Ding, ding, ding!!! Chamois were originally designed to reduce chafing, not to add padding. Somewhere along the way, the trend towards thinker chamois started and it is nit necessarily better.
I still prefer a very thin chamois…but outside of Tri shorts (which rarely are available in bibs), thin chamois are very difficult to find.
It’s exactly the same with saddles: initially, a softer saddle may feel nicer, but in my experience those just make my whole bum numb. My 7mesh shorts have by far the nicest chamois, but if you asked me how it feels, I’d reply that I don’t feel it at all while riding.
20 degree wash and dont tumble dry = last for ages and ages!
Another tip is if you add track mitts or gloves with Velcro to your wash, turn them inside out after sticking the velcro together. They won’t snag your precious lycra.
I’ve scoffed at Rapha for years, but I have to admit their core kits look really nice especially for the money. I’ve been shopping for a light weight summer kit for road and the core stuff looks like the best value I’ve seen so far. Price/quality ratio. Even without the sale it’s priced well. I’ll likely pull the trigger later today, $200 for bibs/jersey isn’t bad
I’ve had good luck with Spexcel bibs. Took a flier on them after watching this folksy review.
My wife’s sports bras have been a problem too. Make sure they hook them before they put them in the laundry basket so they don’t snag things in the wash.
Thanks for sharing. I don’t understand why every single review and advertisement does not show the chamois. Just by looking at those two chamois, I know those bibs are not for me. Others will see the chamois and day “those look just like my favorite pair!”
I’ll never buy another bib without seeing the chamois first.
Took a gamble with them and had mixed results. The bib shorts that they did send me was excellent but they did not sent all my order. After gaining some weight, I figure getting a few that was more accommodating (5 bibs and 3 jersey). Spexcel split the order. It sent one bib by air and send the remainder a week later by ? (tracking shows it never left customs). That second parcel never arrived and is now over 100 days out. I had to initiate a refund with AliExpress which took over a week. Luckily I selected “AliExpress Standard Shipment” which allowed me to bypass the vendor and got my money back from AliExpress. They were the only vendor on AliExpress that I had problems with so far.
I would recommend the YKYWBIKE store instead.