden period where you could get the thin leather type in a synthetic material so they didn't harden when they dried. After that they started making the thick ones we have now.

@OriginalTrev 5 ай бұрын

@@kaitboyle since you're sewing a piece of fabric in place of the padding anyway, why not use a chamois that can be purchased where car waxing products are sold... They're probably large enough to outfit 6 biking shorts

@ryanschmidt7691 5 ай бұрын

The right saddle definitely helps!! I’ve never worn a chamois and don’t plan too. I have no issues riding 30 miles daily and occasionally much further without breaks! My taint is happy!

@bigmac3006 Ай бұрын

Excellent video!

@Zyzzyx42 5 ай бұрын

Regarding saddle choice, I've done very well with the rather odd Infinity saddle. Knowing several folks in the ultracycling community using it, I gave it a try. As a recumbent rider getting back into time on the mt bike and new gravel bike, saddles were messing with me. And coming from the recumbent, I was already chamois-free, and was not gonna change that. I've had excellent comfort with the Infinity saddle right from the first ride. Working great on long days on the gravel bike, and also on the mt bike with more technical riding.

@lawrenrich-nf3ni 4 ай бұрын

I ride in soft snug yoga shorts, bamboo or poly undies on a brooks saddle. I’m super comfy.

@phm6813 5 ай бұрын

There is a German company that sells chamois free bibs and also saddles meant for riding chamois free, the name is Everve. I just started riding the bib shorts with an Ergon and a SQ Lab saddle, so far it is working for me.

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

thanks for sharing that!

@philipcaldwell3187 5 ай бұрын

Excellent discussion on a poorly covered essential of cycling, thanks for taking the time to produce and post. Does not look like the dog was interested though.

@kaitboyle 5 ай бұрын

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Hank does not care about chamois or saddles, as long as we go ride!

@canadianlady777 4 ай бұрын

I agree with everything you said…Thank you for doing this video for everyone else who needs this info….

@katrinahase 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for taking the time to make this video. I've got some great tips to get started without a chamois from this!

@Mike-vd2qt 4 ай бұрын

Excellent video! Patagonia Landfarer Bike Shorts worn commando with a Brooks B-17 works for me. Wash the shorts in a sink, dry in 15 minutes, very fine and stretchy weave, no abrasion, and not hard feeling. 40 years of bike touring on road and off road I've learned that a fine stretchy weave that breathes and dries quickly when you stop is important. Happy trails all. ☮

@irbsad 4 ай бұрын

TY! Great video! After spending years riding with chamois and on multi-day rides, I have gotten tired of all the stuff you have to use in hopes of not getting saddle sores. A few years ago, I just started cycling in yoga pants and that felt great! As I get ready to do the Tour Divide in '25 ...I am looking for a better solution---thanks for the info! I will look at the Patagonia shorts and test them out. Thanks again!

@aurora571000 4 ай бұрын

Thank you for all the thought you put into this

@Josukegaming 5 ай бұрын

This is fantastic. Thank you for the information that is clearly really informed from personal experience.

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

thank you!

@sdragnut 3 ай бұрын

Great Vid!! I have recently removed the wet sponge from my shorts. So far so good. Working my mileage back up. Looking for 200 mile comfortable doubles. Ive also started using Tea Tree Oil to help my skin adapt. And OMG the savings on shorts :) Happy Riding!!!!!

@juliapoelstra3624 5 ай бұрын

I wear 9" micro-modal boxer briefs by a company called TomboyX. Smooth and it naturally wicks moisture. And then I actually wear stretchy thin Costco shorts. Right now I'm enjoying a well broken in Brooks B17 Imperial. I tried an Ergon saddle but it really didn't work for me. That's pretty personal though. I should start a saddle library for people to try out all the kinds of saddles that didn't work for me 😂

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

a saddle library would be such a great resource! and good use of all those saddles ;)

@where2then 5 ай бұрын

Good stuff Kait. I'll share this with my friends who struggle with this matter.

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

thank you!

@robertcovell2787 4 ай бұрын

I bought a Brooks B17 several years ago ,,, lever looked back.

@jimmccorison 4 ай бұрын

Thank you for a great video. I've been curious about going chamois-free, and your video gives me the push to try it. I, too, use an Ergon SR and find it perfect, but getting the right size for one's sit bones is the key.

