Different shoes and bicycling shorts cause need of seat adjustment for me at least.oh and the shorts worked good but I find myself sliding forward-got to adjust the seat AGAIN, it seems that I need the seat to go higher-it must not stay locked in or something. aerotechdesigns.com is the site for plus sized bike shorts with some padding..just feels like wearing a diaper!!
Oh and they do feel like wearing a diaper, also baby powder works much better with them. Padding has usually anti-bacterial treatments to prevent odors and such, so there is that purpose wearing bicycling shorts too.
Seat adjustment that works for me best is to have height set so that leg is straight when touching pedal with heel, when pedal is furthest away from hip, so that at no point I need to reach the pedal by stretching, but that with heel on pedal leg is straight.
That causes leg to have bit of bend when pedaling normally. Front of my seat is higher than back of my seat, that helps with tingling of palms/wrists and improves control at descents for me. These are personal things, there is no one rule that fits for all.
Also I like my seat quite forward, actually I would like to have smaller sized frame than what everyone recommends for my height, or BB should be moved rearwards, I get feeling of pedaling 3-wheeler kid's bike if I set seat normally and lot of knee pain, so I have knees forward of pedal center line, however that allows better control on technical stuff and also at descents (I can move behind the seat easier, also more weight at front for fast turns), at least my experience.
When climbing really steep, padded shorts are great as I have to sit at very nose of the saddle, which might be uncomfortable without padding, however too much padding causes rubbing, collects and causes more sweating and idea is to stay dry to avoid red skin.
There comes reason for breathability of clothing being very important, anything that collects moisture or does not breathe becomes painful, collected moisture is like breathe block, so that is why thin padding is better for longer rides, thick might work better for short rides, but generally to be avoided.
Sadly my shorts have thick padding, I really should get a pair with thin padding, but there are those without padding at all.
Oh and don't spend too much on clothing, soon will need smaller sizes and there is need for a new shopping spree, it happens, I have noticed