It isn't all that much of a change, and adding a couple pairs of bike shorts can really help you make the jump from weekend to serious cyclist, and your butt will thank you for it.
Levels
In general, each bike shop you visit will most likely offer bike shorts in 3 ranges. Good, Better, and Best. Yes you absolutely should try them on. Internet shopping for these generally results in cheap shorts and disaster. The low end will probably be good enough for 25 miles. The middle would work for 25-50, and the best will work all day. Aside from material quality and finish work associated with a larger price tag, those are basically the differences.
Brands
These are a lot of nice brands of shorts, but generally speaking there are a couple of brands I can recommend. On the value end, Sportful and Pearl Izumi. For the middle tier there is Louis Garneau, and Castelli is one of the priciest offerings. Don't let this fool you though. The offerings from LG in my opinion are the best on the US or Canadian market without a second thought. They are so much better than Castelli and cost much much less.
Bib vs Shorts
In the upper ranges you will have to decide to keep with shorts or to use bibs. Bibs are weird, but I honestly think these are the best options for anyone. The difference between these and the regular shorts is that bibs have the straps that go over the shoulders. These straps hold them up instead of making you rely on an elastic waistband. The waistband can slide down and applies pressure to your waist while riding. The straps keep them in place firmly. No shifting, twisting, sliding, or falling here. Bibs will feel tight when you stand up, and that is normal. In a cycling position the pressure goes away.
Great post! for the ultra endurance riders, I can recommend to buy good quality bib shorts with a slightly thicker padding. Assos is I think the best brand for these type of shorts, quite pricey but in my opinion it's worth it.
thanks for your input! What country is that in? I don't think we have them here (or at least I haven't heard of them)
Well, I am in South Africa, but it is a Swiss brand, https://www.assos.com, looking at their map of dealers, they have their products available in many countries in the world, where are you? This is their range of bib shorts: https://www.assos.com/men/bib-shorts?cur=GBP&lang=en
Nice interesting post about bike lovers good explaination you elaborate here also comparison between bibs and short agree with you short have an edge on bibs lokking awesome on riding mood
This is very timely. I'm thinking about buying new cycling shorts and cannot decide haha