Touring pants

[TFC]

I have an 8 day trip planned later this month. Nothing too crazy - longest day is approx. 325 miles.

I already have riding pants (Olympia Airglide), so I don't need suggestions on what pants to purchase. However, I would like suggestions/comments on what to wear underneath.

I already have a pair of LDComfort shorts. While I'm not worried about monkey butt, I am a little worried about my legs. Here's the deal.

For the last 4 months I've been commuting to work. Typically I wear dress slacks to work. The airglides (w/out the liner) go right over the top. Once I get to work off come the airglides and I stow them in my saddlebag. Once in the office I take off my boots and put on dress shoes. Works for me. Commuting has been a piece of cake so far - not too hot, not too cold.

Last weekend I went for a short ride. Since I didn't have to worry about the whole dress code thing, I wore some under armor shorts directly underneath the airglides. While I didn't have any ass problems, I was surprised by how uncomfortable my legs were. The airglides have a very thin perforated material in the inside that seem to stick relatively easy to my legs. I guess I've never noticed it before since I typically wear dress slacks underneath while commuting.

Ok, enough background. Now for the question. For my upcoming trip, what are the suggestions on what to wear underneath the airglides? Jeans seem like they may be too bulky or hot. Shorts maybe too sticky. Anyone partial to some kind of lightweight pant? I have some really thin cargo pants, but they're 100% polyester - that's the wrong fabric right?

Thanks,

John

 

[johnny80s]

I am very interested in this too. I wear jeans a lot and when it is hot my hindquarters are uncomfortable. It feels like I am sitting in a frying pan. This can happen on relatively short rides of 2 hours. I have a pair of First Gear overpants that I can wear instead of jeans but I will echo TFC's question of what do you wear underneath the riding pants?

 

[eeksnake]

For me, LD Comfort tights is the solution. No more blast furnace on my legs.

I can tell you for sure what NOT to wear under your Airglide (spent 10 days last summer learning the hard way)...

NO JEANS (oops - you already knew that.)

No light-weight cotton pants. Felt great out West, once I slammed into that humidity wall in Oklahoma AAAGGHHH!

I've seen some riders wearing those REI convertible pants. I believe they are a Poly/Cotton mix. Nice thing is once you arrive, you can have instant shorts.

Good luck.

 

[madmike2]

1.) Check the bicyling area in a sports store. IIRC, they have "under armor"-type long pants.

2.) Panty hose??

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

Real men go commando h34r:

 

[johnny80s]

Panty Hose itch - tried that.

Commando leaves skid marks on my seat.

 

[doctorJ]

I would recommend microfiber pants. These don't hold in the fluid that jeans or cotton does. They are lightweight and also prevent the overpants from sticking to your skin. I've got 2-3 pair of these from aerostich and Ex Officio. I will switch from these used in summer to a fleece type pant in cold weather under my HT overpants or Roadcrafter suit.

doctorj

 

[Wolfhound]

I've got a few LDComfort products & will have more. The best I've used . . . UA didn't do it for me . . The long ones are awesome under wear . . .

 

[bikerskier]

Picked up some C9 underwear at Target before my NAFO ride. Great stuff!

 

[flying junior]

I like bicycle shorts -- the long-legged black lycra kind with the artificial chamois liner. I take two pair along. Whenever I get to take a shower, I wash them out, wring them out, the roll them up in a towel and stomp on it. That squeezes them enough where they'll dry overnight. High humidity, they'll take another day to dry. (Don't close them up in the luggage, though, or they'll never dry.)

 

[ngarider]

+1 on LD comfort.

 

[squeezer]

Quick question for the LD Comfort owners:

I'm right in between two sizes. Given how they fit, would you recommend going bigger or smaller?

 

[kenporider]

1.) Check the bicyling area in a sports store. IIRC, they have "under armor"-type long pants.

+1

Dick's and Sports Authority carry them along with some other brands like Nike.

 

[taterides]

Quick question for the LD Comfort owners:I'm right in between two sizes. Given how they fit, would you recommend going bigger or smaller?

I went up and regret it. I wish I would have gone towards the smaller size.

 

[doctorJ]

John, I think this thread still went more towards Underwear (LD comfort etc) and not what you were really asking about. I still maintain that you can find some microfiber at sale prices in many places and suggest you try that over your underwear but under the overpants.

doctorj

 

[luvtoride]

1.) Check the bicyling area in a sports store. IIRC, they have "under armor"-type long pants.
2.) Panty hose??

I'll bet the underarmor type long pants would work great. For me, the price pushes me away. I have a fairly inexpensive pair of compression type jogging pants. They work great for adding a little insulation when you need it or they also work well as sweat wickers. The really nice part is they slide around inside your pants so that your pants aren't always sticking to you.

 

[paulie]

You are going to think this is silly, but I'm totally serious. Wear a pair of light capilene or similarwicking long underwear. If you want pockets, wear a pair of nylong running shorts over them for your wallet, keys, etc. It's the river running uniform for wearing under rain gear. It may look dorky but it's totally comfortable and practical.

 

[squeezer]

You are going to think this is silly, but I'm totally serious. Wear a pair of light capilene or similarwicking long underwear. If you want pockets, wear a pair of nylong running shorts over them for your wallet, keys, etc. It's the river running uniform for wearing under rain gear. It may look dorky but it's totally comfortable and practical.

I don't think it's silly. It's exactly what I do and it's worked pretty well. I'm thinking of going to go to LD Comfort tights to get rid of the seams. Your suggestion, though, is an excellent low cost alternative.

 

[TFC]

Thanks for the replies.

I should have added that fashion is important. :blink:

The reason is that I'd like to be able to stop on my trip and do some sightseeing. For example, maybe I want to go take a 1 hr walking tour of Mesa Verde Nat'l Park. I'm not sure I want to do that in under armor tights. However, changing is obviously an option.

In the interests of being lazy, I think I like doctorJ's idea of the lightweight microfiber pants. It actually makes sense that my commutes are so comfortable - typically my dress slacks are 100% wool - a great breathable fabric. Of course I wasn't planning on taking my slacks on my trip and doing some spelunkering in them!

Thanks for the comments.

John