Ohhhh, questions:
 

1) How long do cycling shorts usually last? Miles/years ?

Usually go through 2 or 3 pair a year. They might not be totally worn out but they get rotated to winter trainner duty. Nothing worse than riding behind someone in see through shorts.

Mike

Depends on who.

Wow.
That's a lot of worn out shorts.
How many miles are you getting into them? Maybe that's a better way to express these things.
I ride 5-6 days a week most of they year, maybe 3 times a week in the winter.
Summer I am rotating 4 pairs of shorts/bibs; winter I have been using 2 pairs of tights the past 2 years and I see no sign of them giving it up yet.

What visible wear do you see after just one season? What brands do you ride?
Do you have a sandpaper saddle? :confused:

I can't wear my Assos out. Bottom line, cheaper products don't have the life of higher quality products.

I ride the middle to nicer quality Giordana and Nalini bibs and find it hard to wear them out. In fact, I generally only throw bibs out after I've wrecked in them and they're torn to hell.

the chamois today lasts much longer than those of the past. I think I've got 5 prs currently that are seeing use; some of the older pairs get used sporadically. I guess I get maybe 4 yrs out of them?

Voler, Santini, Squadra, Performance Elite and Nalini in my bib stable.

The only one I've stopped using in the last 6-7 years is one Voler I tore in a biff.

Other'n that, all of them are still dynamite.

I usually put in 5-7 k mi. a year. I'm 6'2" 180-200, if that makes a diff. I use all different brands and have found expensive shorts wear about the same as not so pricey shorts. Verge,voler, giordana,PI, and one of my favorites Louis G. They tend to wear out around the chamois, threads come apart or the shorts get thread bare around chamois. Like I said they might not be totally worn out but enough to put them on trainner duty. I use flite saddles.

Mike