Padded cycling liners are a great way to transform your favorite pair of casual shorts into cycling apparel. Padded cycling underwear can be used for any sport with high impact. Other sports include rowing, motorcycling riding, and horseback riding, to name a few. Aero Tech Designs padded underwear is available in many different pad thicknesses. For example, our Touring Underwear features a thin pad that we also use in tri shorts and touring shorts. This pad is excellent for being on the bike and still walking around and seeing the sights. Aero Tech Designs' Elite Liner offers the same pad as our popular Elite Shorts and Elite Bib-Shorts. The Elite Gel Air Pad is Italian-made and constructed from multi-density foam and is suitable for mountain bike and road riding alike. The Aero Tech Designs Thick Gel Padded cycling underwear uses a thicker pad to add to high-impact activities' comfort levels. The gel pad is also featured in our popular men's six-panel shorts.
Padded cycling underwear is the perfect way to transform your favorite casual shorts into high-quality and performance-geared cycling apparel. Not everyone wants to have that "roadie" look walking past your co-workers in the morning, and sometimes we all want to be able to stop for a snack mid-ride without everyone in the corner store eying outfit. Padded bike underliners give you this option and provide all the support, comfort, and muscle compression you expect from your cycling shorts. And just like regular spandex bike shorts, padded underliners give the rider endless chamois pad options from thick to thin, from dense to lightweight, and flexible.
Because padded underwear gives your wardrobe much flexibility, you can match your padded shorts to your current needs. Are you headed out for a weekend tour with sightseeing along the way? Try our Touring Underliner that is lightweight and flexible, allowing for plenty of comfort off the bike when you're walking around to check out the sights. This chamois pad is also popular in our triathlon product line because it wicks moisture well, dries quickly, and offers support while in the saddle without compromising your movement while swimming and running during a triathlon race. Or are you hitting the mountain bike trails and need a supportive chamois pad that can handle the rigors of a wooded trail? Grab your favorite baggies and check out our Elite Air Gel Underliner, which uses a thick and dense gel chamois that supports your sit bones and absorbs vibrations better than foam-based chamois pads. In addition to cycling, padded underwear can add comfort for rowing, horseback riding, and motorcycle riding. The lightweight and breathable fabric will wick moisture and breath better than traditional cycling shorts. You will still get valuable muscle compression from the material, however. Muscle compression is an essential aspect of all cycling and exercise apparel because the fabric will gently compress and massage your muscles during exertion. This promotes blood flow through your muscles and helps to limit the buildup of painful lactic acid during and after your workout is complete.
Polyester and nylon are the two most popular materials knitted with spandex to create a soft, wicking material. These materials are synthetic, meaning that they wick, rather than retain, moisture. They also breathe well so that you don't overheat, even when wearing a baggy shell over them.
All padded cycling shorts and underliners are worn without underwear, and they fit snug against your skin. This makes sure that the pad stays in place during your ride, and it also helps your body take advantage of the short's muscle compression benefits. If the padded liner shorts are loose, you risk chafing from bunching fabric and a shifting chamois pad, leading to painful saddle sores.
Padded liner shorts typically will have shorter inseams than bib shorts or road shorts because they are worn underneath an outer layer. Leg elastics are usually used instead of leg grippers to help keep the shorts from riding up as you pedal.
We recommend washing your padded cycling liners in a washing machine with mild detergent. Modern washing machines clean all the bacteria better than handwashing since cycling shorts are made from lightweight and synthetic fabrics. These shorts wick moisture remarkably well and dry quickly. For this reason, you can wring them out after taking them out of the washer and hang them to dry in a well-ventilated area so they'll be ready for your ride the next day.
Cycling shorts and padded underliners are worn right against the skin. Most underwear is cotton, which holds moisture instead of wicking it away. This can introduce a layer between your skin and shorts that chafes, retains sweat, and breeds bacteria. No one wants to chafe while they ride or develop saddle sores, so be sure to get a good fit (snug, like a second skin) and enjoy the ride! Ride Longer, Feel Stronger.
