Yes, the pictured shorts are incredibly silly.

OTOH, I couldn't have ridden 2000+ miles last year without my Castelli shorts. I love the Castelli chamois, and last year, it literally saved my a$$. I tried a lot of different shorts when I was having bad sit bone pain, and it was the Castelli shorts that made it possible for me to do 3-5 hour rides.

I don't buy a whole product line... I buy a pair of shorts or a jersey at a time, so I don't mind if there are some that aren't for me. And really, if you have designers that are pushing the envelope & trying to bring some fashion & variety to bike clothes, there will be some hits & some misses. And yes, I agree, those shorts are a huge comical miss. It's like Britney & Minnie Mouse got together to design some bike clothes.

Still, I LOVE CASTELLI.

My current favorite:

http://www.castelli-us.com/pm-842-4-...ls-jersey.aspx