General Cycling Discussion - Expensive Lycra Shorts

Are they worth it? Ive been riding a while, and I went to the LBS to buy another pair of cycling shorts. I have always stuck with my Cannondale shorts, which are totally reasonable at about $40-50 a pair. However, I saw MANY pairs of shorts there for $150 or thereabouts.

What are your experiences with expensive shorts, and are they THAT much better to warrant 3x the cost?

Thanks for your opinions,

Andy. (PS - I still have no electricity so I may be slow to repostto this thread)

Andy. (PS - I still have no electricity so I may be slow to repostto this thread)

Are we neighbors? I live in Astoria, Queens, New York. A good-sized portion of the neighborhood has been blacked out all week. I understand that as of this morning, almost everyone has power now.

I was lucky -- my street was unaffected.

I get shorts at cost and I still ride in $80 (retail) Cannondale shorts. They are comfortable and seem to last. My least favorite pair of shorts is my $$$$$ Assos bibs that feel like they are sawing me in half, not to mention the chamois came apart after two washes. If you like what you have, I'd just stick to the cheap shorts and get 2 or 3 pair instead of one $150 pair.

Well, I have tried a number of shorts over the years. Shorts come in "panels" such as 4 panel, 6 panel, 8 panel and so on. I think the "panels" are the number of pieces of cloth that go into the short. 4 panel shorts feel a bit like well wearing bags while a short with more panels feels more tailored. Also it is nice to get shorts with decent material in them so they will hold up to multiple washings. You can get generic shorts from performance and other mail order houses that have decent quality of construction. I think the real top end lines are probably better but then again they cost two to three times as much.

Generally the more I've paid the more comfortable they were. How much that's worth to you will probably largely depend on the length of your riders.

So... basically what everyone is saying is that they arent really worth it. I ride long distances, in fact, Im doing two centuries in about a month... but I think I will stick to my Cannons... I just cant justify spending that much on Lycra... people will start thinking Im weird ;)

i don't know, but i've wondered the same thing. some of those shorts cost more than my suit (yes, it's a cheap suit but still...)

My castelli y-pro shorts ($149) are way better than my KISS ($80) shorts. Both rock but the differences are noticeable. The y-pro's are just nicer and more comfortable for long distances (50+ miles).

That and I got the y-pros on clearance for $112 :)

I've purchased from Nashbar and Performance their housebrand shorts ranging from 20 - 40 dollars and I gotta say that I have no complaints with them. It's hard getting shorts for a big guy so my choices were very limited. But I'm not disappointed with my purchases.

The Castelli's were the ones I was looking at, at $155. They looked "cool" and felt nice... but I remain unconvinced. I wish the LBS would let me ride 100mi in them before making my purchase ;)

"I'd like to return these shorts I rode naked in for 100mi. I found it didnt wick away my ass sweat enough and would like my money back" hahahaha.

The Castelli's were the ones I was looking at, at $155. They looked "cool" and felt nice... but I remain unconvinced. I wish the LBS would let me ride 100mi in them before making my purchase ;)

"I'd like to return these shorts I rode naked in for 100mi. I found it didnt wick away my ass sweat enough and would like my money back" hahahaha.

Those are nice but it depends on how far you want to ride in them. I did 100 miles in teh $80 shorts and by the end the front seam was rubbing on things and was alittle annoying. I did another 100 in the $150 shorts and the seam wasn't an issue because there is an extra chamois up front just for the boys.

I usually find the cheapest lycra shorts pretty useless. Don't judge bike shorts by the cheapo chamois'.
Check out the kind of chamois you get for the money. Good shorts don't have to be $180, but you'd be lucky to find one for endurance for $29.
On sale, you can find some high quality chamois for around $50-60. The quality if the lycra is not the critical factor in comfort, but possilby durability. I'd say you pay over $79 on a sale item you are paying for style.

I really like the Performance Century Gel bib. Very comfortable chamois and durable 7.6 oz. fabric. Currently on sale for $40.

When you talking about realy cheap knicks then the more expensive ones are better however I have some Cannondale bibs and knicks that I purchased at a good price on eBay and they're very comfortable. The ones I have are called Vertex 10 panel and I cant fault them.

Regards, Anthony

I've given up on house brands (Mountain Equipment Coop in my case) for anything except commuting. They seem to have foam rather than chamois, and it just gets hot and sticky. My favorite are Sugoi -- three pairs, ranging in price from $20-something (on special) to almost $80.

As with most things, you get what you pay for. I have a couple of pairs of Pearl Izumi shorts which I bought about ten years ago, and despite their age, they are still in great shape, and the attention to detail (seams, fit, finish) is very good. The only problem with one pair is that the decal on the side has washed off (big deal… :rolleyes: ). I bought three pairs of Ascent shorts in a Nashbar sale at the end of last season, and I've been using these (along with the PIs) all through the winter and into this season. The PIs are still looking almost brand new, with no sign of wear; the Ascents are starting to get a bit ragged around the stitching (particularly the padding). As I said before, you pays your money, you takes your choice…

- Wil

I buy Sugoi Blur shorts, about 70 bucks. They fit better, last longer, and generally are worth 3x the $150 shorts I've bought from pearl izumi, castelli, evven higher end sugoi.

Price definatly does not always equate to better.
But what you will definatly will find, is people justifying their high priced purchases by claiming it fits/feels/performs better. When in most cases it doesnt :)

Pearl Izumi Microsensor 3D shorts are worth the money (around $100).

I am not sure if you get what you pay for all the time. I have several shorts from the cheapest performance $19, and it is indeed an ill fitting piece of cr*p. But I also have the top of the line PACE shorts and they aren't all that comfortable either. I tried the performance century short and it is quite good and I use it most of the time. But my favorite is a custom job from a company called Kucharik. At $35, (bike club price), it is the most comfortable shorts ever.

I just wear a pair of loose fitting swimming trunks and have no problems at all.I'd rather put the money in to the bike than a pair of shorts.

I have tried to match what I consider a mid level to lowe level price point with my mileage.
Basically, I started with cheap shorts and worked my way up till I found my sweet spot.

Mileage 250 miles
Performance: $40 -inadequate
Sugoi blur shorts: $55 -much better. Still could use improvement.
Voler elite bibs: $75 on sale. Perfect fit. Nice and comfy.
So, I plan on staying with voler bibs until I find a need for something better.

i don't know, but i've wondered the same thing. some of those shorts cost more than my suit (yes, it's a cheap suit but still...)

:D LOL That's the funniest thing I've read in a while.

I don't even know where to buy a suit that cheap.