@boopdeedoop 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for the tips!! I like thin wool boxer briefs + ripton shorts.

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

a great choice!

@凸Bebo凸 4 ай бұрын

Best way I've found to do this is getting Knocker brand nylon underwear off the net, 15 bucks for a 6 pairs no seams, and the Ryet 3D printed 150mm saddle off Chinazon for 25 bucks. I am 100kg and ride 120 miles a week with this setup, no problem. Get a cheap 3D printed saddle from China it's a game changer, it's made out of the same material as the 200 dollar Ergon for extreme touring. The Nylon base CroMoly rails version are more comfortable than the carbon ones.

@slowwerthensnot 5 ай бұрын

I like the dirt roamer quite a bit, I’ve had good luck with swim trunks that don’t have any liner, I think for muti day another thing to consider is how the material dries over time , good stuff Kait!

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

totally, completely agree!

@platypushatstand 4 ай бұрын

09:50 In the UK we’d call that a diamond crotch, a lot of climbing trousers/shorts/leggings have that feature.

@stevencole7331 4 ай бұрын

Great info . I assisting my daughter into cycling lifestyle and a female perspective is helpful. Moister is the big enemy of a cyclist buttocks so having a material that that promotes less sweating in that area would be helpful . The padding acts as insulation trapping heat from the body . Similar to neoprene on a wetsuit traping a layer of water between the suit and your body that is heated up to keeps you warm . So having something thin and light weight . Probably don't want a tight fitting spandex as that will trap heat which many cyclist wear . I wear a chamois and it is like a baby diaper after a ride and never thought much about that but now I do from your video

@jm19592011 5 ай бұрын

Dawes Galaxy, Brooks B12, running shorts, no problem.

@Alaski 4 ай бұрын

For male anatomy Shinesty has some expensive ( for undies) briefs that have a pouch to hold your huevos. It keeps everything up and out of the way, other than that Brooks C 17 and a pair of shorts and time in the saddle. Also if things get funky and bacteria get too comfy on a long bike tour vagisil works great for us too.

@noelwelch1666 3 ай бұрын

👍. Almost 35 years without a chamois. Tried them didn't like them. I like air flow! As you say , it's all about the seat. ✌️🤘

@K9Manhunters 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for this video! I used to think that more padding is better. I switched to SQ Lab bike shorts. The Chamois is quite thin and I don't feel like I'm wearing diapers anymore. Might be a good in-between step before going completely Chamoix free. I find them great in combo with SQ Lab saddle.

@rachaelmurray8051 5 ай бұрын

Yes! Who wants a thick, wadded up sponge creating pressure in the seat area?!

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

😅

@Owwliv 5 ай бұрын

I've long used boure shorts, which have very minimal padding. I'm ok without for 10-20 miles, but prefer the boure shorts over that distance. Can't quite make it work without them.

@adoj105 5 ай бұрын

I've found alpaca boxer briefs to be wonderful with looser mtn bike shorts. They dry super fast and can go for weeks with a simple airing out at night.

@rachaelmurray8051 5 ай бұрын

What brand? I would love to find alpaca boxer briefs.

@adoj105 5 ай бұрын

@@rachaelmurray8051 Arms of Andes based in Peru.

@DominiqueB 4 ай бұрын

@@rachaelmurray8051 not alpaca, but i've been happy with Ibex merino wool briefs and biking shorts. In my experience, the merino wool briefs self-destruct quite rapidly, though...

@DejanOfRadic 4 ай бұрын

I have to agree....for me simple cotton shorts work best, and any extra padding seems to have the opposite effect than intended. I ride long distances in clothes that I could wear going for a walk.

@Adventures4vida 5 ай бұрын

I do like a Chammy. The pad has to be thin though. My first 100 mile ride I did was with no chammy. Never had a problem with saddle sores though, and never had to use the butter, even when I rode across the USA.

@JohnMFlores 5 ай бұрын

Good info. I'm searching for the perfect saddle to use without a chamois. I had luck last fall in Spain but the saddle (Selle Royal Avenue) was a bit wide. I tried another saddle (Terry Fly Ti Gel) this spring on GAP/C&O and it was a fail - good thing I had backup shorts. I'm trying another, slightly wider Terry now and am interested in the Ergon too. I usually wear wool boxer briefs and they work well. Once I find the magic saddle, I'll buy 5 of them and never wear a chamois again!

