I’m looking for some recommendations for some good riding shorts. I have several pairs of lycra bike shorts that are really beginning to show their age. I prefer something a little more modest than the skin tight lycra but I do like the comfort and support of the “traditional” bike shorts.
I will primarily be wearing them in the following conditions:
15% Muni
20% Light trials
25% Freestyle
35% Commuting/Distance
05% Bicycling?/Other
Any specific recommendations?
Thanks.
Just wear a comfortable shorts over the lycra cycling shorts.
I don’t like the integrated MTB shorts that have the sewn in liner. I much prefer a high quality lycra cycling short and then wearing a separate loose overshort on top.
The Roach shorts are very durable and comfortable for unicycling. They’re an overshort with no liner so you wear them over lycra cycling shorts. They are designed so you are not sitting on a fat seam.
For a casual look the Gramicci shorts are also nice. They’re cotton so they will get damp if you sweat a lot. But they have a good casual style and they have a panel or gusset in the crotch so you don’t have to sit on a big fat seam. I get them at REI but they’re available at other stores too.
There are other cycling specific DH and freeride overshorts besides Roach. There is Fox and several others. But I like the Roach best. The way they design the crotch of the shorts is just perfect.
Avoid overshorts that have a fat seam right in the crotch, like jeans shorts. Sitting on a fat seam gets to be uncomfortable.
Something else to avoid is shorts that are too baggy. If the shorts are too baggy they’ll get hung up on the seat as you mount and just generally get in the way. The Gramicci shorts are a little on the baggy side but not too bad. The Roach shorts are designed not to be baggy in the crotch area.
I wore a pair of N-zone Dobies for the 24hr Moonride last month. No chaffing after 24hrs so I was very happy with that 
They don’t have sewn in bike short liners and they are only lightly padded but they seem to stretch in the right places and not rub your legs raw.
So just to confirm, if I want to wear pants or shorts over the shorts for general commuting, I would want
-non baggy shorts
-seamless
-comfort pad
As long as it fulfills the above criteria, I should be good right? I’m getting chafing nowadays 
I just did the first 12.38 miles of the LBI Unithon in my new Roach shorts. Like John said above, they are designed for cycling – you are not sitting on a seam. They are not baggy. But they are not tight either. The inner part seems to hug the inner sides of your legs. Any looseness seems to be on the outside, where it doesn’t matter. There was no chafing or friction, because they seem to “stick” to your skin on the inner part of your thighs. So there is no movement of fabric against your skin.
There is no support. And they are expensive. And they have absolutely no pockets. I just wore normal underwear under them. Someone said the double shorts (Roach over bike shorts) gets hot.
Maybe the fit I described is simply how they fit me – but for me, they are perfect! I love them!
Dave (uni57)
Definitely a couple schools of thought on this one. Personally, I like the integrated shorts like the Canari more than the standard lycra bike shorts, because the offer the padding benefits without being quite so overbearing on the package. Just one opinion. I also recently bought a second pair of integrateds (REI brand), which I’m also liking a lot.
There’s actually been a recent thread on this same topic, with a lot more posts. See:
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24536&highlight=canari
TB
im going to have to recommend the Roach shorts, for they Superior quality.
Hmmm.
Well, I can say only one word - freedom.
BTW, I know they aint perfect for muni…but the feeling of riding a uni in a kilt is just bizarre and has to be experienced twice.
hhmm… utilikilts… i think we should ask for an exercise motivated kilt.
now, when one unicycles with a utilikilt, would there be biker shorts underneath those? or is it… ‘refreshingly breezy?’
good idea
i need a pair of them my jeans are wearing away and i get bad saddle sore