Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Why SWRV knickers suck

3 reasons:
First, they are too short. The articulated knee is more like an articulated lower thigh. The hem is around/above my kneecap when I ride. Second, the cell phone pocket sits right over the edge of the back pocket and is sewn through the back pocket, essentialy cutting it in half in a very akward manner making it nearly impossible to get out anything you have put in the back pocket. Third, and the worst feature of these knickers, the taint destroyer. Rather than having a seam that runs from zipper under and up the back like a pair of jeans there is a strip of material runs up one inner thigh and down the other. It is so horribly placed and sewn, where the huge knot of fabric connecting that strip to the regular zipper-to-butt seam sits right at the taint. These are painful to wear on a 10 minute ride without bike shorts under them, and painful with shorts on anything nearing 10 miles. In short, they suck. What a waste.

I like mine. Overpriced though.

Dickies FTW.

3 reasons:
First, they are too short. The articulated knee is more like an articulated lower thigh. The hem is around/above my kneecap when I ride. Second, the cell phone pocket sits right over the edge of the back pocket and is sewn through the back pocket, essentialy cutting it in half in a very akward manner making it nearly impossible to get out anything you have put in the back pocket. Third, and the worst feature of these knickers, the taint destroyer. Rather than having a seam that runs from zipper under and up the back like a pair of jeans there is a strip of material runs up one inner thigh and down the other. It is so horribly placed and sewn, where the huge knot of fabric connecting that strip to the regular zipper-to-butt seam sits right at the taint. These are painful to wear on a 10 minute ride without bike shorts under them, and painful with shorts on anything nearing 10 miles. In short, they suck. What a waste.


send them an irate email
they probably would appreciate the feedback anyway.

This is why your local army surplus store and a pair of bdus are your best friends

My wife has a pair of SWRV knickers and loves them. They won't fit me, so I can't give you a more detailed review.

Admit it. You've tried on your wife's pants.

the jeans i won of theirs at broken hearts are uber comy

sounds like you're either a freakish man-beast or you ordered the wrong size.

If anyone else has comments, keep 'em coming. I've been looking into getting a pair of these. I know, I know, I could just buy some pants and cut and hem them, but I like the idea of supporting a smaller, start up company that makes their gear here in the good ol' u s of a.

that said, has anybody used the swobo bruno knickers? They look pretty nice, but I wonder about the fit.

...that said, has anybody used the swobo bruno knickers? They look pretty nice, but I wonder about the fit.

I think they're ugly, and they look baggy. I don't own a pair though. They'll probably answer an email inquiry.

I have a pair of the schoeller wool knickers from Swrve, and they are too short, but I should've ordered up a size. Maybe I'm just too fat. They seem well-made.

swrve's are great knickers. fit is slim - so if you've got bigger thighs make sure you order up. actually, i'd say order one size larger regardless especially the cotton ones (since they have little stretch).

also consider they have a variety of fabrics as well as a sprinter's cut (giant animal quad people) so make sure you order exactly what you want/need.

i'm a big fan of my lightweight schoeller dynamic knickers in grey. they're stretchy - but don't look lycra-like. they're abrasion resistant and well constructed. they're also water resistant but breathable enough to wear midsummer.

I emailed my above comments and they responded right away. I will say the customer service with them has been top notch. My initial shipment arrived right away, and when I sent them back for the sprinters cut they got those to me within 5 days of me shipping the old ones back to them at no charge. She apologized for the pockets being sewn together, saying that is a mistake and they try to catch it but a few slip out. I would try another exchange but when I cut the pockets apart I cut a tiny bit of the inside of the pocket as well, so that's out. I really want to like these, they are just not right for my body. I take back my incendiary remarks about them. Customer service is great, product doesn't work for me. I wouldn't tell someone not to get them, but I will tell them why they don't work for me.

i got a pair of the swrve wool knickers and i love them. the fit is right on (i'm 200 lbs), length is good and the 4 way stretch material gives in all the right places. i've worn them in the rain and they kept me warm and they didn't bag out or anything. also worn them in nice weather, maybe the only ding is they are a little warm in the warmer weather. but all told: thumbs up.

i'm bummed you (LoRock) have had such a crappy experience. are you on the smaller side?

that said, has anybody used the swobo bruno knickers? They look pretty nice, but I wonder about the fit.

