Randy Bosma

In the thread "The shorts made a difference" Mojo Slim said In this, my first year riding seriously since parking the ole 3-speed in favor of a steel box with 4 wheels some 40 years ago, I've started with Canari shorts from a national big-box sports retailer. They're fine for my current 20-35 mile rides, but I can see where higher quality would enable a better end to a longer ride.

Price can be an indicator, but sometimes you're just paying some extra for the name. Sometime its a personal thing, but generally speaking what brands rank fair, good, better, and best?

cyclinfool

Lately I have been buying Giordana because I can get them at a real good price. My favorite ones though are from EMS. In general I like the feel of the better quality materials.

BengeBoy 

My favorite brand of shorts is "on sale."

I haven't found huge differences between them, as long as I avoid the really cheap ones, which have been garbage (e.g., opening price point Performance shorts). I guess my favorites right now are some Descentes I paid $60 or $70 for, on sale at REI.com.

I also own and like Pearl Izumi, Sugoi, and Canari. Some of the higher-end Performance stuff has been good; the cheaper Performance stuff isn't.

djnzlab1

HI,
I went by a performance bike store and they had all their shorts on sale,
the Gel Models are highly rated by some bicycle magazines


I found a 60+ buck pair for 47.00
and they are so nice to my ars..
Doug

The Weak Link

I love my PI ultrasensor bib shorts. They were a bit pricey as I recall but they are worth it.

BluesDawg

You can't just go by the brand as each brand has different levels of shorts. While the cheapest shorts from Performance are worthless for anything more than the shortest rides, their Century shorts are decent for rides up to 50 miles, their Elite shorts are good for metrics and their Ultra II shorts are very good for century rides. Other brands also have different quality levels. I wouldn't give a nickel for any brand of gel shorts.

Rick@OCRR

Like Bluesdawg says, stay away from gel shorts.

I've had good results with Dimarchi, better with Pearl Izumi, best with Giordana. I've heard that Assos and Hincapie are even better, but my Scots dna prevents me from buying those!

Plus, as Bluesdawg also points out, there are different model levels within each brand. I've heard nothing good about Performance shorts (and a lot bad), but again, your milage may vary.

Oh . . . and bibs are better than shorts that are just shorts.

Rick / OCRR

Mojo Slim

I've had good luck with all brands, and I look for the sales. I have 3 Giordana, 2 Louis Garneau, 1 Pearl Izumi and 1 Hincappi. All retailed for $100-130, but I never paid more than $97 for any of them.

Hermes

Our club team kits are Voler. I buy the bibs with the Ion chamois. They are okay. i like the PI pro version better for longer rides.

kr32

I was wearing a pair of Desente Shorts, not sure model, and was happy with them but then I got a pait of Pearl Izumi P.R.O. Bibs and fell in love with them so much I am saving for another pair. ( sort of pricy but well worth it IMO)

kr32

I have to agree with this after buying my first pair of bibs about three weeks ago. The fit and feel is so much better, imo anyway.

Dellphinus

Pearl Izumi Attack shorts are all that I ride.
Tried the next level down in PI's line- no joy.
Tried REI house brand- no joy.

I always manage to find them on sale. Next time i need shorts, plan to try the Ultra sensors.

gear

pearl izumi PRO shorts or bibs

tntyz

And I happen to like my REI shorts quite a bit!

Edit: Mine are the Strada version, BTW.

rodrigaj

Best value: https://www.aerotechdesigns.com/

Highest quality and best value: https://www.velowear.com/

Shorts are about moisture management and comfort (no chafing, etc.) and should never be thought of as a substitue for a saddle that fits you well.

John E

For the past few years, I have been wearing Novara (REI) expedition shorts, which are essentially streetwear with a chamois-lined bike short liner. They are almost as comfortable as regular bike shorts, and they have zipper pockets for wallets and keys and are ideal for transportation cycling with stops at a store or restaurant.

Road Fan

Yes, exactly! My experience with Century shorts is good for 35 miles (old design), good for nearly 50 (three-year old shorts), and with the Ultra shorts RRREEEAAALLY good for anything up to 50. I haven't made a 100 yet. I tried a Performance Gel, and yes, stay away from them.

Road Fan

I have a question to add to the heirarchy of shorts. The best I've found, in the limited sample I've tried, are the Performance Ultra Shorts, for $75 list price.

How much better a short will I get if I spend more, say around $110 per pair for the better Pearl Izumi?

