Hey everybody,

I was wondering what those of you with short enough commutes choose to wear when you want to get on and off the bike and then walk into an office or business environment. So far, this has been some of my impressions with gear that's intended to be practical and good-looking.


I normally ride to work in either my Outlier Keirin Cut Dungarees or H&M Slim Fit pants (they have 2% elastane which gives them some stretch).


The H&M Slim Fit pants are a great value at only 30 dollars and are very comfotable to ride in, They're a little too tight in the thigh area, but with the built in stretch it's still easy to peddle in them. These pant leg is also slim enough to keep the pant out of my chain without rolling it up, which is a kinda nice perk too. H&M didn't design these pants for commuting however, I just happened to find them to be a good match for that job.

After wearing some Levi's Commuters I picked up on Ebay I can definitely see that there's a huge difference in construction quality. The Levi's are gusseted, also have a touch of stretch, and are a bit slimmer than the H&M pants, and the material in the Levi's feels much tougher and more durable. Definitely makes my H&M pants feel cheap and they get dirty pretty easily. I cycle through like 4 pairs of the Slim Fits though and so far my Brooks saddle hasn't blown out the pant seats. The Slim Fits look good, but I'm going to be monitoring how long they can go without being replaced. IF they can only last a year then it'll be the last time I purchase them.

I've had Outlier OGs and Keirin Cut Dungarees and both were tough, but not invincible. For 200 bucks a pair I want pants that will last for a decade--but within 6 months I found this weird fuzzy texture had developed on one leg of my OGs and I ended up having to send them back. Too bad too, I really loved how ridiculously stretchy they were, felt like wearing sweatpants. The Dungarees are tougher, and have very little stretch, but the gussetted crotch made it easy to throw my leg over the bike. They definitely look great, but so far I'm pretty doubtful about buying Outlier pants again unless I can get a good deal on ebay (which seems unlikely, those Outliers really hold their value!) for the simple fact that pants that cost 150-200 are too expensive for me to feel comfortable abusing. IF they're too expensive to replace then I end up babying them, which defeats the point of buying pants that can supposedly take a beating and still look good and be appropriate for an office setting.

I'm going to be riding the Levi's Commuters for awhile to see how they hold up, but they might strike a nice balance between quality and cost. I've seen pairs of them online for 50-60 bucks, and while they retail for more I would definitely not mind getting rough and tumble in pants in that price range.

Interesting topic... I have been searching for a pant suitable for commuting, but so far I have just been riding in regular slacks from Dillards. I've been trying to find some athletic cycling specific pants like jogging pants, but haven't found any yet. I'm gonna take a look at the Levi's commuters you mentioned.

If it weren't for the pricieness, I'd jump all over these:

https://www.nonethelessgarments.com/c...therproof-pant

Hopefully, there's someone here with deeper pockets than mine that will buy a pair and let us know how they are.

I might have to seriously consider these as I work security and I need black dress pants, but these could work, it would be one less thing I need to carry.

I want to try the Levis.

Here's another that's also intriguing: Beta Brand Bike to Work pants

I have purchased a couple of pairs of trousers from the Swrve company, and really like them. A bit pricey, but they are of superb quality and quite appropriate for casual office environments. https://swrve.us.s133956.gridserver.com

I've done a lot of experimentation with different cycling pants.

After long research, I'm leaning towards wearing regular jeans or dockers. The trick is to have jeans that are a little larger and then make sure the belt doesn't make them ride too high. In fact, I'll often loosen the belt entirely to let them ride wherever they need to.

But of course this is a very personal matter that changes with temperature, length of ride, type of jeans, etc. etc.

If you can wear jeans to work you can try https://thunderboltsportswear.com/ they make one with black stitching.
It's the same material as the outlier OG, which is a balance of water resistant, stretch, and breathable
Same price too...however, I emailed them to ask when they would have my size, and since they did not have it the owner gave me 15% off.

They are a much slimmer fit than the outlier pants, about the same as slim fit jeans.
If you don't have big thighs they should work.

I have found cheap pants don't hold up so well to extended use