Why do cycling clothing manufacturers do this...?

[zoom-zoom]

My previous favorite short was the Pearl Izumi Symphony Cut short...6" inseam, really nice, stretchy, flat-paneled front, great chamois (for me).

But after a year my 2 pairs had kind of stretched-out to the point where the back of the chamois would catch on my saddle and the chamois would shift around a bit and chafe. So I ordered 2 new pair in a smaller size, figuring they would be a better fit.

WRONG!

The 2011 version is a FULL INCH shorter. 6" inseam is perfect on my stubby legs, 5" inseam is like short-shorts (the label claims that even the small should have a 6" inseam, but I measured from center seam to the bottom of the leg-band and it's 5") and my inner thigh ends up rubbing the nose of my saddle. Also the material is different, so they are no longer as stretchy and give me horrible sausage-casing legs. The smaller size fits more like 2 sizes smaller.

I love PI's chamois, but their sizing is all over the place. My tri shorts are a large, but fit like my mediums in other PI shorts. My PI compression running shorts are a medium, but fit about the same as my tri shorts. I have a pair of PRO shorts in a M that fit like a S (and these shorts that fit too small cause my inner thighs to pooch out, which rubs on the saddle and destroys the shorts after just a ride or two--I rode TWELVE miles in my one pair of the new shorts and the right inner-thigh is trashed).

For $100 I'd expect some level of consistency in sizing. I've thrown a lot of money away on shorts, lately.

[Biciclista]

it's partially because they hire people to make new styles which will theoretically sell to bored consumers. They don't care that what you bought last time was perfect. They want to keep their jobs as designers so they have to keep designing! terrible... that's what style is all about, making money i guess. That's what is so nice about Levi's they still make the same old thing and people LIKE that.

[zoom-zoom]

That's what is so nice about Levi's they still make the same old thing and people LIKE that.

Ha, but I have several pair of the exact same style of Levi's and have the same weird sizing issues with those, too. All have '32"' inseams, but some are closer to 31" and others are >32". At least when it's a jeans inseam issue I can blame it more on quality control, since the denim and overall fit is still the same.

[OakLeaf]

I don't even get the same overall fit from Levi's. I have three pairs of 515s and every one fits differently. (They're all pretty much the same length though. ) I remember trying on several pairs of 515s when I bought the last one, and each pair in the store was different, too.

[Veronica]

Just bought Thom several pairs of Dockers that are all supposedly 30-30s. None of them fit him the same.

Veronica

[ny biker]

They put a big pile of fabric on the table, and then they cut it with a laser. The pieces at the bottom of the pile wind up bigger than the pieces at the top, even though they all get the same size label.

This is why I take every pair of jeans labeled with my size into the J. Jill fitting room, and try them all on to see which fits best. And the salespeople don't mind having to put all my rejects back on the rack, because they understand why it's necessary.

As for bike shorts, I was so happy with the Shebeest Century shorts. But when they changed the chamois last year to a two-piece thing with seams, I figured I would have to start looking for new favorite shorts, because there is just no reason to have a line of stitches between me and my saddle. Fortunately they've gone back to the old one-piece chamois, so I guess I wasn't the only one who refused to buy their "improved" version.