Oh man, they are freaking nice. The pic on the Swobo site makes them look ugly, but they look great when worn. Super comfy, especially with a padded liner. I have a pair in size 32 and they run a tad large, but I just wear a belt. If I were to wear them with boxers they would probably be more snug. The fit is definitely on the loose side, but I wouldn't call them baggy. More like fitted slacks. Only drawback is that they're dry clean only.

i'm bummed you (LoRock) have had such a crappy experience. are you on the smaller side?
he is a frail , wee little man.

you had me up until...

"Only drawback is that they're dry clean only."

buzzkill.

I like the idea of supporting a smaller, start up company that makes their gear here in the good ol' u s of a.




Because people in foreing countries are less deserving? I've never understood the buy-local mentality. Well, I do from say a government's perspective but I can't see why anyone else would think so. Maybe I'm prejudiced from taking econ classes?

Nice pants though. But damn theyzz pricey!

one good reason to buy local is simply because products have to be shipped wherever they go. the more shipping, the more carbon, the more carbon...you know where this is going.

Because people in foreing countries are less deserving? I've never understood the buy-local mentality. Well, I do from say a government's perspective but I can't see why anyone else would think so. Maybe I'm prejudiced from taking econ classes?

Or predudiced because you are from canada. ;)

Kidding aside, I am in agreement with you. Free global market means more competitors which means fierce competition which means better products (in theory). Then again, I am talking out of my ass.

Although the carbon / shipping argument I agree with too. That being said personally I try to consolidate what I buy and where I buy it from to cut down. Then again, the raw materials had to get shipped there somehow... I think it is spinnable either way you look at it.

^ I'm aware of the eco agreement above, but the truth is that it's hard to tell what a products shipping footprint is. For instance, transporting something a few hundred km in a truck releases a lot more CO2 than shipping it accross the Atlantic in a ship. Just sayin.

^ I'm aware of the eco agreement above, but the truth is that it's hard to tell what a products shipping footprint is. For instance, transporting something a few hundred km in a truck releases a lot more CO2 than shipping it accross the Atlantic in a ship. Just sayin.

Right, which just goes to show there is always so much more to it. Figuring out the actual stats on something like that is something I want to keep my OCD tendencies away from though. Would drive me insane.

I never understood the whole idea behind these knicker things. They look stupid. In the future, my 'riding pants' will just be made of that awesome material that repels water drops. Or at least jeans with wax on them.

I never understood the whole idea behind these knicker things. They look stupid. In the future, my 'riding pants' will just be made of that awesome material that repels water drops. Or at least jeans with wax on them.

i have the midweight, schoeller dry skin knickers from swrve and love them. the water rolls off them and the fabric has great flexibility and doesn't tend to have memory like other materials do. i got them for $70 or so on sale and think it was a great investment; especially w/ wool leg warmers underneath when it's below freezing, or w/ just padded shorts underneath when it rains.

I just got a pair of the cotton knickers about a month ago and I love them. They do look a little goofy, but they're just great when riding. They keep my knees warm and they really move nice on a bike. The quality is outstanding.

As far as the "buy local" thinking goes, I can sum it up with one word : service. Even though there are many other reasons to buy from a company like swrve, their service was amazing. When you email them a question, they write you back the same day. I wanted to know some measurements that weren't listed on the website so I drew up a little graphic and sent it over. In about an hour Muriel (one of the owners) wrote me back and filled in all the blanks. Try getting that from Nashbar.

I have the cotton ones and they are ok.

The good: Customer service is outstanding, I don't think I've ever had a better experience with a company. I ordered my normal size and they were a bit snug, so I ordered the next size up. Unfortunatly, they were pretty much exactly the same size. I should have exchanged them again, but they were only a little too tight. They look good (in a "look at me, I ride a fixxxie!" kinda way) and are comfortable on the bike.

