labas

Any suggestions for full length winter biking pants that are not made from Lycra/Spandex, or 100% polyester? Preferably a cotton blend,

Thanks

pierce

cotton is actually a lousy choice for an activewear fabric. it absorbs water, becomes heavy and damp. I'd probably be wearing microfleece tights with biking shorts over them.

labas

[QUOTE=pierce;14966758]cotton is actually a lousy choice for an activewear fabric. it absorbs water, becomes heavy and damp. I'd probably be wearing microfleece tights with biking shorts over them.[/QUOT

I agree. However, taking all things into consideration ( my daily ride consists of a short 15 mile jaunt and these pants will be for winter), I think some type of cotton blend will work best in my situation.

pierce

fwiw, I did my 25 miles yesterday in jeans

mainly, get something that has skinny legs so they don't snag on the sprockets, and/or use velcro straps around your pants legs. ideally some kind of stretch pants, like microfleece, as baggy just gets in the way when you're riding. as I'm a old guy(tm), I wear shorts over my stretchies, color me self concious.

if the pants have rear pockets, they should be far enough apart that they aren't between you and your seat. modern seats with the groove down the middle pretty much reduce/eliminate the old problem of center seams.

the /best/ riding pants are bicycle shorts with a chamois (or synthetic chamois) crotch. yes, these are spandex/lycra (or merino wool) I've been known to wear these under sweat pants for cold weather riding, or over tights/long johns. since I've started riding again after too long of a hiatus, I really need to dig my riding shorts back up.

in the old days (I rode a lot in the 1970s/80s) we used wool shorts with wool 'leggings' for cold weather.



I do hope someone else chimes in here with other advise

Sixty Fiver

Pants like Carharrt made with heavier weight cotton duck are rather nice in the winter and one of the few exceptions I make to the no cotton rule.

I still carry nylon shell pants and for colder weather riding 200 weight fleece pants under shell pants works very well.

labas

Thanks for the input. I like the idea of velcro straps and think I'll give it a try tomorrow on a pair of running pants.

The root of my dilemma is that I'm 6ft/185 lbs with rather large legs ( circumference, not length) and every one of the biking pants I've tried on gives me the sensation of wearing a tourniquet.

pierce

try mountain bike shorts. they tend to be cut baggier, and yeah, for cold weather, some sort of stretchy fleece longjohns (I wear black longjohns under khaki shorts and it doesn't look /too/ dorky when I'm riding, hah!).

cyclists tend to have big thighs, I'm kinda surprised bike shorts don't fit you. I'm 6'0 and 210 lbs, and they fit me OK. just put a tape measure around my thigh, its 23-24". you might see if triathlete shorts will work (triathletes swim, cycle, and run, they get thighs like T-Rex...)

branstone

leg and arm warmers are the best. you can take them on and off if you get hot or cold

you can wear baggy MB shorts and slip the leggings on. they make different weights for different levels of coldness.

dennismont

I wear padded liner shorts. That way I can wear them under anything and still have the benefit of the gel padding. Throw some sweat pants on over them and you are good to go. You can find them on Amazon by searching for Pearl Izumi Men's Liner Shorts.

curly666

I have these, second year using them, they work great for me. The front keeps out the wind and the back breathes. On sale now too.

https://www.rei.com/product/815145/no...ike-pants-mens

phillybill

I've been using the Rivendell MUSA knickers with leg warmers.... that way in the afternoon I just put them in my pack and do not have to worry about overheating if it is to warm

fietsbob

Have been using Sweat pants / track suit bottoms for a couple years now .. daily.
Knit fabric gives.. Fleeced inside/smooth outside compound fabrics of Polyester.

locally Russell brand is stocked.. [1pr from Bangladesh ,the other sewn in Egypt]

Of course you can get 50% cotton/poly blend sweatpants too..

johnread

+1 on Curly's recommendation on the Novara Headwinds from REI. Although these are synthetic, they are not a skin tight fit and I wear them often on weekend town rides.

PatrickGSR94

Wow those Novara pants look great, would love a pair of those.

Past couple of weekends I've been out trail and MUP riding wearing lined thermal tights under regular cargo shorts. They do a seriously awesome job at keeping you warm, though the leg openings are a little small and it's a tight fit getting them over the heels of my feet. But other than that I love them.

MadProphet

I've been wearing some kind of lycra type long pant, then my sweats over. I have a pair of biking shorts with the gel but they are from last year and hence, three sizes too big. They are my next purchase.

I find myself with an Amazon cart full of stuff like all of these - shorts, tight sweats, jerseys, etc - then I realize I'm riding right now without spending anything on all of those. I do want the shorts, but I think the rest can wait.

jerseyJim

I bike in a pair of these pants from EMS ...

https://www.ems.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4008849&cp=3707807.12194889

loose fit and very comfortable. No seams in the crotch so no chafing.

johnread

I have been admiring the cycling trousers from https://swrve.us.s133956.gridserver.com , although I have not yet ordered anything from them.

PatrickGSR94

whoa, don't think I could bring myself to drop $150+ on cycling pants.

pierce

I just dropped $90 on a cycling windbreaker... I've had several pairs of $50-60 cycling shorts and frankly, most of them sucked, I'm likely to try the $80 or $100 shorts next time.

you want expensive, price motorcycle suits, hah. (not talking about the cruiser pirate costume stuff, I'm talking about touring and sport-riding suits)

Dunbar

I believe Levis makes some jeans geared towards cyclists for $70-80. I've seen some positive reviews of them here on bikeforums. Try searching the forum if you're interested. I still can't bring myself to spend more than about $40-50 for cycling specific clothing...

PatrickGSR94

lol I spend $30 max on a pair of jeans, and they last me 3-4 years typically before moving to greasy/dirty work status. I learned nearly 2 decades ago that spending tons of money on jeans and other individual articles of clothing is pretty pointless for me.

Dunbar

I agree for general purpose jeans but they don't work so well on a bike. I'd be willing to spend more on jeans that were comfortable on the bike.

Dilberto

Fox padded chamois inserts are the best. You can wear them with everything from Basketball mesh shorts to multi-pocket cargo shorts...or simply wear padded lycra UNDER your favorite baggy shorts!