Before Kaskade Cycling even had a name, I called up every cyclists I knew, and most of the cyclists they knew, to ask what they liked and didn’t like in their gear. I ran surveys and polled Facebook groups. I connected with hundreds of women cyclists.
One thing I heard most was that many women experienced pain and discomfort down under. There is just one thing between a girl and her bike: the chamois (butt pad) built into her shorts. If I was to build a pair of cycling shorts women would love, than this very much concerned me.
Learning the 1st problem: Women are not small men
To figure out how to help women be more comfortable on their bike, I first turned to the science, researching heat maps of women on a bike saddle and pelvic bones. I quickly noticed (to borrow a line from Dr. Stacy Sims) that women are not small men: our sit bones are wider and our pelvic arches are lower. Women fundamentally need chamois padding in different places then men!
But when I started looking at what other cycling companies are doing to address this, I quickly realized the answer was either “nothing” or “we don’t tell you”. Most product description said nothing about if the chamois was particularly made for women. All too often, when buying a pair of cycling shorts, women are gambling on if the chamois was made for them or made for a man.
Learning the 2nd problem: Research done by men
Next I tried to find the experts. I tracked down those who are esteemed as highly knowledgable in creating cycling clothing and bikes. One particular doctor was employed by a very large and well known cycling brand. He had led the charge on creating what was supposed to be the premium bike saddle for women. It seemed odd to me that such a well-known brand had hired a man to create a women’s saddle, but saddles and chamois go together better than cream cheese and bagels so I figured I should talk to him. His NDA had just expired (lucky me!) so we set up a video call.
He walked me through his research and how he studied women’s lady bits, taking photos and videos to guide his work. He gave a slight grin as he talked about the “brave women” he documented, which quickly turned my excitement into nausea. Really large and “special" cycling brand: were there no qualified women available to conduct this research for you?
I pushed through, diving into his learnings. He had discovered the revolutionary idea that women need a sling, a “hammock” he called it, to hold their lady bits in place while they rode. THAT was the key to comfort and the saddle he created - it had a hammock. My mind spun - a hammock? Women need a hammock? I’ve played soccer, basketball, softball, swimming, dancing, running, and yes, cycling, and never once thought that what I was missing was a hammock for my lady bits.
I started asking my girlfriends who rode if they felt like they needed a hammock to hold their lady bits while riding. I was either given confused looks or straight up laughed at. No one thought she needed a hammock.
Let’s just say I will not be “mimicking” this “special” doctor’s work on women’s saddles.
Learning the 3rd problem: Most companies are buying the same chamois
I then turned my attention to researching where chamois came from. Low and behold, the vast majority of cycling clothing brands buy their chamois from one chamois provider: Elastic Interface.
Often times it doesn’t matter if you’re spending $30 or $300 on your cycling shorts - your chamois is coming from Elastic Interface (“EI”). EI does have many different chamois options, but how do you know if it’s the right chamois for women? Or if it is even a chamois designed for women? Start looking for that info while shopping other brands and good luck finding it. ;)
OK... so most of us are riding in what could be a randomly selected Elastic Interface chamois that may or may not have been designed for and by a man… now what? Can this be improved?
A small assortment of the available Elastic Interface chamois:
Learning how to FIX the problem: trying to sew it
I first tried to solve this by sewing my own chamois (more accurately employing wonderful friends to sew them for me). We tested all-natural materials so the chamois wouldn’t lose it’s shape or get smelly. We tried different designs - big, little, thick, thin. We sewed, we rode in them, we sewed some more and rode some more.
I have not YET been able to create the perfect chamois that can be easily sewing into hundreds of pairs of shorts, but wow a lot was learned about what does and doesn’t work!Learning what chamois works best
After all that research, sewing, and riding, I felt confident that I knew what most women need in a chamois, but creating it was not a feasible option yet. I moved on to trying to FIND the right chamois. I took the measurements of the ideal for-women chamois we had created and begrudgingly went to the Elastic Interface's website. I dug through dozens and dozens and dozens of chamois, looking at the specs and measurements to find the ones that were closest to perfect.
After identifying the best possible options, I ordered shorts with those select chamois sewn into them. I gave those shorts to women to ride in - women of different sizes and different riding experience levels. They rode and provided feedback and I listened. I slowly paired down the options until the one best option emerged.
After all that research, all those phone calls, all those WOMEN riding and researching, we had found the best option. THAT option is the chamois that is sewn into our shorts. That beautiful, heart-shaped, selected for women by women chamois was sewn into our shorts.
This chamois was selected to help more women ride bikes more often and for longer without all the discomfort.
Of note: the number 1 thing I heard along the way by experienced riders testing chamois was “this is too much padding”. Due to that feedback, the chamois selected for our shorts is thinner and more breathable than most others. Your sitbones will need to get used to the lighter chamois (aka your first few rides may cause a bit of discomfort on your sit bones while you get used to it). But once you get used to it, the majority of women agree that *this* is the best chamois. I hope you do to.