Cycling Shorts, love em or hate em?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

If I come up with a better solution to our cycling fashion, I will keep you posted. Thank you for staying involved.

Have a wonderful day--Bianchi Girl

I really dislike bike shorts in general and I can't figure out why they make the leg elastics as though our thighs were wrist size...what is UP with that?!?! I'm secretly convinced they make the leg elastics using the same circumference as men's without even thinking about it. They're not elastics....they're TOURNIQUETS!!!! No wonder some people have trouble with their feet going numb!

I love to wear biking knickers instead- like bike shorts with chamois but they extend to just below the knee. They look GREAT as compared to the hideous sausage effect. However, when it is over 85 degrees F they do get too hot and I switch to my bike shorts. After comparing 4 diff expensive shorts from TE, i bought the SheBeest Ultra-D largely because the leg elastics were not as tight. They look and feel pretty good so those are the shorts I use on hot days. Plus, the chamois pad is made for long distance and is very comfy and doesn't stick out all weird like diapers. You might want to check them out. I know there are other shorts that actually have no leg elastic at all- maybe someone else can recommend those?
Look into all the shorts and knickers they sell here on TE- go to the "Click to shop" link at the top of this page....plus the women on the phone at TE can help you a lot too. They know their shorts and knickers.

[Surlygirl]

I never wear my bike shorts without a wrapper or I wear a skort. I have found lots of pretty unlined tennis skirts also I wear over shorts. Just another option.

[greentea]

Well, I have the skinest legs (like bird legs) and I don't like bike shorts either. The elastic gripper is not what I want against my skin. That's why I opted for shorts without leg gripper. The only downside is that they're usually pretty short, so I save them when riding alone.

Like Lisa S.H. suggested, biking knickers are another option, and they're very comfortable. I love Shebeest Shindigger and bought 2 pairs. Super comfy to wear.

[SandyLS]

As a 60 year old woman who's been back on the bike about 3 years I have to agree that bike shorts are not the greatest look for me. I use to always carry a wrap or over shorts to slip on when I got off the bike to go into a coffee shop or someplace. I still do that if I know that my destination is somewhere a bit up scale, but for the most part after a 20 -100 mile ride I just am either having too much fun or too tired to care much what other people think about my attire. I have yet to be refused service because I'm dressed funny.

[aicabsolut]

bib shorts with med-to-long inseam.

You can breathe, your leg muscles are supported and compressed, and i think they are more flattering minus the tan lines. But who am i kidding, you should see my glove lines!! I have large inner thighs from a lifetime of horseback riding plus the tendency to carry extra weight in my hips and thighs. You'd never catch me in a pair of tri shorts. A lot of women's shorts don't fit me right anyway--too high in the rise and baggy in the butt and crotch area. Men's bibs all the way.

[salsabike]

Boure knickers don't have elastic at the end of the leg.

[Zen]

Sugoi RS- for $125.00 they'd better be good! I can't imagine what is so special about them? If I could try them on and ride for 30 miles I might buy them, I'm still searching for the perfect short...

[emily_in_nc]

I really dislike bike shorts in general and I can't figure out why they make the leg elastics as though our thighs were wrist size...what is UP with that?!?! I'm secretly convinced they make the leg elastics using the same circumference as men's without even thinking about it. They're not elastics....they're TOURNIQUETS!!!!

Lisa,

You might want to give Pearl Izumi Breakaway shorts a try. I just returned some I got half-price at Nashbar because the leg elastic was really loose on me! I do NOT, I repeat, do NOT, have skinny thighs for my size either - I'm short and slender, and my thighs are definitely medium-sized for my frame, not skinny. I would highly recommend these shorts for anyone who haves ample thighs for their hip size as the fabric was nice, chamois seemed very good, my only complaint was the leg grippers being too loose. The sizing runs true to size, as far as I could tell.

Emily

[VeloVT]

Lisa,

You might want to give Pearl Izumi Breakaway shorts a try... I would highly recommend these shorts for anyone who haves ample thighs for their hip size...

Emily

As if I needed proof that my thighs are ample . I have two pairs of these shorts and the grippers are not loose on me at all, but they are not too tight either -- they're comfortably snug (I don't really notice them much but my shorts stay down). I'm 5'6", 125, with ahem, ample thighs . (In all seriousness, my thighs are big for my size. I often have trouble with the cut of women's dress pants b/c of them).

I would second these shorts though. Performance & Nashbar have been routinely selling these at half off, and they're a great deal at around $50 for a $100 short. One other thing -- this is one chamois I have to wash a few times before I can wear it comfortably. (But then I like it, although I prefer a more flexible chamois like the Terry Bellas have). The cut/seaming is more flattering than a lot of PI shorts too (on me at least).

As to the original question, I guess I'm odd because I like my bike shorts! Partly because they're functional, but I also like the way they look. I look forward to getting suited up because it's a sign that I'm going for a ride, and that always makes me happy. Sometimes I'm not crazy about the way I look in my shorts in pictures, but while I have them on I like to wear them. I feel like I look athletic and my big thighs no longer look out of place or unfeminine. And it's hard for me to dislike them because I associate positive things with them (riding).

[emily_in_nc]

I like bike shorts too! I agree with liza that when I wear them, it means I'm cycling, about to cycle, or just cycled, so they have positive vibes for me.

And by "ample" thighs, in cyclists that normally means muscle -- not fat! I probably should have used the term "muscular" rather than ample. Anyway, no offense intended, and liza is right; the PI Breakaway shorts have been discounted a lot lately, and I found them to be VERY nice except for the thihg gripper fit issue. I think I could go down a size and have them fit much better around the thigh, while still fitting in the hip/waist, but I haven't tried. Nashbar didn't have the next size smaller when I ordered.

Emily

[GLC1968]

I too, like bike shorts. I wouldn't show them off as a fashion accessory...and I don't exactly look 'hot' in them...BUT, when I have them on, it seems I have a REASON for my big thighs. Yes, I've always had big, muscular thighs...but now, I have an excuse....I'm a cyclist!

It's weird...but I now get compliments on my legs when I am wearing bike shorts. I guess people figure that I worked hard for these huge thighs?!? Whatever, I'll take it!

[Kano]

I like my bike shorts too

They're NOT flattering. My ample thighs are not ample from muscular-ness yet. It's in there, but there's still lots of the other stuff covering the muscles. That's okay -- there's not as much as there was, and the "sausage-look" isn't quite awful, except:

Now the top half of the shorts -- the really important part -- is too big.

So, the other day, I tried on the next size down of my current favorites, and was pleased -- though they were even less flattering, they felt really good, and they weren't nearly as tight as the originals were when I purchased them. I didn't buy the new ones yet, but soon, probably, cuz I'm down to one mostly comfortable pair these days!

Anyhow, one of the things I really like about wearing lycra: it stops the jiggles on the parts of me it covers!

Karen in Boise

[Starfish]

OK here's a little twist on this topic. Anyone else where their bike shorts to tod other workouts in the gym? Not just spinning, but elliptical or cardio classes?

I do, but I feel a little dumb. I know I could buy lycra gym shorts, but, without the chamois, with my level of fat...well, I'm afraid they might be a little too revealing in the crotch area...

Thoughts?