None.

Everything.

What were they thinking of when you came up with the rib pattern chamois? After a 60 mile ride today, my butt developed a rash from chamois chaffing.

What's more, the chamois cut into my privates because the rib channels are always bunching up.

Don't buy it unless you're into sadomasochism

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They suck for a $90 short. My Vermarc bib has smooth Chamois that has never bothered me. I Just notice Pearl came out with a $250 Octane short. Are they smoking crack? That's it with me. I'll never buy another Pearl Izumi products.

My favorite chamios yet. GReat padding in my opinion.
Seams are well built and placed

They don't last all that long, I tend to wear through the legs in only about 2000 miles

I've worn through two pair of these and am happily on my third. Most of my riding is touring, so I'll be on the saddle for hours a day for weeks on end. It is important to me to have good shorts. Over the summer, I was on a cross country tour (3700 miles) and for the first thousand or so, I was in pain. I found it mostly to be the saddle I was riding, but the combination of a new saddle along with a new pair of shorts helped me incredibly much. I found these to fit my body far better then the specialized and Louis Garnaeu that I was riding. I feel like the biggest strength of these shorts is seam placement. I've never had any chafing issues when riding these.

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Far too many pairs of shorts then I'd like to admit.

well made shell with good fabric and seams. Very good fit and compression in the fabric.

Horrible tortuous chamois.

These shorts (spring 2006) have the split chamois with the empty channel down the middle (black and gray two tone). They are horrible. The chamois chews me up after about 35-40 miles. On the 2nd day of Houston-Austin MS150, I just about died (74 miles), while I wore the older PI shorts the day before (100 miles) and did ok. I finally sold the shorts on ebay. I am sure they would work better for a lighter person, but me. I am large frame, wide sit bones, 230 lb 5'11".

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I own a pair of PI Fall 2005 ultrasensor shorts with the blue fuzzy chamois and was pretty happy with them.

Durability, fit.

Newer model's pad a little diaper-like

I have tried a lot of shorts, all under $100, and these hold up the best. I like the older model's thinner pad, but the thicker ones are OK. The fabric is strong, the fit good. I ride pretty much every day, and these are the only I have found that will hold up for more than about two years.

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All sorts of Nashbar, Performance, Castelli, etc.

Good fit, comfortable.

chamois seams.

Have had a few peair of these. My oldest pair is 6 years old and its still holding up. The shorts are durable, fit well and have good padding in the chamois. The downside of these shorts is once you hit the 50 mile mark in a ride, the seams around the chamois start to get very irritating. I am upgrading to a better short for the long distance rides, but these are great for the trainer or short rides.

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VO Max

Well made except for the seam flaw.

Don't even think of riding with these for more than about 20 miles.

These are the first shorts I've ever had, that have seams that are very irritating. Having ridden with bike shorts for over 30 years, I would have expected that improvements should have been made by now. Shame on Pearl.

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Bellweather, Cannondale, Sugoi, Performance

Fit, comfort, protection

none that I can tell

I have had this product for 2 years and ride everyday. This short has been extremely comfortable and seen me lose 44 lbs so far. The chamois is comfortable and protects my behind well and the short in general has worn like iron and I do wash it in the machine. I have had some pretty good crashes and these are in great shape.

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Had a different baggy short (cant remember name)

Excellent padding. 4 pair have lasted me 2 years of daily commuting to work (5 days/28 miles) with no wear.

Stitching leaves me raw after long rides. If the stitching was better, I'd still be using these shorts.

I have for pair of these shorts, nice padding, poor stitching. I didn't really notice how bad the stitching was until I started riding on a "better" saddle. After a few 40/50 milers on my new bike, these shorts were rubbing me raw in the lower buttocks area. I didn't seem to have this problem on my older bike that had a wider saddle! When I started really looking at how these shorts were sewn, I can see why it would cause problems! I switched to the Microsensor which are of a much higher quality (and a higher price!).

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Pearl Izumi Microsensor and some ancient Descente shorts (can't believe I ever used those!!)

Great fit and a reasonable price. If you like a big pad they are great pair of shorts.

The big pad can be uncomfortable when walking or sitting in the car.

Bought a pair for $44 at a Performance store on sale in December. I have used them all spring/summer and am very pleased with the fit. The pad is big and thick, but I ride on alot of rough roads so they work well for me. Construction seems solid, washed them about 20 times no problem. Even if you pay full price they are a great pair of shorts.

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castelli

Nice fabric used on the non-chamois part

Stiching irritates skin, chamois like a diaper, too stiff and thick

These shorts suck. These are my first and last Pearl Izumi product. The problem lies in the chamois - it is far too thick and bulky, and teh stiching is of inferior quality. The stiching irritates my skin after about an hour of riding, and I find myself constatly having to 'reposition' myself, because of the poor design of the chamois. Its like wearing a freakin' diaper! Big thumbs down, not worth the premium price AT ALL.

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REI, performance, Sugoi -all better (and cheaper)