Originally Posted by Western Flyer

I'm on my third pair of Zoic Black Market convertible mountain bike pants . They're unlined. My everyday underwater for short commutes and for longer rides and touring I especially like the Pearl Izumi padded liners. They're heavier and more durable than road shorts, tights and/or leg warmers. They are gusseted and tapered with a high spandex content so they don't flap around while riding but don't bind either. They have a lot of pockets but they are cut flat and most have zippers. On most long tours I take two pairs of the tops (shorts) and one set of the bottoms (legs) to zipper on as needed to either.

One caution, because they are both tapered, convertible and zippers don't stretch, I find a size larger than I normally wear is more comfortable, especially on really cold days when I wear leg warmers underneath.

Note: Zoic makes very similar riding pants that are not convertible.