@Happy_Biker 4 ай бұрын

It's all about the pressure mapping she mentions; getting a saddle with the correct distance between the pressure points for your "sitz bones" is critical, among other measurements. Good luck!

@eBikerHowie 4 ай бұрын

Everyone is different. That being said, I haven't used anything but underwear and shorts for more than 20 years. I ride over 5000 miles each year only Mountain biking. All my rides are 2.5 hours on average. No problems, no discomfort. My trick...a comfortable gel saddle with cut out relief areas.

@ChristyCurton 5 ай бұрын

What super soft material did you sew into your own spandex?

@props651 5 ай бұрын

I came here for that answer too. I wanna give this a try.

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

unfortunately i don't know what fabric I have, I got it at JoAnne's many many years ago and a yard or two has lasted me over 7 years! i just walked around looking for the smoothest fabric that wasn't too stretchy and seemed like it would be quick to dry.

@carolynodwyer2785 5 ай бұрын

Ah I love this, I’ve also been replacing the pad in my bibs with thin fabric - do you have any recommendations on fabric type? I’ve tried a variety of stretchy materials but they seem to need to be quite a tight weave.

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

@kris2435 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing

@tomsitzman3952 5 ай бұрын

Back in the day we wore shorts with a real Chamois. Consider going Old School and find a pair of real chamois. or a microfiber insert instead of a padded short. I been moving away from padded shorts and moving to commando. It takes a time to get the butt toughen up. Good info

@hollykapusinski13 5 ай бұрын

Great content! Thank you for sharing. You mentioned chamois creams, do you have any recommendations? Creams or sticks? Tips for managing the discomfort to train our sensitive areas? I've been building up to riding for extended periods of time and I always have to take a day off after a long ride and deal with the soreness. I'd love any ideas to help with the healing or managment!

@DominiqueB 4 ай бұрын

i am nowhere near Kait's level of experience, but i simply use baby diaper cream and am quite happy with it -- and easy to resupply anywhere when on long tours. Surprisingly, "athlete's foot" cream is also occasionnaly recommended in the Randonneur community to prevent/treat saddlesores -- the anti-fungal property apparently apply to infected nether area.

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

@dominiqueB has great advice here! I use Doc's Natural Chamois Cream.

@valeriehunter3795 5 ай бұрын

THANK YOU for this content. I have considered "period underwear" as they have varying levels of "padding" and the seams appear to be well placed for a bike saddle. Anyone try this? Need to invest in a new saddle. Going to try REI with their return program. Mini touring with minimal changes of clothes is a struggle. Any suggestions are appreciated.

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

I haven't heard of anyone trying that, in general underwear will have their own seam issue though so do beware of that!

@albert85b 4 ай бұрын

I really want to be one of those chamois free people. I just haven't found a way to make it work yet.

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

good luck!

@kathardt-holoch4361 5 ай бұрын

Do you wear anything under your baggies or go full on commando? I've thought about boy shorts underneath. Hank is so darn cute sitting there snoozing!

@kaitboyle 5 ай бұрын

Great question! Underwear adds to the seam issue in most cases, I go commando as I would with regular bibs, but some people have recommended seamless boxers/briefs like what Smartwool makes!

@kaitboyle 5 ай бұрын

And I got a kick out of Hank being behind me too

@andyf3342 5 ай бұрын

I do the seamless boxer briefs underneath and will never go back to a chamois. But I do really need to get fit for a female saddle, not sure why I’ve been dragging my feet about it. 🤷🏼‍♀️

@vu3088 5 ай бұрын

Would you say triathlon gear is the best of both worlds?

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

it depends, if you want a simple way to have a small pad in spandex shorts, then yes. But I really love the bibs that are designed for cyclists for long gravel riding so I don't mind modifying the short. and for 98% of my riding I wear baggies because they're really comfortable.

@SquiggleDot 5 ай бұрын

I'd also recommend no-seam or those no-show underwear. I usually use those with yoga pants. Glad to know there are other gals who don't use chamois. 😛

@Happy_Biker 4 ай бұрын

At first I didn't want to watch this video, butt changed my mind. 😊

@Tucsky 5 ай бұрын

Do you think having a lot of hair down there helps with riding chamois free?

@aliciaprather 4 ай бұрын

Is that a Basenji in the background? :)

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

amazingly his dna test does not show any basenji but we do call him one endearingly. =)

@JPBVideo 5 ай бұрын

How much riding do you typically do?

