Touring - Baggy cycling shorts

Does anyone have experiences with baggy cycling shorts? I was considering buying a pair for my upcoming Sierra Cascades tour. I like how they seem to be just as comfortable as regular bike shorts but don't look out of place walking around town and in stores.

How are they when they get soaking wet while riding?
Does the chamois easily break off from the shorts part on detachable ones?

What are your guy's feelings on baggy cycling shorts?

Some liner shorts, + say a cargo short, both nylon. is a start..
some bike baggies use a stretch panel across the back , and
on the inside leg, for more movement.

I'd get unlined ones and several pair of regular bike shorts as liners.
you want a clean pair to put on daily, if you hand wash nothing else..

How are they when they get soaking wet while riding?

I never let it get that far, rain gear comes out much sooner than soaking wet..

Cycle rain cape [or jacket, with butt-flap] and a helmet cover,
should be packed on top of your kit.

What are your guy's feelings on baggy cycling shorts?
Personally I prefer to wear bike shorts for riding and stops and then to change in the evening. For off bike I mostly wear running shorts or when I want long pants I have been using my rain pants lately. I never really thought that bike shorts were that out of place walking around town and in stores. I kind of like being immediately recognizable as a cyclist. I have gotten lots of offers of hospitality and met some great folks because they connected me with the loaded bike they saw earlier.

I have some Aero Tech Designs shorts I like . Made in the USA

Thom

+1 for fietsbob's suggestion. Nylon Cargo shorts with a bicycle liner short. I tried the baggie bicycle short with the built in liners and they weren't that comfortable. There was something about the liners being attached to the outer short that made them uncomfortable for me.

With the separate liners, you have the advantage of switching the liners and using the same outer short.

+1 on AeroTech Designs. They are a great USA garment manufacturer, I've used them for years. Although not for baggy bike shorts, since I don't wear them. Most baggy bike shorts are essentially 2 shorts sewn together (http://www.schnaubelt.com/baggy_bike_shorts.htm) at the waist - basically a complete lycra short with chamois under some lightweight "shorts". I don't care for the extra fabric flopping around in the wind, restricting pedaling motion and cutting down on the air supply to the one area of your body that needs it the most when bicycling.

It's cheaper, more comfortable and IMO just makes more sense to ride in regular lycra shorts and carry "modesty shorts" to slip on at stops. I use Columbia pocketed swim trunks for this purpose, they have a sewn-in mesh liner (no underwear required), breathe great when worn alone and make nice hiking shorts. Lightweight and cheap, wash them with hand soap in any sink and and line-dry in minutes.

You're going to look silly on a bike to 99% of the observing population, no matter what you wear. So don't worry about your appearance too much and do whatever works best for you.

In the past I have gone with bib-shorts but for my upcoming Dreaming Tour (http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=44316)I have gone with Ground Effect Juggernauts (http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/product-detail-JUG-SHO.htm) and Ground Effect Underdogs (http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/product-detail-UND-SHO.htm). Local riding with the Juggernauts has been very positive. Yet to test out the Underdogs but. These are not cheap options but Ground Effect has a very good reputation and I need these pants to see out 5,000 km of riding day after day.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5N3P5jpopio/T723AwlLwNI/AAAAAAAADW0/MlThTE-7Hr4/s640/P5240165.JPG
Ground Effect Underdogs

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a6gHzjS9RqQ/T362H9BxeSI/AAAAAAAAC3Q/5CVuV8hPSlg/s640/IMG_3217.JPG

Ground Effect Juggernauts. More photos of the Juggernauts at Picasa (https://picasaweb.google.com/115484624104009029837/GroundEffectJuggernautShorts?authuser=0&feat=directlink).

Andrew

What are your guy's feelings on baggy cycling shorts?

In my experience, they're a waste of money. You get a crummy chamois and a crummy outer short, but pay a premium price. I wear Lycra bib shorts while riding. When I get off the bike, I pull a pair of normal shorts on over the bibs if necessary.

I've had baggy shorts get hung up on the saddle nose or bar ends when I stand up. It's very annoying and potentially dangerous if it messes up your steering.

I've had baggy shorts get hung up on the saddle nose or bar ends when I stand up. It's very annoying and potentially dangerous if it messes up your steering.
That's also my issue with some baggy shorts, but I wear them occasionally depending on what I am doing. I like the idea of the separate cargo shorts with regular lycra shorts as liners. I'll give that a try.

I just recently got 'Push' baggy shorts, and have been wearing them non-stop. They are extremely lightweight. They dried very quickly after getting very wet. The padding is just right so i don't feel like i am walking around with an "extra set" in my shorts. And I like the pockets also. They retail very reasonable also at about $32-35. The inner doesn't seperate and that worried me at first but i haven't hesitated in getting myself a spare pair. I have had other pairs in the past and experienced the catching on the nose when sitting back down from a climb or even once when i swung my leg over as i was slowing down to dismount. I haven't experienced that with these shorts.

