Looking for shorts for my wife

[mimitabby]

i bought a pair of "mountain bike shorts" with a double layer. They were the most annoying thing. It was like having a skirt and a slip. one was slipping up
the other, slipping down, with every pedal stroke. I think i have a medium.
they are black, maybe she'd like mine? for 10 dollars they are yours, shipped to your home in the USA.

Mimi

[Kano]

I have some of those Canari Tempo shorts and the price was sure right! I like them for short rides. When I'm riding for more than 30 miles, they're not as nice -- then I wear my Pearl Izumi Attack shorts instead!

Karen in Boise

[skidiver]

Thanks for the replies! I'll follow up on a few things:

1. I completely agree about the importance of fit. It's impossible to pick anything definitively without trying them on, etc. For that reason, I need to find a place with good return policies. Our local LBS, LL Bean, REI, velowear.com, etc. all have pretty good return policies. I know it's not the most efficient way to go about it, but part of the gift is at least trying to narrow down the choices for her.

2. Riding style: most of her riding is likely to be around town and short to moderate road rides, probably 20-25 miles max at this point. She'll be riding with the kids (and may not even need bike shorts for those rides), and occasionally with me on longer road rides.

3. Shell: She's not quite ready for the full lycra look in public, so she plans to go the shell route (and definitely no undies ). But the good thing about this option is that she can ditch the shell whenever she wants. (FWIW, I wear baggy, two layer shorts without problems.) Thanks for the offer, Mimi--I may take you up on it!

[snapdragen]

She might like the Terry Skorts too, shorts with a skirt covering them. REI usually carries them.

Team Estrogen carries a few different brands of skorts, here's 1:

http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=19298

[Bluetree]

TRY TEAM ESTROGEN!

Click on "Click to Shop" in the top left corner. They offer inexpensive and speedy shipping, plus a good return policy. And it's all women's stuff.

[Bad JuJu]

Also, if you call Team Estrogen, the folks at the other end of the line are invariably helpful and should be able to answer a lot of your questions.

[KnottedYet]

I have a Terry skort, and really like it. I even wore it in a triathlon! It has a pocket on the outside of the right thigh on the shorts, which has really come in handy for me.

Right now the last-year's colors are on sale.

www.terrybicycles.com

[Grog]

She'll be riding with the kids (and may not even need bike shorts for those rides), and occasionally with me on longer road rides.

If she's going to ride on a road bike saddle, she'll need the bike shorts. I can't do any length of time on one of those saddles without them.

I also strongly suggest skort over 'shell' type.

Try taking the kids with you and letting her go by herself on a longer ride, somewhere she feels safe. Sometimes, even if you have the perfect relationship, it's hard to build confidence when you are in front of the person you love and who has been practicing the sport for longer. For some reason, you feel like you want to 'perform'. She might not even realize that at first. But do encourage her to try by herself, too...

and send her our way!!

[ima_bleeder]

I third the Terry skort. I've worn mine for several seasons. I have the wrapper, so I can select the shorts/chamois that's appropriate for the ride. The wrapper was also useful as a 'changing room' at the end of some of our longer, dirtier, and further from home mountain bike rides.