@DominiqueB 4 ай бұрын

maybe you should google "kait boyle ultra". :-)

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

I ride 20-25 hours a week most weeks, less during recovery weeks and up to 30-40 hours a week on bikepacking trips.

@banksiaspinulosa7442 5 ай бұрын

Are you exclusively wearing synthetic materials?

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

I am mostly, but wool briefs/boxers have great reviews for people and I have been known to wear jorts - just beware of dry time for cotton! ☺

@54andBored 4 ай бұрын

Do shorts have vagina vents because I'm afraid of UTI. I've had one and went into sepsis. I leisure ride for tops 3 hrs. I think a race would be fun but I'm not ready

@garypalmer2066 3 ай бұрын

I've been bike touring 9 months a year since 1982. (Work 3 months a year in summer to tour September to May) Tried chamois padded shorts once back in 1984. Don't like them. I ride in just running shorts and have for more than 300,000 miles.

@saflatty 5 ай бұрын

I’m wondering the same thing, I assume you go commando

@kaitboyle 5 ай бұрын

Yup, to eliminate seams! Smartwool makes some underwear that other's have recommended if you prefer something like that.

@michaellane1316 5 ай бұрын

Yep...! If the Bum ain't happy...the ride gets shorter.

@BufordDuckworth 5 ай бұрын

As a guy, so many chamois just don't provide enough modesty up front. I wear seamless underwear and basketball shorts.

@jimmccorison 4 ай бұрын

I use stretchy mtb shorts as an outer layer for the same reasons. Some people don't care what they see, but that's no reason to assume that others might not be offended. No reason to needlessly give cyclists a bad name.

@ScrapKing73 3 ай бұрын

Cutouts in seats don't work for everyone. Any pressure relieved down the centre inevitably increases pressure elsewhere. I was surprised you stated cutouts being good as a universal truth as opposed to a personal preference (despite other things being stated as personal preferences).

@kaitboyle 3 ай бұрын

I said this is generally preferred by females, I can't state that as a truth for someone with different biology.

@DIY-DaddyO 5 ай бұрын

I've heard say saddle sores are caused by salt crystals forming from the sweat that then lacerate the bum. 😮

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

I would believe that! That's why keeping shorts clean is so important.

@bengt_axle 5 ай бұрын

I think your dog has heard this story before.

@Powmeow-jc8co 5 ай бұрын

Why not just use utter cream on a chamois? Cheap, durable and prevents saddle sores

@kaitboyle 4 ай бұрын

The video explains the problems with chamois

@xander1756 4 ай бұрын

I'm a 60 yr old bloke...I simply use saddles that have actual good padding...something bike industry suits fail to comprehend, as they still seem obsessed with weight reduction, thus all these thin seats provide next to zero comfort. My current bike, an older 26" HT, doing 42 km XC rides, my saddle is a Tioga 220mm wide gel rubber. Based on actual usages, Gel rubber is a lot denser that memory foam, or the useless cheap yellow foam in cheap saddles, thus with my gel saddle the foam compresses to a hard level, while retaining comfort for long rides. The foam is about 2 - 2.5" in height, I can only push my thumb down 1" due to the density factor. Compared to a similar wide body saddle of same dimensions that uses memory foam, I can push my thumb down to the hard base. I also never buy overpriced specialised bike clothes. My shorts are work cargos, cut off just above the knees. Work gear is typically well constructed with quality cloth, thus durable.

@jollyandwaylo 4 ай бұрын

Everyone is different. I'm a 69 year old male and your saddle would kill me with that much padding. I ride a saddle that has a little bit of padding.

@xander1756 4 ай бұрын

@@jollyandwaylo Have you ever tried a wide body saddle that specifically uses Gel padding? Based on the saddles I have, there's a huge difference between Gel, memory foam and the cheap yellowish foam. I have two wide body saddles, both new, both same dimensions. The memory foam one is uncomfortable in that the foam easily compresses down to the hard base, and is too soft. The Gel one compressed about half way, and becomes quite firm while still providing exceptional comfort. Not all saddles are the same, even ones with identical dimensions + two companies can make the same saddle with same dimensions + type of foam, but even they may not feel the same. I was fortunate in my early purchasing to come across the brand of Gel saddle that ticks all the boxes for me.