I think I'm actually going to just bring some normal looking swimming trunks and use them for things like hiking, around town, stores, swimming...
I did that last tour and it worked well, I was just trying to consolidate my gear into being more versatile. But i guess shorts + swimming trunks is about the same bulk and weight as these baggy cycling shorts anyway.

There are lots of good reasons to wear light, fast-drying nylon or polyester cargo shorts with a liner. The pockets are handy, the look is inconspicuous, and they can double as swimwear. The ones with zip-off legs are even more versatile. And actual liner shorts are far more suitable as underwear than regular lycra bike shorts: cooler, lighter and much, much cheaper. The house brand at MEC are very airy, lightly padded, easy to handwash and quite fast-drying. I'm sure other bike and outdoor stores sell something similar.

I've never toured in bike shorts. I don't find them comfortable except in a narrow temperature range (cool but not cold). My current favorites are some nylon shorts made by Columbia Sportswear. They have lots of pocket, which I also like. My advice is to ride in whatever you find comfortable.

I've also toured in nylon zip-off shorts that Marmot described. They're particularly useful for touring in countries where there are cultural considerations. For example, you can't enter a temple in Thailand in shorts, so I just zip on the lower leg portion. Similarly, in many countries it's not customary for men to wear shorts, so when I get off my bike for any extended period, I zip on the bottoms.

I just ordered 2 pair of liner shorts to try based on the recommendations in this thread.

I'll go looking for suitable nylon shorts tomorrow as all of my cargo shorts are cotton.

I think I'm actually going to just bring some normal looking swimming trunks and use them for things like hiking, around town, stores, swimming...
I did that last tour and it worked well, I was just trying to consolidate my gear into being more versatile. But i guess shorts + swimming trunks is about the same bulk and weight as these baggy cycling shorts anyway.
You might consider running shorts instead of swimming trunks. They tend to be lighter and more comfortable at least for me. They are fine to swim in too. My favorites are Nike DriFit.

Axolotl, You make an excellent point with this one. I never even considered the implications that culture has on clothing. I guess we can take a lesson from Jeremy Wade! He mentioned the same concept once and stated it was one of the reason colonial British Empire succeeded in many areas with integrating...as he stated something very close to this, "they dressed half and half with some respectability always present."

I am a massive fan of zip offs. I have never tried the liners but i wouldn't mind giving them a try now.




I've also toured in nylon zip-off shorts that Marmot described. They're particularly useful for touring in countries where there are cultural considerations. For example, you can't enter a temple in Thailand in shorts, so I just zip on the lower leg portion. Similarly, in many countries it's not customary for men to wear shorts, so when I get off my bike for any extended period, I zip on the bottoms.

I'd get unlined ones and several pair of regular bike shorts as liners.
you want a clean pair to put on daily, if you hand wash nothing else..


This is what I found to work best. I found the liners that come with baggies to be a bit hit and miss, and there's no reason to pair them. Just find a lycra short that works for you, then get a couple,and combine (or not) with unlined baggies to fit the conditions. I've got three pairs of lycra shorts, and a couple a baggies ranging in length from short, to knee covering, to full length. I choose the baggies to fit the expected conditions on tour. The lycra/liner remains the same.

I've toured the entire SW US, and Pacific Coast in Columbia/Magellan Nylon cargo shorts/swim trunks with pockets and CHEAP(think Nashbar/Performance bike) cycling shorts underneath.
The cycling shorts have the right padding, and the cargo shorts have lots of pockets.
Rain...who cares!

you have a liner, and then you have the baggy part and that's one more layer of cloth to get bunched up during a ride. I really don't like them.

consider J&g touring shorts.

I think I'm actually going to just bring some normal looking swimming trunks and use them for things like hiking, around town, stores, swimming...
I did that last tour and it worked well, I was just trying to consolidate my gear into being more versatile. But i guess shorts + swimming trunks is about the same bulk and weight as these baggy cycling shorts anyway.

Mesh liner shorts and long distance riding sounds like a terrible combination to me.

you have a liner, and then you have the baggy part and that's one more layer of cloth to get bunched up during a ride. I really don't like them.

I like having pockets, and not looking like a dick off the bike.

I don't use a liner or chamois at all. I light pair of shorts like Riv (http://simplecycle-marc.blogspot.com/2011/08/rivendell-musa-shorts.html) Musa shorts or convertible pants like the ones offered by BSA (http://simplecycle-marc.blogspot.com/2011/07/pants-of-interest-for-cyclo-touring.html) are perfectly comfortable and look fine when you are off the bike.

Marc

Another choice is polyester knit basketball shorts (I prefer solid black "And1" brand) You can slip them right over the lycra shorts when you get off the bike, or leave them on as you ride. No mesh inside to rub tender areas, the fabric stretches and dries quickly, and they also make fine swim trunks or sleep shorts.