The bad: They faded quickly. The ass faded really fast, like after 4 washes. One of the legs always ended up with the seam on the front of my leg for some reason. No big deal, just kinda strange. Finally, two belt loops and the cel phone pocket came unstitched after about 4 months of use. I only wore them once or twice a week, so they really weren't as durable as 80 dollar pants should be.

My thrift store Columbia hiking pants turned knickers cost me 4 bucks and a half hour at the sewing machine and have been 4 times as durable and are more comfortable off the bike.

These shants are so much better than cut-offs. I love mine. They fit great and are fine for longer rides. They dry quickly and can be worn several times before having to wash them. Most of the other cycling pants I looked at had those stupid cargo pockets (why would you want a bunch of crap banging on your leg as you pedal?) If I had to recommend an improvement it would be that they need a slightly higher rear waist.
I also rock climb in mine - they've held up fine to the abuse.

I have some of the SWRVE jeans. I think they rule. Fit is really good. Fabric feels great. My only real concern is long-term durability.

I rambled about them a bit on my blog (http://skulkface.blogspot.com/2008/03/action-jeans.html).

Oh yeah, customer service is top notch, and I think the pricing is totally reasonable, given that they are basically made to order in the US, with fairly expensive fabrics and ethical production practices. You can spend a lot more money on a pair of jeans whipped up in a developing country for a brand name if you want.

[QUOTE=LoRoK;6198271]3 reasons:
First, they are too short. The articulated knee is more like an articulated lower thigh. The hem is around/above my kneecap when I ride.QUOTE]

Seriously? Mine go at least 10 inches below the center of my knee.
I have the Dryskin ones, so maybe the other models that they make are a little different.

I emailed my above comments and they responded right away. I will say the customer service with them has been top notch. My initial shipment arrived right away, and when I sent them back for the sprinters cut they got those to me within 5 days of me shipping the old ones back to them at no charge. She apologized for the pockets being sewn together, saying that is a mistake and they try to catch it but a few slip out. I would try another exchange but when I cut the pockets apart I cut a tiny bit of the inside of the pocket as well, so that's out. I really want to like these, they are just not right for my body. I take back my incendiary remarks about them. Customer service is great, product doesn't work for me. I wouldn't tell someone not to get them, but I will tell them why they don't work for me.

Wow - you got a response to your email? I've emailed them twice in the past month with no response. I have the gals' version, which I really liked to begin with, but when I followed their washing instructions they shrunk an entire size. They're skin-tight now, and at that point I'd just as soon wear lycra.

Similar to your pocket issue, they sewed the belt loops in the front right through the pockets! The only reason I can get into the front pockets at all is because I have very small hands.

I may have to just break down and call them and see if they can replace this shrunken pair with another pair that I won't put in the dryer. I'm not very impressed with their online customer service so far.

I have several pairs in different fabrics, and like them a lot. Every other knicker I've tried are kind of baggy, which I don't like. The Swvre ones are very slim fitting, so if you like that type of fit, I would definitely recommend them. The customer service is the best. They are American-made, and no sweatshop labor. I find them very comfortable for riding and I think the Schoeller fabric ones are especially good. My only complaint would be that there is inconsistency in sizing. I wouldn't mind if they cut them a little bit longer, too -- but I am tall and I'm pretty much used to clothes being slightly short on me.

Dickies FTW.

+1

my cutoffs are much more comfy than anything else i've tried. which isn't saying much.

I don't know if it was coincidence, but not long after posting here I finally got a reply to my email from swrve. I, too, take back what I said about their customer service. Though it did take a while for them to respond, I am completely pleased with the result (which was "send them back and we'll send you a new pair").

Apparently the belt loops sewn through the pockets issue has been resolved since I orginally bought mine.

I'm jealous at all the options out there for guys in semi-normal-looking, non-lycra cycling knickers. Is there really such a limited market for these for women?