Road Fan

Hermes

This is a very tough question to answer quantitatively. This analogy is BS but there is a modicum of truth in it. You have to mount the engine on the bike. How fast does the engine go and how much power does it make and for how long? You do not mount a Ferrari engine the same way a VW. Spinning fast at high power for long distances puts a lot of stress on the sit bone area and skin. The better shorts have softer material, better more resilient padding, more panels per short adding support and sometimes more aero material. Some riders are tougher than others sitting on the bike and can tolerate anything. If you have the cash, try a pair of better shorts and see for yourself.

stapfam

All forms of clothing needs a fitting to be certain that they are right. We used to have a superb shop in London that carried most of the makes in most of the models and going there for me took longer than the wife shopping for a handbag.

Now the shop only carries a few makes and they are not the ones I like so Back to square one and I go by price range. I used to spend about £40 on a pair of shorts and that was my limit- but since the London shop cut their range- I went to my LBS for the last pair of shorts.

All they said was "They are the ones you want" and I handed over more than I have ever paid for shorts in my life. Giordana Tenax and they are the best I have ever worn.

Qualty does pay- providing they fit properly.

late

Shorts are a pain, in a couple different ways. You never know what will work until you try it. Most of the good ones are hideously expensive.

Now that's out of the way... I mostly use Boure Pro.
https://www.boure.com/1100.html
They will make them to your size.

I have a Performance Ultra, it's nice, but I've never tried to do a really long ride in it. It's prob fine.

One last thing... I use leather saddles, either a B17 or a Titanico. Superb saddles that if setup properly take the drama out of finding shorts.

Randy Bosma

That brings it right back around to You get what you pay for. So now that I aspire to riding more than 40 miles, I'll bypass the $35 shorts, and start shopping in the +60 market, maybe even bibs!. One objective is to ride my age (in miles- no metric cheats) this year. For a century next year, look at higher end stuff.

Thanks for the heap of knowledge.

stapfam

50+ strikes again- So hopefully the next pair of shorts you buy will be worth the extra we have persuaded you to spend.

And Bypass the shorts. I know there are a few exceptions but most that try bib shorts for the first time never go back.

I only have one pair of shorts now and have around 6 pairs of bibs. Two I no longer wear as they are the cheap ones from the sale box but if possible try the Shorts/bibs on before you leave the shop. You will know if they are not going to suit your 50+ body.

mexipat

I'm a newbie and was wearing baggy shorts. Yesterday, I went to my LBS for another pair and they convince me to try on the P.R.O. Bibs. Wow! I liked them at the shop and bought them. After my ride today, I like them even more. Are they ever on sale?

cyclezen

If I wanna buy something 'upper-end' then I go with Giordana. Have been buying their stuff for decades and never disappointed for fit or comfort. That covers most of the upper end since they are a bit less than all the other brands at those price points.
Assos - feels great in the store, except I'd never pay that much for a pair of shorts...
PI also good in the mid-price points (besides the upper range) - $50 to $80
I have a pr of PI shorts and Bibs from the late 80's, still ride em a lot. They have held up incredibly and the fabric is still very supple. Sadly the waist elastic has mostly given up the ghost. But no matter, they fit so well, they hold up nicely without any waist elastic.
for lower price points I've had great success with Canari and Belwether - I use both of those a lot and aside from not feeling quite as '2nd skin' as the upper level stuff, they are cut well and don;t bunch.
Key for me is a smooth, thin 'chamois'. Nuttin thick and spongy, the thinner the better.
Brands which just don;t do it for me
Performance House Brand, Biemme, Trek, Voler (not bad just seems theres much better for me at that price)
Sadly Voler always seems the defacto club kit around these parts. I don;t like the jersey fabric nor the shorts.
AUssie, which used to be a common brand in the 90's, was a great fit and fabric to my taste. Sad they're not around anymore... at least I never see nor hear of them...
Cannondale generally fits ok, but the shorts seem to be cut with a way high waist - feels weird to me. Otherwise they seem to fit OK.
I dislike the trend to superlong inseam with the idea of turning up the legband to show 'brand'. Way too much roadie affectation for me... 8 & 9 inseam is fine, 10 and over is way too much, might as well wear long pants...
And the ladies who roll up their shorts to supershort length, looks like sausage bursting out of the casing... sortta the muffin-top equivalent in cycling...
YMMV