Why have padded shorts when you can have a padded seat?

there are padded seats of various degrees, and seem to get more padding as you move to the "Walmart" level.

padding a seat usually interferes with the leg movement, so it's better to let the rider chose the padding level on the shorts instead.

plus padding a seat isn't always a comfortable thing...has more to do with fit.

Padded seats are horribly uncomfortable.

More cushion isn't always a good thing

Rule # 61: http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

As well as allowing the body to squirm around on the soft padding, which introduces MUCH more in the way of shear forces on the skin.

Thinking about this as an engineer, my guess is that it is because the pad in the shorts moves with the body reducing rubbing between skin and pad compared to a pad fixed to the seat. 

TW

First of all, less padding is better.   You need a little, not a lot.

Second of all, you want the padding to move WITH the rider, that's why it belongs in your chamois and not on your saddle.

I have a 100% carbon fiber saddle (less than 100g!) and it's got ZERO padding....it's the best!

Saddle discomfort comes from four things:

1. Heat.

2. Friction (shich contributes to heat).

3. Moisture.

4. Pressure.

A saddle alone cannot manage all four factors as efficiently as the combination of good shorts, good saddle acclimation, using chamois cream, having a good bike fit and using an appropriate saddle.

Especially for new riders good saddle comfort habits are important. Especially for new riders good saddle comfort habits are frequently misunderstood and not practiced. This starts the rider on the inevitable (and profitable for guys like me) quest to find that one, "best" saddle. Please... keep trying more saddles, you're only another $150 saddle (or three) away from the one perfect one for you. Keep buying saddles...

In all seriousness the saddle comfort issue has been resolved. New riders will have some saddle discomfort until they are acclimated. It takes a year to get acclimated if you aren't overweight, have good bike fit and position and practice good saddle comfort habits (good shorts worn tight enough with no underwear, chamois cream every ride, good bike fit, conventional saddle) and you do short, frequent rides initially to facilitate good saddle acclimation.

If you aren't doing those things you'll have problems. The amount of problems you have is directly related to the degree to which you're in compliance with the above practices. The less you're in compliance, the more problems you'll have.

Saddle comfort isn't elusive, it isn't individual, it's not a mystery. These guys started figuring it out nearly 100 years ago, and it has improved consistently ever since as fabrics and bike technology have improved:

FuryUs....Read #41. These rules do not apply here

First off ^^^^^ THIS^^^^^^

Second... great classic pic! I love how the riders used to smoke as a "performance enhancer" ... Cigs were one of the original PEDs!

I feel the same way about the chamois. Over time I've found I prefer less. A thinner chamois dries faster and I don't feel like I'm riding around in a soggy diaper. Oh, and bibs, definitely more comfortable not having the waistband digging or shorts sliding. IMO.

This, basically.  On a highly padded seat, the pressure is more distributed, pushing on parts of you that you don't want pushed on.  Less padding means that the pressure is all on your "sit bones" (I'm no doctor), and while they'll be sore when you first start riding, there won't be any damage, or hopefully numbness, and the soreness goes away pretty quickly.

Thanks, this helps me decide what gear to invest in.